Podcasts about producer stephen hughes

Jonathan Lethem talks about his latest novel Dissident Gardens. It's an epic family novel criss-crossing generations from the '50s to the present day, focussing on Rose, an American Communist. Based on his own upbringing and radical grandmother, Lethem describes how even as a youngster he guessed he'd never be able to stand for President, as there surely would have been a 'problem with my files'. This weekend the final two episodes of The Bridge are screened on BBC4. The series, which has spawned many international remakes, follows a Swedish and a Danish detective working on a case together, and explores the cultural differences that inform their relationship. Sofia Helin and Kim Bodnia, aka detectives Saga Norén and Martin Rohde, discuss the surprise popularity of the show and the challenges of acting with someone who is speaking a different language. This week a crisps manufacturing company admitted they had used a photograph of the late Welsh poet R.S. Thomas to advertise a competition on their packets, without knowing who he was. Thomas's biographer Byron Rogers reflects on the strange case of the poet and the crisp packet. Many of this year's Oscar contenders claim to be 'based on a true story', among them 12 Years a Slave, Philomena, Saving Mr Banks, Captain Phillips and The Wolf of Wall St. Adam Smith has been digging around and begs to take issue with the veracity the film-makers claim. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. As more and more of us are bingeing on box-sets and stream programmes via our laptops, Kirsty asks whether we're witnessing the death of the cliff-hanger and water-cooler TV, as predicted by Kevin Spacey in this year's MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. Spacey was the star of The House Of Cards, the first series made by the subscription service Netflix and the first drama ever to be nominated for an Emmy that wasn't show on television. This year also saw the end of Breaking Bad, a word-of-mouth hit that was only available on-line or as a box-set in this country, and further evidence that we may be turning away from traditional television and watching programmes at our own leisure. Producer: Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. Lenny Henry pays tribute to Nelson Mandela and discusses the role that musicians and comedians played in the movement to free him. Mat Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz talk about their retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Fraser is one of the UK's best-known disabled performers and Muz is one of New York's most famous burlesque artists. They met whilst performing at a Freak show on Coney Island and their love story entwines with that of Beauty and the Beast. Lesley Manville discusses her acting career and her two new productions, Ghosts on stage and The Christmas Candle on film. Jason Solomons reviews Fill The Void, a new Israeli film about an arranged marriage. Producer: Stephen Hughes.

Nebraska is the latest road movie from Alexander Payne, the director of oenophile comedy Sideways. In Nebraska, Bruce Dern plays an ageing father who takes a trip with his son across the mid-west to pick up a million-dollar prize. Critic Leslie Felperin delivers her verdict. Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday and Julie Andrews have all appeared on the London stage this year, in one-woman shows performed by Cush Jumbo, Nina Kristofferson and Sarah-Louise Young respectively. The three actresses reflect on the pitfalls of dedicating a show to a beloved performer, and how it feels to have a close friend of that performer make themselves known in the audience. Philomena director Stephen Frears reveals the part he played in one of this year's surprise hits in publishing, Love, Nina, a nanny's account of family life by Nina Stibbe. Investigative journalist John Pilger turns his gaze on his home country of Australia and the treatment of indigenous people, in his latest documentary Utopia. He tells Mark about the reception he is expecting down under. Producer: Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. The artist Peter Blake's new exhibition Under Milk Wood is the culmination of a 25-year project, in which he's created a series of illustrations, portraits, watercolours, and photographs based on Dylan Thomas's 'play for voices'. Peter Blake looks back over his ambitious project and discusses his fascination for Thomas's celebrated work. A new film documentary, Leviathan, provides an insight into the harsh world of North Atlantic commercial fishing. With no narration, little dialogue, and long lingering shots of life aboard a fishing vessel, the film has divided audiences. Documentary film maker Molly Dineen gives her response. Iain Sinclair and Professor Jeffrey Richards tell the story of the chequered history of Gaslight, Thorold Dickinson's adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's play, which was suppressed by a Hollywood studio when it bought up the rights. Legend has it that the film only survives now because the director smuggled out a copy under the cloak of darkness. Sarah Ruhl's play In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) was nominated for three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize after its initial Broadway run in 2009. Opening tonight at the St James Theatre in London, the play shows how 19th Century medicine used the female orgasm as a cure for hysteria, and how the invention of electricity transformed the treatment. Sarah Ruhl discusses the inspiration for the play and reflects on why it has been a hit in some surprising locations. Producer: Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang Kirsty talks to actors Matthew Macfadyen and Stephen Mangan as they play the roles of Jeeves and Wooster in a new stage version of one of P G Wodehouse's much-loved books. The architect Frank Gehry, whose Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles feature the undulating metallic curves for which he has become known, opens a new exhibition of his work this week. Frank Gehry discusses his new sculptures, a series of artworks based on fish, a recurrent motif in his art and architecture, as well as his designs for the new development at Battersea Power station in London. Stanley Spencer's masterpiece is a series of murals he painted in a small chapel in the Hampshire countryside. The paintings depict his life on the Salonika front during World War I, but concentrate on the domestic rather than the combat, on doing the laundry and eating jam sandwiches. The murals have now been removed while the chapel is undergoing restoration and is on show in London and then Chichester. The artist's biographer, Fiona MacCarthy, tells Kirsty about the story behind the paintings. This week a Swedish cinema announced that it was going to rate movies according to the Bechdel Test, in which movies get an A rating for gender equality if they have at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man. Melissa Silverstein, the founder of the influential Women And Hollywood website, tells Kirsty why she thinks this is just the start of a conversation we need to have about in women in film. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. From Here To Eternity is given the musical treatment by Sir Tim Rice, the lyricist who gave us Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, with Pop Idol contestant Darius Campbell in the role of Sergeant Milt Warden, memorably played by Burt Lancaster in the film adaptation. Critic Jason Solomons delivers his verdict. Earth, Wind And Fire, the American group behind hits September, Let's Groove and Boogie Wonderland in the late '70s, have just released their first studio album in eight years. Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson, the three core members of the group - its founder Maurice White is no longer performing as a result of Parkinson's Disease - discuss the legacy of those early hits and the renewal of interest in their music following the success of Daft Punk. Artist Maggi Hambling and Tim Marlow pay tribute to the sculptor Sir Anthony Caro, whose death at the age of 89 was announced today. The V And A's new exhibition of Chinese painting promises to be "the most ambitious survey of one of the world's greatest artistic traditions". It covers 11 centuries and features an expansive collection ranging from scrolls which measure over 14 metres long, to intimate and poetic fan paintings. To find out whether the exhibition lives up to expectations, Chinese born artist Aowen Jin went to take a look. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark LawsonBreathless is a new prime-time period drama from ITV set in a London hospital during the early sixties. The programme follows the lives of a group of doctors and nurses and, like Mad Men and The Hour, combines period glamour with historical social commentary. Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reviews.Le Week-End stars Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan as a middle aged couple who embark on a trip to Paris to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, with less than romantic results. The comedy is the latest collaboration from writer Hanif Kureishi and director Roger Michell. Jenny McCartney reviews.The conductor John Eliot Gardiner discusses the life and music of JS Bach, who he regards as the greatest composer. Gardiner's book, which he has spent the last decade writing, presents an "unsanitised" version of Bach, revealing his brutalising schooling, his brushes with the law, and the difficult conditions in which he wrote such masterpieces as The St Matthew Passion and the B Minor Mass.Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. Mark Rylance is currently taking a break from acting, and is concentrating on directing a new production of Much Ado About Nothing, which stars Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones. He discusses his approach to the play, and reflects on the success of his role in Jez Butterworth's play Jerusalem, for which he won numerous awards as hard-living Johnny 'Rooster' Byron. Prisons and the lives of prisoners have provided an enduring fascination for film and TV producers and viewers alike, with series such as Porridge and Prisoner Cell Block H, and more recently Bad Girls and Prisoners' Wives. This summer has seen two new prison dramas - Wentworth Prison, Channel 5's re-imagining of Prisoner Cell Block H, and Orange Is the New Black, the Netflix series which has proved a great success for the streaming network. To examine why prisons offer such a draw, Front Row brought together Dick Clement, co-creator and writer of Porridge, Pete McTighe, scriptwriter for Wentworth Prison, and Maureen Chadwick co-creator and writer of the ITV series Bad Girls. As actor Dominic West makes a speaking appearance on Rizzle Kicks' new album, David Quantick considers the other thespians who have lent their voices to pop records, from Brian Blessed to Vincent Price and Stephen Fry. Producer Stephen Hughes.

Mark Lawson reflects on the life and work of the Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, whose death was announced today. Writers including Edna O'Brien, Colm Toibin, Michael Longley and Hermione Lee consider Seamus Heaney's long writing career, and there's another chance to hear part of a special Front Row interview, recorded before an audience on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Ruth Rendell won the Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award last month. She speaks to Mark about writing sixty novels in fifty years, how she's managing Inspector Wexford's retirement, her friendship with PD James and her second career as a Life Peer in the House of Lords. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg star as two undercover agents attempting to infiltrate a drugs cartel by posing as criminals - but neither are aware of the others true identity. Directed by Icelandic film and theatre director Baltasar Kormákur, the film is based on a graphic novel series. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews. The recession has so far been fertile ground for TV producers and this week sees the beginning of two new series looking at work, and lack of it, in Britain. The writer Tony Parsons and historian Kathryn Hughes review Benefits Britain 1949 on Channel 4 and Paul O'Grady's Working Britain on BBC One. Theatre director Michael Grandage offers his choice for the Cultural Exchange. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. The writer Louis de Bernières, best known for his novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin, discusses his first volume of poetry, Imagining Alexandria. De Bernieres has been writing poems since he was 12, but didn't want to publish until he felt he had 'hit his peak'. He discusses how he was inspired by his love of the Greek poet Cavafy to write about the ancient world, love affairs and the fleeting nature of youth. We assess the form of the bookies' favourites for the next Doctor Who, including Peter Capaldi, better known as foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker in The Thick Of It. Singer-songwriter Cerys Matthews reveals her choice for Cultural Exchange. As John Burningham's first book Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers reaches its 50th anniversary, Kirsty visits the illustrator and author in his home and talks about the books, his unconventional education, and his addiction to online auctions. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Christopher Guest, the writer best known for This Is Spinal Tap, makes his BBC debut with Family Tree, a TV comedy series about an ancestral quest starring Chris O'Dowd from Bridesmaids and The IT Crowd. Antonia Quirke discusses whether Guest has turned the laughs all the way up to 11. Josephine and I, written by and starring Cush Jumbo, is a one-woman show about the life of dancer, singer and actress Josephine Baker. Jumbo reflects on why she wanted to bring Baker's story to the stage. Easy Money is the latest slab of Nordic Noir to hit the big screen. It's an adaptation of Jens Lapidus' debut novel about a student who gets caught up in a drug heist. Jeff Park decides whether this noir should have seen the light of day. Artist Conrad Shawcross offers his choice for Cultural Exchange, in which leading creative minds nominate a favourite work. His selection is Monet's painting Water-Lilies, currently on show at Tate Modern. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson The business side of aviation and the logistics of the industry are the focus of a series of TV documentaries this week. The bosses of easyJet and Ryanair reveal their business models tonight in Flights and Fights: Inside the Low-Cost Airlines, and Airport Live concludes with its final report from Heathrow. Henry Sutton, whose novels include Flying, reviews both. Northern Irish novelist Glenn Patterson selects his Cultural Exchange, the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy starring James Cagney, about the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan. Tomorrow the Royal & Derngate theatre in Northampton will open an art house cinema named after Hollywood screen icon Errol Flynn. Flynn, who was born in Australia, became famous in the 1930s for playing swashbuckler roles in films including The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk. But the actor spent his early acting career with the Northampton Repertory Company. Mark visits the Errol Flynn Filmhouse to talk to Royal & Derngate Chief Executive Martin Sutherland and Errol Flynn biographer Gerry Connelly to find out more about the actor's connection to the town. David Edgar's new play If Only imagines what will happen to the coalition in 2014. He tells Mark what will happen to his play if life mirrors art. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson Comedian Julian Clary reviews Steven Soderbergh's film Behind the Candelabra, starring Michael Douglas as Liberace, with Matt Damon as his lover Scott Thorson. American composer Philip Glass discusses his latest opera, The Perfect American, which imagines the last few months of Walt Disney's life. It's based on the novel by Peter Stephan Jungk and directed by Phelim McDermott, and is Philip Glass's 24th opera. Novelist P D James reveals her choice for the Cultural Exchange, in which leading creative minds share their passion for a favourite work. She nominates a poem by Philip Larkin. Channel 4's first subtitled drama for two decades, French zombie drama The Returned, is reviewed by novelist Denise Mina. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Khaled Hosseini's debut novel The Kite Runner was an international best-seller. As he publishes a new novel, And the Mountains Echoed, Hosseini reflects on being a writer in exile, his creative process, and censorship in his native Afghanistan. Saints Alive is the new project from the artist Michael Landy, who once destroyed all his possessions for a work called Break Down. Images of saints from the National Gallery's collection have been cast in three dimensions and assembled using materials he sourced from car boot sales and flea markets. He shows Mark around the exhibition. Novelist A S Byatt reveals her choice for Front Row's Cultural Exchange, in which leading creative minds nominate a favourite artwork. DJ and film critic Andrew Collins presents his top 10 of disc jockeys in film, as The King Of Marvin Gardens is re-released, starring Jack Nicholson as a late-night talk show host. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. A diamond ring given by King Charles I to his young wife is one of the highlights of a new exhibition opening this week at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace. In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion aims to show how much clothes, jewellery and armour told us about their wearers and their status. A N Wilson gives his verdict. In the latest episode of Cultural Exchange, in which creative minds select a favourite art-work, Germaine Greer nominates the The Getting of Wisdom, a novel by the Australian writer Henry Handel Richardson, published in 1910. Benedict Cumberbatch and Simon Pegg star in J J Abrams' return to the Star Trek film franchise. Captain Kirk and crew embark on a mission to Earth, now a war zone, to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction in Star Trek Into Darkness. Naomi Alderman reviews. The Vulcan bomber takes centre stage in James Hamilton-Paterson's new novel Under the Radar, about the lives of British aircrew at the height of the Cold War. The writer discusses the book which is set in 1961, as the aircrew brace themselves for an imminent Soviet nuclear attack. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. The art of storytelling, from earliest writings to today's TV soaps, is the subject of a new book Into the Woods: A Five Act Journey Into Story by John Yorke. Yorke has been Head of Channel 4 Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production, overseeing programmes including Skins, Shameless, EastEnders, Spooks, Casualty and Omagh, as well as The Archers on Radio 4. He discusses what lies behind our fascination and hunger for stories, and what makes a story work. As the latest theatre award shortlists make the news, actor Michael Simkins reveals what it's like for performers who are not nominated for awards when their co-stars are. Novelist Glenn Patterson discusses Good Vibrations, his bio-pic of Ulster's punk pioneer Terri Hooley, the record shop owner who discovered The Undertones. Two new TV programmes - The Great British Sewing Bee and The Intern - take familiar formats and apply a twist. Viv Groskop gives her verdict. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson Stephenie Meyer is the author of the phenomenally successful Twilight series. The latest of her young adult books to be adapted for the screen is The Host. She reflects on how the success of the films affected her writing and why despite inspiring the 50 Shades series, she has never read it. Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey star as rival Vegas magicians in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Critic Mark Eccleston assesses the film's power to amaze. Simon Starling became one of the Turner Prize's most controversial winners when he took the 2005 title for his travelling hut, ShedboatShed. He discusses his creation for this year's Tate Britain Commission. Phantom Ride is inspired by early cinema, Blitz damage in London and ghost stories. Almost half of the musicians playing in the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra during World War II were also members of the Nazi party, according to new research. And 13 members of the orchestra at that time were driven out for being Jewish, or married to Jews. How far should this new information shape our understanding of the orchestra and its history? The cultural commentator Norman Lebrecht considers the issue with Mark. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With John Wilson. Claire Foy stars with James McAvoy in a new production of Macbeth, set in a post-apocalyptic Scotland riven with war and climate disaster. She reflects on the challenges of bringing something new to the role of Lady Macbeth. Artist Dinos Chapman discusses his latest project - an album of electronic dance music named after a Norwegian chocolate bar, Luftbobler. Dinos explains why Kylie Minogue has made a guest appearance without her knowledge and why he may form a musical duo with his brother Jake. The Bay is an eco-horror film, loosely based on actual events, about mutant parasites that attack fish and humans alike in the waters off a holiday resort. Critic Ryan Gilbey delivers his verdict Comedian Beppe Grillo and his Five Star Movement have made an unexpected impact on the Italian elections. Correspondent Annalisa Piras discusses Grillo's brand of comedy. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. It's been eight years since Lesley Garrett stepped on to the opera stage. Television, West End musicals and Strictly Come Dancing have been occupying her instead. Now she's back with Opera North, the company she began her career with, in a new production of Poulenc's one woman opera La Voix Humaine. She reflects on playing a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and sets a challenge for contemporary opera composers. Feast is a new play created by writers from Cuba, Brazil, America, Britain and Nigeria, and directed by Rufus Norris. It explores the Yoruba culture and what happened to it after slavery created a far flung diaspora. British writer Gbolahan Obisesan and director Rufus Norris discuss the genesis of the project. A new DVD From the Sea to the Land Beyond is a lyrical portrait of Britain's coastline from 1901 to the present day. The film travels through both World Wars, into peacetime and the modern age, and is all drawn from the BFI National Archive. The coast is explored as a place of leisure, industry and wild nature, and the film has been directed by Penny Woolcock, with a specially composed soundtrack by Brighton band British Sea Power. Penny Woolcock and British Sea Power's Martin Noble talk about their collaboration. An American adaptation of Michael Dobbs' political thriller House Of Cards is a genuine first, being a major TV series that is not being shown on television. Instead this big budget drama, starring Kevin Spacey, will be available only via Netflix, the download website. Mark Damazer delivers his verdict on whether this particular house of cards will stand or fall. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Columnist Bel Mooney reviews The Sessions, a film based on the true story of poet and journalist Mark O'Brien. O'Brien was paralysed by polio as a boy and at the age of 38 set out to finally lose his virginity with the help of a sex-worker. The Sessions is directed by Ben Lewin who himself is a survivor of childhood polio. The Kennedy dynasty is the focus of a new documentary Ethel, in which Ethel Skakel gives a candid interview about life with her late husband Robert Kennedy. The couple married in 1950, and the film charts their married life together and beyond, including the McCarthy hearings, Vietnam, John F Kennedy's election as president and his assassination, and Bobby own's assassination in 1963. Mark Damazer reviews the HBO documentary. Francesca Segal, who won the Costa First Novel Award for The Innocents, inspired by Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, discusses her novel which tells the story of the relationship between Adam and Rachel who live in the Jewish community of north-west London. No Quarter is the latest offering from 26-year-old playwright Polly Stenham. The play is the conclusion to a trilogy which began with That Face, her multi-award-winning debut written when she was just 19. The playwright reflects on how, like the other two plays in the trilogy, No Quarter examines the damaging impact of dysfunctional parent-child relationships. Producer Stephen Hughes.

Haim - the Los Angeles guitar trio of sisters - were announced this morning as the winners of the BBC Sound of 2013. Over 200 influential music experts, DJs, bloggers and music critics created a shortlist of 15 artists as their favourite new acts for the year ahead, and chose Haim as the winners, following in the footsteps of Adele, Ellie Goulding and Michael Kiwanuka. On the line from Los Angeles Haim give their response to the news. Mr Selfridge is ITV's new Sunday night drama - telling the story of the man behind the Oxford Street store and how it began in 1909. It stars the American actor Jeremy Piven in the title role and is written by Andrew Davies. The BBC's Economics Editor, Stephanie Flanders, reviews it. The Imposter was one of the best reviewed films of last year and the most popular documentary in British cinemas. The remarkable story of a Frenchman who assumes the identity of a missing American teenager is released on DVD next week and is reviewed by Sandra Hebron. Ten years after the National Theatre introduced their Travelex sponsored £10 ticket scheme, theatres are experimenting with ticketing initiatives to attract new audiences and ensure the maximum return in austere times. Dominic Hill from the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Trina Jones from the Rep Theatre in Birmingham and Josie Rourke from The Donmar Warehouse in London discuss the importance of getting the ticket price right. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Director Paul Thomas Anderson reflects on his film The Master, which has already won numerous awards and is heavily tipped for Oscar success. In the week that Green Day release the third in a trilogy of albums and Peter Jackson announced that The Hobbit will be divided into three parts, Mark asks whether three is the magic number for films, novels and albums, with Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Toby Litt and David Hepworth. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars in the film Smashed, a comedy drama which examines the strains experienced by an alcohol-dependent married couple, when the wife decides to get sober. Critic Mark Eccleston gives his verdict. Playwright Jim Cartwright, best known for Road and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, has just written his first play in 12 years. A Christmas Fair is a commission by The Milton Rooms in Ryedale, Yorkshire, and is a community project staffed by volunteers. Jim Cartwright discusses the play and what it was about the Yorkshire venue that appealed so much to him. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Bryan Ferry discusses The Jazz Age, a new album of instrumental versions of his greatest hits including Love Is The Drug, Virginia Plain and Avalon. Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong are the writing duo behind Channel 4 comedies Peep Show and Fresh Meat. In the week that Peep Show began its eighth series and the current series of Fresh Meat ends, they reflect on their unusual collaborative methods and the perils of getting to know the actors too well. Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Robbie Coltrane star a new film adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, directed by Mike Newell. Rachel Cooke reviews. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Quentin Blake is known for his illustrations of books by Roald Dahl and Michael Rosen, as well as his work as a writer and an exhibiting artist. In his 80th year and as he publishes a new book of drawings, he reflects on how the breadth of his work, from children's books to hospital wards, makes him one of Britain's most recognized artists. Dramatist Anya Reiss, who was a teenager when her first play ran in 2010 at the Royal Court in London, has now adapted Chekhov's The Seagull. She and actor Matthew Kelly, who stars in the production, discuss the new version, and reveal why one of the play's most famous lines has disappeared. A new TV series examines how Adolf Hitler managed to persuade millions of people to support his vision for Europe that led to the deaths of 60 million people. Historian and documentary maker Laurence Rees is the writer and producer of The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler, and he explains his theories. Producer Stephen Hughes.

Mark Lawson interviews the American writer Tom Wolfe, as he publishes a new novel, Back to Blood, which is set amidst the wealth, sex and crime of contemporary Miami. It's now 25 years since Wolfe published his first novel, the controversial best-seller Bonfire Of The Vanities, and his new book is also a dissection of racial tension in urban America. The writer reflects on what, if anything, has changed in the intervening years. In a wide-ranging conversation, Wolfe also discusses political correctness, online pornography, his chances of winning a Nobel Prize and why he believes the French ruined American literature. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. Ginger & Rosa is a coming-of-age drama set during the Cuban missile crisis about two teenage girls who find that the bomb has brought them together. A heady mix of jazz, love, politics and shrink-to-fit jeans, it's a partly autobiographical tale from director Sally Potter, best known for Orlando. Writer and Spare Rib founder Rosie Boycott delivers her verdict. Ralph Steadman is famous for his illustrations accompanying the work of Hunter S Thompson and his political and social caricatures. His latest project is the book Extinct Boids, a collaboration with film-maker Ceri Levy which aims to draw attention to the risk of extinction faced by many bird species. They explain how what started off as a one off commission became 130 drawings. Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe has spent the last 30 years creating light shows in the worlds of music, fashion, art, architecture and film. He has done the lighting design for large-scale concerts by the likes of Lady Gaga, Elton John and Michael Jackson, and is currently working on the new show for The Rolling Stones, announced this week. Patrick Woodroffe discusses the challenge of the collaborative process, whether it's the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert or the current arena show of Jesus Christ Superstar. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. As Graham Norton prepares for the return of his TV show, he discusses whether the chat show has become sanitized, and also considers if it's right to address rumours which sometimes surround high-profile guests. Beasts Of The Southern Wild is an incantatory, award-winning evocation of a small community precariously positioned near the waterline in a Louisiana bayou. Seen through the eyes of a six year old waif, Benh Zeitlin's magical realist drama follows events as the storms arrive and wash away the ramshackle homes in a tide of mud. Diane Roberts delivers her verdict. Joy Division were one of the most influential bands of the modern era, inspiring books and a feature film, Control. Their bassist Peter Hook has now written his version of the band's story, and he reflects on their troubled career, including the illness and eventual suicide of singer Ian Curtis. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Homeland, the acclaimed US TV series starring Damian Lewis and Claire Danes, returns to our screens for a second series this weekend. Sarah Crompton reviews the drama which focuses on a CIA officer (Danes) who believes that US Marine and now Congressman Nicholas Brody (Lewis) was turned by Al-Qaeda when held captive in Iraq for eight years. Bernhard Schlink is the author of the controversial novel The Reader, which relates the story of a young German's love affair with an older woman, who turns out to have had a Nazi past. Schlink explains why he never expected the controversy, and reveals why the theme of deception dominates his latest collection of stories, Summer Lies. Alex Katz, now aged 85, is considered one of the most important living American artists. With exhibitions opening in Margate and London, he reflects on a career that spans six decades and why he never thought of himself as a Pop artist. When playwright Caryl Churchill attended rehearsals of her new play Love and Information at the Royal Court Theatre, she brought along another new play, Ding Dong the Wicked, which now opens this week. It's a short play about a family whose son is about to go to war. Writer Bidisha reviews. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. Untouchable, a French comedy film about a wealthy disabled man and his young impoverished carer, has proved an unlikely hit across Europe, even taking more than Avatar in some countries. Critic Agnes Poirier explains its unexpected popularity and delivers her verdict. Shout To The Top is a new music drama coming to BBC Radio 2, about a young girl band starting out in the 1980s. Writers Roy Boulter, drummer of The Farm, and Louise Wener, former singer with the Britpop band Sleeper, discuss how they set about creating radio drama and how far they drew on their own experiences of the music industry. The Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski was one of the most influential eyewitness reporters of the 20th century. Artur Domoslawski has written a new biography which examines the complex relationship between fact and fiction in Kapuscinski's work. He describes his feelings when he realised that he was going to have to be critical of his friend, whom he greatly admired. As Radio 4 broadcasts the 10 short stories competing for the £15,000 BBC International Short Story Award, Front Row talks to each of the writers. Today, Miroslav Penkov discusses East Of The West, which will be broadcast on Monday at 3.30pm. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Gareth Malone first found fame in the TV series The Choir, where he encouraged reluctant teenagers to sing. Most recently he led the Military Wives choir, who scored a Christmas number one last year. With a new TV series Sing While You Work about to be broadcast, Gareth Malone reflects on the insights he gained from writing a book about his experiences, and why he will never make a programme in a prison, despite being asked many times. Brad Pitt's latest film, Killing Them Softly, is a gangster movie about the credit crunch and America's economic woes. Adrian Wootton delivers his verdict. Comedian Greg Davies reveals why his parents want him to keep making jokes at their expense. As Radio 4 broadcasts the 10 short stories competing for the £15,000 BBC International Short Story Award, Front Row talks to each of the writers. Tonight South African writer Henrietta Rose-Innes discusses the inspiration for her story Sanctuary, to be broadcast tomorrow afternoon. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. The Booker Prize-winning writer Howard Jacobson has just published Zoo Time, the tale of an author who fears the novel is dying. He explains where his fictional hero ends and he begins. Fresh from the success of his portrayal of Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the US TV series Homeland, British actor Damian Lewis's latest role is in Nick Love's new film version of The Sweeney, based on the TV series. Lewis plays Frank Haskins, the office boss of the notoriously violent and rule-breaking unit who 'act like criminals to catch criminals'. Damian Lewis discusses The Sweeney and his 'uniform' roles - Homeland and Band of Brothers. Scripted by rock star Nick Cave, Lawless is a new film set in Prohibition-era America and tells the story of a band of brothers who produce moonshine under their floorboards and go toe-to-toe with a new law enforcer in an increasingly violent turf war. Sarah Churchwell gives her verdict. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With John Wilson. Organist Booker T Jones, leader of Booker T and the M Gs, remembers the day he created the classic tune Green Onions, and discusses the mystery surrounding the death of his drummer. Junot Diaz won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with his first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. His new book, This is How You Lose Her, is a collection of short stories around the theme of infidelity. He explains why despite many similarities between his own life and that of his characters, his books may not be as autobiographical as they seem. AA Milne, JM Barrie and Arthur Conan Doyle were among the writers who played in the Authors cricket team, a group of enthusiasts who last took to the crease in 1912. 100 years on, the team is being revived and includes Tom Holland, Nicholas Hogg and Dan Stevens. John reports on their match against actors' team The Gaieties. Charlie Brooker's new spoof TV crime drama stars John Hannah as DCI Jack Cloth: A Touch of Cloth parodies the last decade of British police procedurals, good and bad. Denise Mina reviews. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. Violinist Nicola Benedetti discusses the importance of music education and why being a classical musican is not unlike being an Olympic athlete. As the musician Beck announces that his new album will be released as sheet music only, Paul Gambaccini tells Kirsty how this is an echo of an earlier age in the music industry, when a song's popularity was judged by its sheet music sales Rob Brydon and Eddie Marsan star in The Best of Men, a TV drama which tells the story of the birth of the Paralympic Games in 1948. Sports writer and former cricketer Ed Smith reviews the programme. Three of the best reviewed movies of the year have now come to DVD - Once Upon A Time In Anatolia, Kid With A Bike and Le Havre. Sandra Hebron delivers her verdict. In celebration of the Olympics, the BBC - in partnership with the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh - has selected and recorded a poem representing every single country competing. Each is read by a native of that country who's made their home here in Britain. Every night for the Olympic fortnight Front Row features one of these poems. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Mark reports on the latest work to be created for the vast Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. This year Tino Sehgal is the artist who has taken on the challenge. Ruby Wax is aiming to tackle the workplace stigma of mental illness in a new Channel 4 documentary, Ruby's Mad Confessions. In it she encourages three high flyers to reveal a mental health condition to their colleagues. She explains the importance of speaking up about mental health at work. Danny DeVito and Zac Efron are among the stars providing the voices in The Lorax, the latest Dr Seuss book to be adapted for the big screen. The plot revolves around a young boy's quest to find the last real tree, after the environment has been destroyed to satisfy consumer demand. Children's writer Meg Rosoff reviews. With a wealth of Olympic-themed television in the offing, sports writer Alyson Rudd reviews three of the week's highlights - a special edition of Absolutely Fabulous; Bert and Dickie, starring Matt Smith in a tale of two British rowers in the 1948 Games; and Mike Leigh's short film A Running Jump. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson, including an interview with the The Angel Of The North sculptor Antony Gormley as a new exhibition, Still Standing, opens in London and a project about Beckett called Godot Tree is unveiled in Enniskillen. In an exclusive interview the creator of chat show host Angelos Epithemiou, Dan Renton Skinner, reveals for the first time the inspiration behind his comedy character. Jason Manford is currently starring as an Italian barber in Sweeney Todd yet despite having presented The One Show briefly, the programme does not appear in his credits. Actor Michael Simkins reflects on the art of crafting an actor's CV. Art crime investigator Dick Ellis reveals what measures can be taken against the theft of sculptures in the wake of the disappearance of a Henry Moore sundial from the grounds of a Hertfordshire museum Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Front Row is reporting this week from the four remaining contenders for the Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries. Our first visit is to the Hepworth, Wakefield, which recently celebrated its first birthday. Actor Alan Howard is known for his high profile RSC roles including Henry V and Hamlet. His latest project is the stage premiere of a series of monologues by Samuel Beckett. He and director Jonathan Holmes reflect on the challenges of bringing these texts to the stage. In the early 1770s Denmark was rocked by a scandalous love affair between Caroline Mathilda, the English-born Danish queen, and Johan Struensee, doctor to her husband King Christian VII. Now the story has been made into a film, starring Mads Mikkelsen as the doctor. Biographer Kathryn Hughes reviews. BAFTA winning writer-director Dominic Savage returns to TV with a new series exploring five overlapping love stories, all set in Margate - where he grew up. The tales have been created by Savage, but the dialogue is largely improvised by the cast, who include David Tennant, David Morrissey, Billie Piper, Ashley Walters and Jane Horrocks. Rachel Cooke gives her verdict. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With John Wilson. Kevin Rowland discusses the changing face of Dexys Midnight Runners, who topped the charts three decades ago with Come On Eileen, and now release their first album in 27 years. Painter Brice Marden reflects on the golden age of American art and his early years as Robert Rauschenberg's assistant and as a guard on a Jasper Johns retrospective. British ballgowns from the past 60 years are the focus of a major new exhibition, which features dresses from the days of the debutante, as well as contemporary pieces from Alexander McQueen and Giles Deacon. Fashion writer and historian Bronwyn Cosgrave reviews. The Archbishop Of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, chooses his favourite piece of Shakespeare, as part of the BBC's Shakespeare Unlocked season. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Kirsty Lang. The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs is a one-man theatre piece by Mike Daisey, describing the appeal of Apple products and a visit Mike made to a factory where they're made in China. Created in 2010, the piece hit controversy this March, when the US Public Radio show This American Life revealed that some elements of the show were not true. Mike Daisey has come to the UK to perform the piece, and he discusses his response to the controversy. Shirley Hughes is a much-loved picture-book maker for younger children and has illustrated more than 200 books. She's now written her first novel, aimed at older children and teenagers, set in occupied Italy during the 1939-45 war. She discusses her choice of subject and the experience of writing for an older readership. Sandra Hebron reviews Goodbye First Love, an acclaimed film about first love set against the backdrop of modern Paris. International hit US TV dramas In Treatment and Homeland are versions of shows first created in Israel. Naomi Alderman considers why Israeli programmes are proving so popular. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With John Wilson. Professor Robert Winston surveys a major exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci's anatomical drawings, on show at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace. Acclaimed violinist Maxim Vengerov reveals why he unexpectedly stopped performing as a soloist, and why he's now returning to the concert platform. Poet Lemn Sissay discusses how his poem for the Olympic Park, inspired by a local match factory, has gained a new meaning following the news about the possible placement of surface-to-air missiles in the area. Andrew Collins decides whether American Reunion, the latest film in the American Pie series, is fully or half-baked. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With John Wilson. Marley is a feature length documentary about the life and legacy of the reggae superstar Bob Marley. David Hepworth, who saw Bob Marley live in London in 1975, reflects on the unexpected history the film unearths. Irvine Welsh discusses his prequel to Trainspotting, Skagboys. Mark Renton is set for university and an escape from working-class Edinburgh - but when his family falls apart and life in 1980s Britain gets too tough, heroin offers a different way out. Novelist Joanna Trollope is chair of the judges for this year's Orange Prize for fiction, and she reveals the decisions behind this year's shortlist, which was announced today. Simon Armitage discusses the Poetry Parnassus, an ambitious project to bring together poets from all the nations competing in the Olympics - and appeals for poets to come forward from the nations as yet unrepresented. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Sir Tim Rice, who last night received the Olivier Special Award for his contribution to theatre, reflects on his career, his relationship with Andrew Lloyd Webber and his new musical adaptation of From Here To Eternity. Pamela Stephenson made her name as a comedy performer on Not the Nine O'Clock News. She moved on to train as a clinical psychologist and has used both experiences in a new Channel 4 documentary called The Fame Report. She explains her hypothesis that becoming famous is a mental trauma, and why her husband Billy Connolly found her stint on Strictly Come Dancing difficult. After the success of the Danish TV drama The Killing, crime writer John Harvey reviews the latest Nordic noir to reach our screens: The Bridge centres on the discovery of a body halfway along the bridge linking Denmark and Sweden. Producer Stephen Hughes.

John Wilson talks to Blur guitarist Graham Coxon about his latest solo album A + E. He reveals his plans for the future of the band and his own career Historian Tom Holland discusses his latest opus, In The Shadow Of The Sword, a history of Islam. Connie Fisher found fame when she won the role of Maria, in a West End production of The Sound of Music, through a BBC talent competition. But after vocal surgery, it's a role she'll never be able to sing again. She's back on stage, with a new voice, in a new production of Leonard Bernstein's musical comedy Wonderful Town. Writer Martin Jameson reviews. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews Mirror, Mirror, the first of two screen adaptations of Snow White due out this year. In this version, Julia Roberts essays the part of the wicked Queen. But will she be the fairest in the land ? Producer Stephen Hughes.

Norwegian author Jo NesbØ's best-selling thriller Headhunters has just been turned into a film - the first of his novels to be adapted for the cinema. It tells the story of Roger Brown, a successful corporate headhunter, who spends his nights as a prolific art thief.Critic Ryan Gilbey reviews. Iain Sinclair considers the murals that Jean Cocteau painted in a London church in 1960 that have now been restored to their former glory. Labrinth is a singer-songwriter and rapper who has produced hit singles for Tinie Tempah and collaborated with artists including Ms Dynamite and Emeli Sande. He's the first non-talent show artist to be signed to Simon Cowell's label for six years and his debut album is out this week. He reflects on how growing up as one of nine siblings influenced his music. The Undateables is a new Channel 4 series exploring the experiences of several extraordinary singletons on the dating circuit. They include a stand-up comedian with Tourette's, a skateboarder with a facial disfigurement, a trapeze artist with brittle bones. The programmes follow each of them as they enter a world of blind dates, matchmakers and speed-dating.Mark Lawson talks about the making of the programmes to series producer Lucy Leveugle, and to Alison Walsh, Channel 4's disability director. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Greg Doran discusses his appointment as the next Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, which was announced today, and reflects on his priorities in his new role. Award-winning documentary maker Molly Dineen reviews Werner Herzog's new television series based on interviews with inmates on Death Row in the United States. The renowned Complicite theatre company's new production is a staging of The Master And Margarita, based on Bulgakov's novel. Sarah Churchwell gives her first-night verdict. Singer and bass player Esperanza Spalding reflects on her unexpected success at last year's Grammy Awards, and discusses her approach to song-writing. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Artistic double-act Gilbert and George discuss their working methods, as they open a new exhibition called The London Pictures, based on words taken from newspaper billboards. Novelist and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce re-assesses the work of writer Alun Owen, best known for A Hard Day's Night, as three of his 1969 TV dramas, with Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Paul Scofield, are released on DVD. "I've had a hard life and I write it down", sings Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith on the title track of her new album, Intersection. It examines a difficult period of her life, fraught with relationship bust-ups and turmoil. As she starts a UK tour, she also reveals why she so enjoys performing in Bristol and Milton Keynes. Novelist and critic Kim Newman reviews John Cusack as the latest incarnation of Edgar Allan Poe in the new film The Raven, and consider Poe's long cinematic history. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With John Wilson, who meets Lloyd Newson, director of DV8 physical theatre, whose new work focuses on questions of freedom of speech in a multicultural society. Michael Winterbottom explains why he transposed Thomas Hardy's Tess Of The D'Urbervilles from 19th century Dorset to 21st century India. Love Life is a new ITV drama written by Bill Gallagher, whose previous credits include Lark Rise to Candleford. The three part series explores the complications inherent in romantic relationships. Writer and critic Natalie Haynes gives her verdict. Jim White lines up his fantasy team of footballers who have transferred their talents to the silver screen. Producer Stephen Hughes.

Novelist and games writer Naomi Alderman asks why video games haven't received the cultural recognition of other art forms. On her quest, she meets some of the most important and powerful people in today's entertainment industry. They run companies worth millions of pounds and make games played by tens of millions of people around the world, yet they rarely find their way into the spotlight. She also finds out how writers contribute to the shaping of new game narratives, and looks to the future, when games might well react to the personality of the player. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Husband and wife theatre producers Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire, recently named the most influential people in British theatre by The Stage newspaper, discuss how they now run 39 venues around the UK. Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppets make their cinematic comeback this week, 12 years after their last big screen outing. The new film sees the cast re-unite to save their old theatre from the clutches of an evil oil baron. Natalie Haynes gives her verdict. Novelist Ian Rankin dissects Death Unexplained, a new TV documentary series about a coroner's office. To celebrate the centenary of the neglected composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Surrey Opera is staging a world premiere of his recently discovered opera Thelma. Mark finds out why Coleridge-Taylor is now so often overlooked, with composer Errolyn Wallen and music historian Roderick Swanston. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Suzanne Moore reviews the Oscar-tipped George Clooney in The Descendants, directed by Alexander Payne, who made the Academy Award winning comedy Sideways. In a candid interview, author Edmund White discusses his life and work as his new novel is published. This week sees the start of three new series following members of the medical profession. Mark meets Dr Ben Allin from BBC Three's Junior Doctors and Mr Mark George, veteran of the original 1980s Horizon series Doctors to Be, to find out how the filming process has changed. As Jean Vigo's barge-set classic film L'Atalante is re-released, critic and houseboat dweller Antonia Quirke reveals why it still makes waves almost 80 years after it was made. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Artists Jonathan Yeo and John Keane have both painted the portrait of Tony Blair - the former in an official commission in 2008, and the latter in an unofficial series of new paintings which depict Blair at the Chilcot Inquiry. The artists discuss what they found looking into the face of the former Prime Minister. Sculptor Antony Gormley has teamed up with choreographer Hofesh Shechter for Survivor, a new musical work which features 150 amateur drummers, audience participation and live video projection. They explain how they divided up the creative work and how Shechter's artistic anger informed the piece. As a cinema joins forces with chef Leigh Rowley to offer film-goers a meal while watching their movie, popcorn historian Andrew F Smith discusses the long history of eating while gazing at the big screen. The chain of bookshops originally founded by Tim Waterstone has decided to drop the apostrophe in its name. Linguistics expert David Crystal considers this decision, and assesses whether it spells the beginning of the end for the apostrophe. Producer Stephen Hughes.

Laurie Taylor discusses the mummy's curse and other Oriental myths with Marina Warner and Roger Luckhurst. The Ancient Egyptians had no real concept of the curse; instead, Luckhurst argues, it was a product of the Victorian imagination, a result of British ambivalence about Egypt's increasing self-determination. The curse was part of a wider Western tradition of portraying the East as exotic and irrational, dominated by superstitions. That attitude is revealed in the British reaction to English language translations of The Arabian Nights, which played into Oriental stereotypes of barbarity, cruelty and unbridled sexuality. Marina Warner discusses the reasons why the stories of Aladdin et al are as popular as ever in modern, multi-cultural Britain. Author Audrey Linkman discusses the relationship between photography and death in her study of post-mortem portraits from the late 19th century to the modern day, and how they reflect contemporary attitudes towards mortality. Producer: Stephen Hughes.