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.

Europe’s film-makers want protection from the might of Hollywood. That’s understandable, argues the FT’s arts writer, but also wrong-headed: the two traditions are deeply intertwined  

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

As Margate’s Turner Contemporary gallery celebrates curiosity, the FT’s arts writer does his best to concentrate on the mind’s ability to wander  

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

The praise lavished on football’s retiring greats has been wildly overblown, says the FT’s arts writer. Other cultural pursuits are far worthier of grown-ups’ attention  

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

Pre-first world war Vienna has some curious parallels with Spain today  

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

The thought of French purists fretting over ‘les snackbars’ has long-tickled English-speakers  

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

Where there is a public clamour for explanation, writers and artists should be unafraid to step in, says the FT's arts writer  

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

Countries are vying to project their worth through art, sport and broadcasting. But ‘soft power’ is not always easy to control, says the FT’s arts writer  

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

Braving Daleks and Cybermen at the Royal Albert Hall, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the unlikely synergy between classical music and a children’s sci-fi series  

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

The late pop singer, whose work has just gone on show at London’s Royal College of Art, was a far more nuanced figure than his punk image would suggest, argues the FT’s arts writer  

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

Omnicom/Publicis, Penguin/Random House – the cultural landscape is dominated by ever fewer, ever bigger businesses. Yet artists and audiences alike are finding benefits in shunning their embrace  

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

The sheer scale of suffering in the 1914-18 conflict is hard to grasp. As preparations begin for the centenary commemoration, the FT’s arts editor argues that culture has a vital role to play  

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

Thomas Hirschhorn’s South Bronx installation brilliantly embodies the belief that art should be part of everyday life  

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

It’s loud, insistent, adolescent and playing now at a Mediterranean resort near you. And as the FT’s arts writer finds, there’s no way you’ll ever get the volume turned down  

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

Citing pressure of visitor numbers, the museum banned sketching at its recent “David Bowie Is” exhibition – a move that shows how hard it is for curators to reconcile accessibility and academic values, the FT’s arts writer says  

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

Culture is becoming a refuge for the digitally brutalised: an evening at the opera, or cinema, or theatre, is where we go to escape technological overload, the FT’s arts writer argues  

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

Spicing up traditional settings with a dash of contemporary style has become a cultural commonplace. But let’s not pretend it’s anything more than an aesthetic compromise, the FT’s arts writer says  

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

A new film portrait of the Italian director reveals a man unafraid to confront difficult questions. It’s a kind of artistic responsibility that now feels old-fashioned, the FT’s arts writer says  

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

Neglected in his lifetime, the singer-songwriter is now revered, as an event devoted to his album ‘Bryter Later’ demonstrates. But it’s doubtful his genius would have flourished any better in today’s impatient world, the FT’s arts writer says  

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

The market for Orthodox icons has been revivified by Russian money in recent years – yet the genre’s spiritual charge and innate conservatism make it a challenging field for collectors  

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

A concert sponsored by insurance company Direct Line aims to help time-challenged audiences snatch some shut-eye – but a wakeful FT arts writer finds that the relationship between art and sleep is not a straightforward one  

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

They seem always to be on, but ‘Rules of Engagement’, ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and their ilk shouldn’t be taken for granted: these immaculately crafted, relentlessly inoffensive series open a window on American society  

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

The French conceptualist’s exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo is a sense-scrambling rethink of the relationship between art and the environment in which it appears  

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

The FT’s arts writer finds that, for all the acquisitive buzz around art fairs, they still richly cater for people’s inquisitive side too  

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

Author Mohsin Hamid reads his short story 'Alien invasion in the G.L.A.C.', commissioned by the Financial Times for the new year.  

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

As Miami’s sparkling new Perez Art Museum hosts a big retrospective of the Chinese artist’s work, the FT’s arts writer reflects on culture’s role in challenging oppression  

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

In a persuasive new book, the trend forecaster James Wallman says that our appetite for material possessions is giving way to a hunger for experiences. How will that shift be reflected in the arts?  

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

Businesses like buying contemporary art to show off their forward-thinking and investment savvy. Fair enough – but it still sits oddly with artists’ desire to provoke and subvert  

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

Christian Bale’s hairpiece in the Oscar-nominated movie caper epitomises the preposterousness of the 1970s – but the decade’s unabashed lack of polish looks increasingly appealing in our technology-dependent age  

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

The death of the veteran folk singer prompted numerous tributes to his integrity and idealism. But it was his mythical spat with Bob Dylan that really defined his era’s cultural politics  

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

Forget Sartre. The Royal Opera’s new ‘Don Giovanni’ suggests that, in a hyper-connected world, hell is the absence of other people  

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.

Tate Britain’s new show explores our fascination with ruins. But where yesterday’s aficionados looked to the remains of ancient civilisations, today’s ruinous visions are of the future  

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.

The Director of Cultural Partnerships at King's College London reflects on the growing appetite among artists and arts organisations for evidence about the impact and value of what they do  

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.

In a despatch from Hong Kong, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the city’s ‘Tate bricks’ moment, and what it tells us about the fast-changing status of contemporary art in China  

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

Though shortlisted for the prestigious photography award, Nigeria’s Abraham Oghobase has been refused a visa by the UK government. That’s a sorry state of affairs for a country that professes to be in the vanguard of cultural openness, says the FT’s arts writer. This week’s column is read by Alexander Gilmour.  

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.

The UK’s culture secretary is a ‘Star Trek’ fan who wants the arts to be ‘accessible to everyone’ - while the filmmakers of the defiantly highbrow ‘Life May Be’ remind us that there are merits in other ambitions.  

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

As the Imperial War Museum unveils a £40 million refurbishment, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney reflects on the ubiquity of violence in popular culture.  

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

Peter Aspden visits the V&A’s ‘Disobedient Objects’ exhibition and reflects on the art of protest in the age of rapid digital dissemination.  

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

On holiday in Greece, the FT’s arts writer travels to some out-of-the-way ancient sites and wonders whether they still hold lessons for 21st-century visitors – or are just another aspect of vacation kitsch  

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

With their ever-growing ability to crunch data and analyse patterns, computers are valuable tools for art research – but that doesn’t mean art historians will soon be a thing of the past, argues Bendor Grosvenor  

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

The singer’s New York sculpture show confirms that contemporary art has replaced music as the go-to means of expression for young people with attitude, says the FT’s arts writer  

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

The singer-songwriter is about to turn 80 – a rite of passage not only for him but also for rock music. Peter Aspden celebrates a musician with a rare talent for staying ahead of the times  

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

The received wisdom is that contemporary art is just what a regenerating city needs, a stimulant for minds and economies alike. But are the wilfully puzzling tropes of the avant-garde really what the public wants?  

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

Art may be essentially egalitarian as it illuminates the human condition – but that hasn't stopped members of the Porsche Travel Club getting special access to the Sistine Chapel. Should we worry if the wealthy corner the finest cultural experiences?  

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