The Big Interview | Monocle

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The Big Interview

Long-form conversations about the lives and careers of the world's leading and most exciting names from the worlds of art, design, literature, politics, business and food. We hear from the masters themselves, about their art, their craft, their secrets and successes.

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Fred Kempe:

A former journalist and editor at ‘The Wall Street Journal’, now president and CEO of The Atlantic Council, Fred Kempe’s life and career spans from the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall to the ongoing war in Ukraine and other geopolitical threats. A passionate advocate for American engagement in the world, Kempe sat down with Monocle’s Chris Cermak in Washington ahead of a US presidential election that could send the superpower in two very different directions. 

Latest episodes

EpisodeDateDescriptionDownloadPlay
2071 Nov 2024
29 min

Fred Kempe 

A former journalist and editor at ‘The Wall Street Journal’, now president and CEO of The Atlantic Council, Fred Kempe’s life and career spans from the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall to the ongoing war in Ukraine and other geopolitical threats. A passionate advocate for American engagement in the world, Kempe sat down with Monocle’s Chris Cermak in Washington ahead of a US presidential election that could send the superpower in two very different directions. 

DownloadPlay
20618 Oct 2024
37 min

Jason Isbell 

Back in 2013, American singer and songwriter Jason Isbell released the album ‘Southeastern’, which tracked his life as an enthusiastic-if-reckless archetype of the dissolute southern rocker. It was an overwhelming critical and commercial success. Five more studio albums followed, turning Grammy-winning Isbell into a chart-topper and – as of Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ – a movie star. Here he sits down with Andrew Mueller for a candid chat about his life and music, his viral ‘feral hogs’ tweet and his acting debut alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

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20511 Oct 2024
31 min

Gherardo Felloni 

Gherardo Felloni, creative director of Parisian luxury-accessories house Roger Vivier, joins Monocle’s associate editor Grace Charlton to discuss the brand’s spring-summer 2025 collection. Felloni tells us about his vision for the brand, reissuing some of the most iconic buckled shoes to have walked this earth and updating house codes for the modern woman.

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2044 Oct 2024
43 min

Alison Loehnis 

Widely considered to be one of the most influential figures in fashion and retail, the ad interim CEO and president of the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group, Alison Loehnis, has been a leading force at the pioneering online retailer for more than a decade. Here, she joins Monocle’s fashion director Natalie Theodosi for a sprawling conversation about leadership, balancing creativity and business, nurturing young brands and entering a new chapter in the industry. 

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20327 Sep 2024
37 min

Karl Ove Knausgaard 

More than a decade after reaching worldwide acclaim with his six-volume autobiographical novel ‘My Struggle’, the Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard has returned to the fictional form in ‘The Morning Star’ series. Knausgaard sat down with Gunnar Gronlid to talk about the latest entry ‘The Third Realm’, embodying new perspectives and his fixation with death, family and freedom. 

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2029 Aug 2024
30 min

Adrian Edmondson 

British comedy veteran of ‘The Young Ones’ and ‘Bottom’ fame Adrian Edmondson sits down with Andrew Mueller to talk about his memoir ‘Berserker!’, his often violent skits with late collaborator Rik Mayall and using humour to deal with trauma.

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2012 Aug 2024
34 min

James Comey 

Former FBI director-turned-crime-fiction-author James Comey speaks with Andrew Mueller about his new novel, ‘Westport’, the dangers of a new Donald Trump presidency and whether he regrets reopening the Hillary Clinton investigation. 

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20026 Jul 2024
29 min

Alison Jackson 

Award-winning artist, photographer and filmmaker Alison Jackson sits down with Georgina Godwin to speak about her staged and satiric photographs of celebrity lookalikes, her time as a politician and her planned Donald Trump feature film.

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19912 Jul 2024
33 min

Ziya Tong 

Science broadcaster and author Ziya Tong sits down with Andrew Mueller to discuss her new documentary film, ‘Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics’, her stint as one of Canada’s top encyclopaedia salespeople and the struggle to communicate important science issues to the public. 

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19821 Jun 2024
34 min

Penelope Tree 

Swinging sixties fashion icon Penelope Tree sits down with Georgina Godwin to discuss her debut novel, ‘Piece of My Heart’, and her rise to fame at Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball. Plus: her relationship with photographer David Bailey, the skin condition that ended her modelling career and her spiritual awakening.

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19714 Jun 2024
53 min

Joel Meyerowitz 

London and New York-based street photographer Joel Meyerowtiz sits down with Monocle’s photography director, Matthew Beaman, to discuss quitting his job after working with Robert Frank, finding “decisive moments”, how smartphones changed the world, his love of Leica and large-format cameras and how time has affected his photographs.

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1967 Jun 2024
28 min

Gabrielius Landsbergis 

The minister of foreign affairs of Lithuania sits down with Andrew Mueller to discuss the importance of military preparedness, diplomatic efforts and being able to explain and justify your arguments to the electorate. 

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19523 Feb 2024
30 min

Jacob Collier 

The six-time Grammy award-winning musician sits down with Robert Bound to discuss the release of the fourth and final instalment of his ‘Djesse’ album series, his creative process, the influence of his mother and how he transforms his audiences into choirs.

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1948 Dec 2023
29 min

Tim Peake 

The British astronaut sits down with Andrew Mueller to discuss his remarkable career, the future of space exploration and his new book ‘Space: The Human Story’.

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19330 Nov 2023
33 min

Madhur Jaffrey 

The culinary legend and actress sits down with Robert Bound to discuss her cookbooks, which span the flavours of India, and how she unintentionally became a household name for anyone with a taste for South Asian cuisine.

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