The Culture Show

As he brings his Berlin tour to Britain, Lou Reed talks to The Culture Show's Lauren Laverne about why he's recreating his cult 1973 album. Reed reminisces about Andy Warhol and The Factory, the Velvet Underground, and how he felt about the critical response to the album on its initial release. Also featuring exclusive footage of Reed performing as he rehearses for the Berlin tour, and contributions from collaborators and admirers including Anthony Heggarty and Peter Hook.

Lauren Laverne presents a celebration of all things Springfield as the Simpsons celebrate their 20th anniversary. Looking back over the show's success it features contributions from creator Matt Groening, plus stars of one-off episodes Ricky Gervais, Stephen Hawking and Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding.

Verity Sharp meets the four-piece band Sigur Rós in their native Iceland and on their visit to the UK for the 2007 Electric Proms. They have sold two million albums globally and their haunting music has been used as a soundtrack on trailers for the BBC series Planet Earth. They talk about their unique sound and their film Heima, which chronicles a series of unannounced gigs in Iceland in 2006.

Verity Sharp presents an accessible guide to the best exhibitions, books, films and music. As Disney's effects-laden The Incredibles opens in cinemas, The Culture Show considers the future of traditional hand-painted animation. And David Hockney talks to Andrew Marr about his new book Hockney's Pictures.

As the newly expanded Museum of Modern Art in New York reopens, world-renowned art critic Robert Hughes is offered a first look into the building designed by Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi. Kwame Kwei-Armah presents the arts round-up.

Ahead of its official opening by the Queen, Charles Hazlewood gets an advance look inside the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, and examines whether this long-awaited performing arts centre can live up to expectations. Plus the other top arts and cultural stories of the week.

A reminder of the genius of 17th century Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. Franz Ferdinand reveal the ideas behind their songs, and the homeless stage an opera in Nottingham. Plus the restoration of Bexhill's modernist masterpiece, the De La Warr Pavilion, and Salman Rushdie's gruelling publicity tour of Britain and the United States for his book Shalimar the Clown.

With John Le Carre's novel The Constant Gardener on release as a film, the writer talks about conspiracy theories. Plus sculptor Rachel Whiteread's work for Tate Modern; the search for Britain's best city for music; director Todd Solondz on photographer Diane Arbus's bizarre vision; the boom in guides to modern etiquette; and Britain's new ballet capital - Birmingham.

Comment on the Turner Prize shortlist, while Henri Rousseau's paintings come to the Tate. Director Tim Burton talks about Corpse Bride and the rising musical stars of the F-ire Collective explain how they plan to shake up British jazz. Plus a glimpse of one of the most ambitious pieces of public art since the Angel of the North.

What is the public's favourite piece of British design since 1900? The Great British Design Quest aims to find out with everything from the Mini to the mini-skirt being considered. Plus Gwyneth Paltrow on her new film Proof and hip-hop star 50 Cent on why he's branching out from music into merchandising. With Verity Sharp.

With Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown heading for the courts accused of plagiarism, the arts show asks if the bestselling book was a rip-off. Sarah Waters discusses The Night Watch, her new novel of lesbian love in wartime England, while director Werner Herzog talks about his latest film Grizzly Man. Plus the gothic work of Fuseli and William Blake , the controversy over performers who mime and the future of public libraries. Hosted by Verity Sharp.

At the Winter Olympics in Turin, an accompanying "snow show" brings together the likes of Yoko Ono and Norman Foster to make monumental - albeit inevitably short-lived - creations of snow and ice. The show also explores why Britain is getting a new National Theatre, and goes on tour with comedians the Mighty Boosh. Andrew Graham-Dixon hosts.

Andrew Graham-Dixon goes behind the hype to reveal the true genius of Leonardo da Vinci. The Pet Shop Boys discuss the future of pop, and viewers get to nominate the parts of British culture they can live without.

An interview with director Ken Loach at the Cannes film festival as he waits to see whether he has won the coveted Palme d'Or. Plus Mark Kermode reflects on disaster movies as United 93 hits our cinema screens.

What brought New York punk icon Patti Smith to Charleston, the rural retreat of the Bloomsbury group. Plus, the ingredients of the perfect pop song according to Paul Weller, and the naturally curly actor Alan Davies laments the demise of the perm.

Scissor Sisters discuss their inspirations, Oliver Stone discusses his new movie World Trade Center and Sting performs tracks from his new album. Plus buildings that make us laugh, Holbein at the Tate and a quirky take on the Booker Prize shortlist. Presented by Lauren Laverne.

As Michael Palin publishes his diaries, he discusses his part in one of the most influential comedy troupes. The show investigates Palin the actor, and looks at his evolution into a national treasure. Eddie Izzard , Vic Reeves , the creators of South Park, and Chris Addison pay tribute.

Presenter Lauren Laverne launches the search for Britain's greatest living icon, with Russell Brand, Lily Allen , Max Clifford and David Bailey offering their suggestions. Plus Mark Kermode talks to Sofia Coppola about her latest controversial film Marie Antoinette , hip-hop stars OutKast discuss their taste in music, Andrew Graham-Dixon meets award-winning video artist Candice Breitz, and Matthew Sweet asks why craft has never been so cool.

Lauren Laverne presents the magazine show which casts a critical eye over the arts. Comedians Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson reveal why phone-ins are ripe for ridicule and preview the new series of their BBC Radio 4 spoof Down the Line. The naughty brothers of British art, Jake and Dinos Chapman , talk to Mark Kermode about their controversial new show at Tate Liverpool, Bad Art for Bad People, and there's a look at how porn culture is entering the mainstream. Plus, Lauren Laverne picks out the five bands to watch out for in including the View and the Brian Jacket Letdown.

Leonardo DiCaprio talks about his controversial new film, Blood Diamond, while presenter Lauren Laverne visits the small seaside town of Anstruther in Fife, home to the Fence Collective and one of Britain's most vibrant alternative music scenes. Mark Kermode meets Christopher Guest and asks him about his new film, For Your Consideration. Andrew Graham-Dixon examines the work of Hogarth and Canaletto, two 18th-century artists who portrayed contemporary life very differently.

This week's smorgasbord of the arts includes a look at what happened when Bill Bailey joined forces with the BBC Concert Orchestra for his cosmic shindig. Comedians Stewart Lee, Phill Jupitus and Robin Ince pay tribute to 1980s comic Ted Chippington. Danny Robins infiltrates the alternative folk scene and actor Patrick Stewart talks to presenter Lauren Laverne about the differing demands of Shakespeare and Star Trek. Plus there's music from pop phenomenon Mika.

Lauren Laverne talks to the Manic Street Preachers, who perform live and discuss their new album Send Away the Tigers. Eurovision Song Contest fan Neil Hannon from the Divine Comedy gives his take on how to write the perfect Eurovision song and political cartoonist Steve Bell talks about his work as a major retrospective exhibition opens in Norwich. Mark Kermode picks up the thread of the story behind the action adventure Spider-Man 3.

This week, Andrew Graham-Dixon tours Britain's land art in a helicopter, Chinese pianist Lang Lang demonstrates his virtuoso skills and Charlie Brooker surveys the week's TV highlights. Plus there's a look at how 9/11 has been depicted in a graphic novel and why chess is the latest urban craze. With music from Mutya Buena and Groove Armada. Lauren Laverne hosts.

This week Helena Bonham Carter discusses her role in the acclaimed film Conversations with Other Women and Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips gives a masterclass in rock showmanship as festival goers gear up for the summer season. There's an examination of just how good the new Wembley stadium is and Mark Kermode sings the praises of the unfashionable music genre skiff le, with a contribution from his own rockabilly band, the Dodge Brothers. There's also live music from broken beat rising star Mpho Skeef. Presented by Lauren Laverne.

Lauren Laverne kicks off a new series with Mark Kermode gaining a rare interview with Canadian country music star Neil Young. The acclaimed songwriter talks about his forthcoming album Chrome Dreams 2 and looks back at the changes of direction his music has taken over the past four decades. Elsewhere, Quentin Tarantino provides a masterclass in creating the perfect movie soundtrack, Andrew Graham-Dixon takes an aerial tour of Britain's land art, and Tim Samuels saturates a Scottish village with copies of this year's Booker-nominated novels to find out who gets the villagers' vote for the prize. Plus music from Oxford indie trio the Young Knives.

Lauren Laverne meets fashion designer Matthew Williamson ahead of his upcoming exhibition at the Design Museum, and Andrew Graham-Dixon visits the Tuscan city of Siena to assess its role in the Renaissance. In Reykjavik, Verity Sharp talks to Icelandic band Sigur Ros about their film Heima, which focuses on the group's series of unannounced gigs performed across their home country in 2006. Elsewhere, Tom Dyckhoff profiles some of Britain's best young architects and Mark Kermode reviews the week's movie releases.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner reviews the latest films which deal with the war on terror, including Lions for Lambs and Rendition. Verity Sharp talks to Cate Blanchett about Elizabeth: The Golden Age and her role as Bob Dylan in the Oscar-tipped I'm Not There. Plus fresh from the Electric Proms, Handsome Family perform live.

US movie star and stand-up comedian Chris Rock talks to Lauren Laverne about what tickles his funny bone. Mark Kermode interviews Sweeney Todd star Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton , while the Coen brothers talk about their acclaimed modern western No Country for Old Men. Author Toby Young goes to New York where the film version of his book How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is being made and confronts Simon Pegg , who has the difficult job of playing the writer on the big screen. Plus Glasgow band Sons and Daughters perform a song from new album This Gift.

Lauren Laverne hosts another bumper batch of cultural gems, including Mark Kermode talking to the multiple Oscar winner Tom Hanks about his latest film, Charlie Wilson 's War, plus there's an interview with cult actress Laura Linney about her role in The Savages. Elsewhere, BBC Radio 1's DJ Nihal travels to Belgium to meet the Dewaele brothers, better known as Soulwax, Author Conn Iggulden visits a story-telling festival in Galway, and folk rockers Beirut hit the streets of Cardiff to see how much they can make as buskers. Studio music comes from electro-pop stars Hot Chip.

Lauren Laverne meets Elliot Page , who has been nominated for an Oscar for her role in the acclaimed film Juno. Also, can art ever make you laugh? London's Hayward Gallery thinks so. They're staging an exhibition called Laughing in a Foreign Language. Podcaster Karl Pilkington takes comic Noel Fielding to find out whether this show can deliver. Elsewhere, artist and film director Julian Schnabel talks to Mark Kermode about his film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Tim Samuels has a night on the tiles with New York singer/songwriter Jeffrey Lewis.

Lauren Laverne and Mark Kermode return to present a new run of the arts show, which this week joins Ricky Gervais on set in America as he directs his first feature film This Side of the Truth. Meanwhile art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon is in Vienna attempting a Freudian analysis of the work of Gustav Klimt, and Mark joins contemporary poet Simon Armitage as he attempts to release his inner rock star in London's trendy Shoreditch.

Lauren Laverne and Mark Kermode host the arts show, tonight featuring 27-year-old Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel , some striking land art along the M8 motorway in Scotland, and more from Mark Pilkington on the set of Ricky Gervais 's film This Side of the Truth. Plus the latest movie releases, including The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton , and The Happening, and music from Elbow and Richard Hawley.

Vic Reeves visits Folkestone to find out whether its inaugural triennial, previewing new works by artists like Tracey Emin and Mark Wallinger , can breathe new life into the town. The BBC Big Band and blues singer Beth Rowley perform at the reopening of Morecambe's newly restored Modernist gem, the Midland Hotel, and there's a special tribute to Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Plus a preview of the imminent Edinburgh Film Festival and music from Neon Neon. Presented by Lauren Laverne and Mark Kermode.

Lauren Laverne meets style icon and musical innovator Grace Jones, Mark Kermode celebrates the 25th anniversary of cherished film Local Hero, and Andrew Graham -Dixon argues that £100 million is small beer to prevent two paintings by Titian being sold abroad.

Actress Angelina Jolie discusses her career, Martin Freeman meets The Funk Brothers, and Tom Hunter gives Titian's Diana and Actaeon a modern spin.

Five accomplished artists guest this week: actor Michael Sheen discusses his role in Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon while singer Tom Jones takes the show's busking challenge; plus Scottish poet Mick Imlah, music producer Kanye West and, in the week he turns 50, Oscar-winning animator Nick Park. Lauren Laverne hosts.

Highlights from the Manchester International Festival, including a collaboration between film-maker Adam Curtis, theatre company Punchdrunk and Damon Albarn - the theatrical experience It Felt like a Kiss. Plus the Young at Heart Choir, a group of singers aged 70-plus, whose new show is based on iconic Manchester songs, and an interview with Ralf Hutter of Kraftwerk.

This second show from the Manchester International Festival sees Rufus Wainwright discuss his first opera, Prima Donna; dancer Carlos Acosta preparing a new work for the festival; and a profile of the Young at Heart chorus - 25 singers in their 70s and 80s who are preparing a new show based on iconic Manchester songs. Also tonight, Zaha Hadid converts the Manchester Art Gallery into a music hall where violinist Alina Ibragimova performs Bach.

Tim Marlow presents from the Manchester International Festival, examining the collaboration between indie band Elbow and the Halle Orchestra. Vini Reilly pays tribute to "Madchester" music producer Tony Wilson, and Tom Dyckhoff assesses Zaha Hadid 's new chamber-music hall.

Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo present a packed edition from the London film festival, featuring highlights and an interview with David Morrissey about his directorial debut. Michael Palin discusses his films and new book, while Toby Young talks to Cosmo Landesman and Peter Bradshaw about the role of the critics. Plus Miranda Sawyer 's visit to the Frieze Art Fair.

As the Glasgow School of Art celebrates its centenary, Lauren Laverne is on hand to tell its story. Art critic Matthew Collings looks at an exhibition of Van Gogh's letters, while Andrew Graham-Dixon reviews a National Gallery exhibition of Spanish religious art. Actor and Motown fan Martin Freeman interviews his idol, iconic soul star Smokey Robinson, and there's a look at Halloween movies.

With the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford due to reopen after a multimillion-pound makeover, Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the 39 new galleries. Meanwhile, writer Michael Smith looks at the city's "town and gown" divide. Jane Campion, director of Bright Star, a new film about John Keats, discusses the poet's oeuvre with his biographer Andrew Motion. Also, Lauren Laverne looks at how the internet is the early bird when it comes to new formats for comedy, and Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode discuss the future of 3-D films.

The Culture Show returns with a programme presented by Verity Sharp from the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow. In 2010, the festival pays tribute to Nick Drake, 35 years since his death at just 26. He's now recognized as one of the 20th century's most influential singer-songwriters.

Andrew Graham Dixon presents from the Old Vic, where Toby Young talks to artistic director Kevin Spacey. Andrew visits the Chris Offili show at Tate Britain and then heads off to Michael Landy's controversial Art Bin. Mark Kermode talks to Peter Jackson about his new film The Lovely Bones, and Jacques Peretti looks into Wikileaks, the anonymous whistleblowing internet site. Paul Mason meets Slavoj Zizeck, described as the most dangerous philosopher in the West, and asks him about his book First as Tragedy, Then as Farce. Finally, Miranda Sawyer chats to hip-hop pioneer Roots Manuva.

Andrew Graham Dixon presents an edition featuring the big guns of literature, theatre and classical music. Martin Amis talks about his latest novel, The Pregnant Widow; actor Kwame Kwei Armah goes behind the scenes with legendary theatre director Peter Brook; and superstar pianist Daniel Barenboim demonstrates his passion for Schoenberg.

Coming from the Brighton Festival, artistic director Brian Eno talks about his line-up, Miranda Sawyer drops in at rehearsals of Simon Stephens's new play Marine Parade, and we hear from Seun Kuti, youngest son of Fela and successor of the Afrobeat crown. Sue Perkins visits the Scottish highlands to hear an unusual performance of Benjamin Britten's opera Noye's Fludde, while Mark Kermode reports from the 63rd Cannes Film Festival. Andrew Graham-Dixon meets prize winning author David Mitchell and explores the new Mystery Portraits exhibition at Montacute House. Plus Alastair Sooke talks to artist Alex Katz about his show at the National Portrait Gallery and portrait of Anna Wintour, editor of US Vogue.

Art critic Matthew Collings celebrates the birthday of one of the most successful modern art museums in the world. With contributions from director of Tate, Sir Nicholas Serota, and artists Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Rachel Whiteread and Olafur Eliasson, this Culture Show special asks what lies behind the extraordinary popularity of Tate Modern, with over 45 million visitors to date, and examines how this institution has changed public perceptions of art forever.

Andrew Graham-Dixon discovers the history of gargoyles at Westminster Abbey and travels to Llandudno, Wales for a preview of the new Mostyn Gallery. Miranda Sawyer and Mark Kermode argue over theatre versus film, Michael Smith questions the heritage industry, Sarfraz Manzoor visits The Onion in America, and literary critic Geoff Dyer reviews the new wave of war writing.

Coming from the 60th anniversary celebrations for the Festival of Britain where Nancy Durrant talks to Tracey Emin about her new show at the Hayward. Also, Andrew Graham-Dixon travels north to the new Hepworth Wakefield exhibition space designed by David Chipperfield, while Tom Dyckhoff explores the militarisation of urban architecture. Mark Kermode tries the new video game LA Noire, which draws its inspiration from film noir, while record producer Danger Mouse talks about his new album Rome, spawned from the spaghetti western soundtrack. Alastair Sooke checks out the four shortlisted for the Art Fund Prize Museum of the Year and choreographer Wayne McGregor selects his own prize moments from the BBC archives.

Hugh Laurie was best known for playing bumbling British toffs until he reinvented his onscreen persona in the role of House MD, and became the highest paid actor in the world. One skill that features throughout his meteoric career is a facility for music, from Bertie Wooster bashing out Minnie the Moocher to House dueting with a patient. Now though, Laurie has finally put his music centre stage. As he releases an album of New Orleans blues titled Let Them Talk, he speaks with Alan Yentob about the role music has played in his life and career.

Fronted by Andrew Graham-Dixon, this week's Culture Show comes from the recently revamped Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, and ranges from sci-fi to psychopaths, with Shakespeare, singing, art, hip-hop, design and new media packed in too.

The Culture Show is back and will be featuring many of the highlights from the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. In this episode, Mark Kermode meets film director David Cronenberg and his lead actor Robert Pattinson to talk about their new movie Cosmopolis. Martin Amis discusses class, character and his latest novel, while Yoko Ono makes a bid to get the whole world smiling. There is a a performance from the acclaimed Pina Bausch dance company, and Andrew Graham-Dixon joins Michael Landy and Bob and Roberta Smith to discover what happens when a gallery is transformed into a classroom and the artists take charge of the lessons.

In this episode, comedian Alexei Sayle joins art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon at Tate Liverpool for an exhibition of later works from three of the greatest painters of the last 150 years: Turner, Monet and Twombly. Mark Kermode interrogates director William Friedkin about his new blackly comic film Killer Joe. Miranda Sawyer travels to the Eden Project in Cornwall to talk Matilda, musicals and megalomania with Tim Minchin. We have an exclusive extract from a lovingly restored print of Alfred Hitchcock's debut feature film with live music specially composed by Daniel Patrick Cohen; and James Runcie meets Richard Ford to explore the borderline between the ordinary and the criminal in his haunting new novel Canada.

This week The Culture Show comes from London's East End, where Andrew Graham-Dixon takes a photo tour of a changing landscape with Newham's famous son and legendary snapper David Bailey. Alan Yentob has a rainy encounter with controversial architect Renzo Piano, the mastermind behind Britain's tallest skyscraper The Shard. Mark Kermode meets the actor with over seventy films to his credit, Willem Dafoe, to talk about his latest movie The Hunter. Ground-breaking all-male dance company Tomorrow's Men perform; and Sarfraz Manzoor tees off with Booker prize-shortlisted author Nicola Barker whose new comic novel The Yips unearths the giddy world of golf.

Manchester's International Festival is a collection of world class talent, theatrical premieres, ground breaking musical performances and global stars from the contemporary art scene. Amongst these gems will be Shelley's The Masque of Anarchy, performed by Maxine Peake, one of the most gifted actors of her generation. The poem is seen as the most politically powerful in the English language, written as a response to Manchester's 1819 Peterloo massacre, an event which ultimately led to the birth of the working class movement. This is the first time it will be performed as a piece of theatre and will be staged yards from where it took place.

This summer, Tate Modern has opened its doors to Africa, dedicating an entire wing to two of the most important artists working today: 82-year-old visionary modernist Ibrahim El-Salahi and contemporary free-thinker Meschac Gaba. Writer and curator Morgan Quaintance discovers their extraordinary personal stories, and a struggle for recognition that spans six decades. Studying at the Slade in the 1950s, Ibrahim El-Salahi returned home with a crate full of modern art, to meet a stony faced public in Sudan. Reconciling the language of modernism with the culture of his heritage, he found a powerful new way to express the dreams and ambitions of African independence. It was to lead to imprisonment, exile and eventually freedom.

lan Yentob witnesses the birth of an idea at the hands of the designer, creator, and some call 'inventor' - Thomas Heatherwick - whose recent triumphs include the remarkable cauldron for the 2012 Olympic Games and the provocative redesign of the London double decker bus. Gaining a reputation as a maverick who defies commission briefs to come up with extraordinary creations - everything from dizzying chairs resembling oversized spinning tops, to a bridge that curls into a ball, and to the giant 'hairy' cube he built to represent Britain at the World Expo, Thomas is now incubating his most audacious plan for London yet. With access to Thomas, his creative team and Joanna Lumley, who brought him this latest idea, the film follows their daring proposal to float a garden across the river Thames. Will the man who Terence Conran labeled the 'Leonardo of our times'... deliver the wonder again?

Lynn Barber has been interviewing famous people for more than three decades. Renowned for her audacious, brilliantly honest and often caustic profiles, Barber asks the questions no one else dares ask. The 'Demon Barber of Fleet Street' they call her. In this irreverent half-hour programme, Lynn Barber talks to Alan Yentob about her job interviewing and writing about celebrities. She recounts her combustible clashes with Rafa Nadal and Marianne Faithful, she explains why actors are so difficult to interview and why she relishes shouty men. 'I'm embarrassment proof,' she says, 'if somebody loses their temper and starts shouting at me I feel quite cosy with that'.

Sir Kenneth Clark was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century British art. Born into a world of privilege, his achievements were staggering. He keeper of the King's Pictures, director of the National Gallery, founder of the Arts Council and independent television, and best remembered as the presenter of the most ambitious arts series ever made - Civilisation. A staunch defender of Reithian values, Clark was attacked for being an elitist 'posh man in tweeds'. But he held a passionate belief that art was for everyone and made it his mission, through television, to share his love of art with the masses. To coincide with Tate Britain's exhibition on Clark opening in May, this Culture Show special presents an intimate portrait of a contradictory and elusive character who transformed our cultural landscape.

When Edward St Aubyn summoned the courage to write the fictionalized version of his unbearable childhood and describe the horrific abuse he suffered at the hands of cruel and neglectful aristocratic parents, he not only broke a taboo, but he also pulled off a rare act of literary alchemy. He turned the grim material of his life - rape, drug addiction and the ever-present pull of suicide - into a series of exquisitely crafted books (The Melrose novels) that critics rate amongst the finest achievements of contemporary British fiction. The surprise is that they are wickedly funny too. Through his alter ego Patrick Melrose he slays the monsters of his past with witty, elegant rage.