Front Row Late

Mary Beard and her panel discuss the links between culture, money and power. With the rise in protests against corporate sponsorship of culture in recent months, Mary and her guests ask if it matters which companies foot the bill for major cultural institutions and events, and if sponsorship by companies some people regard as unethical is a price worth paying to ensure culture remains affordable and accessible. Mary also asks whether we ought to expect to pay a high price for the best culture, and what culture can be enjoyed without forking out any cash at all. Mary also meets Mark Carney, the outgoing governor of the Bank of England, who shows her some of the Bank’s art collection, and discusses whether money is as much about culture as economics.

Mary Beard and Armando Iannucci discuss taking liberties with a literary classic, whether it is possible to satirise the current political situation, and the impact of swearing.

Mary Beard and guests discuss how our culture is responding to the issue of migration. How can writing and drama contribute towards an essential conversation about this topical issue?

Mary Beard and her panel of guests discuss why we consume so much sensationalised death in movies, crime fiction and television drama, while we are reluctant to speak about real pain and loss. How much do our religious traditions continue to shape our attitudes towards death, grief and the afterlife? And how will technology change our idea of legacy in the future? And how can comedy help us to come to terms with grief and our own mortality?

As London Fashion Week opens, Mary Beard and her panel of guests discuss the art and ethics of the clothing industry. When can fashion genuinely be regarded as an art form, and who is high-end designer fashion actually for? From the hijab to the hoodie, how do the clothes we wear communicate who we are to other people? And given recent controversies around sustainability and cultural appropriation, does the rag trade need to clean up its act? And Mary talks to designer Hussein Chalayan about when fashion can truly be described as an art.