Artists at Work

Nikki Bedi speaks to visionary Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn about his latest movie, Her Private Hell, and discusses this week’s cultural highlights with critic Zing Tsjeng:

Plus, we hear from Oscar-winning French actor Juliette Binoche on her morally complex new film, Queen at Sea

British author Candice Carty-Williams on bringing back her much-loved character, Queenie for her new novel

American actor Bill Pullman on playing groovy jazz legend Bill Evans’ father in a new biopice

And man of the moment, Welsh actor Matthew Rhys on Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me, which have just earned him a record-breaking scoop at the Emmy Awards

An edition of In The Studio on the subject that became the dominant story across the world in the summer of 2026. In December 2024, the Scottish poet Leonie Charlton’s house burned to the ground. From that moment, Leonie was obsessed with fire. She saw it everywhere, writing about and mulling over the acute experience of watching everything she and her family had ever owned go up in flames. In early summer this year, Leonie set off through the ruggedly wild and beautiful landscape of the West Coast of Scotland to write a new poem about fire for her forthcoming collection Deerlands. But, within days, the thousands of wildfires across the world began to take hold, reaching into Scotland too. This is a programme about a poet responding to a personal calamity just at the moment it becomes a global calamity. Presented by Antonia Quirke.

In the south of England, Hastings' traditional Jack in the Green takes place every early May Day weekend and sees a seven foot-tall conical tower of leaves - the Jack - being processed through the old fishing quarters of the town before being led up to a steep hill overlooking the sea where it is 'slain' to release the spirit of summer as the gathered, fervent, crowds take home leaves from him as symbols of luck and fertility. Neil McCarthy goes behind the scenes of one of the biggest celebrations of May Day in the United Kingdom.

The Bayeux Tapestry has English history stitched into its fabric, depicting the last time the country was invaded, by William the Conqueror in 1066. France has been its home since then. But now thanks to high-level negotiations involving President Emmanuel Macron and King Charles III, it will be on display at the British Museum until next summer. Ten colours of woollen thread were used create battlefields and sea voyages on the artwork, as well as scenes of everyday life in the 11th century. Loaded into a specially-built case designed to withstand vibrations, it was transported on its own train under the English Channel – along with a police escort. They even had two practice runs without the tapestry to make sure things ran smoothly. In this episode of In the Studio, where we follow artists as they work, Julian May tells the story of the tapestry’s safe return to England and the preparation for what promises to be a blockbuster exhibition. A million people are expected to see the tapestry and it still inspires memes that show French and English football players in the World Cup wearing chain mail. In the dimly-lit gallery Julian watches while the condition of the Tapestry is checked, as it lies flat in its temperature-controlled case. He witnesses how a millennium after a small group of expert needlewomen embroidered the work of art, a small group of skilled curators – all women too – are nurturing their work: a sisterhood stretching over 70 metres of linen cloth – and a thousand years.

Steve Levine is a multi-award winning British record producer. He has produced albums for stars ranging from Deniece Williams to China Crisis; from Ziggy Marley to Quarterflash; as well as being producer of Culture Club’s first three multi-platinum selling albums from the 1980s.

A Magnum Opus Broadcasting production for the BBC World Service

Harriett talks with Daniyal Mueenuddin about This Is Where the Serpent Lives.

Daniyal's debut novel is a rich and compelling portrait of contemporary Pakistan, following the intertwined lives of unforgettable characters whose fortunes are shaped by love, ambition, loyalty and betrayal. Set against the backdrop of a vast rural estate, the novel explores the lives of servants and landowners, dreamers and opportunists, as they navigate systems of class, power and privilege.

Recorded in front of live audience in Edinburgh, Daniyal will be answering questions about how he created such an intimate portrait of life in Pakistan, the challenges of writing an epic that spans decades, and if it's possible for people to break free of the role society deems they must fulfill.

Harriett Gilbert welcomes you to the Artists at Work podcast feed, the home of arts and culture from BBC World Service, where World Book Club will be joined by In the Studio and the Arts Hour.

In The Studio follows the world’s leading creative figures while they work. Nikki Bedi hosts The Arts Hour, with news of the latest releases from around the world, and in World Book Club Harriett Gilbert puts your questions and comments to best-selling authors.

In the Studio episodes are released on Tuesdays, The Arts Hour with you on Fridays and World Book Club drops on the first Saturday of each month.

Kaarina Parker talks about her debut novel set in ancient Rome - Fulvia. The novel tells the tale of Fulvia, the daughter of a wealthy but inconsequential Roman family. Raised in the country, she yearns for excitement, for power. When her father dies and her inheritance is threatened, Fulvia makes her way to Rome to forge her own fate.

There she marries a young aristocrat named Clodius, who is more interested in his hedonistic pleasures than politics. Fulvia is drawn into his world of debauchery, and learns that the balance of power in the Republic is precarious. Her ambition drives them both to political power that draws the attention of the senate, as well as shadowy underworld opponents. The heart of the Empire proves to be a dangerous place, and Fulvia soon learns that her ambitions may come at a terrible cost.

Kaarina will be answering your questions about the place of women in ancient Rome, how to balance historical back with unique storytelling, and why historical fiction from a female perspective is so popular with contemporary readers.

American author Rachel Kusher talks about her award-winning novel, The Mars Room. The novel follows Romy Hall, as she begins two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility, after killing her stalker.

The story weaves between the two sides of Romy’s existence. First, the prison world where women struggle for the bare essentials of life. Second, the San Francisco of her youth, The Mars Room strip club where she once danced, and days spent with her angelic seven-year-old son, Jackson.

Gritty, daring and sometimes darkly comedic, The Mars Room is both a searing, and deeply empathetic exploration of the American penal system.

Rachel answers your questions about her years of research into prison life, how her protagonist came to be, and if wider societal structures mean some people are pre-determined to end up behind bars.

Presenter: Harriet Gilbert

World Book Club welcomes Karin Slaughter to answer your questions about her brutal, heart-rending thriller, The Good Daughter.

28 years after the murder of their mother, another horrific crime forces sisters Sam and Charlie Quinn to confront the truth about the night that shattered their family so long ago.

Karin will be asking your questions about her attitude to violence in her novels, the dynamics of sisterhood, and why saving public libraries is more important than ever in the modern world.