31 January 2022
Episode 538
30 minutes
Photo: Mirandi Babitz
In December 2021, we lost two of the West Coast’s literary greats: Eve Babitz and Joan Didion. This week, Robert Bound is joined by Lili Anolik, author of ‘Hollywood’s Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of LA’, and David Ulin, books editor of ‘Alta Journal’, a quarterly publication that celebrates California and the West. They discuss the imprint that Didion and Babitz left on the Los Angeles literary scene and how they expanded what women’s writing was and could be.
31 January 2022
Share episode
DownloadWant more radio episodes like these in your inbox?
Sign up to Monocle’s email newsletters to stay on top of news and opinion, plus the latest from the magazine, radio, film and shop.
Monocle on Culture - latest episodes
Maggie Rogers
We meet American singer-songwriter and producer Maggie Rogers, who shot to fame after a 2016 video showed her wowing Pharrell Williams with her track ‘Alaska’. In the years since, she has released two albums, amassed a…
Spring preview
Toby Earle, Susannah Butter and Natty Kasambala join Robert Bound in the studio to discuss the best upcoming releases of this season in TV, books and music. These include the latest work from one of the UK’s most popular…
Maggi Hambling
In the course of her 50-year career, British artist Maggi Hambling has made a name for herself with her dynamic, expressionist paintings and often controversial public sculptures. Hambling joins Robert Bound in the studio…
The Staves
Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor, the sisters behind English indie-folk band The Staves, join Robert Bound in the studio. Their John Congleton-produced fifth LP, ‘All Now’, is lyrically rich and full of moments of eup…
Lauren Oyler
Cultural critic and novelist Lauren Oyler’s essays and reviews have caused a stir online. She joins Robert Bound in the studio to discuss her new book of essays, ‘No Judgement’. Oyler muses on gossip, Goodreads, expat life…
Spain’s international contemporary art fair Arco Madrid
We head to the Spanish capital for a special edition of the programme from Arco Madrid. As well as being a major contemporary art market platform, the fair has a strong curatorial core and deep connections with the Latin…
‘Io Capitano', Lana Lubany and the first AI-created artworks
We meet the director and script consultant of ‘Io Capitano’, the stirring Oscar-nominated film that follows two Senegalese teenagers as they try to make their way from their homeland to Europe. Plus: we catch up with the…
Hans Zimmer
Ahead of the release of ‘Dune: Part Two’, we speak to the legendary film score composer and music producer, Hans Zimmer. He discusses his love for Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, his approach to world building and how he was…
Yoko Ono’s endless imagination
We head to London’s Tate Modern gallery for ‘Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind’. The UK’s largest-ever exhibition on the work of the artist and activist, it brings together her performances, films, music, photography and more.…
The untold story of Cymande and the return of Pina Bausch’s ‘Nelken’
We explore the world of Cymande, a 1970s jazz-funk group that is the subject of a new documentary, ‘Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande’. Robert Bound meets band members Patrick Patterson and Steve Scipio, and catches up…
The Last Dinner Party
We meet Abigail Morris, Georgia Davis and Lizzie Mayland from UK indie band The Last Dinner Party. After signing with Island Records, the group won the Rising Star Award at the Brits and topped the BBC’s Sound of 2024 list…
‘The Zone of Interest’
We discuss ‘The Zone of Interest’, the latest film by UK film director Jonathan Glazer. Loosely based on Martin Amis’s novel of the same name, the film tells the story of Rudolf Höss, camp commandant at Auschwitz-Birkenau…
A deep dive into the career and character of Werner Herzog
We dive into the unique career and personality of filmmaker Werner Herzog. We catch up with Thomas von Steinaecker, the director of a new documentary, ‘Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer’, which paints a portrait of the man…
Treading the boards in 2024
Nancy Durrant and Matt Wolf join Robert Bound in the studio to preview the very best theatre to look forward to in 2024. They discuss a lively ska musical, a new play about the architect of the NHS, a Broadway debut from…
Looking ahead at the year in culture
Ashanti Omkar, Ossian Ward and Chris Power join Robert Bound in the studio to round up the TV shows, art exhibitions and books that you should have on your radar this year.
