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
How to write about politics
We speak to journalists around the world to find out how they write about politics. We discuss when it’s suitable to throw in a bit of humour in Britain with parliamentary sketchwriter Michael Deacon,…
How popular are graphic novels?
We explore the graphic-novel industry with Emma Hayley, managing director of SelfMadeHero publishers; graphic novelist Karrie Fransman; and Waterstones’ graphic-novel buyer, Kate McHale.
What makes a good scary story?
We go on a spooky investigation to figure out which elements make for a decent spine-tingling tale. With contributions from graphic artist Graham Humphreys, film critic and author Kim Newman and editor of ‘The…
Autumn’s new art galleries
We take a global tour of some recent and upcoming art gallery openings including the Sursock Museum in Beirut, Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery in London and The National Gallery Singapore. Plus: we meet…
What makes a good children’s book?
We meet Mark Russell, a Canadian author who’s introducing South Korean folklore to young readers. We also head to the studio of illustrator Viviane Schwarz to find out how you draw for a child.…
What does work sound like?
We go on a sonic adventure through different workplaces around the world to see how natural sounds affect productivity and how we both absorb and filter out surrounding noise. Our listening expedition takes us…
Why do we love medical dramas?
Everywhere in the world viewers love the drama of doctors, nurses, patients, blood and guts, love and loss, procedure and trauma. We ask the people behind some of the top medical dramas, both real-life…
Why go solo?
When’s the right time to ditch your band and go it alone? How does the creative process differ and do you miss your fellow musicians? We speak to music journalist Andrew Mueller about the…
Culture’s greatest summer hits
We go over our highlights from this summer, from sound art enjoyed in train carriages, an interview with documentary film-maker Joshua Oppenheimer to a quick stop-off at Sonar festival in Barcelona among much, much…
What is indie?
Indie can be applied to a number of things: a record label, a film, a genre, even a haircut. We take the term and apply it to music and film with Will Hodgkinson, pop…
