Best Ian Woolf Podcasts (2025)

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Review Show: Wet Leg's new album and Johnny Depp's artist biopic Modigliani 42:52

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1d ago42:52

42:52

Nancy Durrant and Boyd Hilton join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss Moisturizer, the second album from the female English indie rock duo Wet Leg. Their self-titled debut reached number one on the UK charts. They also assess Modigliani – Three Days on the Wing of Madness, directed by Hollywood star Johnny Depp. The film is Depp's first since 1997 and it cov…

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Kat Sadler, creator of BAFTA-winning sitcom Such Brave Girls 42:41

3d ago42:41

42:41

Bestselling novelist Kate Mosse - much of whose historical fiction is set in medieval France - reacts to the news that the Bayeux Tapestry is to go on display at the British Museum in London next year. Comedian and actor Kat Sadler on her BAFTA-winning sitcom Such Brave Girls, which is set in a dysfunctional single parent family. Sitar virtuoso Nis…

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Superman is back on the big screen 42:59

4d ago42:59

42:59

Superman is back on the big screen for the first time in nearly a decade, we speak with director James Gunn.We preview a season of films at the BFI, starring pioneering black film star Dorothy Dandridge. Best known for Carmen Jones, (her performance made her the first African American to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar) she died aged just 42 …

1
Oasis comeback tour reviewed 42:25

5d ago42:25

42:25

Author Raynor Winn is accused of fabricating parts of her memoir The Salt Path, which she denies. We ask Alexandra Pringle, former Editor in Chief at Bloomsbury, how publishers respond when a book's authenticity is called into question. Oasis are performing together for the first time in 16 years, kicking off in Cardiff at the weekend. Music journa…

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Review: RSC's The Constant Wife 42:31

5d ago42:31

42:31

Tom is joined by reviewers Kate Maltby and Stephanie Merritt to discuss Laura Wade's adaptation for the RSC of Somerset Maugham's comedy The Constant Wife. Also Wendy Erskine's Belfast -set novel; The Benefactors. A polyphonic telling of a teenage girl's assault and its aftermath. And Rebecca Lenkiewicz's directorial debut Hot Milk. Based on Debora…

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Reaction to the Sean 'Diddy' Combs court case verdicts, and Back to the Future at 40 42:39

10d ago42:39

42:39

As the jury in the trial of music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs delivers its verdicts, author and cultural critic Mikki Kendall discusses how Americans will react. On the eve of the 40th anniversary of its release, The Independent's chief film critic Clarisse Loughrey and Dan O'Brien of the University of Essex discuss Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale's infl…

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Orwell, Birthdays and requests 29:57

11d ago29:57

29:57

Nick Hennegan celebrates the birthday of George Orwell and plays some requests - including one of his own songs! www.BohemianBritain.comBy Nick Hennegan

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Tim Key on his sleeper hit The Ballad of Wallis Island 42:34

11d ago42:34

42:34

Comedian and poet Tim Key on writing and starring in The Ballad of Wallis Island which has become one of the surprise film hits of the year. Novelists Saima Mir and Marcia Hutchinson on setting their stories in Bradford. Playwright Ntombizodwa Nyoni on reimagining the 5th Pan African Congress which took place in Manchester in 1945 for her new play,…

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Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Edwards 42:26

12d ago42:26

42:26

British director Gareth Edwards talks to Samira Ahmed about how his love of the films of Steven Spielberg inspired his new film Jurassic Park Rebirth, the latest chapter in the blockbuster dinosaur film franchise. He also talks about the making of his film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is gaining even more acclaim after the huge success of th…

1
Anomalies, blood and tornadoes

13d ago

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Listen to John August from 2009 talk about travelling in tornadoes. News of mystery radio signals, a hole in the magnetosphere, and artificial blood. Hosted and produced by Ian Woolf Support Diffusion by making a contribution Support Diffusion by buying venus flytrap MerchandiseBy Ian Woolf

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Review Programme: Van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer 42:25

16d ago42:25

42:25

Charlotte Mullins and Katja Hoyer are with Tom Sutcliffe to review The Royal Academy of Arts' Kiefer/Van Gogh exhibition, Nell Stevens novel The Original, and German language film From Hilde, with Love. And Sarfraz Manzoor is on to discuss a new Bruce Springsteen compilation – Tracks II: The Lost Albums Presenter: Tom SutcliffeProducer: Claire Bart…

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UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy 42:28

17d ago42:28

42:28

UK Culture Secretary LIsa Nandy talks us through the Government's new Creative Industries Sector Plan which aims to unlock growth and opportunity in culture, media and sport. Last week 27-year-old Scottish author Margaret McDonald become the youngest ever winner of the Carnegie medal for children's writing, for her debut novel Glasgow Boys, a book …

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Billy Porter on activism and artists 42:18

18d 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

19d 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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Change Your Behaviour

20d ago

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From the Singularity University Summit 2019: Shelley Laslett talks about the neuroscience of changing your behaviour, Hosted and produced by Ian Woolf Support Diffusion by making a contribution Support Diffusion by buying venus flytrap MerchandiseBy Ian Woolf

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

23d 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, plus poet and Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen on his new novel 42:54

24d 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

25d 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

25d 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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The Genius of W.B. Yeats - live from Dublin! 29:26

26d ago29:26

29:26

Nick Hennegan introduces a rare conversation with Irish writer and critic Ulick O'Connor on the worldwide influence of W.B. Yeats, live from Dublin's Mill Theatre www.BohemianBritain.comBy Nick Hennegan

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Narcissome Bioethics

27d ago

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From 2017: Listen to Dr Ainsley Newson talk about bioethics and personal genomics. News of Gut bacteria for longer life Hosted and produced by Ian Woolf Support Diffusion by making a contribution Support Diffusion by buying venus flytrap MerchandiseBy Ian Woolf

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

30d 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

30d 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…

1
Was 1975 the best year for music? 42:31

1M 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

1M 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 …

1
Tales of Evolution and Quantum Computing

1M ago

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From 2017: From 2017: Professor Stuart Kauffman reads from The surprizing story of Patrick, Rupert, Sly and Gus - evolutionary niches and complexity. News of flashing lights to treat Alzheimer's mice. Quantum computing made simple! Hosted and produced by Ian Woolf Support Diffusion by making a contribution Support Diffusion by buying venus flytrap …

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

1M 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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Bohemian Bedford Park! 27:57

1M ago27:57

27:57

Nick Hennegan talks to Irish poet Cahal Dallat about the 150th anniversary of the first Garden Suburb, and its influences, not just in London, but around the world! BohemianBritain.comBy Nick Hennegan

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

1M 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

1M 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

1M 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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Is Life Inevitable?

1M ago

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From 2017: Listen to Professor Stuart Kauffman talk about the origin of life. News that weight lifting is good for your brain. Hosted and produced by Ian Woolf Support Diffusion by making a contribution Support Diffusion by buying venus flytrap MerchandiseBy Ian Woolf

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Catharine Wippell - New Writer, Performer and Film Producer. 28:49

1M ago28:49

28:49

Nick Hennegan talks to Cathy about her new one-person theatre show, Cabaret For the End of the World, her new film production company, her start in the arts, working with the likes of Stephen Fry and Cathy Tyson, the 'Me Too' movement and her experiences as a young female producer. BohemianBritian.com…

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Imelda Staunton in Mrs Warren's Profession 42:25

1M 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

1M 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

1M 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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The Genius of Bob Dylan 29:44

2M ago29:44

29:44

As Bob Dylan celebrates his 84th Birthday, Nick Hennegan looks at his background, legacy… and first appearances in London. www.BohemianBritain.comBy Nick Hennegan.

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

2M 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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Chocolate cultured, whole, and traditional

2M ago

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News of healthier, more sustainable chocolate, and chocolate cultured in a bioreactor.Listen to chef and biochemist Galit Segev from 2011, talk about the science of tempering chocolate. Hosted and produced by Ian Woolf Support Diffusion by making a contribution Support Diffusion by buying venus flytrap Merchandise…

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Mission Impossible & Benicio Del Toro 42:35

2M 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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Shirley Manson of Garbage 42:18

2M 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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Musician Rhiannon Giddens on returning to her North Carolina roots after working with Beyoncé 42:26

2M 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…

1
Celebrating Dylan Thomas 29:33

2M ago29:33

29:33

Nick Hennegan celebrates the Welsh Wizard on International Dylan Thomas Day. www.BohemianBritain.comBy Nick Hennegan

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Joanne Harris on the return of Chocolat 42:21

2M 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…