Billy Bragg talks to John Wilson about the music that changed the world - skiffle. His book arguing this, Roots, Radicals and Rockers, is also an insightful survey of post-war youth culture. This was simple music, played on homemade instruments by teenagers - punk before punk. But many skiffle players went on to great things - members of The Beatles, for instance. The Great Wave , a picture of a huge blue roller breaking over fishing boats, by the Japanese master, Hokusai, is one of the most widely recognised images in the world. An exhibition at the British Museum, Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave, looks at the artist's latter years, his most creative according to the curator Tim Clark. And contemporary printmaker and artist Rebecca Salter explains the astonishing technique behind Hokusai's work. This weekend cinemas audiences can see Johnny Depp return as Captain Jack Sparrow in fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film, a role which earned him an Oscar nomination in 2003. But, recently his acting has been overshadowed by stories of his personal life and bad box-office returns - Film critic Angie Errigo comes into look at the career trajectory of the Hollywood actor.Yesterday violinist Nicola Benedetti was awarded The Queen's Medal for Music, the youngest person ever to receive it. She talks about her musical journey.Yesterday Tony Walsh responded to the atrocity in Manchester with poetry. He wasn't the first: Shelley wrote The Mask of Anarchy after the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester in 1819, and the bombing of the city in 1996 inspired poems, too. Michael Schmidt, director of the poetry publisher, Carcanent Press, based in Manchester, considers the way poets react to such events. Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Julian May.
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Folge vom 24.05.2017Billy Bragg on skiffle, Hokusai's Great Wave, Capt Jack Sparrow returns, Nicola Benedetti, poetry and atrocity
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Folge vom 23.05.2017Tributes to Sir Roger Moore, The return of Twin Peaks, American crime writer Bill BeverlyMusic journalist Laura Snapes reflects on the Manchester attacks. Matt Thorne on the return of cult TV drama Twin Peaks; after a twenty six year break, will the surreal world of its creator and director David Lynch please new audiences and super fans alike?American crime writer Bill Beverly on the success of his debut novel Dodgers which won a string of awards including a Gold Dagger from the Crime Writers Association. Described as The Wire meets JD Salinger, Dodgers is a coming of age story which raises issues about race, class and youth whilst providing a new take on the classic American road novel. Bond director John Glen and TV and film writer Andrew Collins on Sir Roger Moore, who has died.
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Folge vom 22.05.2017Denise Gough, Fairport Convention, Leonardo da VinciOlivier Award-winning actress Denise Gough talks about taking on the title role in the TV drama Paula, and how she wants to help change the types of stories being told about women on the small screen. On Saturday Fairport Convention will give a concert 50 years to the minute since their very first. Founding member Simon Nicol, and newcomer Dave Pegg - he joined in 1969 - talk about the early days of the band that launched the careers of Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson and Ashley Hutchings, and discuss their latest album 50:50@50.The identity of Leonardo da Vinci's mother has remained a mystery - long after the identity of his most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, was finally discovered - until now. Previously there have been several theories and a possible first name of Caterina, but nearly six centuries on, Martin Kemp - one of the leading authorities on da Vinci - says he can now reveal who Leonardo's mother was, and argues that it is time to finally cut through the myths that still surround the Mona Lisa and Da Vinci himself. Presenter John Wilson Producer Jerome Weatherald.
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Folge vom 19.05.2017Clive James, Netflix and Cannes, documentary maker Simon Chinn, Damien Hirst in VeniceWhen Clive James published his collection of poems Sentenced to Life in 2014, it was expected to be his last because he has terminal leukaemia. Now, three years later, he's publishing a new collection with the apt title of Injury Time. In his sunlit, book-lined studio, James talks to John Wilson about his urgent impulse to write, as he faces death, his meticulously crafted poems about life. Netflix's film Okja was booed at the Cannes Film Festival today as the row over Netflix's place at the festival continues. For the first time, two Netflix films are competing for the Palme d'Or this year. The critic Jason Solomons reports from Cannes on the controversy, and is joined by Simon Chinn, Oscar-winning producer of documentaries Man on Wire and Searching for Sugar Man, whose latest film LA 92 was funded by TV and on-demand channel National Geographic. Early last month Damien Hirst revealed his latest ambitious work Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable at two large venues in Venice. The show's Italian curator Elena Geuna, who has worked with Damien on the project for the last five years, discusses the secrecy surrounding the decade-long planning of the exhibition. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Rachel Simpson.