15 April 2018
Episode 81
30 minutes
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.
15 April 2018
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.
The Big Interview - latest episodes
John Waters
Film director John Waters, aka the Pope of Trash, is known for his 1972 film ‘Pink Flamingos’ and 1988’s ‘Hairspray’, later a hit Broadway musical. Today he writes books and performs standup. He spoke to Monocle’s Daphne…
Samantha Power
From 2013 to 2017 Samantha Power served in Barack Obama’s cabinet and as US ambassador to the UN. Starting out as a journalist, she won the Pulitzer prize in 2003 and has now written a memoir, ‘The Education of an Idealist’…
François Ozon
The French director received international acclaim for his 2002 musical-comedy-drama ‘8 Women’, starring Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert; ‘Swimming Pool’ (2003) starring Charlotte Rampling; and the psychosexual…
Nicholas Britell
The Academy Award-nominated composer and pianist is the musical brain behind the scores of Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning film ‘Moonlight’ and ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’, as well as Adam McKay’s ‘Vice’ and ‘The Big Short’…
Jill Tarter
The award-winning astrophysicist is a pioneer in the field known as Seti (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). For more than four decades she has been leading the way in attempting to answer the age-old human…
Darina Allen
For more than three decades, Darina Allen has been tempting would-be chefs from around the world to her renowned cookery school, Ballymaloe. With 19 cookbooks and numerous TV shows to her name, she has gone on to become the…
Imelda Staunton
Despite popular film credits including the Harry Potter series and an Oscar-nominated turn in 2004’s ‘Vera Drake’, Imelda Staunton has never strayed far from the stage. She’s won four Olivier awards, most recently for her…
James Ellroy
Known as the demon dog of American literature, Ellroy has won numerous awards for his Los Angeles Quartet novels, ‘The Black Dahlia’, ‘The Big Nowhere’, ‘LA Confidential’ and ‘White Jazz’. Now he has returned to LA with a…
Carla Sozzani
Sozzani, a luminary of the fashion industry, founded Milan’s 10 Corso Como in 1991. This union of culture and commerce – with photography, fashion, design, music and cuisine under one roof – marked the beginning of a new…
Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond’s 1997 book ‘Guns, Germs And Steel’ is one of the most influential non-fiction books of our time. It won a Pulitzer prize and influenced presidents and prime ministers. His latest book, ‘Upheaval: How Nations…
Sebastián Lelio
The Chilean writer-director has made critically acclaimed films such as ‘Disobedience’ and ‘A Fantastic Woman’ (the latter won best foreign language film at the Academy awards in 2018). His latest film is ‘Gloria Bell’, a…
Dame Patricia Routledge
The legendary sitcom ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ became one of the UK’s most successful international productions. While Hyacinth Bucket is certainly Routledge’s most famous role, it’s just one of the 90-year-old actor’s many…
Sir Terry Farrell
Architect Sir Terry Farrell’s postmodern pastiche of styles include the MI6 building and the Breakfast Television Centre in London. His six-decade career has veered from masterplanning city blocks to building train stations…
Ottessa Moshfegh
The acclaimed American writer’s short stories first appeared in ‘The Paris Review’, ‘The New Yorker’, ‘Granta’ and others. She went on to publish her first novella ‘McGlue’ in 2014 and won the PEN/Hemingway Award for her…
Fatima Bhutto
The author is the niece of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and part of the Pakistani political dynasty. In her memoir ‘Songs of Blood and Sword’, she tells the story of a turbulent and tragic family history…
