The Monocle Weekly

We meet painting conservator Simon Gillespie in his studio to learn more about the fine art of his profession – and get up close and personal with some truly amazing paintings. Plus: as they receive the Queen Elizabeth prize for engineering, we sit down with Bradford Parkinson and Hugo Fruehauf. It’s hard to imagine a world without the technology they invented: GPS. And we hear about this year’s London Jazz Festival from director Pelin Opcin.

Novelist and poet Ben Lerner discusses how his new book, ‘The Topeka School’ explores language, masculinity and violence in Trump’s America. Plus: Eleanor Pinfield, head of Art on the Underground, unpacks the project’s mission to bring colour to London’s transport network, and artist Larry Achiampong discusses his upcoming commission.

The enhanced interrogation techniques employed by US security services in the wake of 9/11 remain an international scandal. Director and screenwriter Scott Z Burns joins us to discuss ‘The Report’, his new political procedural that unpicks how the shocking truth came to light. Plus: legendary hip-hop beatmaker DJ Shadow unpacks his latest album, and we hear from designer Teresa Monachino whose interventions in text cast a fresh eye on the oddities of the English language.

‘Monos’ has been described as a cross between ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘Apocalypse Now’. The film’s director, Alejandro Landes, joins us to discuss how he brought his uncompromising and timely vision to the screen. We also hear from shoe historian Elizabeth Semmelhack, whose new book explores how trainers have been shaped by the spirit of collaboration. Plus: we meet Steve Goodman, an electronic musical artist and head of London’s iconic Hyperdub record label, to learn more about a new subsidiary devoted to the audio essay – and why some things are best listened to together.

Since his album ‘The Doldrums’ was released in 2004 to critical acclaim, Ariel Pink has built up a cult following. Sitting on hundreds of unreleased tracks, he tells us that now’s the time to open his archives. Plus: Artist Doug Aitken reflects on how art can help us find our bearings in the world and the London Korean Film Festival director, Hyun Jin Cho, explains how Korean cinema has left its mark.

Chef, writer and raconteur Valentine Warner explains why he’s shifted his focus from traditional recipe books in his new work, ‘The Consolation of Food’. Plus: Political journalist Marie Le Conte takes us through the knotty web of he-said-she-said in Westminster as she unpacks her new study of government gossip, ‘Haven’t You Heard?’. And we meet the head of innovation at iconic recording studio Abbey Road to learn how tech will continue to shape the music industry.

Monocle’s Rob Bound and Augustin Macellari head to Frieze London for a special episode of the Monocle Weekly. Writer and journalist Hettie Judah comes into the studio to discuss her essential new guide to London’s arty past and present. Plus: we meet art critic and painter William Feaver to discuss his comprehensive new biography of Lucian Freud, built on a long friendship with the artist.

We pull back the curtain for a look at the complicated – and concerning – biases and preconceptions being programmed into artificial intelligences, with artist Trevor Paglen. Plus: Metronomy frontman Joe Mount takes us through the band’s latest album and we find out what it takes to put on a permanent exhibition as we meet London’s Wellcome Collection curator, Clare Barlow.

Musician Amanda Palmer joins us to talk about her recent album ‘There Will Be No Intermission’ and how to make music with a message. Plus: writer David Goldblatt discusses his book ‘The Age of Football’ and we meet former professional snooker player-turned-DJ and musician Steve Davis, along with his bandmates Kavus Torabi and Michael J York, who make up trio The Utopia Strong.

Journalist, broadcaster and food critic Jay Rayner joins us to discuss the epic feast that would constitute his last meal on Earth – and forms the basis of his latest book, ’My Last Supper’. Plus: artist Shana Moulton on the New Age ideas that have informed her latest exhibition and we hear from one of the UK’s best-loved broadcasters, Mark Radcliffe.

For over 20 years Lara Maiklem has strolled the foreshore of London’s River Thames in search of treasures from the past. She joins us to discuss what she’s learned, as outlined in her new bestseller, ‘Mudlarking’. Plus: we meet immersive artists Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe for a tour of their bold new exhibition in London, and author and journalist James Meek unpacks his latest book ‘To Calais, in Ordinary Time’.

Director Peter Webber joins us to talk about ‘Inna De Yard,’ a cinematic portrait of some of the 20th century’s most important musicians. Plus: we hear from Tom Burke, co-star of auteur Joanna Hogg’s new film ‘The Souvenir’, and curator Kirsteen McNish and writer Luke Turner take us through their current project – a year-long programme of events set in and around London’s mysterious and ancient Epping Forest.

Matthew Yokobosky, fashion and material culture curator at the Brooklyn Museum, discusses a new exhibition on retro-futurist icon Pierre Cardin. Plus: we meet Ash Koosha, an electronic composer and futurist, to learn more about his latest creation – an artificial intelligence called Yona, and we take a trip to the seaside to learn more about the recently rebranded Hastings Contemporary from its director Liz Gilmore.

Natasha Khan, AKA Bat For Lashes, talks us through her dreamy, LA-inflected new album, ‘Lost Girls’. Plus: we meet Tiffany Francis-Baker, whose new book, ‘Dark Skies’, explores humanity’s complicated and mystical relationship with the night, and we get a special report on composer Mort Garson’s cult classic album for plants, ‘Plantasia’.

Author Shawn Levy reveals the secrets of Hollywood’s most hedonistic – and iconic – hotel: the Chateau Marmont. Plus Norwegian cult singer-songwriter Jenny Hval tells us about her eagerly anticipated new album ‘The Practice of Love’. We also hear from Lebanese-British journalist Zahra Hankir, editor of ‘Our Women on the Ground’, a new book detailing the experiences of female journalists in the Arab world.