Best Perry Michael Simon Podcasts (2025)

1
28 Years Later 2:53:59

5h ago2:53:59

2:53:59

Blank Check is going back to the British Isles with Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, and one extraordinarily well-endowed zombie this week as they discuss 28 Years Later. This movie has so much to love in it – wet bones, third-act Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer doing a thing, the Angel of the North, Teletubbies, the aforementioned well-endowed zombies, mind-…

1
Review Show: Pixar's new film Elio 42:06

10m 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…

1
Mercury Prize-shortlisted pianist Fergus McCreadie plays live 42:54

21h 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…

1
The creators of RuPaul's Drag Race, plus pianist Alfred Brendel remembered 43:09

2d ago43:09

43:09

RuPaul's Drag Race creators 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, th…

1
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland on 28 Years Later 42:24

2d 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 - …

1
Loser with Chandler Levack 2:34:18

7d ago2:34:18

2:34:18

The song. The hat. The…casual date rape?!!? In what should have been Amy Heckerling’s “blank check” after the success of Clueless, 2000’s Loser is a real LOSER. Filmmaker Chandler Levack joins us to chat about this technically-not-a-remake-of-The-Apartment “comedy” that gets college surprisingly wrong. Come for the Wheatus talk, stay for the in-dep…

1
Review Show: Pulp's new album More 42:31

7d 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…

1
Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys remembered. 42:17

7d 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

9d 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…

1
Twin Peaks creator plus Ian Rankin on Frederick Forsyth 42:24

10d 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
Clueless with Heidi Gardner 2:38:42

14d ago2:38:42

2:38:42

Okay, so you’re probably going, “Is this like a Noxzema commercial or what?” But seriously, this is actually a way normal podcast about one of David Sims’ favorite movies! SNL’s Heidi Gardner (a total betty) joins us to talk about Amy Heckerling’s beloved Jane Austen adaptation, and we’re rolling with the homies. Join us for Alicia Silverstone and …

1
Review show: Paris Lees drama What It Feels Like for a Girl 42:28

14d 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…

1
Daisy Goodwin on her play about the late Queen and her dresser 42:30

15d 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…

1
Nick Mohammed on comedy and improvisation 42:20

17d 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…

1
Fiddler on the Roof returns to the stage 42:17

17d 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 …

1
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning 2:58:39

19d ago2:58:39

2:58:39

Griffin, David, Ben, and Marie accepted the mission. They live and pod in the shadows, for those they hold close, and for those they never meet. They also have a few notes for Tom Cruise and Chris McQuarrie with regards to Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Join the crew as they break down all the problems of this latest (and final???) inst…

1
Imelda Staunton in Mrs Warren's Profession 42:25

21d 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…

1
Paul Hartnoll of Orbital on the band's Brown album, and a new biography of Muriel Spark. 42:13

22d 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 …

1
Alison Steadman live from Hay Festival 42:24

22d 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…

1
Will Butler formerly of Arcade Fire on his play set in a recording studio 42:23

23d 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 …

1
Look Who's Talking Too with Max Minghella 2:34:02

28d ago2:34:02

2:34:02

The Ubriacco family are back and - can you believe it? - they’re still talking! Actor and filmmaker Max Minghella joins us to talk about Look Who’s Talking Too, the contractually-obligated, quickly produced sequel to Amy Heckerling’s surprise hit. We’re talking about Mr. Toilet Man (he eats your pee pee and poo poo), Elias Koteas’ Mr. Scary Uncle M…

1
Mission Impossible & Benicio Del Toro 42:35

28d 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…

1
Shirley Manson of Garbage 42:18

29d 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…

1
Musician Rhiannon Giddens on returning to her North Carolina roots after working with Beyoncé 42:26

30d 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
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…

1
Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis 2:25:34

1M ago2:25:34

2:25:34

In perhaps the spermiest film we’ve ever covered, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley hang out with a baby voiced by Bruce Willis and Amy Heckerling gets revenge on Harold Ramis. As David Sims says early in this episode - Look Who’s Talking is a VERY RICH text. Vanity Fair’s Hillary Busis joins us to talk about this 1989 “forgotbuster,” a film that mad…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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 …

1
National Lampoon's European Vacation with Jon Gabrus 2:46:30

1M ago2:46:30

2:46:30

Congratulations! You’ve won an all-expenses-paid vacation with Griffin, David, Ben, and Jon Gabrus to Europe! Only downside is…well, you have to watch this movie. From the strange cultural stereotypes to the unfortunate lack of jokes, Amy Heckerling’s sequel to National Lampoon’s Vacation isn’t the smoothest trip. But, it certainly gives us an excu…

1
Review, The Wedding Banquet, Isabel Allende, The Brightening Air 42:34

1M 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…

1
Leni Riefenstahl, Queen Elizabeth Memorial, Keli 42:26

1M 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…

1
Hamlet Radiohead mashup, Stoke-on-Trent pottery in crisis 42:23

1M 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 …

1
A snapshot of culture on VE Day 1945 42:08

1M 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 …

1
Johnny Dangerously with Josh Gondelman 2:29:32

2M ago2:29:32

2:29:32

He’s the nicest bad guy in town. His last name is an adverb. And he’s got some pretty wacky bits! Sweetie pie comedian Josh Gondelman joins us to talk about 1984’s Johnny Dangerously, Amy Heckerling’s loving homage to 1930’s gangster pictures. Things we attempt to understand in this episode: the cultural legacy of Joe Piscopo; the actual joke that’…

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…

1
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…

1
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…

1
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 …

1
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…

1
Fast Times at Ridgemont High with Lola Kirke 2:28:53

2M ago2:28:53

2:28:53

We’re grabbing our Vans slip ons and heading to the mall as we kick off our Amy Heckerling series - Pod Times at Ridgemont Cast - with Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Fresh off her appearance in Sinners, actual high school friend of Griffin Newman Lola Kirke returns to the pod and things get pretty bogus. Like, David Lynch was supposed to direct this…

1
Review: Self Esteem's album A Complicated Woman; RSC's Much Ado About Nothing; Julie Keeps Quiet tennis film 42:30

2M ago42:30

42:30

Journalist Siân Pattenden & critic Stephanie Merritt join Tom to discuss Self Esteem's third album A Complicated Woman, which features collaborations with Nadine Shah and Moonchild Sanelly. Ahead of the release, Self Esteem AKA Rebecca Lucy Taylor showcased the album by staging a five-night theatrical presentation at London's Duke of York theatre. …

1
The ethics of publishing posthumous diaries, Pianist Igor Levit, and Memorials to great women. 42:06

2M ago42:06

42:06

As the journals of the American writer Joan Didion (based on conversations with her psychiatrist) are published, writer and journalist Rachel Cooke and Alan Taylor, editor of actor Alan Rickman's diaries, discuss the challenges, responsibilities and ethics of posthumously publishing the diaries of great writers, artists and actors. Acclaimed German…

1
Dante's Inferno in Jamaica, Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time re-examined, Shakespeare's first theatre 42:32

2M ago42:32

42:32

Jamaica's former poet laureate, Lorna Goodison, on setting Dante's Inferno on the island of her birth; Journalist Joanna Moorhead on Pope Francis' relationship with the arts; Poet and librettist Michael Symmons Roberts on writing a form-breaking book to re-examine French composer Olivier Messiaen's form-breaking masterwork - Quartet for the End of …

1
JMW Turner: 250th anniversary of Britain's greatest painter 42:24

2M ago42:24

42:24

Mr. Turner director Mike Leigh, art historian Charlotte Mullins and senior curator at Tate Amy Concannon join Tom Sutcliffe to celebrate the life and work of JMW Turner, as we approach the 250th anniversary of his birth. Also in this edition, David Hockney on Turner's skill as an artist, Alvaro Barrington talks about his continuing influence on art…

1
Schindler's List with David Ehrlich 3:51:02

2M ago3:51:02

3:51:02

Our Early Spielberg series concludes with a movie that is a super fun time and not at all distressing to watch in our current political climate! David Ehrlich joins us to discuss 1993’s Schindler’s List, the film that defined the visual language of the Holocaust and finally got Spielberg his Oscar. We’re getting into the critical debates about this…

1
Review: Alex Garland's film Warfare, Audition by Katie Kitamura, Shanghai Dolls by Amy Ng on stage 42:20

2M ago42:20

42:20

Alex Garland's latest film Warfare, which is co-directed by US military veteran Ray Mendoza turns back the clock back nearly twenty years to reconstruct a real-life surveillance mission in Iraq. Film critic Tim Robey and journalist Zing Tsjeng give their verdict on the analysis of the theatre of war, which unfolds in real time. They've also been to…

1
Photographer Susan Meiselas, The Impact of Trump's Tariffs on Musical Instrument Manufacturers, Author Ewan Morrison. 42:18

2M ago42:18

42:18

American documentary photographer and President of the Magnum Foundation Susan Meiselas speaks about her fifty-year career, as she receives the Outstanding Contribution to Photography award at the Sony World Photography Awards 2025, and as her work goes on display at Somerset House in London. We hear how President Trump's economic tariffs are affec…

1
Muriel's Wedding the Musical, Dr Who, Anthony Horowitz on Marble Hall Murders 42:17

2M ago42:17

42:17

Director and Screenwriter PJ Hogan, creator of the 1994 comedy Muriel's wedding, speaks to Samira Ahmed about the new musical adaptation of his film. With lead actors leaving, and ratings down, there are questions about the future of Doctor Who. Author John Higgs, and entertainment writer Caroline Frost, talk about the past, present and future of t…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Perry Michael Simon Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen