Our latest Front Row Booker Prize Book Group puts its questions to shortlisted author Chigozie Obioma about his book An Orchestra of Minorities, the story of chicken farmer Chinonso whose aspirations lead him to leave Nigeria for Cyprus – a decision that brings momentous consequences.   Drag star Ginger Johnson reviews RuPaul's Drag Race UK on BBC Three. With contestants such as Baga Chipz and Sum Ting Wong, how does the drag reality competition compare to the multi-Emmy-award-winning US version? Kurt Weill's The Silver Lake is about to tour the UK for the first time. English Touring Opera’s director James Conway discusses the satirical opera which was banned by the Nazis weeks after its first performance in 1933.  Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Edwina Pitman

Booker Book Group with Chigozie Obioma, RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Kurt Weill's The Silver Lake

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The British Library isn’t all books; it has a huge sound archive, one of the largest in the world. It has drawn on this for Beyond the Bassline, the first major exhibition to documenting Black British music. Curators Aleema Gray and Mykaell Riley guide Shahidha Bari through the 500-year musical journey of African and Caribbean people in Britain. Emily Henry is a giant of  the Beach Read: indeed one of her best selling novels is literally called that. With her forthcoming Funny Book, she is joined by author of The Garnett Girls Georgina Moore to discuss what goes into an ideal summer book. And on Shakespeare's birthday, we discuss the women who made him as well as his female contemporaries with Charlotte Scott, from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and Rami Targoff author of Shakespeare's Sisters: Four Women Who Wrote the Renaissance Presenter: Shahidha Bari
Producer: Ciaran Bermingham

Women and Shakespeare, best beach reads, Black British music exhibition

Taylor Swift returns with The Tortured Poets Department, a surprise double album that features 31 tracks that fans are saying is her most intimate and lyrically revealing yet. Joining Tom Sutcliffe to discuss the work are Times music writer Lisa Vericco and Satu Hameenho-Fox, whose new book Into The Taylor-Verse is out next month. The Intercity 125 train, the Kenwood mixer, the Morphy Richards iron, the Wilkinson triple razor, bus shelters, the black cab, and the Parker 25 pen all have one thing in common – they were designed by Sir Kenneth Grange.  As a new book about his life and work comes out, we went to his house to meet him.  Hettie Judah joins us fresh from the famous international cultural exhibition, the Venice Biennale, now in it’s 60th year. She’ll be reviewing the highs and lows. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Julian May

Designer Sir Kenneth Grange, Taylor Swift's new album, Venice Art Biennale

Knife is Salman Rushdie’s memoir about surviving a near-fatal knife attack in August 2022 and the long, painful period of recovery that followed.   Ben Power’s adaption of the Dickens novel Our Mutual Friend – London Tide – which features songs that he co-wrote with PJ Harvey, has just opened at the National Theatre in London.   Baby Reindeer is a new Netflix drama written by and starring Richard Gadd who drew directly on his own shocking experience of being stalked.   All three are reviewed by Tahmima Anam and John Mullan. We also hear from tenor Ian Bostridge on mobile phone use in concert halls and why he stopped a performance of Britten's Les Illuminations with the CBSO last night. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Corinna Jones

London Tide with music by PJ Harvey, Salman Rushdie's story of survival: Knife and tenor Ian Bostridge

Lionel Shriver on her latest novel Mania, in which she creates an alternative USA where the Mental Parity Movement insists that everyone is equally clever. Can a friendship between two women survive when they hold polarised views on this particular “culture war”?  Why are universities all over the country closing arts courses and cutting jobs? Front Row investigates and considers the consequences. Playwright Tyrell Williams talks about his acclaimed play Red Pitch, about three young lads dreaming of football stardom. But what happens when their local football pitch is under threat, as a result of gentrification?  Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Julian May

Lionel Shriver's new book Mania, Tyrell Williams on Red Pitch

Lord Byron died 200 years ago on Friday. Lady Caroline Lamb described him as 'mad, bad and dangerous to know'. Fiona Stafford has edited Byron's Travels, a new selection of his poems, letters and journals. He was only 36 when he died, but had written seven volumes of verse, thirteen volumes of journal and thousands of letters.  The poet A. E. Stallings, who lives in Greece, where Byron died while supporting the Greek struggle for independence - and Fiona Stafford, join Tom Sutcliffe to celebrate this great, scandalous and very funny Romantic poet. We talk about the sped-up music phenomenon, and what it tells us about the constantly evolving relationship between the music industry and music fans. Music business writer Eamonn Forde and singer-songwriter Fiona Bevan are in the Front Row studio. And artist Sir John Akomfrah joins us from the British Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale where he is representing the UK, with his exhibition, Listening All Night To The Rain. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Paul Waters

Booker Book Group with Chigozie Obioma, RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Kurt Weill's The Silver Lake

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