The Grand Tourist with Dan Rubinstein

On this special episode, Dan speaks with designers and curators dealing with the many facets of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: from Max Gorbatskyi and Viktoria Bavykina, who conceived “Net Making,” the country’s pavilion at the recent Art Biennale in Venice, to Sasha Topolnytska, who co-curated the summer exhibition “Constructing Hope: Ukraine” at New York’s Center for Architecture, and designing couple Victoria Karieva and Andrii Anisimov of the Kyiv-based interiors firm Between the Walls, who are building a business amid rolling blackouts and satellite internet.

On this special episode sponsored by Lumens, Dan speaks with three emerging design studios: Charlap Hyman & Herrero, a bicoastal firm that brings a curatorial eye to a variety of spaces; Sophie Lou Jacobsen, a product designer who taps a sense of nostalgia for her works in glass and metal; and BoND, a New York architecture firm that creates galleries, boutiques, and homes with an unconventional, often alluring point of view.

It’s hard to think of a famous person from the past half century that hasn’t sat for a portrait by Jonathan Becker. From Madonna and Mikhail Gorbachev to Gore Vidal and Andy Warhol, this legendary photographer’s work is exposed in a stunning (and first) monograph, Jonathan Becker: Lost Time. On this episode, Dan speaks with Becker about his days as a young protégé of Brassaï, his days in New York during the heyday of the ’70s, his decades of contributions to Vanity Fair, his thoughts on the art form today, and how he once drove Diana Vreeland around in a taxi.

Few homes in the UK have the grandeur and layered history of Blenheim Palace. From its tumultuous early days to the birth of Winston Churchill, Blenheim has stayed in one family’s hands for centuries. On this episode, Dan speaks with Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, whose family looks after this resplendent country house. The two discuss her new book from Rizzoli, Blenheim: 300 Years of Life in a Palace, the inside story on Winston’s accidental birth there, and so much more.

Designers Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch are a true power couple in the world of design. Through their wildly successful firm Roman & Williams, they have changed the visual language of hospitality through their projects for hotels like Ace Hotel and The Standard, and with their own product business, RW Guild, they’ve influenced how the well-heeled think about home. On this episode, Dan speaks with the duo about how they met working behind the scenes in the film industry, their breakout projects in New York, plans for the future, and much more.

Actress and singer Patti LuPone has left an indelible mark on the world of theater. Known for her breakthrough roles in musicals such as Evita and Les Misérables, and for collaborating with the likes of David Mamet and Stephen Sondheim, LuPone has equally stunned audiences with her voice and acting chops. With a new show on Broadway, The Roommate costarring Mia Farrow, and a role in the new Marvel series Agatha All Along, she speaks with Dan about her early days in a traveling theater group, whether or not she’s seen a ghost in a haunted theater, what she learned from Mamet, and much more.

Through art, film, fashion, collecting, and now music, Daphne Guinness has been a creative force and industry muse second to none. On this season finale of The Grand Tourist, Dan speaks with Guinness about her new album “Sleep,” what it was like collaborating with legendary producer Tony Visconti, the unconventional summers of her youth with Salvador Dalí, her memories of Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow, her thoughts on AI and the future of creativity, and more.

For decades, this writer, editor, publisher, and tastemaker has been leaving an indelible mark on the worlds of design, fashion, travel, and media at large. As the founder of pivotal magazines Wallpaper and Monocle, Brûlé has forever altered the way we think about what’s good and proper. On this episode, Dan speaks with the Canadian expat about his early career in broadcast journalism, how he took bullets in Afghanistan, why his magazine avoids social media, and why his takes on culture and society always seem to hit the bull’s-eye.