Ahead of the Victoria and Albert museum’s new exhibition 'British Design 1948-2012', Jan Dalley asks: can great design build a better society? Can Britain be called a leader in the field when its manufacturing industry is all but dead? And are we doing enough to foster a new generation of artists and designers? She is joined by the furniture designer Matthew Hilton, co-curator of the V&A show Christopher Breward, and FT arts writer Peter Aspden. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Somehow, Shakespeare always seems to have something to say to us.” This year, the bard is saying it in 37 languages. Globe to Globe, a six-week festival starting on April 21 at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, presents all 37 of Shakespeare's plays, each by a different international theatre company. But what is lost in translation? Can other countries really do Shakespeare better than Britain? And how do the plays relate to the world today? Jan Dalley is joined by Dominic Dromgoole, artistic director of the Globe; Professor Robert Grant, formerly of Glasgow University; and Peter Aspden, the FT’s arts writer. Roger Granville, producer of the Dari Persian "The Comedy of Errors" from Kabul, joins down the line. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From Dickens’ London to Wordsworth’s Lakes via the painter George Shaw’s suburban “edgelands”, the British landscape has long permeated writing and visual art. On the opening of the British Library’s exhibition Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands, Jan Dalley talks to the poet Owen Sheers; the exhibition’s curator Jamie Andrews; and FT art critic Jackie Wullschlager. The travel writer Robert Macfarlane is on the line. Plus, Faber's 1998 recording of Harold Pinter reading his poem “Joseph Brearley 1909-1977” © Faber & Faber Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the 10th edition of the London Design Festival launches, designer Tom Dixon, London Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic and designer and online thinktank founder Rabih Hage discuss its impact with FT architecture critic Edwin Heathcote  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the 10th edition of the London Design Festival launches, designer Tom Dixon, London Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic and designer and online thinktank founder Rabih Hage discuss its impact with FT Architecture critic Edwin Heathcote  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The FT's arts writer reports on Mat Collishaw's transition from conceptual shock artist to ‘proper’ draughtsman - and why, unlike revolution or virgin birth, an economic recession makes a poor subject for art  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Like it or not, the vibrancy of London’s art scene is due in part to the efforts of marketeers, public relations teams and great coffee shops, says the FT’s arts writer,  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We love French culture, yet according to a recent study there’s something in it that makes the French miserable. But every nation’s artistic mindset has its drawbacks, argues the FT’s arts writer  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As performance artist Marina Abramovic showed, the paradox of our digital age is our hunger for personal presence, says the FT's arts editor  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As a new documentary profiles the soft rock megastars, the FT’s arts writer reflects on their dramatic fall from grace – and their enduring appeal  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Visa problems and nervousness on the part of potential sponsors have made life hard for London’s festival of contemporary Arab culture. But as the Arab Spring gives way to harsher realities, such forums are needed more than ever, says the FT’s arts writer  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A forthcoming season on Channel 4 aims to demystify our sexual behaviour – to be ‘open’ and ‘honest’ about a 'normal part of all our lives'. Good luck with that, says the FT’s arts writer  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Futurists’ fervent belief in progress heralded disaster; now we worry about what the future will bring. But the FT’s arts writer finds grounds for optimism – and an unexpectedly hippy vibe – at a London ideas festival  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Efforts to restore historic buildings to their original splendour tell us as much about today’s tastes as they do about yesterday’s  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matthew McConaughey’s career revival provides a neat case study of how an actor can wrest back control of his image. It also tells a broader story about our weakness for a certain kind of Acting.  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A militarist matchbox, a spoof banknote, a Lennon album. . . the FT’s arts writer presents a very personal history of the past half-century in 10 objects  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Driven by ubiquitous video technology, a new wave of films – such as the award-winning ‘Gaza: Chronicles of a Conflict’ – favours rawness and immediacy over explanation and context  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the 1980s and 1990s cinema audiences were in thrall to powerful women in erotic thrillers such as Body Heat and Basic Instinct. But whatever became of the genre and is it ripe for a comeback?  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A brush with institutional hauteur in Nice makes the FT’s arts writer long for the determinedly inclusive museums and galleries of the UK  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A developing theme in new music sees artists navigating the fine line between criticism and complicity - and revelling in the contradictions.  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As Arts Council England announces its latest round of funding, FT arts editor Jan Dalley reflects on what the language of “investment” means for the art of our time.  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The editor of arthistorynews.com welcomes the decision of the National Gallery in London to let visitors photograph works – and hits back at critics who say it will make people look at art in the ‘wrong’ way  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The FT’s arts writer enjoys the troupe’s dance extravaganza at the Barbican – and explains why the fusion of hip-hop and martial arts might just conquer the world  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How a legal dispute over the use of a John Lennon song in a sneaker advert paved the way for today’s cultural mash-ups – and put paid to the notion of artists “selling out”  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In lending one of its Parthenon sculptures to Russia, the British Museum has provoked Greece and exposed the hollowness of so-called ‘cultural diplomacy’  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Between 1962 and 1972, the magazine set new standards for its industry – and in doing so created the perfect collectible, says Peter Aspden  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Peter Aspden visits the basement treasure-house where recordings of Florence Nightingale, 1940s electronica and other rarities are stored alongside some equally exotic audio technology  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As two recent biopics come under fire from those depicted, the FT’s arts editor ponders what compels movie-makers to embellish ‘true stories’  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From Billy Paul’s adulterous original in 1972 to Amy Winehouse's gender-bending twist on the song 30 years later, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney gets to grips with 'Me and Mrs Jones'. Credits:Philadelphia International, 143, Island  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

David Honigmann on the Louis Armstrong blues song that inspired a poem by WH Auden and recordings by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and others.  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jan Dalley tells the story of the aria that united opera and football fans alike in a strange example of the power of posh music. Credits: ZYX Music, Naxos, Monument, Arista.  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mike Hobart explores the history of Chic’s "Good Times", a last-gasp salute to disco inspired by the Great Depression and Harlem Renaissance. Credit: Atlantic Records, Sanctuary, Castle  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This song has its roots in an ancient refugee crisis and the more recent struggle for racial equality. Over the years, it's been adopted by Fats Waller, The Four Lads and the rapper M.I.A. Written by Helen Brown and read by Anna Metcalfe. Credit: Hit Wonder, Document Records, Diamond Coast, Sinetone AMR and XL Recordings.  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ben Lerner is one of the most highly praised and unconventional writers of his generation. The 37-year-old recently met John Sunyer, a commissioning editor on FT Weekend, to talk about why he's 'doomed to write more novels'. Here, he reads one of his favourite poems.  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Billy Holiday's secular hymn was born out of a blazing family row and its swaying melody went on to become a jazz standard, with versions by Tony Bennett and Sonny Rollins. Mike Hobart follows its history. Credits: Jazz Moon, Saga, Columbia/Legacy, Island, Geffen Gold Mine  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

“Yesterday” came to Paul McCartney in a dream one night in 1963. It’s now among the most covered songs in history, with efforts from the likes of Elvis, Marianne Faithful and Marvin Gaye. Credits: EMI, TNA Records, RCA Legacy, Universal Music  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This 1853 Christmas Carol, set to the melody of a 13th-century Nordic Hymn, has since fallen into the hands of Joan Baez, Tom Jones and Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple.  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Amy Walker on how a saccharine love song was transformed by Otis Redding into a provocative and impassioned soul classic. Credits: Baierle Records, Cool Note, 104pro Media, Daxa production, Digital Remasterings, ABKCO Music & Records Inc., Rhino Atlantic, Universal Island Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC/Shawn Carter  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ian McCann takes a look at one of the greatest and most culturally influential rap songs by genre pioneers Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. A hit urban anthem, it almost wasn't recorded... Credits: Castle Communications, Warner Bros, Wagram Music, The Island Def Jam Music Group, Atlantic Records  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Twenty years after they headlined Glastonbury, Radiohead return to the British music festival. FT pop writers Ludovic Hunter-Tilney and David Cheal discuss the band's lullaby of despair 'No Surprises' from their 1997 album OK Computer. Credits: Sire/Warner Bros, mudhutdigital.com, XL Recordings, Easy Star, SKIP Records  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The singer’s old label boss called the song ‘a morbid mess’, but it shot to number one in the US. Ahead of the 40th anniversary of Elvis’s death in August, FT pop writers Peter Apsden and David Cheal discuss the song's origins, dark appeal and afterlife. Credits: 104pro Media, Legacy Recordings, Entertain Me Ltd, Spectrum, Omnivore Recordings, Vengeance Records  

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What makes a good Christmas song? Should it be cheesy or serious? And why do millennials love them? 

FT pop writers discuss festive classics old and new - from carols to Mariah Carey, Greg Lake to Phil Spector, Sufjan Stevens to Run-DMC. Plus, which 2017's best Christmas song: Gwen Stefani's 'You Make it Feel Like Christmas' or Sia's 'Santa's Coming for Us'?

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From the unstoppable rise of hip-hop to the 'millennial whoop', what does today's new music sound like? And how has social media changed the relationship between artists and fans?

Harriet Fitch Little, India Ross and Griselda Murray Brown discuss Drake, Cardi B and DJ Khaled - in particular 'Wild Thoughts' ft. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller from 2017, which leans heavily on the melody and mood of Santana's 1999 hit 'Maria Maria', the coming-of-age soundtrack for the oldest cohort of millennials. 

Warning: this podcast contains a live 'millennial whoop'.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Social distancing curbs mean August vote cannot be held, says electoral commission

Instructing people to stay at home is to confine millions to cramped housing

G20 agriculture ministers urge governments not to disrupt global supply chains

Retirement property has a reputation for being a rip off, but several large operators claim to have reinvented the model. The FT's Money Mentor columnist Lindsay Cook joins Claer Barrett to discuss the issues. Next up, is your mobile phone a drain on your finances? Guy Anker from MoneySavingExpert tells us how. And finally, listeners hear from the FT's Rich People's Problems experts about the controversy surrounding his local tennis club.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Millions have used a government website to check their state pension, only to find they have missing years of National Insurance contributions. 

Presenter Claer Barrett and guests discuss what can be done, plus experts debate the future for inheritance tax and whether the cap on high cost credit should be extended. 

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Inheritance tax rules are due for a shake up - FT Money editor Claer Barrett asks whether efforts to simplify the system can ever shake off its claim to be "Britain's most hated tax"? Next, experts discuss whether the IR35 tax rules are flawed or not. And finally, Alan Livsey, the FT's wine buff talks about an investment that is literally liquid - fine wine.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If ever there was a word that needed to be retired it's 'retirement'. The kind of images this word conjures up is sunny beaches and no longer having to set an alarm clock, or a stressful feeling about how much longer you will need to work to afford such a lifestyle. This week author Don Ezra talks to FT Money editor Claer Barrett about how best to get to and enjoy what used to be called retirement. Next up, if you're heading off on holiday soon then listen to our top tips on how to get the best deal on your holiday money. 

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.