This weekend, we learn about AI-generated art. Type any sentence, such as “Sea otter with a pearl earring by Johannes Vermeer” into a website, and you’ll get an uncanny visual approximation created entirely by AI — with no input from humans. Our gaming critic Tom Faber joins Lilah to explore what impact it could have on human creativity. Then, we talk about deep winter cooking with the chefs behind our food column: Honey and Co. Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer give us tons of ideas, from soup ...
Jan 13, 2023•26 min
This week, we learn about the secret lives of women spies. Our colleague Helen Warrell got exclusive access to the women at the top ranks of Britain’s MI6 agency. For the first time, they reveal what it’s like to be a woman in espionage, and how pop culture – from James Bond to John le Carré novels – has made it harder for MI6 to recruit a diverse team of spies. Then, we’re joined by behavioural economist and friend of the podcast Tim Harford, who – just in time for your New Year's resolutions –...
Jan 06, 2023•30 min
It’s our last episode of the year, and our annual predictions episode for 2023! Lilah is joined by FT Magazine editor Matt Vella to talk through listener call-ins, from dog trends to speed dating to what White Lotus says about the end of the world. Matt and Lilah also add some hopes, dreams and guesses of their own. Then, FT editors and journalists share their predictions for what will happen in art, fashion, music, tech and more. ------- We love hearing from you! You can email us at ftweekendpo...
Dec 16, 2022•27 min
This week, we talk through the most compelling technology being developed to combat climate change, with FT business columnist and climate expert Pilita Clark. And there’s a big debate among scientists: should we focus on older technology, such as solar and wind, or the latest innovations like direct carbon capture and even nuclear fusion? Then, wine columnist Jancis Robinson gives Lilah her holiday drink recommendations, and discusses one of the year's most controversial trends: canned and boxe...
Dec 09, 2022•27 min
This week, we talk about the Benin Bronzes, a group of sacred artefacts stolen by British colonisers from the west African Kingdom of Benin. Guest host Lulu Smyth speaks to Aanu Adeoye and Josh Spero, who have been reporting on the efforts to trace thousands of them. For years western museums, which hold the bulk of the Benin Bronzes, refused to collect and share inventory, meaning they could not be returned to Nigeria. Now, a new digital project is doing just that. Then, it’s the first of our ‘...
Dec 02, 2022•26 min
This week, we return to one of our favourite episodes. We go searching for the Hum, a mysterious noise that has plagued the residents of Halifax, West Yorkshire. It’s an uncomfortable, low-frequency sound that has also been heard in towns across the world, from New Mexico to Ontario to Scotland. The FT's Imogen West-Knights tells us that it's mostly heard by middle-aged women. So is it a real noise, an imaginary illness, or both? ------- Tell us your cultural prediction for 2022! You can record ...
Nov 25, 2022•29 min
In the fourth and final episode of our special mini-series on travel, Lilah talks with Matt Kepnes, the creator of the popular travel blog Nomadic Matt. Matt has been traveling the globe for nearly 20 years, and he’s written about it in his books How to Travel the World on $50 a Day and Ten Years a Nomad . Over the years, Matt has amassed a knowledge of all the best ways to see the world without spending a fortune. And on this episode, he shares those tips and more. -------------- Want to stay i...
Nov 23, 2022•12 min
This week, we learn why we love the music we love. Lilah speaks with Susan Rogers, who was a recording engineer for Prince on albums such as ‘Purple Rain’. Now she's a neuroscientist who has studied what music does to the brain. Her book, 'This Is What It Sounds Like', helps us make sense of our own musical preferences. Susan joins us to listen to some music and explain how it affects us. Why is Despacito one of the most listened to songs of all time? Why does one person love techno, and another...
Nov 18, 2022•30 min
In the third episode of our special mini-series on travel, Lilah talks with our travel editor, Tom Robbins. Tom is an expert on the tourism industry. We discuss the biggest trends in travel, and he gives us an honest account of where we are today: how social media has changed the places we visit, how governments are dealing with over-tourism, and how James Bond helped make Iceland cool. -------------- Want to stay in touch? We love hearing from you. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod and Lilah is on...
Nov 16, 2022•12 min
This week, we speak to legendary chef Eric Ripert on the 50th anniversary of his restaurant Le Bernardin, possibly the most consistently critically beloved restaurant in the world. Keeping a restaurant relevant over time takes work and constant change. More than 30 years in, he tells us what it takes to lead a lasting institution. Then, FT Weekend editor Alec Russell and senior editor Horatia Harrod join Lilah to talk comedy. As comedians navigate artistic expression, respect, and where to draw ...
Nov 13, 2022•34 min
In the second episode of our special mini-series on travel, Lilah talks with Jessica Nabongo. Jessica is one of the few people, and the first black woman on record, to have visited every country in the world. Her book, The Catch Me If You Can, was published by National Geographic earlier this year. Jessica tells us about acts of kindness in Iraq, Zanzibar’s beaches, the food in Senegal, and more stories from some of the 195 countries she’s visited. She also gives us tips for where to go and how ...
Nov 09, 2022•13 min
This week we meet Swedish film director Ruben Östlund. His new movie Triangle of Sadness won the Cannes Film Festival’s top prize, the Palm D’Or, and is one of the most talked-about releases of the year. It seems like an ‘eat the rich’ story, but Ruben disagrees. He says it’s a critique not just of the wealthy, but of all of us. Then, we take a tour of first-class airplane food. After losing nearly $200 billion during the pandemic, airlines are pouring money into high-end meals. Journalist Kitty...
Nov 04, 2022•28 min
Welcome to the first episode of our special mini-series on travel. Every Wednesday, a different expert will teach us something new. Today, Lilah talks with the editors of FT Globetrotter, Rebecca Rose and Niki Blasina. Globetrotter is home to our journalists’ guides on what to do in cities around the world. Rebecca and Niki give us tips for planning, but not overplanning, your next trip. -------------- Want to stay in touch? We love hearing from you. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod and Lilah is o...
Nov 02, 2022•10 min
This week, we talk about the Hollywood blockbuster The Woman King , starring Viola Davis. It's an epic that features a group of women warriors fighting for the kingdom of Dahomey—and it's got a lot of Oscar buzz. Lilah goes behind the scenes with Academy-Award winning producer Cathy Schulman to discuss what it took to get it made. Then, we look into what happened to plant-based meat. A few years ago, it was all over the news—but the hype died down. Has it been absorbed into our diets, or was it ...
Oct 29, 2022•29 min
Two hundred years after Jane Austen’s novels were published, adaptations are still going strong. This summer saw the release of Fire Island, a gay adaptation of Pride and Prejudice , and the Netflix original, Persuasion . Brooke Masters, our US investment and industries editor and a lifelong Jane Austen fan, and University of Maine literature professor Caroline Bicks, join Lilah to talk about the novelist’s enduring appeal. Then , the Boston Marathon has a new non-binary gender category. This is...
Oct 22, 2022•31 min
This week we speak with Shirin Neshat, one of the most famous contemporary artists from Iran, about the protests in her home country. Shirin’s work focuses on the lives and struggles of Iranian women. The protests have been raging for a month, which, as Shirin says, makes them the longest-running demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution. We talk about what they mean, why this time they’re different, and her art, some of which has been recently projected on buildings in London and Los Ang...
Oct 15, 2022•28 min
This weekend, we discuss Industry on HBO with chief features writer Henry Mance. The show is part of a trend: like Succession and Euphoria , it depicts a pretty harsh version of the world we live in. So why do we keep getting sucked in? Then you'll hear a conversation between star psychologist Esther Perel and FT contributing editor Lucy Kellaway from the FT Weekend Festival. They discuss how remote work might change us, whether TikTok is teaching kids to be anxious, and more. Listen wherever yo...
Oct 08, 2022•30 min
Writer Jamaica Kincaid is one of the best known writers on race and colonialism in the US. Her writing is biting and fearless, and she’s been a keen observer of her native Antigua and the US since publishing her first essay in 1973. This week she joins Lilah together with the FT’s Enuma Okoro in a recording made at the recent FT Weekend Festival in London. Then we share some conversations we had in person with listeners during the festival. ------- Here’s the link to leave us a message for ...
Oct 01, 2022•27 min
NFTs were a big sensation, but the market for them has crashed. This week, we invited a crypto-sceptic, FT columnist Jemima Kelly, to answer all the questions you were afraid to ask . What are NFTs exactly? What happened with them? And have they changed the way we think about art? Jemima hosts the latest season of our FT podcast Tech Tonic, which is all about the cult of crypto. ------- Want to stay in touch? We love hearing from you. Email us at [email protected]. We’re on Twitter @ftweek...
Sep 24, 2022•19 min
This week we discuss how young people view the late Queen Elizabeth with journalist Imogen West-Knights and our own producer Lulu Smyth. For many Millennials and Gen Zers, the first royal succession in 70 years is also the first time they’ve considered their stance on the monarchy more broadly. And it’s eliciting some mixed feelings. Then, we explore how we’re spending money on culture now. The FT’s US business editor Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson explains all the ways our post-pandemic restlessness...
Sep 17, 2022•28 min
Queen Elizabeth II has died after a 70-year reign. This weekend, we reflect on her legacy, life and cultural impact with FT Weekend editor Alec Russell. Then, producer Lulu Smyth takes us to meet the people gathered outside Buckingham Palace. ------- Links: Simon Schama, ‘Elizabeth II: an appreciation’: https://on.ft.com/3qsNI64 Jo Ellison, ‘The Queen’s constancy never went out of style’: https://on.ft.com/3qpwOVF ------- Special offers for FT Weekend listeners can be found here: ht...
Sep 10, 2022•19 min
This week, guest host Topher Forhecz is joined by Los Angeles bureau chief Chris Grimes to hear about the future of TV's streaming wars. Since the pandemic, streaming services have poured huge amounts of money into new content, but it's unclear how long this boom will last. Then, we talk to Nature Therapy columnist Jonathan Guthrie about bees. He's estimated that we owe bees nearly $160bn for their pollination services. What's at stake if we can't repay that debt? ------- Want to stay in t...
Sep 03, 2022•29 min
This weekend, we meet a British pioneer of sound design. Errol Michael Henry invites us to the Air-Edel studios in London to show us how a song gets made. Errol is one of the few black sound designers in the UK. He’s been producing music through his independent label, Intimate Records, since the 1980s. He breaks down how he creates his distinct sound, layer by layer. Then, we explore what makes the perfect summer track with music critic Arwa Haider. She and Lilah take a tour through the top hits...
Aug 27, 2022•32 min
This weekend, we go to Ukraine. FT columnist Gillian Tett introduces us to the tech entrepreneurs and engineers who have built strong links with Silicon Valley and western tech companies over the past few decades. These connections are helping them fight what she calls an ‘open source war’ against Russia. Then, data journalist Oliver Roeder invites us into the elite world of professional chess. Now that computers are magnitudes better than humans, the game has dramatically changed. -------------...
Aug 20, 2022•29 min
Welcome to the fourth and final episode of our summer Food & Drink mini-series, where every Wednesday an expert teaches us something new. Today, we meet pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz. Natasha used to lead pastry in fine dining kitchens such as Altro Paradiso in New York. Now she does DIY pop-up bake sales around New York City to raise money for good causes. She’s a three-time James Beard award finalist for outstanding pastry chef, and her style is playful and free. She tells us how to be cre...
Aug 17, 2022•16 min
This week Lilah goes to Savannah, Georgia, to visit chef Mashama Bailey. Mashama recently won Outstanding Chef at the James Beard Awards. Since 2014, she has been chef and partner at The Grey, a restaurant located in a formerly segregated bus station. And she has been redefining American food by reclaiming its African-American roots. But because so much of this history hasn't been documented, how do you find and preserve it, and also expand on it? Mashama explains her creative process. We also s...
Aug 13, 2022•31 min
Welcome to our summer Food & Drink mini-series, where every Wednesday for four weeks an expert teaches us something new. Lilah’s third guest, Jancis Robinson, is the FT’s wine columnist and one of the most respected wine experts in the world. She joins us from France to talk through today’s top wine trends: oak is out, concrete is in. Heavy reds are out, paler and more acidic reds are in. And more! -------------- Want to stay in touch? We love hearing from you. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod...
Aug 10, 2022•15 min
This week, we talk to the author Elif Batuman about her new novel ‘Either / Or’. The book is set in the 1990s, and follows Elif’s fictionalised alter ego, Selin, as she navigates life as a Harvard student. Elif reflects on looking back at the ’90s from a contemporary perspective and talks about what we’ve learnt since. Then, we hear about feedback from deputy FT Magazine editor Esther Bintliff. We live in a culture obsessed with feedback. But w...
Aug 06, 2022•34 min
“I always like a bite of food to feel like the Fourth of July in your mouth: small explosions of flavour where each bite is different.” Welcome to our summer Food & Drink-themed mini-series, where every Wednesday for four weeks, an expert teaches us something new. Lilah’s second guest is Ayesha Nurdjaja, executive chef and partner of Shuka and Shukette in New York. Ayesha is an expert at flavour. Her Italian and Indonesian heritage, childhood in Brooklyn and travels to the Middle East have f...
Aug 03, 2022•14 min
This week, we hear about a new 'miracle' weight-loss drug called Wegovy. It has unprecedented clinical results and endorsements from celebrities such as Queen Latifah. But critics say it deals with the symptom but not the cause. Then, we’re joined by Lauren Indvik, the FT's fashion editor. She explains how to efficiently pinpoint your personal style, and build a wardrobe that saves money, time and carbon emissions. Plus, she answers listener questions. -------------- Want to stay in touch? We lo...
Jul 30, 2022•28 min
