FT Weekend

The stories we tell, with Elif Shafak

Life & Arts columnist Enuma Okoro explores what our cities tell us about ourselves. Then, Lilah speaks with Elif Shafak—the most widely read woman novelist in Turkey—about writing in countries without freedom of speech, and her new book, The Island of Missing Trees. Plus: our prolific Undercover Economist Tim Harford makes a case for letting go of your to-do list. Links from the episode: —Enuma Okoro’s love letter to New York City: https://www.ft.com/content/e2507d84-9a12-4755-a9c7-41c9ea116947 —Lilah’s piece about visiting Armenia: https://www.ft.com/content/2e2f38b0-e7a1-11e8-8a85-04b8afea6ea3 —Review of Elif Shafak’s novel, The Island of Missing Trees: https://www.ft.com/content/1a064a06-bd19-43c7-8237-38931853d0e2 —Tim Harford on to-do lists: https://www.ft.com/content/06ffe40d-fdcc-4be8-b536-810cedce7ed1 —Oliver Burkeman on how not to waste your life (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/dd0d477b-c1f7-4d74-af68-c1ef1692566c We love hearing from you. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. Sound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

September 18, 2021

30 min

9/11 and the passing of time

Twenty years after the Twin Towers were brought down, host Lilah Raptopoulos explores where 9/11 sits in our memories. The FT’s New York correspondent Joshua Chaffin introduces us to billionaire developer Larry Silverstein, who bought the World Trade Center in July of 2001 and had to rebuild on the site of a tragedy. How do spaces change in meaning over time? The FT’s former Kabul correspondent Jon Boone introduces us to the “New Afghanistan” generation, what they were promised, and what was lost. Plus: we hear from a woman who fled the Taliban and is now waiting in limbo in Albania, suddenly a refugee. For a special offer on FT Weekend for all our print and digital content visit ft.com/weekendpodcast. We’re on Twitter at @FTWeekendpod. Lilah is on Twitter and Instagram @lilahrap. Links from the episode: Joshua Chaffin on Larry Silverstein: https://www.ft.com/content/f38a5067-58d1-491f-902f-568abcdd8a84#comments-anchor Jon Boone on The Last Days of the New Afghanistan: https://www.ft.com/content/4a276093-cf85-4da7-9093-6af6443bb53a Sound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

September 11, 2021

27 min

The good life, with chefs Daniel Humm and Alice Waters

In this first-ever episode of the FT Weekend podcast, host Lilah Raptopoulos talks to Eleven Madison Park’s Daniel Humm and Chez Panisse’s legendary Alice Waters to discover how the world’s top chefs are finding purpose beyond their restaurants. Humm created a buzz in May when he announced that his world-famous restaurant would be going entirely plant-based. Has that risk paid off? And what does it mean to do good as a chef? Plus: the FT’s design critic Edwin Heathcote gives us a tour of the world’s most revengeful architecture, and reporter Madison Darbyshire shares tips for how to furnish your home with old things. For a special offer on FT Weekend for all our print and digital content visit ft.com/weekendpodcast. We’re on Twitter at @FTWeekendpod. Lilah is on Twitter and Instagram @lilahrap. Links from the episode: Lilah’s piece on chefs (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/246cdc2a-f135-4d3d-9d74-e524e9217699 Edwin on the architecture of spite (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/1161fbbe-5ae1-4328-bf59-dcd8b1d6564f Madison’s masterclass in flea-market chic: https://www.ft.com/content/6c8bf8a2-ddee-11e9-9743-db5a370481bc Sound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

September 4, 2021

26 min

Trailer: Introducing the FT Weekend podcast

Welcome to our new show: FT Weekend. Every Saturday, from September 4, join host Lilah Raptopoulos for inspiring conversations, in-depth storytelling, a bit of escapism and a lot of fun. Brought to you by the award-winning Life & Arts journalists at the Financial Times. We love hearing from you. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. Sound design and mixing is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor Music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

August 28, 2021

4 min

Some news

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August 25, 2021

2 min

Shantell Martin on how to draw a line. Plus: Gris returns!

Welcome to the final episode of season 3! We are ending the year with Shantell Martin, an artist who draws big, bold lines. Everywhere. Shantell makes a strong case for taking out a pen. We discuss how to teach art to the next generation, what it means to 'sell out', British versus American racism, and an urgent question for this time: who are you? Afterwards, Gris stops in during maternity leave to chat about how literature has helped her understand motherhood. We also pull apart the themes of this season. Thank you for joining us on this journey. You can keep in touch with Lilah on Instagram at @lilahrap, on Twitter at @lilahrap and @ftculturecall, and by email at culturecall@ft.com. Links from the show: For free 30-day access to all FT journalism, sign up to the Coronavirus Business Update newsletter with this special link. —Shantell on Instagram —Shantell's work at the New York City Ballet —Dear Grandmother, a collaboration between Dot and Shantell Martin —New Tricks, Shantell's British detective show recommendation, is on Amazon Prime —Janelle Monáe music video for Turntables —A great recent FT interview with Mary Gaitskill, author of Lost Cat —Morning Song, a poem by Sylvia Plath —Great back catalogue episodes: start the six-episode journey of this season with episode one: Miranda July! Some standout Gris interviews include Tyler Mitchell, George the Poet and Jia Tolentino. Some standout Lilah interviews include Ira Glass, Maaza Mengiste and Esther Perel. --- “Turntables” is an original song by Janelle Monáe for the Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés' 2020 documentary film All In: The Fight for Democracy. Courtesy Bad Boy, 2021 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

December 18, 2020

57 min

Maaza Mengiste on telling lost stories: 'Archives are not innocent'

Maaza Mengiste is one of the FT's Women of the Year, and the author of the epic historical novel The Shadow King. Her book, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, is about the Italian invasion of Ethiopia at the start of WWII. It asks massive questions about how history is remembered, recorded and retold. Maaza and Lilah talk about collective memory, women warriors, decolonising the archives, why there's still no Covid fiction, and how we can help future us tell the story of 2020. This one is full of wisdom. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll take notes. Plus: Alice Fishburn, editor of FT Weekend Magazine, drops by to discuss the novel, our Women of the Year issue, and what it's like to commission in a pandemic. What do you think is possible now, that seemed impossible before? Email us at culturecall@ft.com. You can message Lilah on Instagram or Twitter @lilahrap, and find the podcast on Twitter @ftculturecall. We love voice notes—so send those, too. Links from the show: –If you want free access to explore Financial Times journalism for 30 days, sign up to the Coronavirus Business Update newsletter using this special link. –Explore the FT Women of 2020 issue (paywall) –Maaza Mengiste's Inventory Q&A in FT Weekend Magazine (paywall) –A Big Read on the crisis in Ethiopia (FT) and a Twitter thread from Maaza on the humanitarian disaster –What's going on currently in Armenia (Politico) and a history of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh (Jacobin) –Project 3541, Maaza's crowdsourced online photographic archive of the 1935-41 Italo-Ethiopian war –An essay by Maaza on losing her father (The Correspondent) –The Rockefeller Tree in all its glory –Maaza's book recommendations: Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah (FT review), Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez (Guardian review) and Trieste by Dasa Drndic (NPR review) –Alice mentioned two great FT Magazine stories:... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

December 4, 2020

49 min

Simon Schama on what history can teach us

Simon is one of the world’s premier historians and art historians, and also a colleague! After a tumultuous election, we've invited him on to help connect the dots and give us much-needed historical context. Plus: Neil Munshi, our west Africa correspondent joins us from Lagos to reflect on our conversation and discuss his recent piece on how companies are facing their brutal colonial histories. Two people with global and historical lenses through which to see 2020. What do you think is possible now, that seemed impossible before? Email us at culturecall@ft.com. You can message Lilah on Instagram or Twitter @lilahrap, and find the podcast on Twitter @ftculturecall. We love voice notes – so send those, too. Links from the episode: –Simon's piece The two Americas: LBJ, MLK and what the dramas of 1965 can teach a polarised nation –Simon's piece on statues: History is better served by putting the Men in Stone in museums –Simon's BBC series the Romantics and Us is on YouTube –Wendell Wilkie's One World –September, by Gerhard Richter –Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories is on Netflix –Neil Munshi's piece, Belgium’s reckoning with a brutal history in Congo See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

November 20, 2020

44 min

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