The Arts Hour

Episoade

• 
  Uzoamaka Power on her romcom, Call of My Life 31.07.2026 47min

  Actor, writer and director Uzoamaka Power talks about her romcom, Call of My Life, which has been breaking box office records in Nigeria The country-pop Canadian superstar singer Shania Twain talks about how she got her big break.Indian director Tarsem Singh on his cult classic film The Fall, two decades on.British singer-songwriter and actor Nadine Shah shares her Pakistani musical heroine.Oscar-winning actor JK Simmons on playing bad guys and his new role in The Westies.The American essayist and humorist David Sedaris on performing live.Plus, music from Xuefei Yang, China’s first internationally recognized guitaristNikki Bedi reflects on these cultural highlights with critic Zing Tsjeng.Presenter: Nikii Bedi Producer Ciaran Bermingham
• 
  British Argentinian actor Anya Taylor-Joy 24.07.2026 47min

  British-Argentinian actor Anya Taylor-Joy on playing a con artist in the new TV series, Lucky.Nikki Bedi meets Portuguese musician Ana Lua Caiano to talk about her music, reinventing Portuguese traditions with electronica and rhythmic experimentation and critic Katie Puckrik joins Nikki to reflect on other cultural highlights of the week.Supergirl! The Australian actor Milly Alcock on DC’s latest big screen revival.American author Dave Eggers on his new novel about the art world, Contrapposto.South Korean singer-songwriter Peggy Gou on becoming a superstar DJ.Cuban artist Tania Bruguera talks about her conceptual and political work.Plus, music from Algerian Tuareg band, Imarhan(Photo: Actor Anya Taylor-Joy poses for photographers. She has long blonde hair and wears a black halterneck dress and is looking over her right shoulder, as photographers take photos in the background. Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
• 
  Matt Damon on the summer’s blockbuster, The Odyssey 17.07.2026 48min

  Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan and actor Matt Damon talk about one of the year’s most anticipated blockbusters, their movie, The Odyssey Nikki Bedi meets Chilean screenwriter and director Diego Cespedes whose film, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, takes us to an LGBTQ+ community in the Chilean dessert and critic Leila Latif joins Nikki to reflect on other cultural highlights of the week:Australian filmmaker Adrian Chiarella on his gay coming of age horror film, LeviticusIndian born artist Anish Kapoor on the moment he knew what he wanted to beUS author Priya Parmar talks about her novel about the life of Katharine Hepburn and there’s music from Algerian artist Souad MassiPhoto Credit: Ian West
• 
  Madonna on her album Confessions II 10.07.2026 47min

  Global superstar Madonna talks about her new album, Confessions II and her relationship with dance Nikki Bedi meets Italian Director Francesco Sossai to discuss Italian masculinity in his film, The Last One for the Road and critic Bidisha joins Nikki to reflect on other cultural highlights of the week.Australian dancer and choreographer Meryl Tankard on reviving a 1978 Pina Bausch dance piece with the original dancers. Chinese born American author Canwen Xu on her satirical debut novel, Boring Asian Female. Hollywood actor Olivia Wilde on her latest film, The Invite, which she also directed.Indian artist Bharti Kher on fellow artist and country woman, Mrinalini MukherjeePlus, music from Sudanese singer Sulaf .(Photo: Madonna wears a light blue silky dress and a crystal necklace, her long blonde hair parted in the middle. Credit: Santiago Felipe/GC Images)Presenter: Nikki Bedi Producer: Ciaran Bermingham
• 
  Coming soon: The Arts Hour podcast 11.07.2025

  Nikki Bedi introduces the Arts Hour podcast. Your weekly cultural companion, featuring guests and opinions on what's happening in art, theatre, film, TV, music and more. Find us at bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.