Historian Simon Schama wants to make truth sexy again

This weekend, we ask the question: what does it mean to defy death? Rock climber Leo Houlding tells us about his terrifying family holidays, scaling vertical cliff-faces with his two young kids. We also explore radical life extension with science writer Anjana Ahuja. How close are we scientifically to extending the human lifespan to 150 or 200? What are the implications when we get there? And do we really want to live forever? PLUS: inside the luxury life extension market, with How to Spend it writer Tiffanie Darke. Links from the episode: — Leo Houlding’s extreme family holiday in Wyoming’s wild west: https://www.ft.com/content/0bcba30a-bb46-4bc1-8a7d-9166dc43a5e8 — Anjana Ahuja on whether we can live forever: https://www.ft.com/content/60d9271c-ae0a-4d44-8b11-956cd2e484a9 — Inside the life extension market, with Tiffanie Darke: https://www.ft.com/content/867e647b-c0e8-4aeb-9777-fedff7ec3476 Want to say hi? Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. If you want a great discount on an FT subscription or a $1/£1/€1 month-long trial, we’ve got you: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Nov 202127min

This weekend, we talk about food and home. Lilah has lunch with restaurateur Danny Meyer, chief executive of Union Square Hospitality Group, known for the likes of Gramercy Tavern and the $3bn Shake Shack empire. They eat at his favourite classic New York restaurant, Sparks Steakhouse, where Meyer found an unlikely mentor in his early years. What makes a restaurant an institution? We also visit the historic province of Shanxi, China, to learn about its legendary noodle arts. Listener Zhiwei Guo and award-winning FT food writer Fuchsia Dunlop take us there.Links from the episode: —Fuchsia Dunlop on the noodles of Shanxi: https://www.ft.com/content/86e7d353-27dc-4ce3-a60d-6304fc339571 —Fuchsia’s culinary tour of North Korea: https://www.ft.com/content/1f9bbfc0-9d93-11e7-9a86-4d5a475ba4c5 —Danny Meyer’s essay on Sparks: https://blog.resy.com/2021/09/the-most-amazing-things-can-happen-after-a-meal-at-sparks/ —More about Resy’s classics collaborations: https://blog.resy.com/2021/09/the-classics-remix-presented-by-american-express/Want to say hi? Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. If you want a great discount on an FT subscription or a $1/£1/€1 month-long trial, we’ve got you: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast Mixing and sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Nov 202127min

This weekend, we’re talking about books. The prestigious Booker Prize is about to announce its 2021 winner, and we hear what it’s like to be a judge—and read a book a day!—with two colleagues, Horatia Harrod and Jan Dalley. We explore how the literary world has changed, from boozy lunches to viral Twitter campaigns, with columnist Simon Kuper and agent Jonny Geller. And ahead of the UN climate summit, join us on a journey with Moral Money editor Simon Mundy, who just traveled to 26 countries to document the climate crisis for his new book.Links from the episode:—Simon Mundy on his two year journey to the frontlines of the climate battle (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/e3bfb91d-2273-4da9-a7a7-eecf396f8d33 —Simon’s book is called Race for Tomorrow: Survival, Innovation and Profit on the Front Lines of the Climate Crisis—Archive: Jan Dalley’s lunch with “naughty old thing” Booker Prize administrator Martyn Goff: https://www.ft.com/content/3e17b618-b4a0-11da-bd61-0000779e2340 —The Booker Prize 2021 shortlist and longlist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Booker_Prize —Simon Kuper on how book promotion has changed: https://www.ft.com/content/7dbc7e21-904c-492e-9313-5ce665a5ec45 —To follow our COP26 coverage, here’s Climate Capital. The entire FT will be free to read on Wednesday: https://www.ft.com/climate-capitalWant to say hi? Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. For an exclusive 50% online subscription (and a discounted FT Weekend print subscription!), follow this link: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast To watch the NextGen festival sessions, go here: www.nextgen.live.ft.com and use the promo code FTNextGenx2021Sound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Okt 202131min

It’s easy for our identities to look like checkboxes: white and black, woman and man, young and old. How do we speak about the communities we belong to without the weight of entirely representing them? Lilah speaks with Jason Mott, author of the National Book Award shortlisted novel Hell of a Book, about race, identity, masculinity and more. Plus, we go sneaker shopping with style columnist Rob Armstrong to dissect the unspoken rules of men’s fashion.Links from the episode:Robert’s style guide on sneakers for middle-aged men: https://www.ft.com/content/7e2a31d5-b456-4e02-9b4f-9b80531f470e Rob’s day job, the Unhedged newsletter on markets and Wall Street: https://www.ft.com/content/31374c59-deb0-4b62-a9b2-f56ecb78e4d8 The FT’s video on the $6bn sneaker industry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2cg-xo1L4 Jason Mott’s novel, Hell of A Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/670375/hell-of-a-book-by-jason-mott/ For an exclusive 50% online subscription (and a discounted FT Weekend print subscription!), follow this link: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast The FT NextGen festival is back! This Thursday the 28th of October! It'll be full of great panels. Here’s a promo code so you can attend for free. And if you're in London, there's an in person reception at the London Brewery. Sign up at www.nextgen.live.ft.com with promo code FTNextGenx2021Sound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Okt 202129min

This week, rock legend Alice Cooper tells us about selling the multi-million dollar artwork he found rolled up in his garage — a story that involves Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí and Dennis Hopper. We also explore the backstabbing families that have inspired HBO’s Succession with chief feature writer Henry Mance, ahead of its season three premiere. And finally: thank you for sharing your recommendations, they’re excellent. We’ve compiled them, alongside our colleagues’, for your listening pleasure.What did you think of this episode? Write to us, or record and send us a voice note at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. Links from the episode: —How To Spend It interview with Alice Cooper: https://www.ft.com/content/9c338ab3-6445-47ca-91a7-7bb4091dc1a4 —Henry Mance on Succession: https://www.ft.com/content/fda23812-d724-4112-a5ec-78b836a89894 —Henry Mance’s new book, How to Love Animals in a human-shaped world: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1118598/how-to-love-animals-in-a-human-shaped-world/9781787332089.htmlA list of your recommendations:Jamiroquai’s Instagram; Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl by David Wundrich; Space 1.8 by Nala Sinephro; Emily Mariko’s cooking Tiktoks; Netflix’s Squid Game; 1776-1789 US history; Dressed podcast; Cynar artichoke liqueur; Garden City by John Mark Comber; Titane and Raw directed by Julia Ducournou; The Dante Project at the Royal Opera House; Frieze London art fairs; Dries van Noten designer; A House Through Time on the BBC. For an exclusive online subscription (and a discounted FT Weekend print subscription!), follow this link: http://ft.com/weekendpodcastSound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Okt 202130min

As we watch the climate shift before our eyes, this weekend we focus on the awesomeness of nature and how it humbles us. Travel writer Mark Stratton brings us to a live erupting volcano in La Palma, where “the lava flows like honey on a plate”. Columnist Nilanjana Roy introduces us to the prescient books that warned us of a climate crisis 50 years ago. Plus, 1970s interior design is back, baby! Subeditor Cherish Rufus defines the aesthetic, and defends its revival.Listeners: this is your last chance to send us a recommendation! Email us one cultural thing you’re reading/watching/cooking/Googling etc that you can’t stop thinking about. We’ll use the best in next week’s episode. Write to us, or record and send us a voice note at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. Links from the episode:—Mark Stratton on volcano tourism: https://www.ft.com/content/8c9b8847-2f8d-4a4f-8e07-9abc99b42b1f —Nilanjana Roy on what 1971 climate writing can teach us today: https://www.ft.com/content/6bca430e-c9b6-4997-ae78-ee6f4f5f24f1—Cherish Rufus on 1970s design: https://www.ft.com/content/184c7504-2a7a-4a33-b0a4-ed42679f6e54 —The Love Your Mother poster: http://collections.museumca.org/?q=collection-item/2010543613 For an exclusive 50% online subscription (and a discounted FT Weekend print subscription!), follow this link: http://ft.com/weekendpodcastSound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Okt 202127min

How has the music industry changed over the past decade? The FT’s business and media reporters tell the dramatic tale, and introduce us to the most powerful exec in the business: Universal Chief Sir Lucian Grainge. Then, ethical philosopher Julian Baggini questions what our bookshelves say about us, and Work & Careers editor Isabel Berwick, a Duolingo master, makes the case for learning a new language from scratch. This weekend, we explore the forces that shape our cultural habits: how we listen to music, how we learn languages, and how we read. Listeners: what are you reading, watching, eating, doing, that is making you happy? We want your recommendations, to use in a future episode. Write us, or record and send us a voice note at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. Links from the episode:—Profile of Sir Lucian Grainge, the last music mogul, by Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson and Anna Nicolaou: https://www.ft.com/content/ae259b02-67a1-4eec-848c-7dc739efa910 —Julian Baggini on why we should get rid of our books: https://www.ft.com/content/3aac4854-997e-4391-b7e0-627142ba00e4—Isabel Berwick on being a Duolingo champion: https://www.ft.com/content/872f057e-ec37-4f93-b72a-03e83ec107a4 ––FT review of Ride Upon the Storm, one of the Danish shows Isabel loved (the other is called Rita): https://www.ft.com/content/f1ad0fda-1e5e-11e9-b126-46fc3ad87c65 For an exclusive 50% online subscription (and a discounted FT Weekend print subscription!), follow this link: http://ft.com/weekendpodcastSound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Okt 202125min

This episode, we explore the question of how we’ve changed. Lilah talks to the writer Imogen West-Knights about the phenomenon of treat brain: how the pandemic spurred our desire to excessively indulge. Then, columnist Janan Ganesh describes why lockdown decidedly did not change him — and why he’s worried if it changed you. Plus: Maria Shollenbarger sweeps us away on the world’s most glamorous train.Links from the episode:—Imogen West-Knights describes Treat Brain: https://www.ft.com/content/3ed08931-80b0-43a0-9bba-6c4bcc1b3e70 —Janan Ganesh on the lockdown epiphany that wasn’t: https://www.ft.com/content/bf7c501e-12a5-4737-b297-15eba91b26a0 —Maria Shollenbarger aboard the Orient Express: https://www.ft.com/content/9f776436-8205-48cc-a879-7a053f388671 —Lilah’s Instagram Live with Esther Perel: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CULKKCcJXdq/ We want to hear from you! Follow us on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. What are you reading, watching, eating, doing, that is making you happy? We want your recommendations, and may use them in a future episode. Write us, or record and send us a voice note at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com.Sound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Sep 202127min