Best Alex Fergus Podcasts (2025)

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Brain Red Light Therapy: Neuroscientist's SECRETS!! 1:26:41

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25d ago1:26:41

1:26:41

Send us a text Hi, I'm Alex Fergus. Welcome back to the show. Today, I’m thrilled to bring you a follow-up interview with Dr. Randy Beck from the Institute of Functional Neuroscience in Australia. Our first conversation was one of the most popular—and yes, one of the most controversial—episodes we've ever done. In this second deep dive, we once aga…

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BC’s PRGT pipeline was approved. What’s next? (w/ Kai Nagata) 35:51

29m ago35:51

35:51

With the approval of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline and the passing of Bills 14 and 15 in B.C., Emiko Newman spoke with Kai Nagata, the communications director of Dogwood, about the powerful interests behind these decisions and the resistance that has risen up in response. This episode was recorded on June 17 and was published o…

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Billy Porter on activism and artists 42:18

15m ago42:18

42:18

Billy Porter, famous for his Broadway roles in such shows as Kinky Boots and Grease, and onscreen in Pose and Cinderella is making his directorial debut in theatre with This Bitter Earth. Jesse is an introspective Black playwright and when Neil, Jesse’s boyfriend, who is a white Black Lives Matter activist, accuses him of political apathy, their pa…

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Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer on F1 starring Brad Pitt 42:25

39m ago42:25

42:25

Samira talks to legendary Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, whose latest film F1 stars Brad Pitt as a racing car driver. Alistair McGowan and Dr Caroline Potter celebrate the extraordinary music and life of the French composer Erik Satie, whose centenary is marked on Radio 3 on Saturday. Alistair's play about Satie, called Three Pieces in the S…

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The G7 and Canada’s climate fair share 56:00

2d ago56:00

56:00

With the uninspired wrap-up of the recent G7 Leaders Summit in Alberta, we wonder: what are these summits even meant for, and how can we use their spotlight on international cooperation to advocate for real systems change? Anjali Appadurai and Doug Hamilton-Evans chat about the issues on the table at the recent Summit, as well as our newly-launched…

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BREAKING: FERGUS EWING TO STAND AGAINST SNP IN 2026 40:02

5d ago40:02

40:02

Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie discuss the news today that Fergus Ewing is leaving the SNP and standing as an independent candidate at the 2026 Scottish Parliament Election, bringing to an end an era of constant representation under the SNP banner for the Ewing dynasty since the Scottish Parliament was formed. Also - What is the role of independe…

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Review Show: Pixar's new film Elio 42:06

4d ago42:06

42:06

Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi talk to tom Sutcliffe about directing Pixar's latest film Elio, about a lonely boy who wants to make contact with aliens. The film is then reviewed by film producer and critic Jason Solomons and art critic and writer Hettie Judah. Tom and guests also discuss a major retrospective of the work of painter Jenny Saville…

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Mercury Prize-shortlisted pianist Fergus McCreadie plays live 42:54

5d ago42:54

42:54

On the opening night of the Glasgow Jazz Festival, Mercury Prize-shortlisted pianist Fergus McCreadie performs from his forthcoming album The Shieling live in the Front Row studio. Writer and Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen talks about his debut novel Muckle Flugga – a story of love and family set on a remote Scottish island – and reads from the p…

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The producers of RuPaul's Drag Race, plus pianist Alfred Brendel remembered 43:09

6d ago43:09

43:09

RuPaul's Drag Race producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato join Nick Ahad to talk about their career making making television and movies, ahead of being guests of honour at this year's Sheffield DocFest. Radio 3 presenter Tom Service discusses the life and legacy of Alfred Brendel who was a celebrated author, poet and pianist. Caroline Norbury, t…

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Danny Boyle and Alex Garland on 28 Years Later 42:24

6d ago42:24

42:24

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland tell Tom Sutcliffe about their new film, 28 Years Later; a whole new take on the story which stars Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. It's the follow up to their post-apocalyptic fast-paced, gory zombie movies 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. The Rage virus escaped a medical research laboratory and - …

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SCOTTISH PARTY LEADERS - REPORT CARD - One Year From Scottish Election 52:00

11d ago52:00

52:00

Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie run the rule over each of the Scottish political party leaders and give them a mark out of ten for how they are performing. Including: John Swinney Anas Sarwar Russell Findlay Alex Cole-Hamilton Lorna Slater & Patrick Harvie Reform? Who is the Scottish Leader? Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you li…

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Review Show: Pulp's new album More 42:31

12d ago42:31

42:31

Professor John Mullan and writer Lucy O’Brien join Tom to review More, Pulp's first album in nearly 24 years. They also discuss exhibitions by the 20th century British artists Edward Burra and Ithell Colquhoun which are running in parallel at Tate Britain. Plus they give their verdict on Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, inspired by actual experiences o…

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Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys remembered. 42:17

12d ago42:17

42:17

Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys remembered Turner Prize winning artist Rachel Whiteread talks about her retrospective exhibition at the brand new Goodwood Art Foundation in Sussex. We celebrate the centenary of the National Library of Scotland and hear about its plans to send important items from its collection to museums around the country - from N…

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Gravel's Evolution: Dylan Johnson Talks Unbound, Training, Gear Choices & Strategy — Season 7 Ep 7 54:37

14d ago54:37

54:37

In this episode, host Dirk Friel sits down with professional gravel racer and Ignition Coaching coach Dylan Johnson to dig into all things gravel. They break down the cutting-edge equipment trends seen at the 2025 edition of Unbound Gravel, as well as training trends, nutrition and training tips for both amateurs and pros. Hear why mountain bike ti…

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Was 1975 the best year for music? 42:31

14d ago42:31

42:31

Sarah Moss, the celebrated author of Ghost Wall, discusses her new novel Ripeness, which oscillates between tension-filled contemporary Ireland and a heady summer in 1960s Italy. Dylan Jones discusses his new book 1975: The Year The World Forgot and debates whether this was the best year for music with chief music critic of the Daily Telegraph, Nei…

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Twin Peaks creator plus Ian Rankin on Frederick Forsyth 42:24

15d ago42:24

42:24

Ian Rankin pays tribute to the best-selling thriller author Frederick Forsyth, whose death was announced today. Samira talks to Twin Peaks' co-creator Mark Frost and podcaster Mike Munser about the show's enduring legacy 35 years on, as Twin Peaks is re-released and celebrated at the BFI Film on Film Festival. Playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti talks …

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BY ELECTION SPECIAL: LATEST REACTION TO LABOUR WIN OVER SNP AND REFORM 45:21

19d ago45:21

45:21

Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie are joined by Paul Sweeney of Labour and Cllr Thomas Kerr of Reform UK to ask what the result means? Labour GAIN from SNP Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election result LAB: 31.5% (-2.0) SNP: 29.4% (-16.8) REF: 26.2% (+26.2) CON: 6.0% (-11.5) GRN: 2.6% (+2.6) +/- 2021 Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global polit…

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Review show: Paris Lees drama What It Feels Like for a Girl 42:28

19d ago42:28

42:28

Tom and guests review What it Feels Like for Girl, the BBC's coming-of-age drama based on the memoir of Paris Lees; Taylor Jenkins Reid's new novel, Atmosphere, set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program and new film, Lollipop, about a young woman released from prison battling to regain custody of her children, written and directed…

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Daisy Goodwin on her play about the late Queen and her dresser 42:30

20d ago42:30

42:30

Daisy Goodwin discusses her debut play, By Royal Appointment, which stars Anne Reid as Queen Elizabeth and Caroline Quentin as her dresser, and which opens this week at Theatre Royal, Bath. The life and legacy of Irish novelist playwright and poet Edna O'Brien is discussed by writer Jan Carson and the director of the documentary Blue Road: The Edna…

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Nick Mohammed on comedy and improvisation 42:20

21d ago42:20

42:20

Comedian Nick Mohammed on his stand-up show Mr Swallow, and Deep Cover, his action thriller about a group of comedy improvisers. Kate Wasserberg, Artistic Director of Theatr Clywd on the theatre's £50 million redevelopment, and opening the new auditorium with a production of the musical Tick Tick... Boom! Ulrich Birkmaier, senior conservator of pai…

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Fiddler on the Roof returns to the stage 42:17

22d ago42:17

42:17

Samira discusses the Olivier award-winning production of Fiddler on the Roof with its star Adam Dannheisser and director Jordan Fein. Sarah Dunant talks about the women in the Renaissance who became art patrons, as she publishes her novel The Marchesa, about Isabella d'Este of Mantua. Screenwriter Frederic Raphael, whose films include Far From the …

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NEW POLLS: Will Scotland Become Independent if Nigel Farage is Prime Minister 53:34

24d ago53:34

53:34

On support for independence in poll: "54% of people supporting independence and 46 supporting the unionist status quo... a record high for Norstat in the last four or five years." — Alex Massie On Reform UK's rise in poll: "Reform are plus four at 18%. And of course, when you translate all of this into seats, I mean, it is really quite extraordinar…

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Imelda Staunton in Mrs Warren's Profession 42:25

26d ago42:25

42:25

Samira Ahmed and writers Dreda Mitchell and Mark Ravenhill review Imelda Staunton and her daughter, Bessie Carter, in Mrs Warren's Profession. They consider, too, theatre director Marianne Elliott's first foray into film, The Salt Path, based on a Raynor Winn's bestselling memoir of how she and her husband, after they have lost their house and farm…

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Paul Hartnoll of Orbital on the band's Brown album, and a new biography of Muriel Spark. 42:13

27d ago42:13

42:13

Paul Hartnoll of electronic music duo Orbital talks about the reissue of the band's Brown album which was originally released in 1993, with the addition of 23 extra tracks of rarities and previously unreleased material and about the intersection between dance music and politics. Frances Wilson, who has previously published acclaimed biographies of …

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Alison Steadman live from Hay Festival 42:24

27d ago42:24

42:24

Live from the Hay Festival, Alison Steadman talks to Samira about her career, from Abigail's Party to Gavin and Stacey. Laura Bates and Gwyneth Lewis discuss Arthurian Legends and The Mabinogion. Hisham Matar champions the Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz. And transatlantic husband and wife country duo Outpost Drive perform on stage. Presente…

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Will Butler formerly of Arcade Fire on his play set in a recording studio 42:23

29d ago42:23

42:23

Stereophonic is a play about the creative process, power dynamics and fraught personal relationships of a 1970s rock band. It won a Tony and many other awards on Broadway. Now Stereophonic has come to the West End. Playwright David Adjmi and Will Butler, sometime of Arcade Fire, who has written the music, discuss their own artistic process as they …

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Mission Impossible & Benicio Del Toro 42:35

1M ago42:35

42:35

Benicio Del Toro talks about playing a business tycoon in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme. This aesthetically stylised film, by the director who also made The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel, is reviewed by Tom and critics Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Rachel Cooke. They also give their verdict on Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckon…

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IS ANGELA RAYNER MANOEUVRING FOR TOP JOB? 42:57

1M ago42:57

42:57

Speculation is rife that the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, will be privately pleased that details of her tax reform memo to Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, have been leaked to the Telegraph. Is she on manoeuvres and is she a credible candidate for the top job? Also The SNP has criticised the Prime Minister's EU deal - but aren't these things tha…

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Shirley Manson of Garbage 42:18

1M ago42:18

42:18

Frontwoman of Garbage, Shirley Manson talks about the band's latest album Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, which is inspired by contemporary events including the killing of George Floyd in Los Angeles, but which presents an optimistic perspective on a dystopian world. We hear from the winner of the International Booker Prize, which was announc…

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Fixing Food Culture in Endurance Sports Beyond Carbs and Calories — Season 7 Ep 6 44:33

1M ago44:33

44:33

In this episode of the CoachCast, host Dirk Friel sits down with Kristen Arnold, a registered dietitian, elite cycling coach, and former pro racer, to unpack the complex relationship endurance athletes often have with food and body image. Drawing from her coaching and clinical experience, Kristen explores how disordered eating patterns can quietly …

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Musician Rhiannon Giddens on returning to her North Carolina roots after working with Beyoncé 42:26

1M ago42:26

42:26

Musician Rhiannon Giddens on returning to her North Carolina roots after working with Beyoncé. As a huge retrospective of the work of the artist Helen Chadwick opens at The Hepworth Wakefield, art critic Louisa Buck and the exhibition's curator, Laura Smith, discuss why Chadwick should be viewed as the godmother for a golden generation of British c…

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Joanne Harris on the return of Chocolat 42:21

1M ago42:21

42:21

25 years after Joanne Harris introduced readers to the soothing delights of Chocolat, she's released her new book Vianne. It’s the prequel that explains how her heroine found her way into the world of high end French confectionery. A new exhibition at the British Museum sheds light on the provenance of popular images of the Hindu god Ganesha, the B…

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LABOUR: "DANCING TO A RIGHT WING TUNE" ON IMMIGRATION - WHAT'S THE COST? 54:26

1M ago54:26

54:26

Bernard and Alex discuss the danger for Labour of dancing to the right-wing's tune on immigration. What does it mean? What (if anything) does Keir Starmer stand for? What does Labour now stand for? Focussing on UK, Scottish and Global politics, if you like other great political podcasts like The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Question…

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Review: Sondheim's final musical Here We Are, The Marching Band, Daniel Kehlmann's The Director 42:31

1M ago42:31

42:31

David Benedict and Viv Groskop review Stephen Sondheim’s final musical, Here We Are, a surreal story of brunch and existential dread; French film about about grassroots music, The Marching Band and Daniel Kehlmann’s new novel, The Director, about a real life German filmmaker navigating the Third Reich. Presenter: Tom SutcliffeProducer: Simon Richar…

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Ocean with Attenborough, Garden Design, Turning Contemporary Politics into Opera 42:43

1M ago42:43

42:43

Colin Bulfield, Executive Producer of the new film Ocean With Attenborough, talks about working with the celebrated broadcaster and filmmaker Sir David Attenborough on his latest project, an exploration of the vital importance of healthy oceans to our planet which is in cinemas around the country now. Current exhibitions at V&A Dundee and the Briti…

1
Morcheeba perform, Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway 100th anniversary 42:22

1M ago42:22

42:22

Novelist Elif Shafak, artist and writer Edmund de Waal and Professor Rachel Bowlby join Samira to discuss the centenary of Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway. As the Semi Finals of Eurovision start tonight in Basel, Switzerland, Paddy O'Connell talks about this year's contest. Four hundred leading British Artists such as Paul McCartney and Kate Bush hav…

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Suzanne Vega sings in the studio, P Diddy trial, Mother Courage in County Durham 42:22

1M ago42:22

42:22

Suzanne Vega has just released her first album of all-new material for nearly a decade. "Flying With Angels" continues her folk-influenced sound and introduces influences of soul as well as a song in tribute to Bob Dylan's "I Want You". She performs in the studio with guitarist Gerry Leonard. Sean Combs aka P Diddy is on trial in New York, charged …

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Election breakdown and Bushra’s campaign (w/ Seth Klein, Anjali Appadurai and Bushra Asghar) 43:58

2M ago43:58

43:58

It took us a moment to catch our breaths after the federal election, but Anjali Appadurai, Seth Klein and Bushra Asghar took a moment to debrief on what the heck happened and what it means for the climate movement. Then, we asked Bushra about her experience campaigning as the NDP candidate for Mississauga-Streetsville. While she didn’t win her seat…

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Review, The Wedding Banquet, Isabel Allende, The Brightening Air 42:34

2M ago42:34

42:34

Authors Matt Cain and Eimear McBride join Tom Sutcliffe to review a new remake of Ang Lee's 1993 classic The Wedding Banquet. They also discuss Isabel Allende's new novel My Name is Emilia del Valle and the play The Brightening Air, on at the Old Vic theatre in London. And the National Gallery is having a re-hang, we speak to Head of the Curatorial…

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Reform UK in Scottish Polls - How Much is Media Hype? 52:10

2M ago52:10

52:10

Summary In this episode of the Ponsonby and Massie podcast, Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie discuss the recent program for government announced by John Swinney, analyzing its implications and the political landscape in Scotland. They explore the limited legislative agenda, the scrapping of peak fares, the promise of more GP appointments, and the s…

1
From Racing Pro Motocross to Running the Boston Marathon with Coach Alex Martin — Season 7 Ep 5 43:42

2M ago43:42

43:42

In this episode, Dirk Friel talks with Alex Martin, a former professional motocross and supercross racer who spent over 15 years competing at the highest level, earning podiums and top-five finishes. After retiring from racing as a pro, Alex leaned into his passion for training and performance, co-founding Troll Training. His coaching company blend…

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Leni Riefenstahl, Queen Elizabeth Memorial, Keli 42:26

2M ago42:26

42:26

Acclaimed German journalist and film producer Sandra Maischberger talks about her new documentary about Leni Riefenstahl, which re-examines the life and career of the filmmaker and Nazi propagandist who was one of the most controversial women of the 20th century. Art historian and curator Sandy Nairne, a member of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Commi…

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Hamlet Radiohead mashup, Stoke-on-Trent pottery in crisis 42:23

2M ago42:23

42:23

In the wake of President Trump's proposed film tariffs, Jake Kanter, International Investigations Editor at Deadline, discusses what the impact could be for the British film industry. Last week Moorcroft became the latest heritage ceramic company to close its doors in Stoke-On-Trent. Emma Bridgewater, founder of the eponymous ceramics company, and …

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A snapshot of culture on VE Day 1945 42:08

2M ago42:08

42:08

To mark the 80th anniversary this week, we explore British culture around VE Day in 1945, reflecting on the music, books, films and theatre that defined the moment and the complex emotional landscape that followed the war’s end. Songwriter and pianist Kate Garner joins us at the piano. Guests: Michael Billington, theatre critic; Ian Christie, film …

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One Year to Scottish Parliament Election 42:32

2M ago42:32

42:32

In a week that saw Reform UK make seismic advances in the English Local Elections and the Runcorn & Helsby Parliamentary By Election, Bernard Ponsonby and Alex Massie deep dive into the current state of the parties in Scotland - one year from the 2026 Scottish Parliament Elections. What does the rise of Reform UK mean in Scotland, what are the impl…

1
Ryan Coogler on Sinners, The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz, Book Bans in the US 42:23

2M ago42:23

42:23

US director Ryan Coogler on his supernatural horror film, Sinners. Anne Sebba discusses her new book, The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz, about the orchestra formed in 1943 among the female prisoners at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. And as a new report looking at so-called book banning in the United States is published, we talked to au…

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Review: John Lennon docs, Tina Fey's The Four Seasons and The Great Gatsby musical 41:51

2M ago41:51

41:51

Critic Kate Maltby and Beatles author Ian Leslie join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss two documentaries about John Lennon remaking his life in New York - Borrowed Time: Lennon's Last Decade and One to One: John & Yoko. They also discuss Tina Fey’s new series The Four Seasons, based on the 1981 film of the same name, which explores the relationships of thr…

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King James VI & I, Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, The Extraordinary Miss Flower 41:59

2M ago41:59

41:59

Jeff Pope on his new series Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the innocent man who was killed by police on a London tube in 2005, which launches tonight on Disney+. James VI of Scotland & I of England is the subject of a major exhibition at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. We’re joined by the historical writers Lucy Hu…

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Noddy Holder of Slade, Stephen Rea and Simone de Beauvoir 41:53

2M ago41:53

41:53

In 1975, at the height of their fame, British band Slade made a feature film, Slade in Flame. The film was a critical and commercial failure at the time, but has built up a cult following over the years. Now it's being re-released in cinemas and on DVD. Frontman Noddy Holder and film director Richard Loncraine spoke to Samira Ahmed in studio. With …

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Universal Theme Park, Olivier award-winning play Giant, Two to One 42:18

2M ago42:18

42:18

Mark Rosenblatt on Giant, his Olivier award-winning play starring John Lithgow as Roald Dahl. As Universal Studios announce plans for a major new theme park in Bedfordshire, what does this mean for the UK entertainment industry? Samira is joined by entertainment journalist Ella Baskerville and Gareth Smy from Framestore to discuss its signficance a…