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The Big Interview

Monocle 24’s new series features in-depth interviews with inspirational names in global politics, business, culture and design. Hosted by Tyler Brûlé, Andrew Tuck and Monocle’s senior editors.

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Steve McQueen:

For our season finale, we sit down with the British Turner prize-winning artist and Oscar-winning director of ‘12 Years a Slave’, ‘Shame’ and ‘Hunger’. He talks to Robert Bound about his latest film ‘Widows’ and focusing on the work, not the accolades.

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9516 Dec 2018
30 min

Steve McQueen: 

For our season finale, we sit down with the British Turner prize-winning artist and Oscar-winning director of ‘12 Years a Slave’, ‘Shame’ and ‘Hunger’. He talks to Robert Bound about his latest film ‘Widows’ and focusing on the work, not the accolades.

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949 Dec 2018
30 min

Christine and the Queens: 

The French singer’s first album ‘Chaleur Humaine’ launched in 2015 and topped the charts in France and beyond. Since then, Christine and the Queens has travelled the world, performed with Elton John and famously got spanked on stage by Madonna in Paris. Her new release ‘Chris’ is a funk-filled record full of sexual references and plays on androgyny. Ahead of her tour, the singer sits down with Monocle’s Chiara Rimella to discuss her record, her evolving persona and gender boundaries.

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932 Dec 2018
30 min

Barry Jenkins: 

The director of ‘Moonlight’, which won the Oscar for best picture in 2017, has been on an extraordinary journey to Hollywood. In conversation with Monocle’s Ben Rylan, he talks about everything from getting into filmmaking while growing up in a rough neighbourhood, to adapting James Baldwin to the screen in his new drama ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’, and the responsibility that comes with having a voice.

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9225 Nov 2018
30 min

Jane Mayer: 

Investigative journalist Mayer became the first female Washington correspondent for ‘The Wall Street Journal’ in 1984 and had been a staff writer at ‘The New Yorker’ since 1995; she has also published numerous non-fiction books. She talks about corruption in Washington, increasing press hostility and her determination to expose the truth.

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9118 Nov 2018
30 min

Mary-Kay Wilmers: 

Wilmers has been the editor of the ‘London Review of Books’, Europe’s legendary literary journal, since 1992. She’s also the author of non-fiction work ‘The Eitingons: A Twentieth-Century Story’ and, more recently, ‘Human Relations and Other Difficulties’, a collection of essays on women’s experiences. She talks to Monocle’s Megan Gibson about the joy of a good sentence and retracing the history of her Russian ancestors.

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9011 Nov 2018
26 min

Sally Field: 

She won an Oscar for best actress in ‘Norma Rae’ in 1980 and another in 1985 for ‘Places in the Heart’. She appeared in numerous sitcoms and Hollywood box-office hits: ‘Smokey and the Bandit’, ‘Forrest Gump’, ‘Mrs Doubtfire’ and ‘Lincoln’, to name a few. She has now written a memoir, ‘In Pieces’, and talks to Georgina Godwin about childhood trauma and losing herself in acting.

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894 Nov 2018
30 min

Esa-Pekka Salonen: 

The lauded Finnish composer and conductor, currently principal conductor for London’s Philharmonia and conductor laureate for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has spent his career tearing down the elitist labels associated with classical music. He experiments with VR and shaking up the classical-concert format to make orchestras and music more accessible. In a lyrical conversation with Monocle’s Robert Bound he muses over the idea of danger in classical music, pushing virtuosos’ comfort zones and giving back to the system.

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8828 Oct 2018
27 min

Agnès Varda: 

French film director Agnès Varda was a key protagonist in the new wave of French cinema in the 1960s. Her signature films include ‘Cleo from 5-7’, ‘Vagabond’ and ‘The Gleaners and I’. At age 90, ‘Faces Places’ is her latest documentary about a road trip to rural France with world-renowned artist JR. She talks to Robert Bound about bringing attention to the ordinary, using cinema to build bridges and her trademark two-coloured haircut.

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8721 Oct 2018
30 min

Mary Robinson: 

The former president of Ireland and ex-UN high commissioner for human rights devoted her life to standing up for gender equality and social justice around the world. Today, she is an outspoken climate-change campaigner. In conversation with Tom Edwards, she talks about her podcast ‘Mothers of invention’ and how she’s retained a positive outlook.

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8614 Oct 2018
28 min

Kerry James Marshall: 

The celebrated Chicago-based artist, known for his figurative paintings depicting black figures using his signature black paint, sits down with Augustin Macellari to reflect on his early passion for painting, the influence of the European masters and the invisibility of black bodies in the western canon of art.

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857 Oct 2018
30 min

David Sedaris: 

The American humorist and bestselling author joins Georgina Godwin to discuss his latest book, ‘Calypso’. He muses over everything from family dynamics and awkward social situations to the boundaries of humour and the role of entertainment in a time of troubling politics.

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846 May 2018
30 min

Ian Bremmer: 

For our season finale we sit down with Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group. He is one of the world’s leading political-risk experts, specialising in US foreign policy, states in transition and global political risk. He talks to Tom Edwards about his new book ‘Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism’, which explains the rise of populist leaders and why we shouldn’t blame their supporters.

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8329 Apr 2018
30 min

The chefs: 

Ahead of the publication of Monocle’s inaugural ‘Drinking & Dining Directory’, we hear from some of the great chefs and restaurateurs who have featured on past episodes of ‘The Big Interview’. Join Tom Edwards for a tasty mix of insights from the likes of Massimo Bottura, Ruth Rogers, Bill Granger and Jeremy King.

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8222 Apr 2018
30 min

Robert Harris: 

The author of numerous bestsellers, including ‘Fatherland’, ‘The Fear Index’ and ‘An Officer and a Spy’, sits down with Robert Bound to talk about his new novel ‘Munich’, as well as themes ranging from ancient Rome to contemporary politics and why it’s difficult to write political fiction in the modern world.

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8115 Apr 2018
30 min

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: 

The Nigerian novelist known for critically acclaimed titles such as ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ and ‘Americanah’ joins Monocle foreign editor Megan Gibson to talk about being black in America, becoming a global feminist icon, Nigerian fashion and the challenges facing the Left.

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