Books books books! Our top picks from 2024

Molly Roden Winter was a frustrated mom of two in Brooklyn when she and her husband decided that they should open their marriage. What followed was a 10-year journey of self-exploration that brought Molly not only into some seedy hotel rooms but also to therapy, back to work, and into other activities that added up to a more fulfilling life. Today Molly is on the show to talk about her memoir More in which she details her journey. She also tells Lilah what polyamory could teach monogamous couples.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews, on Apple, Spotify, etc.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Molly’s book More is out now – The FT’s review of More, by Rana Foroohar, is here: https://on.ft.com/3UmsdUF– Molly is on X @mollyrwinter-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Feb 202418min

Today we take on ‘Poor Things’, the latest film from director Yorgos Lanthimos. It stars Emma Stone as a Victorian woman whose brain is replaced with that of her unborn baby. She embarks on a sexual journey of self-discovery through Europe and beyond. The film is a critical darling, with 11 Oscar nominations, but unsurprisingly, it left many viewers feeling uneasy. Lilah invites FT arts editor Jan Dalley and HTSI editor Jo Ellison to talk through it: is it an empowering exploration of a woman’s sexual freedom or an uninspiring male gaze fantasy?-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews, on Apple, Spotify, etc.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Poor Things is in theatres now – You can read the FT’s three-star review of Poor Things, by film critic Danny Leigh here: https://on.ft.com/480VjMg – The FT’s Raphael Abraham also wrote a review of Poor Things – and gave it five stars: https://on.ft.com/49jGnKe – The article we mentioned, with 14 critics’ perspectives on the film, is here: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/24/bound-gagged-poor-things-feminist-masterpiece-male-sex-fantasy-oscar-emma-stone-ruffalo – Jo is on X @joellison and Instagram @jellison22More or less: – Jo wants to see more of Harris Dickinson, who is in The Iron Claw (out now), and Triangle of Sadness– Jan wants to see more funding for the arts, and for artists to be given more creative freedom– Lilah wants better, more concentrated travel reviews, and Oaxaca tips! (You can write to her on Instagram)-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clip courtesy of SearchlightRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Feb 202420min

If you have questions about this year's US presidential election, we have answers.Swamp Notes is a new podcast from the FT News Briefing. Listen every Saturday morning as our journalists analyse and discuss the latest happenings in US politics. We’ll go beyond the horse race for the White House and offer a global perspective on the election. You can subscribe to Swamp Notes here or wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 Jan 20241min

Restaurant critic Tim Hayward has been writing about food for the FT for years. He also owns a bakery in Cambridge. So when a friend accused him of being a glutton, his reaction was: “Of course I’m a glutton! Do people still think that’s a bad thing?” Today Tim is on the podcast to share his thoughts on how we came to see food through a moral lens. What does it mean to be a glutton in the age of Ozempic? How do we let ourselves enjoy food? And how can we stop judging each other, while acknowledging that some eating habits can be bad for your health?-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Tim’s column on gluttony: https://on.ft.com/3SxE3tz – Lilah's piece about reviving extinct recipes: http://on.ft.com/3Ojrfo5– Another Tim column: ‘Should you ever go back to a favourite restaurant?” https://on.ft.com/3Syk9P6 – Tim’s most recent restaurant review on Cafe Kitty in London: https://on.ft.com/3HGk2e1 – Susan Sontag’s ‘Notes on Camp’: https://monoskop.org/images/5/59/Sontag_Susan_1964_Notes_on_Camp.pdf– Tim is on Instagram at @timhayward-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam GiovincoRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Jan 202416min

This week, we talk about the longstanding American rock band Sleater-Kinney and their 11th album, Little Rope, which came out this month. The band rose out of the grunge and riot grrrl movements in the late 1990s with a raw, rage-filled sound and feminist lyrics. And they’re one of the few all-women bands to have had a career this long. How has their sound evolved? And where did the angry countercultural music of the 90s go? Lilah is joined by FT's music critic Arwa Haider and FT Weekend Magazine editor Matt Vella. -------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap, where she’s posting a photo of Breen and his burn book. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Little Rope by Sleater Kinney is available everywhere–Lilah, Matt and Arwa highly recommend the music video for their song ‘Say It Like You Mean It’: https://youtu.be/Vp2z1cL6qoU – Here are three of Arwa’s recent reviews: Tate McRae's pop album Think Later: https://on.ft.com/3HyfIxG, Dominique Dalcan's electronic album Last Night a Woman Saved My Life https://on.ft.com/3SuiXwi, Maluma's reggaeton album Don Juan: https://on.ft.com/3SvMCoG – Matt Vella is on X @mattvella. Arwa is @ArwaHaider More or less: – Arwa wants more daytime raves, such as Annie Mac’s Before Midnight Party. The 90s raves she mentioned were Sunny Side Up, Everything But the Girl and Sunday Best– Matt wants to see more bad fakes, something that helps us improve our deepfake literacy. The FT Magazine article he mentioned by Tim Harford is here: https://on.ft.com/499eKDC – Lilah wants to go to more small local music venues. She went to the New York club Blue Note to see jazz singer Samara Joy. Watch out for Lilah’s interview with Samara in HTSI, and an episode with her here, in a few weeks!-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clips courtesy of Loma Vista and Kill Rock Stars. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Jan 202420min

Tim Harford is a busy guy. He’s got two podcasts, has written 10 books, and has a standing column in the FT called the Undercover Economist. But recently he’s been trying to do less – and not just less bad stuff. He’s cutting down on good things, too, like kickboxing practice and reading New Yorker articles. The idea came to Tim after reading a book called Subtract by Leidy Klotz, in which Klotz looks at research that shows that humans have a bias against subtraction. Instead, our idea of fixing things often involves adding more. Tim tells Lilah how his subtraction experiment is going, and why giving up on one activity can help you enjoy the activities that you choose to stick with.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on X and Instagram @lilahrap. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Tim recently wrote about the art of subtraction here: https://on.ft.com/3U5A3BK– He is on X @TimHarford– You can check out recent episodes of Tim’s “More or Less” podcast from the BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qshd/episodes/player-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clips courtesy of Paramount Pictures.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Jan 202416min

This week, we take on the remake of the 2004 teen movie classic, “Mean Girls”. The original “Mean Girls”, starring Lindsay Lohan and written by Tina Fey, was a phenomenon. It’s been called one of the most quotable movies of all time. This new musical remake, based on the original film and the Broadway show, is in theatres now. What did the original film represent for us? Did we need this new version? And what generation is it for? Lilah is joined by the FT’s US financial editor Brooke Masters and Life and Art producer Lulu Smyth to figure it out.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap, where she’s posting a photo of Breen and his burn book. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – “Mean Girls”, written by Tina Fey, is out in cinemas in the US and UK now. – The FT’s review of the film is here: https://on.ft.com/3Snt7yJ – Brooke is on X @brookeamasters– We also loved this piece by Miranda Green on modern “Mean Girls” and the impact of social media (June 2023) : https://on.ft.com/48ZWRHy More or Less: – Lulu wants to see more respected male actors in romcoms: specifically Joaquin Phoenix in the next “High School Musical”– Brooke wants to see fewer universe expansions and more original content– Lilah recommends reading new plays – and if you’re in New York, seeing Appropriate”, starring Sarah Paulson. The play is written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. You can read it online here: https://hilsee.com/ApproPlayText.pdf-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clips courtesy of Paramount Pictures.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Jan 202423min

Introducing Untold, a new podcast from the special investigations team at the Financial Times. In its first series, The Retreat, host Madison Marriage examines the world of the Goenka network, which promotes a type of intensive meditation known as Vipassana. Thousands of people go on Goenka retreats every year. People rave about them. But some people go to these meditation retreats, and they suffer. They might feel a deep sense of terror, or a break with reality. And on the other side, they’re not themselves anymore. Untold: The Retreat launches Jan. 24.Subscribe and listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Jan 20241min