Middle Eastern rock music, 1980s female wrestling and life behind bars

Chapter 1

TV review: Alice Vincent

Alice Vincent, arts and entertainment writer for The Telegraph, gives her verdict on Peter Capaldi’s tenure as the Doctor on ‘Doctor Who’ and tells us about Netflix’s 1980s-set wrestling saga, ‘Glow’.

Chapter 2

Podcast review: Hannah Verdier

Hannah Verdier, author of The Guardian’s Pod Complex column, tells us why we should listen to two new podcasts: ‘Ear Hustle’, Radiotopia’s new series that takes us inside the cells of prisoners at one of America’s most notorious prisons and ‘Two Shot Podcast’, the show about actors by actors that leaves the glitz and glamour at the door and discusses the realities of life on camera and stage.

Chapter 3

Documenting Turkey

Last summer Turkish filmmaker Imre Azen was working on the follow-up to his acclaimed 2012 documentary 'Ekümenopolis', about Istanbul's explosive urban growth, when a failed coup attempt plunged Turkey into political turmoil. Azen quickly switched gears, focusing his lens instead on the state of emergency decreed in the coup's wake by president Erdogan, and the resulting widespread crackdown against government critics. In 'Turkey on the Edge', which airs on 11 July on Arte, Azen documents the precarious situation now faced by the country's democratic opposition. Monocle correspondent Chris Frey spoke to Azen about the film in Istanbul.

Chapter 4

Music and mayhem in the Middle East

For six years journalist and heavy-metal fan Orlando Crowcroft lived in the Middle East as a foreign correspondent. During his period there he noticed how a new generation of rockers and rappers were trying to change the area. From Lebanon to Iran, Crowcroft spoke to many musicians in the region, who sometimes had to risk everything to perform their music. ‘Rock in a Hard Place – Music and Mayhem in the Middle East’ is the result.

Chapter 5

Global Countdown: Italy

Fernando Augusto Pacheco is back with another countdown from somewhere around the world. This week he tackles the top five music singles in Italy.