The Culture Shot

Foreign language film and television has been dominating our screens. With films such RRR (India) making history as the first foreign language film to win the Best Original Song category at this year’s Golden Globes, and Parasite (South Korea) scooping up all the major awards in 2020.

To talk about the rise in foreign language film and television, filmmaker Natasha Lance Rogoff joins host Ben Monro-Davies, and shares the fascinating tale of how she brought Sesame Street to post-communist Russia. In the wake of political tensions, she talks about navigating the cultural clashes colouring nearly every aspect of the production and how she adapted the iconic series for Russian audiences. Her new book Muppets in Moscow hits UK bookshelves this month.

What does it take to run a top studio space in the heart of South-East London? 

In this episode, Loanne Collyer,  Consultant at one of London’s most versatile production and events spaces, Sugar Studios, speaks to  host Ben Monro-Davies to offer an insight into what happens behind-the-scenes. She discusses day-to-day activity, working with a wide portfolio of clients, and trends for the future of studio space

When we think of popular children’s literature, the first thing that comes to mind are the characters. From Quentin Blake’s unique style as featured in Roald Dahl’s books, to David McKee’s beloved Elmer the patchwork elephant, through to the classics including Beatrix Potter and Dr Seuss.

On this episode, children’s author and illustrator Korky Paul, the man behind everyone’s favourite witch, Winnie the Witch and her feline companion Wilbur, speaks to host Ben Monro-Davies about the impact of his characters on children’s reading.

This year marks the 35thanniversary of the iconic series and Korky sheds light on the process behind creating a character much loved by children and adults alike.

Identity in the world of art and culture is reshaping the relationship between spectator and the artist, helping us to gain new perspectives and understanding of other people's lives.

On this episode, host Ben Monro-Davies speaks to art curator, Ellen Nash, who’s worked with world-renowned artists including Toma Stenko and Georgii Uv. She talks about how identity influences and inspires creativity.

Linguistic diversity is a valuable gift but can sometimes act as a barrier for important knowledge and work to get noticed.

On this episode, host Ben Monro-Davies speaks to Bibiana Mas, founder of the revolutionary independent publisher, 3TimesRebel Press. She talks the power of translation in helping minority voices gain the recognition they deserve. In regions where marginalised groups are silenced for speaking their truth, translation can be a lifeline.

What is does the future of art look like in an age of Artificial Intelligence?

In this episode, Ben Monro-Davies speaks to Aidan Meller, the creative gallery director behind Ai-Da the robot, world’s first humanoid AI robot artist.

He shares the story of Ai-Da’s early inception, seeing her AI evolve to become a media sensation and tackles the age-old debate of humans’ vs robots.

What makes a successful Author? Is it the number of book-sales, notoriety or is it a bit more complicated than that?

In this episode, Ben Monro-Davies speaks to the best-selling thriller author CLTaylor, about the challenges of building ‘brand recognition’ as an author, especially as the publishing space becomes increasingly crowded with celebrity and influencer authors.

She talks about being a female writer in the thriller genre, shifting the narrative in a genre where women have traditionally been accessories to the plot and giving agency back to the female characters in her stories.

To celebrate World Poetry Day, this week we’re hearing from Katherine Lockton, an Anglo-Bolivian poet and author of Paper Doll, published by flipped eye. Katherine is also one of the judges of the new competition Poetry for Good and the editor of South Bank Poetry. This is a must-listen for poetry fans!

As Bookshop.org hits £1m generated in profit for independent bookshops in just four months, we sit down with UK MD Nicole Vanderbilt to learn about the story so far, and how the ethical ecommerce platform is changing the game for indie bookshops.

In this week’s episode we hear from Janie Brown, author of Radical Acts of Love: How we Find Hope at the End of Life and founder of the Callanish Society, a charity in Canada which helps people with cancer to face death with courage. Brown, who has worked over 30 years as an oncology nurse and counsellor, tells us about a life-changing encounter early in her career, making sense of the end of life and much more.