On 15 September 2023, the Southbank Centre hosted a cross-cultural takeover by the fashion designer Nicholas Daley.Renowned for his intricate, colourful knitwork and interplay with music and culture, Daley has used fashion as a means to explore ideas around identity, heritage, and memory, intertwined with wider Black British and diasporic themes.Ni…

Out of the Kiln: From Technique to Concept presents Aaron Angell and Serena Korda - two artists who featured in the Hayward Gallery exhibition, Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art - in conversation with exhibition curator Cliff Lauson and Isabella Smith, Deputy Editor at Crafts. They discuss working with ceramics, and explore how their clays…

In the Black Fantastic is a four-part podcast series inspired by the Hayward Gallery exhibition of the same name.This series brings together artists, musicians and writers in conversations that draw on the themes of the exhibition – curated by Ekow Eshun – including myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism.This fou…

In the Black Fantastic is a four-part podcast series inspired by the Hayward Gallery exhibition of the same name.This series brings together artists, musicians and writers in conversations that draw on the themes of the exhibition – curated by Ekow Eshun – including myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism.This thi…

In the Black Fantastic is a four-part podcast series inspired by the Hayward Gallery exhibition of the same name.This series brings together artists, musicians and writers in conversations that draw on the themes of the exhibition – curated by Ekow Eshun – including myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism.This sec…

In the Black Fantastic is a four-part podcast series inspired by the Hayward Gallery exhibition of the same name.This series brings together artists, musicians and writers in conversations that draw on the themes of the exhibition – curated by Ekow Eshun – including myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism.This fir…

In 2019, Jean Paul Gaultier brought his Fashion Freak Show – called a 'fabulous fiesta of fabric and flesh' by The Guardian – to the Southbank Centre. But before his extravaganza exploded onto the stage at Royal Festival Hall, the designer himself appeared here in conversation with TV presenter Anita Rani, reflecting on his decades in fashion.Born …

Malala Yousafzai's activist work championing the educational rights of girls led to her being shot by a Taliban gunman in 2012, when she was just 15 – but she refused to be silenced.She came to the Southbank Centre to launch her memoir I Am Malala on Sunday 20 October 2013, appearing in conversation with former Southbank Centre Artistic Director Ju…

Join poet Holly Corfield Carr, exploring human and non-human ways of looking at and listening to trees, in this podcast from Hayward Gallery's Among the Trees exhibition.Holly considers artworks by Giuseppe Penone, Robert Smithson, Roxy Paine and Mariele Neudecker, and interweaves her own words with poems by Vahni Capildeo, Emily Dickinson, Sasha D…

In this podcast, the painter George Shaw discusses some of the themes and influences behind his work with novelist Patrick Langley, in a conversation that ranges from post-war town planning, to punks, apocalyptic literature, woodlands and ‘the everydayness of the end of the world’.By Southbank Centre

In this episode of Think Aloud we turn our attention to poetry, and sit down with the London poet and founder of poetry collective Out-Spoken, Anthony Anaxagorou. With him we delve into how poetry can rewrite history, the ways in which he has developed and established his own voice, and how, when this is not a poem, he is not a poet.We also hear fr…

German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen didn't just write new music, he created music that had never before been imagined, transformed sound, influenced musicians from classical to Kraftwerk to The Beatles, all while believing he was born on a distant planet. Electronic musician Actress and Southbank Centre's Director of Music, Gillian Moore spoke to…

In this episode, Harriet Fitch Little asks is this a golden age for political humour? Why do we laugh at politics and do we need to?She speaks to joke writer for Private Eye magazine Tom Jamieson, and comedians Tiff Stevenson and Kieran Hodgson about the effect of current affairs have had on comedy.“Satire sits bleary eyed & unshaven in a cheap mot…

Invented in China over 2,500 years ago, the abstract strategy game Go is thought to be the oldest board game continuously played to the present day.In March 2016, the Go world champion Lee Sedol accepted a challenge to play against a computer program called AlphaGo. In the second game of a five game challenge series, the computer made a move no hum…

In this episode, Harriet Fitch Little is joined by paralympian, TV presenter and children’s author Ade Adepitan, and children’s book critic Imogen Russell Williams to talk about the lack of diversity in children’s literature.“I suddenly started to get a perception that certain people did certain things, that main protagonists, that strong character…

How do you make something not funny, funny?How do you deal with nerves?Who is your dream comedy sidekick?Do people expect you to be funny all the time?Which of your jokes goes down the best?Harriet Fitch Little brings you a Christmas special that reveals the tricks of the trade of stand up comedy. Listen to the questions we put to our panel of come…

Inspired by the forthcoming Soundstate festival, Harriet Fitch Little is joined by Southbank Centre's Music Director, Gillian Moore; Susanna Eastburn, CEO of Sound & Music; and Dai Fujikura, composer of contemporary classical music. They discuss the trouble with genres, how writing music will never be the same and why they don't use the word 'class…

In this episode, Harriet Fitch Little talks comedy and brings you the secrets and what do you do if nobody laughs.She talks to comedian Dave Gorman about why comedians can't lie and what the qualities are of the genre 'Gormanesque'.Her co-presenter is Ken Cheng, Chinese Comedian. She brings up his joke 'geek student' video and how it went down, the…

Ahead of EFG London Jazz Festival, self-confessed jazz amateur Harriet interviews eminent musician Orphy Robinson and David Jones, a director and programmer of the festival. They talk about where jazz can be misunderstood, how it defies the limitations of the 'genre', the vibraphone, and which type of music you should be listening to on a date.Fina…

For national #AskACurator day, we poached the programmers at Southbank Centre to ask what goes on behind the scenes. Harriet Fitch Little is joined by; Bengi Unsal, Southbank Centre’s Senior Contemporary Music Programmer; Debo Amon, Literature Programmer; Rupert Thomson, Senior Programmer Performance & Dance and Jessica Cerasi, art curator and auth…

In preparation for this year's Unlimited, Southbank Centre's festival celebrating extraordinary work by disabled artists, this episode features talks with some of the performers who will be appearing.Presenter Harriet Fitch Little talks to Jackie Hagan about how amputation spurred her on to make comedy, whilst blind musician, Baluji Shrivastav expl…

What does it take for a novel to win over a reader? What does it take for a novel to win a prize?In this episode, journalist and Think Aloud presenter Harriet Fitch Little is joined in conversation by Debo Amon, Southbank Centre’s Literature Programmer, to discuss how the way in which we read novels has changed, why 'shameful' literature is so popu…

What does it take to get 82 bands and performers onto six stages over the course of only ten days? In this episode, journalist and Think Aloud presenter Harriet Fitch Little goes behind the scenes at the 25th edition of the Southbank Centre's prestigious Meltdown festival, which this year is curated by lead singer of The Cure - and all-round musica…

Look out for Southbank Centre's Think Aloud podcast where you'll hear from from some of the people shaping arts and culture today. Together we’ll consider new ideas - and approach old ones from new angles - to cast some light on the most exciting things happening right now in the arts. You can subscribe to Think Aloud on the podcast app of your cho…

In January 2017, legendary physicist Stephen Hawking shared his thoughts about the most rewarding achievements of his career, in an exclusive broadcast, marking his 75th birthday for Southbank Centre.He talked about some of his proudest accomplishments as a theoretical mathematician and physicist."Every new day became a bonus and I began to appreci…

*WARNING: This podcast contains references and language that some may find offensive.*Hear Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talk to Reni Eddo-Lodge about today’s most pressing cultural issues."There's a sense that, when being asked to talk about race, after you've written a book, you're supposed to have the answers, you're supposed to have the solution; an…

*WARNING: This podcast contains references and language that some may find offensive.*In this podcast, Ruby Wax talks about her book How to be Human: The Manual written with insights from a Monk and a neuroscientist, it’s a new and very original take on mindfulness."Wind and worry feel the same to me, so I don't know whether to call the police or g…

*WARNING: This podcast contains references and language that some may find offensive.*Nina Brochmann and Ellen Støkken Dahl, Oslo-based medical students, educators in sexual health and founders of the blog The Genital Area explore everything from female erections (yes - it’s a thing) and tips for the top orgasm You can hear more talks, see photos a…

Terry Gilliam​: screenwriter, film director, animator, comedian, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe appeared at London Literature Festival in October 2015 where he was interviewed by BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz. He discussed his life, career and his memoir, Gilliamesque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoir.“For me it was like coming to this c…

Hear from Man Booker Prize-winning author Alan Hollinghurst as he discusses his latest novel, The Sparsholt Affair and reflects candidly on the new-found freedom and openness in the gay scene in recent decades, and what obstacles still need to be overcome."I remember when I was an undergraduate getting hold of a copy of Gay Times which said that th…

Join award-winning comedian, author and lifelong male Robert Webb for a frank and funny conversation about not living by the rules of masculinity."Would it surprise you to hear that I'm a virgin?' she said 'I won't say I'm surprised, I won't say I'm unsurprised but you'll catch them up.' So yeah, that was a good chat. Then we carried on watching Da…

Kevin Powell is one of the most acclaimed political, cultural, literary and hip-hop voices in America today. He is the author or editor of 13 books, including his critically-acclaimed autobiography, The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood."We cannot get to the route of this situation, this crisis, of what it is to be a man, if w…

William Boyd takes to the stage alone to talk about his life as a creator of many fictions, beginning with the publication of his first novel, A Good Man In Africa in 1981, and ending with the story of his fictional artist that fooled many, Nat Tate..."The key factor in fiction is to make your readers believe in the truth of the story."WILLIAM BOYD…

Goldie is an iconic figure whose contributions to the UK rave scene in the 1990s defined jungle. Now releasing a hard-hitting and intimate new memoir, Goldie talks candidly about his tumultuous life and career."It's victimitus - playing the victim. Tiny violin. I'd rather an orchestra because that's what life's about, finding the orchestra in your …

Find out why Philip Pullman has returned to the realm of his trilogy, His Dark Materials. In this exclusive London launch of the highly anticipated La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One, Pullman reveals why he has come back to much-loved character Lyra Belacqua’s world 22 years after the first book."I do actually believe in ghosts, fairies,…

Southbank Centre's London Literature Festival presents Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first woman nominated for US president by a major party. In this candid interview with James Naughtie, she discusses her most personal memoir to date, What Happened, which depicts a tumultuous election that had the world on tenterhooks, filled with breathtaking highs…

Well known for novels such as Cat’s Eye, Alias Grace, the MaddAddam Trilogy, and the Booker Prize-winning The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood has been in the news recently due to the appearance of her international bestseller The Handmaid’s Tale as a television series – some say, just in time for the age of Trump.In this one-time London appearance,…

Iconic fashion designer and activist Vivienne Westwood spoke about her love of great literature in this keynote talk."Every book you read is connected in some way."VIVIENNE WESTWOODThis talk explores Westwood’s life in culture and her involvement with arts, politics and the environment.This podcast is part of London Literature Festival 2017 at Sout…

Acclaimed author and photographer Teju Cole came to Southbank Centre to talk about his new book: Blind Spot. In this, he explores unexpected connections between the visual world and written word, and offers a guide to seeing in our troubled times."Each person is a highly specialised library that cannot be replaced."TEJU COLE…

In an exclusive London event, internationally acclaimed journalist, activist and bestselling author Naomi Klein, delivered a keynote talk on the surreal political upheavals of recent months and discussed the art of resistance in a time of Trump."This panopticon state; all seeing and all knowing, cannot see the most basic of human needs."NAOMI KLEIN…

Zadie Smith: one of the most influential authors of the 21st century came to Southbank Centre to talk about her new novel 'Swing Time', the inspiration behind her characters and reflected on the thought process of being a writer."I think a certain amount of humiliation is a good thing: to accept that you can never be in this role of righteousness."…

This is an interview from WOW - Women Of The World Festival, 2017, at London's Southbank Centre. Angela Davis is known internationally for her ongoing work to combat all forms of oppression in the USA and beyond. A writer, scholar, teacher and activist/organiser, Davis is a living witness to the historical struggles of the contemporary era. She is …

Two world-renowned authors: Nobel prize winning Kazuo Ishiguro and novelist, David Mitchell appear together for the first time in an intimate exploration of the writing process.By Southbank Centre