Nikki Bedi and Hanna Flint discuss cultural highlights of the week:

American director Noah Baumbach on working with George Clooney on the film, Jay Kelly.

English-Japanese actor Will Sharpe on portraying Mozart in the TV series, Amadeus.

Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania tells Nikki about the making her film, The Voice of Hind Rajab.

Spanish-born actor Oona Chaplin talks about her work on Avatar: Fire and Ash.

And Brazilian-Norwegian singer songwriter Charlotte Dos Santos explains why she likes recording onto tape.

(Photo: Kaouther Ben Hania Credit: Ammar Abd Rabbo)

Nikki Bedi talks to Oscar-winning, Chinese director Chloé Zhao, who discusses making her new film Hamnet, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.

Plus, Timothée Chalamet on table tennis and playing the title role in the movie Marty Supreme.

Danish-Norwegian film-maker Joachim Trier talks about his latest film Sentimental Value.

And Mexican actor Diego Calva on working internationally as a bilingual South American performer.

Nikki is joined by critic Leila Latif to discuss the cultural highlights of the week.

(Photo: Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal in Hamnet Crefit: Focus Features LLC)

Welcoming in the new year with a laugh, host Daliso Chaponda is joined by six international comedians for our annual comedy show: Norwegian comedian Thor Stenhaug, Nigerian stand-up Ayoade Bamgboye, South African Indian comic Kaneez Surka, Greek comedian George Zacharopoulos, Singaporean stand-up Jin Hao Li and American comic Kemah Bob.

Main image: Daliso Chaponda

As 2025 draws to a close, Nikki Bedi talks to writer Zadie Smith in a speacial interview about one of the big literary moments of the year: the publication of her new essay collection, Dead and Alive. The author of White Teeth, On Beauty and The Fraud reflects on what it means to be a muse, the idea of an "Art Monster" and how she grew up watching nine hours of television a day.

Also on the show we hear about Margaret Atwood's early memories of reading George Orwell, and from two men of the moment - Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal - about starring as two music-collecting lovers in The History of Sound.

Australian star Toni Collette reveals what it was like working with Kate Winslet on her directorial debut, the festive tear-jerker Goodbye June; and Kenyan-British director Gurinder Chadha recalls how a trip to India inspired her novel Bollywood take on Jane Austen, Bride and Prejudice.

Plus critic Rhianna Dhillon gives her thoughts on the film highlight of the year, and what to look forward to next.

Producer: Ciaran Bermingham

Nikki Bedi is on stage at Teatro Italia in Rome with leading creatives and a live audience, to explore the impact of the country’s colossal cultural history on its new wave of artistic talent.

Creative powerhouse Margherita Vicario reveals the inspiration for her film Gloria!, about rebellious women musicians in a convent in 1800 Venice.

Horror maestro Paolo Strippoli explains the meaning of his film, The Holy Boy, set in a village that depends on the miraculous healing powers of a teenage boy.

There is live comedy from Luca Ravenna.

Live music comes from singer songwriter Levante and poetic rapper Mecna.

And Daniele Tinti is Nikki’s insider guide to Rome’s revealing locations

Photo credit: Marco Ponzianelli

This edition has been updated since originally published to clarify a location detail.

Nikki Bedi and film critic Guy Lodge discuss cultural highlights of the week.

(Photo: Bing Liu. Credit: MetFilms)

Nikki Bedi speaks to film-maker Neeraj Ghaywan about his film Homebound, which is India’s entry for the Best International Feature category at the Oscars.

She also talks to the director Shih-Ching Tsou about Taiwan’s entry for the same category, the Taipei-set film Left-Handed Girl.

Plus a chance to hear about Australia’s entry, The Wolves Always Come at Night from the film-maker Gabrielle Brady.

The creators of Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers talk about the series genesis and the 1980s themes.

Nikki Bedi is joined by cultural critic Zing Tsjeng to discuss all of this and more.

(Photo: Neeraj Ghaywan. Credit: Dharma Productions)

Nikki Bedi talks to director Nia DaCosta about her film Hedda starring Tessa Thompson and is joined by cultural critic Hanna Flint.

Oscar winning British actor Daniel Day-Lewis and his director son Ronan, discuss working together on their film Anemone.

Australian actor Sarah Snook, of Succession fame, talks about her latest series All Her Fault.

And Puerto Rican guitarist Carlos Alomar on collaborating with David Bowie.

Main image: Tessa Thompson as Hedda

Audio for this episode was updated on 2nd December 2025.

Director Jon M Chu talks about Wicked: For Good - the themes, working with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, and he reveals his favourite scene in the film.

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan and star Rhea Seehorn discuss their new series Pluribus.

British actor Riz Ahmed on being a man of few words in the thriller Relay.

And Nikki Bedi is joined by cultural critic, Larushka Ivan- Zadeh

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

In a special edition of The Arts Hour, Nikki Bedi talks to two of the judges on this year's Booker Prize for Fiction, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ and Chris Power, before Roddy Doyle announces the winner. We hear from fellow judges Sarah Jessica Parker and all of the writers on the shortlist:

Flashlight by Susan Choi

Producer: Ciaran Bermingham

Photo Credit: David Parry for the Booker Prize Foundation