May 18, 2019

Birds of Passage, White Pearl, Thomas Harris/Denise Mina, Tale of Two Empires

54 minutes

Colombian film Birds of Passage explores the emergence of illegal drug trading in the 60s and 70s and it's ghastly effects and lasting legacy on family.

Corporate black comedy White Pearl has opened at London's Royal Court. About 6 Asian women in an office in Singapore who try to fix a problem when their advertisement goes viral by mistake. And then things spiral out of control.

New novels from Thomas Harris - Cari Mora: set in Miami, monsters lurk in the crevices between male desire and female survival. And also from Denise Mina - Conviction: about a woman whose complicated secret past begins to catch up with - and then threatens to overtake - her.

A Tale of Two Empires at Birmingham's Barber Institute looks at the coins from the same period of Rome and Persia. Also we take a look at their permanent art collection.

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Tom Holland, Arifa Akbar and Danielle Thom. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Podcast Extra recommendations:

Tom H: Linda Grant - A Stranger City and Game of Thrones.

Arifa: Rejoicing at her Wondrous Vulva, the Young Woman Applauded Herself at The Oval House and Whatever Happened to Interracial Love by Kathleen Collins.

Danielle waxed lyrical about the joy of mending and making things by hand and of psychogeography. Also the imminent Secret Rivers Of London exhibition at The Museum of London.

Tom S: The Longdrop by Denise Mina and Years and Years on BBC1.

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By BBC Radio 4

4.5

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