Life and Art from FT Weekend

It’s a time-honored tradition: for the third year in a row, FT Weekend editor-at-large Matt Vella joins Lilah to reflect on this past year, and muse on the coming one. We’ve asked listeners to send their predictions and wishes for 2025, and today we’re talking through them! Will next year bring an end to meme culture? How do we step away from restaurant reservation wars? Will Lena Dunham make a comeback? Plus, Matt tells us why he is embracing chaos, and why we should all let go of the fear of being watched.------ As you know, the show is ending in early January – and you can still send in a cultural question through December. What’s rolling around in your head? How can we help? Email Lilah at lilahrap@ft.com, or connect with her on Instagram @lilahrap.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – You can flip through all of our listeners’ and colleagues’ predictions on Instagram, here– You can read Lena Dunham on Sally Rooney in our 2024 Women of the Year round-up here: https://www.ft.com/womenof2024– Lilah mentions this piece by Anne Helen Petersen on how we’re all posting less on social media, and this opinion piece by Michael Grunwald about the future of farming– Matt mentions the rise of the noodle boys– You can listen to last year’s predictions here, or by searching ‘Life and Art 2024 cultural predictions’– Matt is on X @mattvella-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Music clip from Family ProductionsRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Today we are bringing you a winter survival guide, full of deceptively small tips that will make winter unmeasurably better. How do we best appreciate these cold, dark months? How do we stay stimulated, but also reject the grind? Our FT Weekend Magazine’s resident “winter goddesses” Griselda Murray Brown and Cordelia Jenkins join Lilah armed with tons of delightful suggestions, from buying warm lightbulbs to reading your friends’ dusty old books. They also fight about electric vests. It’s a joy. We hope you love it.------ As you know, the show is ending in early January – we’re still collecting your cultural questions. What’s rolling around in your head? How can we help? Email Lilah at lilahrap@ft.com, or connect with her on Instagram @lilahrap. -------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – For our summer episode, search ‘How to have the perfect summer’ wherever you listen. Here it is on Spotify– The FT Magazine’s advent special is full of tips for enjoying winter– Lulu’s piece about watching 100 Christmas films is here: https://on.ft.com/3BBYrUR– Cordelia mentioned “jealousy lists”: here’s the FT’s list of favourite non-FT articles published this year. Here’s Bloomberg’s (paywall). Cordelia is most jealous of this Guardian piece by Jonathan Nunn about Nicholas Saunders: “Hippy, capitalist, guru, grocer: the forgotten genius who changed British food” – Gris loved Laura Marling’s album Patterns in Repeat. She also mentioned the book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat by Katherine May.  – Gris is on Instagram @griseldamurraybrown. Cordelia is on Bluesky @cordeliajenkins-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Music clip from Chrysalis RecordsRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Elif Shafak’s new novel brings together four stories set in three different centuries: ancient Mesopotamia, 19th century London, a Yazidi village in 2014, and the present day. It connects them through the epic of Gilgamesh, and a single drop of fresh water. Making history come alive is one of Elif’s many talents, and today she shares her thoughts on how novels can fill in the gaps in authorised history. She also talks with Lilah about the importance of the unwritten word — and why she looks to oral traditions to make sense of the past.-------As you know, the show is ending in early January – we’re still collecting your cultural questions. What’s rolling around in your head? How can we help? Email Lilah at lilahrap@ft.com or message her on Instagram @lilahrap.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Elif Shafak’s new novel There are Rivers in the Sky, is out now in the US and the UK– Read the FT’s review of the book here: https://on.ft.com/4gC9cWd– Lilah spoke with Elif about her previous novel The Island of Missing Trees and the stories we tell ourselves back in 2020. Listen to that interview hereRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com

The FT’s books of the year special is out, and today, our literary editor Fred Studemann and outgoing deputy books editor Laura Battle join us one last time to talk about their top picks of 2024. This year has seen some huge releases from authors including Sally Rooney, Miranda July, Alexei Navalny, Al Pacino and Salman Rushdie. What trends did Fred and Laura notice this year? What books did they love? -------As you know, the show is ending in early January – we’re still collecting your cultural questions. What’s rolling around in your head? How can we help? Email Lilah at lilahrap@ft.com or message her on Instagram @lilahrap.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Books we mentioned: Orbital by Samantha Harvey; Patriot by Alexei Navalny; All Fours by Miranda July; Haunted Wood by Sam Leith; Rosarita by Anita Desai; There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak; Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World by David van Reybrouck; A Voyage Around the Queen by Craig Brown; Killing Time by Alan Bennett; Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Wizard of the Kremlin by Giuliano da Empoli; Hope by Pope Francis (2025); and Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2025)– The FT Books of the Year are out now! Here is a roundup of the FT’s top columnists and editors’ book recommendations for 2024, including Fred’s top picks. Laura’s fiction picks are here.– Food, drink and travel books are here. Music books here. Art and design books are here. Check out the full guide for more (paywall)Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Have you ever wondered about the oldest recipes in history? They were discovered on four clay tablets from about 1,700 BCE at the time of the Assyrian Empire. Did you know that about 5 million Assyrians still live around the world today? This year, a cookbook was published that is the first modern collection of exclusively Assyrian cuisine, food that has a lot of overlap with those ancient tablets. It’s called The Oldest Kitchen in the World, and in it, Matay de Mayee records the recipes of his mother, Smuni Turan — recipes her ancestors have been passing down orally for centuries. Today, they join Lilah in the studio to talk about their kitchen.-------The Oldest Kitchen in the World is published in English, Dutch and German — in Dutch and German its title is Haniyé. You can find it in bookshops in the US, Canada, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and online.-------Send us your predictions! Write to Lilah at lilahrap@ft.com or on Instagram @lilahrap. And — thank you.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

December is here, and we’re here to help you sort your holiday shopping. Need to make a last-minute gift feel thoughtful? Searching for something for your dad? Want to give a cheap gift a glow-up? Hoping to also actually enjoy December? Lilah has invited two experts onto the show: HTSI’s deputy editor Louis Wise and FT Magazine’s Food & Drink editor Harriet Fitch Little, the brains behind the FT’s two annual holiday gift guides. Please enjoy our most chaotic episode to date.-------As you know, the show is ending in early January – we’re still collecting your cultural questions. We have access to critics, reporters, artists and more – and Lilah is determined to find you the most interesting answers she can. What’s rolling around in your head? How can we help? Email her at lilahrap@ft.com or send her a message on Instagram @lilahrap.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – The FT Magazine’s gift guide, in price order, is here. We also love their advent calendar, with tips for every day of December– HTSI’s holiday gift guide highlights: here is Louis’ Christmas buys for stylish guys (which includes the Prada jumprope), HTSI editor Jo Ellison’s guide for fashion lovers, Drinks columnist Alice Lascelles’ for booze lovers and Laila Gohar’s for party hosts– The HTSI guide to black hoodies for men– Harriet’s cheese interview (you cut the cheese in the shape of the cheese!)– Vox’s article on buying the perfect gift is here– Harriet is on Instagram @huffffle. Louis is @louisquinzeRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Filmmaker Richard Linklater’s movies span blockbusters, such as School of Rock, cerebral indie classics like Boyhood, and a hard-to-define The Before Trilogy. His most recent film, Hit Man, is a thriller, but it picks up on many themes that Linklater has explored before, such as identity and masculinity. Today, he reflects on the film in conversation with Lilah.  -------Our film critic Danny Leigh’s review of Hit Man is here: https://on.ft.com/4fGIDidDanny also spoke with Richard Linklater in 2018 about his portrayal of masculinity in the movie Last Flag Flying: https://on.ft.com/3Va6v5L-------The show is ending in early January. But we want to know your cultural questions! Write to Lilah at lilahrap@ft.com or on Instagram @lilahrap. And – thank you.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Eli Zabar is the youngest son of the Jewish grocery family behind the famed New York food emporium, Zabar’s. Fifty years ago, he left the family business to open his own shop, where he would pursue the “best”: the best breads, cheeses, jams. He was inspired by the markets of Europe and quickly realised that to get the quality he wanted in America, he would have to do a lot of it himself. Eli is now 81 years old, and over the decades, has watched the food scene catch up. Today, Lilah chases him around one of his markets on the Upper East Side, where they make a sandwich, explore what quality food means and reflect on how food culture has changed.-------Lilah’s profile of Eli’s EAT restaurant is here: https://on.ft.com/4eKrSSj-------The show is ending in early January. But we want to know your cultural questions! Write to Lilah at lilahrap@ft.com or on Instagram @lilahrap. And – thank you.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Today, we’re taking on the much-hyped film adaptation of the musical smash Wicked. Starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum, the story is a loose prequel to The Wizard of Oz, following its two star witches before they become Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West. Why is this film such a big deal? How does it hold up to the Broadway show? And what makes a musical work well onscreen? Lilah is joined by the FT’s Anna Nicolaou and Eric Platt, who attended the New York premiere together, to discuss.-------The show is ending, and we’re collecting your cultural questions. We have access to critics, reporters, producers and experts. What’s rolling around in your head? Let Lilah know by email at lilahrap@ft.com or on Instagram @lilahrap. And – thank you.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – The FT’s four star review of Wicked is here: https://on.ft.com/3CDHvgW – Anna is listening to The Good Whale, a New York Times podcast about the whale from Free Willy– Eric does not recommend the show House of Villains – available on E! and Hayu – but Lilah and Anna think it sounds pretty good– Anna Nicolaou is on Instagram @annanicolaou. Eric is on Bluesky, Instagram and X @EricGPlatt-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Clips copyright Universal PicturesRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com