Life and Art from FT Weekend

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 [email protected] 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected] or on Instagram @lilahrap. And — thank you.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected] 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected] or on Instagram @lilahrap. And – thank you.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.