Front Row

Director Joachim Trier on his latest film Sentimental Value, which is nominated for eight Golden Globes, including Best Picture and Best Director. We take a look at the late Brigitte Bardot's three most important films, with critic Muriel Zhaga Writer John Lloyd on the 42nd anniversary release of The Meaning of Liff, the book he co-wrote with Douglas Adams. Ahead of a memorial concert for the late great pianist Alfred Brendel, Samira is joined by his son, the cellist Adrian Brendel, and the pianist Dame Imogen Cooper.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Oliver Jones

In 1776, the Founding Fathers of America signed the Declaration of Independence, embarking on a new experiment in how to build a nation.On the eve of the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, Tom Sutcliffe and guests explore the founding fathers – and mothers – of American culture: the key figures who shaped American literature, music, visual art, and theatre and created a distinctively American voice.With the literary historian Sarah Churchwell, the art historian Erin Pauwels, the musicologist Glenda Goodman, the music critic Kevin Legendre, and the theatre historian Heather Nathans and critic Matt Wolf. Producer: Eliane Glaser

Scott Bryan and Rhianna Dhillon join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss sports drama Marty Supreme which stars Timothée Chalamet as a table tennis hustler who dreams of becoming a world champion in 1950s New York. They also discuss Stephen Sondheim's fairytale production Into the Woods which is at London's Bridge Theatre. Plus they review Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier's film which stars Stellan Skarsgård as a film director trying to mend his family through the camera. Finally, classicist and writer Natalie Haynes gives her verdict on the growing trend for Immersive Exhibitions about the Ancient World. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

As a new adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus begins on Sky, actor Will Sharpe speaks to Front Row about he researched the role of Mozart, and music historian Flora Willson and Music Director of the Dunedin Consort John Butt discuss how recent research helps us better understand the man and his music. Baroness Margaret Hodge - whose review into Arts Council England was published this week - tells us about her findings and recommendations. And with just a week to go until Christmas, broadcaster Bex Lindsay delivers her recommendations of books for children this festive season. The books discussed were: How To Grow A Reindeer' written by Rachel Morrisroe, illustrated by Steven Lenton Robin by Sarah Ann Juckes Elle McNicoll's Role Model Presenter: Kate Molleson Producer: Mark Crossan

Jane Austen is often seen as an isolated genius who appeared from nowhere, or she is treated with a simplistic cult-like reverance which overlooks the complexities of her work. In this special edition of Front Row, exactly 250 years after Austen's birth, we take a close critical eye to a writer who innovated the novel as a form and revolutionised a literary style rarely seen before.Fellow novelists Tessa Hadley and Kamila Shamsie join Samira, alongside academics Professor John Mullan and Dr. Sophie Coulombeau, to deeply delve into the texts themselves, revealing a witty writer herself steeped in the literature of her day, discussing how she contsantly evolved her craft and why her status has fluctuated with trends across the last two centuries.With readings by Dame Harriet WalterPresenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Ciaran Bermingham

Hollywood giant Rob Reiner was found dead alongside his wife Michele at their Los Angeles Home this morning. Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin joins to discuss the life and career of the famed director of such classics as This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride.Roland Gift, the lead singer of the hit 80s band Fine Young Cannibals, is live in session, playing one of the group's biggest hits and talking about the 40th anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut album.It's pantomime season once again, but what do modern audiences actually want from the panto, and how do we balance modern sensitivities with frivolity and fun? We hear from theatre producer Emily Wood, currently putting on numerous pantos across the country, and actor Abdullah Afzal, who's the founder of the Muslim Panto Theatre company. Actor and Wrexham FC Director Humphrey Kerr talks about co-writing and starring in Sherlock Holmes & the 12 Days of ChristmasFollowing news that best-selling author Joanna Trollope has died at the age 82, we've dug into the BBC archive to find a 2010 interview with Joanna.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Harry Graham

Film producer Jason Solomons and literary journalist Suzi Feay join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss the contemporary thriller Lurker which shows what happens when the line between popstar and fan gets blurred.They also talk about The Pelican Child a short story collection by Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Joy Williams.And the film Ella McCay is reviewed; a political comedy-drama that follows an idealistic woman juggling being state governor with a complicated family life. Tom also speaks to the film's director James L. Brooks, whose Oscar-winning work includes Terms of Endearment and As Good as It Gets. Brooks also co-created the Simpsons. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

Actress June Squibb on her lead role in Scarlett Johansson's debut feature Eleanor the Great, in which a woman in her 90s moves back from Florida to Manhattan and forms a friendship with a young journalism student - the film explores themes of grief, the Holocaust, truth and lies. Jenny Colgan pays tribute to her fellow bestselling novelist Sophie Kinsella, whose death was announced today. From the daring heist on the Louvre in Paris in October to the theft of Matisse artworks from Brazil's second-largest library just this week, we discuss 2025's spate of museum heists with investigative journalist Riah Pryor and with Sunna Altnoder of UNESCO, who have recently opened a Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects.Artist Michael Fullerton discusses the symbolism in his portraits of asylum seekers, painted during his time working in the kitchen of a hotel in Carlisle, and which are on display at Edinburgh's City Art Centre until March.Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Tonight, the winner of the 2025 Turner Prize will be announced in Bradford, this year's City of Culture. Joining Nick to discuss the runners and riders is arts journalist at the Yorkshire Post, Yvette Huddleston. The death of the photographer Martin Parr was announced over the weekend. His reputation was established with his colourful1980s seaside holiday pictures. To remember his life and legacy, we hear from photographer Stephen McCoy who currently has a show at the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol.Egyptian Queen Nefertiti is rumoured to have been one of the most desirable women in the ancient world but could things turn ugly over the location of the bust of Nefertiti? With the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, there have been renewed calls for it to be returned to Egypt from the Berlin's Neues Museum where it's currently on display. Heba Abd el Gawad, Senior Curator of Anthropology at London's Horniman Museum, and Professor Sebastian Conrad, who has written extensively on Nefertiti, discuss the issues. Punchdrunk is a theatre company that has been pushing at the boundaries of theatre for over two decades. It pioneered fully immersive experiences, creating worlds where audiences become active participants rather than passive spectators. Their latest show is Lander 23, a live-action video game, set on a distant planet where a previous crew has mysteriously vanished. Nick paid a visit to the company's home in Woolwich, London. Arts journalist Yvette Huddleston reflects on Bradford's year in the spotlight. Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Kate Winslet speaks to Samira Ahmed about her directorial debut, Goodbye June. With a screenplay written by her son Joe Anders, the film portrays complex family dynamics colliding with the surreal realities of palliative care.With talks around a possible peace deal in Ukraine ongoing, we discuss whether the country has effectively used arts and culture to further the national cause. We hear from conductor and founder of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra Keri-Lynn Wilson, and visual artist Pavlo Makov.Entertainment journalist Al Horner joins from Los Angeles to talk about the latest twist in the on-going battle between Netflix and Paramount to takeover the famed film studio Warner Bros. He also walks us through the winners and snubs from today's Golden Globe nominations.Filmmaker Noah Baumbach, best known for co-writing the blockbuster Barbie movie with his wife Greta Gerwig, talks about his new film Jay Kelly, which stars George Clooney as one of Hollywood's most famous stars who is struggling to figure out who loves him when the cameras stop rolling. And we remember the life and career of the acclaimed architect Frank Gehry.

Tom and guests Arifa Akbar and Nick Hilton consider Paddington The Musical. It's the latest step for a beloved British institution... How does he work on stage? Is the bear believable? Are the songs memorable?Iranian director Jafar Panahi's latest film has won the Palme d'Or. It Was Just An Accident, straddles a difficult gap between political commentary and a lightly comic look at revenge. He had to make this film in secret and has just been sentenced - in absentia - to a prison sentence by the Iranian authorities for "propaganda activities" against the country.In The War Between the Land and the Sea, the latest offshoot of the Whoniverse, Russell Tovey plays a humble admin assistant who is promoted to humanity's Ambassador when the Sea Devils return and decide that humans need to be taught respect for their watery world. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe

John Rutter on his first purely orchestral album in almost 60 years, which also marks the composer and conductor's 80th birthday. Novelist Sean Lusk on the extraordinary - and scandalous - life of 18th-century aristocrat Mary Wortley Montagu, which is told in A Woman of Opinion, which won Fiction of the Year at last month's Saltire Awards. Recently, a number of actors have said they would prefer not to have to work with intimacy coordinators on set. We raise their concerns with Ita O'Brien, an intimacy coordinator who also trains others for the role, and Creative Director of Synchronicity Films, Claire Mundell. Also, as work gets underway at Edinburgh's first new concert hall in 100 years, we hear why it's needed, and about the challenges of building in a historic city centre site. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has been transformed into a piece of hip hop dance at London's Sadler's Wells East, and a Bollywood infused song and dance extravaganza for the big screen. We hear from the creatives behind the new versions, Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha and choreographer Dannielle Rhimes Lecointe. Beyond the Visual is the first of its kind in the UK - an exhibition co-curated by visually impaired artists. Held at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, the exhibition encourages visitors to touch the displays, listen to audio descriptions, and does much to make sure it truly is art for all, and all the senses. Joining Nick in the studio are artist and co-curator of the exhibition, Dr. Aaron McPeake and Dr. Clare O'Dowd the research curator at the Henry Moore Institute.A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike has been announced as the winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction. The 2005 winner of the prize, A Short History of Tractors in Ukraniain, by the late author Marina Lewycka was declared the "winner of winners" over the last twenty five years of the prize. To investigate what makes a funny novel, Nick is joined by critic and Wodehouse fan Tristram Fane Saunders and three-time Wodehouse Prize nominee Lissa Evans.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

A celebration of the life and work of one of Britain's greatest modern playwrights, Sir Tom Stoppard, who died at the weekend. He was 88. We hear from theatre critic Michael Billington, actress Emma Fielding, director Patrick Marber, biographer Hermione Lee, and literary critic Tristram Fane Saunders.

Nancy Durrant and Michael Donkor join Tom Sutcliffe to review Richard Linklater's Broadway break up film Blue Moon, starring Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart, whose former writing partner Richard Rodgers had just made Oklahoma with Oscar Hammerstein. They also discuss Tate Britain's exhibition about how the lives of Turner and Constable were entwined. And they talk about Pillion, a surprising award-winning romantic drama starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones' novel Box Hill.Plus entertainment journalist Al Horner on potential buyers for the Warner Discovery entertainment conglomerate, and why the sale is significant.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

Dan Houser, lead writer of Grand Theft Auto, on his debut dystopian novel A Better Paradise, about a video game which goes wrong. Renowned director Katie Mitchell on why she is stepping back from opera due to a culture of misogyny. And we hear how Native American artists and musicians are responding to environmental concerns, with artist Neal Ambrose-Smith and Pulitzer Prize winning composer Raven Chacon. Presenter: Kate Molleson Producer: Mark Crossan

Actor Sydney Sweeney on her role in the boxing biopic Christie. Olivia Laing, author of The Silver Book, and Adrian Wootton discuss Italian film director and writer Pier Paulo Pasolini exactly fifty years after his controversial film Salò and horrific murder.Rising countertenor star Hugh Cutting performs live.The Scottish Government's review of Creative Scotland. Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Show creators Matt and Ross Duffer talk to Samira Ahmed about the final season of Stranger Things.So how much of the success of a Booker winner comes from the editing? We hear from Hannah Westland and Juliet Mabey, two publishers who have been particularly successful in producing Booker winning books. It's BBC Scam Safe week – a week of special programming to help keep you aware in the rapidly changing world of hustles and grifts. We focus on a very modern scam, AI generated biographies sold online. We hear from Adam Buxton, the subject of two of these memoirs, and Professor Ryan Abbott, specialist in artificial intelligence and intellectual property at Keystone Law.Jimmy Cliff has passed away at the age of 81. Music broadcaster and critic Kevin Le Gendre assesses his legacy.

Louisa Buck and Robbie Collin join Tom Sutcliffe to review the TV adaptation of Nick Cave's novel The Death of Bunny Munro with Matt Smith playing a chaotic door to door beauty salesman They've visited artist Bridget Riley's Learning to See exhibition at Turner Contemporary in Margate. And they discuss Marion Cotillard in the fairytale, fantasy drama The Ice Tower. Plus, Tom talks to the winner of this year's BBC New Comedy Award, Eli Hart. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, previous winners include Alan Carr and Lucy Beaumont while past runners-up include Peter Kay and Sarah Millican.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

Actor Joel Edgerton on his role as an itinerant lumberjack in 1900s Idaho, in Clint Bentley's Train Dreams, an adaptation of a novel by Denis Johnson which is being tipped for Oscar success.The Harris in Preston and Poole Museum in Dorset recently threw their doors open after multi million pound refurbishment projects. We hear how these museums have been transformed and how local communities are responding to their reopening. Photographer Craig Easton tells us about his project An Extremely Un-get-atable Place in which he reflects on the time writer George Orwell spent on the island of Jura in the 1940s. And from South Georgia in the South Atlantic, artist Michael Visocchi joins us to talk about the physical and emotional demands of installing a permanent sculpture to over 100,000 whales slaughtered by the whaling industry. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Screenwriter Vince Gilligan is the creative mind behind the multi-awardwinning television dramas Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. His latest offering is Pluribus - a post-apocalyptic science fiction tale where it's up to the only miserable human being on earth to save the world.The news that Durham's Lumiere festival is coming to an end has led to a political row in the North East. Helen Marriage, Artistic Director of Artichoke, the arts organisation behind the event, on creating Lumiere and why this year's edition could be the final one.Cherie Federico, Director of the York-based Aesthetica Short Film Festival, and Philip Illson, Artistic Director of the London Short Film Festival discuss how short films are rising up the cultural agenda.Reselling tickets to live events for a profit is to be banned by the government. Annabella Coldrick, CEO of the Music Managers Forum started the FanFair campaign back in 2016 to take a stand against profiteering in the secondary ticketing market. Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Actors Bryan Cranston and Marianne Jean-Baptiste discuss their production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. Director Jon M Chu reveals the influence of watching The Wizard of Oz , as a boy growing up. And how he cast his very own Wicked: For Good. Samira is joined by food writers Diana Henry and Nikkitha Bakshani - who also happens to be an award winning novelist - to talk about the art of great food writing. And dynamic pricing in theatre - is it more (or less) fair for market forces to decide how high ticket prices can rise.Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Tom and guests review The Hunger Games... now a stage play at a brand new theatre in London's Canary Wharf. The new film Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring, tells the story of the psychiatrist who was recruited to analyse Hitler's second-in-command at the 1946 war crimes trial. The new BBC TV series Wild Cherry, about a scandal in a private girls' school and the relationships between mothers and daughters as well as toxic secrets and lies that ripple throughout their community. And Alan Cumming talks to Tom about his inaugural season at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

Actor Fiona Shaw discusses her latest film Park Avenue, director Gaby Dellal's 'tense and witty drama about mother-daughter relationships set in New York. Filmmaker Lynne Ramsay talks to us about her new film Die My Love, a portrait of postpartum psychosis starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. 50 years on from the band's first gig, music writer Jon Savage and photographer Dennis Morris discuss the impact and influence of punk pioneers Sex Pistols. We also hear about the transformation of a historic and sacred well by artist Joanna Kessel. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Do Vermeer's paintings contain hidden religious symbolism? Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon argues that the enigmatic painter's membership of a radical Christian group has been long overlooked.Writer John Updike became a sensation when is candid and controversial novel Rabbit, Run was published in 1960. Now his posthumously published letters shine a new light on his work and relationships with the women in his life - from his mother and mother-in-law to lovers and wives. We discuss this legacy with James Schiff, the man who edited them, as well as his "successor" Gish Jen and literary critic Suzi Feay. Director Edgar Wright is on to discuss new dystopian action thriller The Running Man.And to mark Commemoration Day, a reading of The Mother by May Herschel Clark, from a new collection of women's World War One poetry.

Samira Ahmed presents live from Old Billingsgate in London, where the announcement of the winner of the 2025 Booker Prize is taking place.The novels on the shortlist: Flesh by David Szalay, The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits, Audition by Katie Kitamura, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, and Flashlight by Susan Choi.As well as speaking to the winner, Samira talks to some of the judges including actor Sarah Jessica Parker and Chair of judges novelist Roddy Doyle. Plus Penelope Lively, the only writer to have won both the Booker Prize and the Carnegie Medal for children's books, talks about the transformative power of literature for children. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Claire Bartleet

The six authors shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize discuss their novels ahead of tonight's ceremony, which is broadcast live on Radio 4 at 9.30pm in a special extra edition of Front Row.Andrew Miller on The Land in Winter Kiran Desai on The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny David Szalay on Flesh Katie Kitamura on Audition Susan Choi on Flashlight Ben Markovits on The Rest of Our LivesPresenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Timothy Prosser

On this week's Front Row review, we discuss a new production of Othello with David Harewood as the Moor and Toby Jones as Iago. Tom speaks with Daniel Day Lewis about his return to the big screen in a film directed by his son Ronan: Anemone. And The Choral; a new film written by Alan Bennett, directed by Nicholas Hytner and with a stellar cast, how good is it?Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe

Benedict Cumberbatch speaks to Kate Molleson about the new film adaptation of Max Porter's Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, an exploration of loss and berievement.On Tuesday night, the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2025 was announced. They join Kate to dicuss their work, and the significance of taking home the prize. 100 years ago, one of the best viola players of her generation – Rebecca Clarke – gave a sold-out concert at London's Wigmore Hall. All of the music on the programme she had written herself. A new album of her works and a series of events will mark the centenery. Tenor Nicholas Phan and writer and broadcaster Leah Broad discuss.And composer and songwriter Anna Appleby reflects on the music of Catalan star Rosalia, whose fusion of pop and monumental classical sounds is making waves in the music industry.

Riz Ahmed is one of his generation's great British actors. He starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler, before landing roles in big budget films from Jason Bourne to Rogue One. For his latest role, Ahmed has teamed up with director David McKenzie to play a man who works as a broker between whistleblowers and the companies who want their secrets returned. As Shiv in Succession, the scheming daughter of the Logan Roy dynasty, Sarah Snook was an integral part of one of the most critically acclaimed TV ensembles of recent years. But Snook has gone back to the small screen- in All Her Fault, Snook plays Marisa Irvine, a mother who faces her worst nightmare when her four year old son goes missing. Between 1970 and 1984, BBC1's experimental drama strand Play for Today created what is now regarded as classic British drama. It helped launch the careers of many celebrated writers, directors and actors including Helen Mirren, Alison Steadman, Ray Winstone and more. Play for Today has now been revived, with four new dramas being broadcast in the coming weeks by Channel 5. We hear from Paul Testar, the commissioner of the new Play for Today strand; Tom May who made Play for Today the subject of his PhD and Margaret Matheson, a producer of the strand in the 1970s. Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Zadie Smith talks about the art of the essay, as she publishes a non-fiction collection, Dead and Alive. Brenda Blethyn discusses her new film Dragonfly, for which she's just been nominated for Best Joint Performance at the British Independent Film Awards along with her co-star Andrea Riseborough. In the last of Front Row's interviews with the authors shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Samira talks to Andrew Miller about his novel The Land in Winter, set in the Big Freeze of I962-3. Film scholar Ian Christie discusses the work of the experimental British documentary filmmaker Peter Watkins, who has died at the age of 90. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Harry Graham

Tahmima Anam and Tristram Fane Saunders join Tom Sutcliffe to review The Eleventh Hour, a collection of five short stories from Salman Rushdie in his first return to fiction since he was attacked in 2022. Director of Poor Things and The Favourite Yorgos Lanthimos brings more strangeness to cinema screens with Bugonia, a thriller with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. And Alan Hollinghurst's Booker Prize-winning novel The Line of Beauty is adapted for the stage by Jack Holden. Plus they discuss censorship in Eastern Europe as the board of the Belgrade International Festival of Theatre blocks director Milo Rau from bringing his work about the Gisele Pelicot trial to the festival. Producer: Tim Bano

Live from Derry. As the climax of the current series approaches, actors Dearbháile McKinney and Martin McCann, two of the cast of hit police series Blue Lights, talk about their roles. Writer John Morton talks to us about his play Denouement, a darkly comic tale set in the run-up to apocalyptic events in 2048 and which is receiving its world premiere at the Belfast International Arts Festival. And as Europe's largest Halloween Festival opens in Derry, writer Jan Carson and Kate Byrne, who teaches literature at Ulster University, discuss why writing about the supernatural is proving so popular with readers today and give their recommendations for the best horror writing past and present. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Caitlin Sneddon

In tribute to Prunella Scales, whose death was announced today, Front Row rebroadcasts an interview with the Fawlty Towers star from 2012, recorded on the eve of her 80th birthday. Samira talks to two documentary makers who gained extraordinary access to world leaders for their films. Tommy Gulliksen followed Nato Chief Jens Stoltenberg for his film Facing War, and Petra Costa followed several Brazilian Presidents for her films Apocalypse in the Tropics and The Edge of Democracy. Annemarie Jacir talks about her historical epic feature film, Palestine 36. And we hear from the two joint winners of this year's Forward Prize for Poetry, Best Collection: Vidyan Ravinthiran and Karen SoliePresenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Julian May

Actor Reese Witherspoon on why she's teamed up with thriller writer Harlan Coben to write a novel called Gone Before Goodbye, about a struck-off army surgeon who uncovers a global conspiracy. Colin Farrell discusses his new film Ballad of a Small Player, about a gambler on the verge of losing everything, which is directed by Oscar winner Edward Berger. What is the best amount of time to look at a work of art? Professor Jennifer Roberts from Harvard University has the answer. Today University Academic Richard Taylor was awarded "substantial damages" after a court ruled the portrayal of him in a Steve Coogan film about the discovery of a Richard III's remains did have a defamatory meaning. We talk to Richard about his win.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Harry Graham

Tom Sutcliffe and guests review the Bruce Springsteen film, Deliver Me From Nowhere, which tells the story of his recording of the album Nebraska Also there's a new book from the late Harper Lee: The Land of Sweet Forever, comprising newly discovered short stories and previously-published essays and magazine pieces. Is it a posthumous intellectual property trawl or does it offer an insight that can increase our appreciation of her undisputed masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird. And Nick Payne's new play, The Unbelievers has opened at London's Royal Court Theatre. It stars Nicola Walker in the lead role as a mother trying to cope with the disappearance of her 12 year old son. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Reviewers: Christina Newland and Sarfraz Manzoor

Bestselling thriller writer John Grisham on his latest book, The Widow, in which a smalltown lawyer from Virginia finds himself accused of a serious crime after he develops a professional relationship with a wealthy woman who may not be all that she seems. We hear from writer-director Kelly Reichardt and from actor Josh O'Connor who plays an art thief in her latest film The Mastermind. Dutch art historian and detective Arthur Brand gives an update on the real-life robbery of France's crown jewels from The Louvre in Paris at the weekend, and tells us about the broader spate of museum thefts across Europe right now. And as arts organisations come together in Glasgow for a State of the Nation culture summit, we ask why now, and what might it achieve? Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Comedy giant Steve Martin on making new bluegrass music with pioneering banjo player Alison Brown with their new album, Safe, Sensible, and Sane. Filmmaker Nia DaCosta on her cinematic retelling of Ibsen's classic play, Hedda Gabbler.Sharon Heal, Director of the Museums Association on British industrial heritage emerging from the cultural shadows.Senior curator at the Horniman Museum, Heba Abd el Gawad, and Egyptologist Dr Campbell Price on the enduring influence of Egyptology on culture.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Cathy Tyson stars in the Leicester Curve Theatre production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee. She talks about the demanding, drunken role of Martha.Jewellery expert Joanna Hardy discusses the robbery of France's Crown Jewels from the Louvre Museum in Paris. As AI becomes an increasingly powerful tool, we speak to two artists who are experimenting with technology in music production, Todd Rundgren and Holly Herndon. And Samira talks to the Booker shortisted author David Szalay about his novel, Flesh. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Harry Graham

Guillermo Del Toro talks about his new Frankenstein film and our critics deliver their verdict. Julia Roberts plays a college professor whose career becomes entangled in campus sexual politics, in Luca Guadanino's After The Hunt. Hollie McNish's poetry collection "Virgin" unpicks the meaning of the word and the man-made concept beneath it.Presenter Samira Ahmed Reviewers: Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Lyndsay Johns

Singer songwriter Richard Ashcroft - former frontman of The Verve - talks about the material on his new album Lovin You, and about supporting Oasis on their reunion tour this summer. A play without a script which questions the impact of AI on our lives and celebrates the ingenuity of human actors: Writer Nathan Ellis and actor Roisin Gallagher join us live to talk about Instructions, which is being performed next week at the Belfast International Arts Festival. As an exhibition of work by the daredevil pilot and photographer Alfred Buckham goes on show at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, we hear about his incredible career from curator Louise Pearson and the presenter of Take Four Books and Scotland from the Sky, James Crawford. And Scotland's National Librarian Amina Shah joins us to reflect on a report into a controversy around the Library's centenary exhibition, which has been concluded this week. Presenter: Kate Molleson Producer: Mark Crossan

Sam Ryder talks to Samira about his career, gaining Eurovision success with Space Man and he performs the song Armour live, a track from his forthcoming album Heartland.With chart topping songs and a global smash hit animated film, directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans talk about creating the phenomenon that is KPop Demon Hunters.The Pulitzer prize winning African American writer Hilton Als and biographer Miranda Seymour discuss author Jean Rhys.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Claire Bartleet