Monocle on Culture
Robert Bound and guests explore what’s new in art, film, books, and media. Expect lively discussions, in-depth interviews, and expert insights.
Latest Episodes
Review: ‘Red Rocket’
‘Red Rocket’ is the latest film from Sean Baker, who brought us ‘Tangerine’ and ‘The Florida Project’. The film tells the story of Mikey Saber (Simon Rex), a washed-up pornstar who returns to his hometown of Texas City, where he is quickly taken by Strawberry, the teenage employee of a…
Derek Jarman: ‘Pharmacopoeia’
Director and artist Derek Jarman is remembered for his unique ability to capture the natural world on the page, as well as the garden he created at Prospect Cottage in Dungeness. A new book, ‘Pharmacopoeia’, brings together the best of Jarman’s writing on nature. This week, we discuss Jarman and…
‘The Collaboration’: a new play about Basquiat and Warhol
In 1980s New York, two notorious members of the city’s art scene have just met. Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat become close friends and collaborators as they plan to hold a joint exhibition, which promises to be the greatest in the history of modern art. ‘The Collaboration’, a new play…
The evolution of hip-hop
Hip-hop has taken over the mainstream since it was born in the Bronx house parties of the 1970s. Sophie Bramly’s recent book of photography ‘Yo! The Early Days of Hip-Hop 1982-84’ documents its rise, while a new documentary ‘Jeen-Yuhs’ charts the contribution of one of the genre’s most important innovators,…
This year’s Oscars nominations
Robert Bound is joined by film critic Anna Smith and Monocle 24’s Fernando Augusto Pacheco to discuss this year’s list of nominations. The panel debate the surprises and the snubs, the almost-guaranteed and the underdogs. Our guests highlight their top picks from the list, from the gentle joy of ‘Coda’…
The making of ‘Sesame Street’
‘Sesame Street’ changed the world of children’s television when it arrived on our screens in 1969. The programme’s inception came from the unique collaboration between TV executives and child education specialists, and always had diversity at its core. A new documentary, ‘Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street’, tells…
LA women
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…
Art and power
Robert Bound is joined in the studio by Farah Nayeri, arts and culture writer for ‘The New York Times’ and host of the ‘Culture Blast’ podcast. Her new book ‘Takedown: Art and Power in the Digital Age’ looks back centuries, across Europe and America and throughout the art world. It…
Seasonal music lookahead
Robert Bound is joined by guests Fernando Augusto Pacheco and Laura Snapes to look ahead at some of this season’s most exciting music releases from the likes of Stromae, Cate Le Bon and Cecile McLorin Salvant.
Review: ‘Licorice Pizza’
Robert Bound and guests Simran Hans and Jason Solomons discuss Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, a coming-of-age tale set in the heady summer heat of 1970s California. Underpinned by a soundtrack of original music and 1970s classics, the film winds a gentle story of young love with riotous escapades and…
