The Briefing Room

Non-Fungible Tokens


Listen Later

When a collage of digital images was sold in New York earlier this year for £50 million, the art world was convulsed. The reason? The picture couldn't be hung on a wall and was only visible online.

What had been bought and sold was the non-fungible token - or NFT - relating to the collage. David Aaronovitch and his guests discover how NFTs work for those who sell and those who buy them and also consider if NFTs are a passing fad or an aspect of our culture that is becoming increasingly common and might lead to the emergence of a future John Constable or Tracy Emin, eventually spreading to and influencing other art forms.

Enter the Briefing Room and find out why collectors are investing in NFTs; how easy it is to spot a fake and what you can do about it; and whether non-fungibles will be an enduring part of the artistic - and investment - worlds in the years ahead.

Those taking part include: Georgina Adam of The Art Newspaper; investor in NFTs and co-founder and chief executive of the Arts and culture portal Vastari, Bernardine Bröcker Wieder; and the art historian, former art dealer and presenter of the BBC FOUR series, Britain's Lost Masterpieces, Bendor Grosvenor.

Producers Simon Coates and Bob Howard

Editor Jasper Corbett

Image: Visitors to "Machine Hallucinations - Space: Metaverse" by Refik Anadol, which will be auctioned online as an NFT at Sothebys, at the Digital Art Fair, Hong Kong

Credit: REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Briefing RoomBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

53 ratings


More shows like The Briefing Room

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,913 Listeners

The Archers by BBC Radio 4

The Archers

1,086 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

376 Listeners

More or Less by BBC Radio 4

More or Less

863 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,067 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,576 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,808 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,729 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,952 Listeners

The Bottom Line by BBC Radio 4

The Bottom Line

38 Listeners

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast by Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

428 Listeners

Moral Maze by BBC Radio 4

Moral Maze

73 Listeners

Political Fix by Financial Times

Political Fix

149 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

746 Listeners

Politics from the New Statesman by The New Statesman

Politics from the New Statesman

141 Listeners

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson by BBC Radio 4

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

108 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,245 Listeners

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government by Institute for Government

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

20 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

779 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,010 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,858 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics: Leading by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics: Leading

851 Listeners

When It Hits the Fan by BBC Radio 4

When It Hits the Fan

45 Listeners

Radical with Amol Rajan by BBC Radio 4

Radical with Amol Rajan

48 Listeners