In 2019, Jean Paul Gaultier brought his Fashion Freak Show – called a 'fabulous fiesta of fabric and flesh' by The Guardian – to the Southbank Centre. But before his extravaganza exploded onto the stage at Royal Festival Hall, the designer himself appeared here in conversation with TV presenter Anita Rani, reflecting on his decades in fashion. Born in a Paris suburb in 1952, Gaultier started his career at Pierre Cardin at the age of just 18. He has gone on to rise to the top of the fashion...

Malala Yousafzai's activist work championing the educational rights of girls led to her being shot by a Taliban gunman in 2012, when she was just 15 – but she refused to be silenced. She came to the Southbank Centre to launch her memoir I Am Malala on Sunday 20 October 2013, appearing in conversation with former Southbank Centre Artistic Director Jude Kelly. The following year, Yousafzai became the youngest ever Nobel laureate. In our recording of that talk, hear Yousafzai speak about...

Join poet Holly Corfield Carr, exploring human and non-human ways of looking at and listening to trees, in this podcast from Hayward Gallery's Among the Trees exhibition. Holly considers artworks by Giuseppe Penone, Robert Smithson, Roxy Paine and Mariele Neudecker, and interweaves her own words with poems by Vahni Capildeo, Emily Dickinson, Sasha Dugdale and Alice Oswald.

In this podcast, the painter George Shaw discusses some of the themes and influences behind his work with novelist Patrick Langley, in a conversation that ranges from post-war town planning, to punks, apocalyptic literature, woodlands and ‘the everydayness of the end of the world’.

In this episode of Think Aloud we turn our attention to poetry, and sit down with the London poet and founder of poetry collective Out-Spoken, Anthony Anaxagorou. With him we delve into how poetry can rewrite history, the ways in which he has developed and established his own voice, and how, when this is not a poem, he is not a poet. We also hear from South Korean poet Kim Hyesoon, for whom breaking established rules has been key to her poetry, on why the language of women comes from more...

German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen didn't just write new music, he created music that had never before been imagined, transformed sound, influenced musicians from classical to Kraftwerk to The Beatles, all while believing he was born on a distant planet. Electronic musician Actress and Southbank Centre's Director of Music, Gillian Moore spoke to Harriet Fitch Little about his legacy. "Stockhausen was the first person to open a sort of sonic box that said to me, anything is really...

In this episode, Harriet Fitch Little asks is this a golden age for political humour? Why do we laugh at politics and do we need to? She speaks to joke writer for Private Eye magazine Tom Jamieson, and comedians Tiff Stevenson and Kieran Hodgson about the effect of current affairs have had on comedy. “Satire sits bleary eyed & unshaven in a cheap motel room surrounded by empty vodka bottles quietly sobbing as it watches the news.” TOM JAMIESON

Invented in China over 2,500 years ago, the abstract strategy game Go is thought to be the oldest board game continuously played to the present day. In March 2016, the Go world champion Lee Sedol accepted a challenge to play against a computer program called AlphaGo. In the second game of a five game challenge series, the computer made a move no human in the game’s vast history would have considered. This move, Move 37, was not only unique and creative, it was beyond the minds of the world’s...

In this episode, Harriet Fitch Little is joined by paralympian, TV presenter and children’s author Ade Adepitan, and children’s book critic Imogen Russell Williams to talk about the lack of diversity in children’s literature. “I suddenly started to get a perception that certain people did certain things, that main protagonists, that strong characters, that hero characters were all white, middle class.” ADE ADEPITAN They discussed why children’s literature is so behind, why we can’t...

How do you make something not funny, funny? How do you deal with nerves? Who is your dream comedy sidekick? Do people expect you to be funny all the time? Which of your jokes goes down the best? Harriet Fitch Little brings you a Christmas special that reveals the tricks of the trade of stand up comedy. Listen to the questions we put to our panel of comedians about the highs and lows of their career, their confessions and their secrets. And of course, they manage to make it funny... You can...

Inspired by the forthcoming Soundstate festival, Harriet Fitch Little is joined by Southbank Centre's Music Director, Gillian Moore; Susanna Eastburn, CEO of Sound & Music; and Dai Fujikura, composer of contemporary classical music. They discuss the trouble with genres, how writing music will never be the same and why they don't use the word 'classical'.

In this episode, Harriet Fitch Little talks comedy and brings you the secrets and what do you do if nobody laughs. She talks to comedian Dave Gorman about why comedians can't lie and what the qualities are of the genre 'Gormanesque'. Her co-presenter is Ken Cheng, Chinese Comedian. She brings up his joke 'geek student' video and how it went down, they realise they went to uni together and Harriet finds out why Antigua and Barbuda have the funniest flag in the world. Along with that,...

Ahead of EFG London Jazz Festival, self-confessed jazz amateur Harriet interviews eminent musician Orphy Robinson and David Jones, a director and programmer of the festival. They talk about where jazz can be misunderstood, how it defies the limitations of the 'genre', the vibraphone, and which type of music you should be listening to on a date. Finally, they answer the question 'is it the end of jazz?' (spoiler: no) To find out more about EFG Jazz Festival at Southbank Centre, head to...

For national Ask A curator day, we poached the programmers at Southbank Centre to ask what goes on behind the scenes. Harriet Fitch Little is joined by; Bengi Unsal, Southbank Centre’s Senior Contemporary Music Programmer; Debo Amon, Literature programmer; Rupert Thomson, the senior programmer for performance and dance and Jessica Cerasi a curator and writer, previously at Hayward Gallery.

In preparation for this year's Unlimited, Southbank Centre's festival celebrating extraordinary work by disabled artists, this episode features talks with some of the performers who will be appearing. Presenter Harriet Fitch Little talks to Jackie Hagan about how amputation spurred her on to make comedy, whilst blind musician, Baluji Shrivastav explains the background of the Inner Vision orchestra. And, 'potentially a superhero in disguise', Jess Thom tells us about her Tourette syndrome,...

What does it take for a novel to win over a reader? What does it take for a novel to win a prize? In this episode, journalist and Think Aloud presenter Harriet Fitch Little is joined in conversation by Debo Amon, Southbank Centre’s Literature Programmer, to discuss how the way in which we read novels has changed, why 'shameful' literature is so popular, and whether the novel will stand the test of time. Journalist and author Caitlin Moran talks about a woman’s approach to literature and...

What does it take to get 82 bands and performers onto six stages over the course of only ten days? In this episode, journalist and Think Aloud presenter Harriet Fitch Little goes behind the scenes at the 25th edition of the Southbank Centre's prestigious Meltdown festival, which this year is curated by lead singer of The Cure - and all-round musical legend - Robert Smith. Harriet is joined in conversation by Bengi Unsal, Southbank Centre’s Senior Contemporary Music Programmer, and the...

Look out for Southbank Centre's Think Aloud podcast where you'll hear from from some of the people shaping arts and culture today. Together we’ll consider new ideas - and approach old ones from new angles - to cast some light on the most exciting things happening right now in the arts. You can subscribe to Think Aloud on the podcast app of your choice to make sure you don't miss the first episode.

In January 2017, legendary physicist Stephen Hawking shared his thoughts about the most rewarding achievements of his career, in an exclusive broadcast, marking his 75th birthday for Southbank Centre. He talked about some of his proudest accomplishments as a theoretical mathematician and physicist. "Every new day became a bonus and I began to appreciate everything I had; where there is life, there is hope." STEPHEN HAWKING Broadcaster Michael Buerk hosted the evening, and he was joined by...

*WARNING: This podcast contains references and language that some may find offensive.* Hear Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talk to Reni Eddo-Lodge about today’s most pressing cultural issues. "There's a sense that, when being asked to talk about race, after you've written a book, you're supposed to have the answers, you're supposed to have the solution; and while you're having the solution, you're supposed to cater for the emotional needs of the people listening to you." CHIMAMANDA NGOZI...

*WARNING: This podcast contains references and language that some may find offensive.* In this podcast, Ruby Wax talks about her book How to be Human: The Manual written with insights from a Monk and a neuroscientist, it’s a new and very original take on mindfulness. "Wind and worry feel the same to me, so I don't know whether to call the police or go to the toilet." RUBY WAX You can hear more talks, see photos and watch video from other events at this year's WOW at...

*WARNING: This podcast contains references and language that some may find offensive.* Nina Brochmann and Ellen Støkken Dahl, Oslo-based medical students, educators in sexual health and founders of the blog The Genital Area explore everything from female erections (yes - it’s a thing) and tips for the top orgasm You can hear more talks, see photos and watch video from other events at this year's WOW at SouthbankCentre.co.uk/wow and join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag...

Terry Gilliam​: screenwriter, film director, animator, comedian, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe appeared at London Literature Festival in October 2015 where he was interviewed by BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz. He discussed his life, career and his memoir, Gilliamesque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoir. “For me it was like coming to this country and finding an audience that I couldn’t find in America.” TERRY GILLiAM Gilliamesque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoir was an event presented by...