The Grand Tourist with Dan Rubinstein

Mexican architect Frida Escobedo is a once-in-a-generation breakthrough talent who is bringing a new, refreshing point of view to her profession. On this episode, Dan speaks with the designer about her creative process, her upcoming expansion of New York’s Met Museum, the key lessons she thinks all students should hear, how she deals with critics, and her first-ever residential condo building in New York, Bergen.

For the past decade, one independent magazine has been reshaping our idea of design: the Milan-based biannual Cabana. Through its lush interiors and nostalgic eye on Milanese style, it has inspired a new generation of aficionados on what good taste is in the 21st century. On this episode, Dan speaks with its founder and editor, Martina Mondadori, about how the stylish title came to be, her upbringing in an influential Italian family, the media brand’s expansion into furniture and accessories, and her new book celebrating Cabana’s 10th anniversary.

Artist and educator Judy Chicago has revolutionized the art world with her unique and brave takes on art from a feminist perspective. On this special episode, Chicago reads excerpts from five chapters of her recent book “Revelations,” which explores a new creation myth, brings to light forgotten heroes of history, tells a new kind of harrowing end-of-days story, and more. Between the chapters, Chicago gives advice to young artists and activists, tells her own personal story that informed the book, and sets her record straight on what feminism is really all about.

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.