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Comedian Leo Reich, who has been named as one of the "best British talent" by The Times, and who has previously appeared in Lena Dunham's Netflix romcom Too Much, talks to us about creating his own sitcom - It Gets Worse - about a group of dysfunctional BFFs - for Channel 4. It emerged this weekend that almost 100,000 items have gone missing (and are either lost or stolen) from museums in Scotland in recent years. How are museums misplacing so many artefacts in their collections, and what can be done to retrieve them? We are joined by a collections management expert and a representative of The Art Loss Register to discuss how widespread this problem is. And a man marries an AI bride in the new production Darren Jackson's Wedding, by Big Telly Theatre Company, at the Belfast International Arts Festival. The show - staged partly in a church, partly at the Lyric Theatre, is a comic exploration of our relationship with technology and the importance of community, and follows the company's previous hit show Granny Jackson's Dead, a show set around an Irish family wake, which explored mourning and the growth of grief technology. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Bad Sisters actress Anne-Marie Duff talks to Samira about her latest role as Julie in Helen Edmundson’s play in Some Woman on stage at the National Theatre in London. In the next of our interviews with this year's Booker Prize shortlisted authors, visionary novelist and father of "New Weird" fiction M John Harrison discusses his disorientating dystopia, The End of Everything. And in the year of the Bayreuth opera festival's 150th anniversary, Samira discusses its history and significance with Genevieve Robyn Arkle, BBC / AHRC new generation thinker and lecturer in music history at King’s College London and Mark Berry, professor music and intellectual history at Royal Holloway, University of London. Producer: Eliane Glaser

We speak backstage with Christine Baranski and Richard E Grant on appearing in Noel Coward's Hay Fever in London's West End. Writer Douglas Stuart on John of John, nominated for this year's Booker Prize. We find out the big names and important movies to look out for, that are part of this year's London Film Festival. And controversy for the winner of this year's Caine Prize for African Writing, whose author has been accused of using AI. Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Zoe Williams and Laurence Scott join Tom Sutcliffe to review: The Social Reckoning, Aaron's Sorkin's new film which revisits the world of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg 16 years after his hit The Social Network. Mikey Madison stars as whistleblower Frances Haugen, who leaked tens of thousands of internal documents to the Wall Street Journal. The 90s: Art and Fashion at Tate Britain, an exhibition curated by former Vogue editor Edward Enninful looking at the decade that brought us Kate Moss and Damien Hirst. Partita, the new novel from Pulitzer and Women's Prize For Fiction winner Barbara Kingsolver, whose last book Demon Copperhead was a huge success. This novel tells the story of a gifted pianist living in rural Appalachia. And as news is announced that Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Literature, we discuss her work and significance. Producer: Tim Bano

News broke today of a discovery which may rewrite cinematic history. In 1926 Scottish playwright Graham Moffat's film - Till the Bells Ring - using pioneering audio technology which allowed sound and pictures to be synchronised, was premiered in Edinburgh. For decades, Alan Crossland’s 1927 film The Jazz Singer – starring Al Jolson – has been regarded as the world's first talkie, but does this newly discovered film - in the BFI archive in Hertfordshire - take its crown? Historians Marc David Jacobs – and Pamela Hutchinson, join us to discuss the significance of this find. Turner Prize-nominated artist Isaac Julien joins us to talk about his film work Lessons of the Hour – which is screening from this weekend until next April at Perth Museum, on the site where the renowned 19th century social reformer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass gave speeches to packed out audiences almost 200 years ago. Julien’s film reflects Douglass’ significant legacy and he tells us about his approach to “aesthetic reparation” and about the relevance of Douglass’ work today. We also hear about Douglass' extraordinary life, from his great-great-great grandson. And from ancient sculpture to an iconic 15th century painting by Botticelli and a gold bodysuit worn by Beyoncė, a new exhibition devoted to the Greek goddess of love and desire, Aphrodite, opens this week at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Writer and classicist Natalie Haynes guides us through the fascination with Aphrodite over five millennia. And we pay tribute to the Oscar-winning American actress Eva Marie Saint, star of North By Northwest and On The Waterfront, who has died at the age of 102. Presenter: Kate Molleson Producer: Mark Crossan

The legendary Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is back with his fifth solo album The Age of Everything, which he's described as the most cathartic album he's ever written. He joins Samira to talk about road-testing these songs before recording them, why he auctioned off his whole guitar collection and what keeps him making music after five decades in the spotlight. As French Impressionist Claude Monet's letters are published in English for the first time, Samira discusses what we learn about the man behind the paintings, with editor Teresa Krasny and art critic Charlotte Mullins. The first of our interviews with the authors of the Booker Prize shortlist: Rebecca Perry talks about her novel May We Feed the King. And after the news of author Jeffrey Archer's death, we revisit a memorable Front Row interview with him. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Lucy Collingwood

Two of the young stars of Saturday Night Live UK on bringing live satire back to television. Director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, Captain Philips, United 93) on how the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 inspired his new film, Uprising. The British Museum has taken steps to quell public dissent over long queues and ticket cancellations for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition. And novelist Sarah Hall on the rebelliousness of modern nature writing, ahead of delivering the annual Faber lecture, entitled Burning Snowflake, and this year's Manchester Literature Festival. Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Susannah Clapp and Nick Hilton join Tom Sutcliffe to review Tom Cruise as a prosthetic laden billionaire oil tycoon in the film Digger, who is out to save humanity after causing a global catastrophe. They also discuss Sky legal drama War – where Sienna Miller and Dominic West play a power couple who are getting divorced. And they offer their verdicts on The Standard of Living, Dear England writer James Graham’s play about the life of economist John Maynard Keynes, played by Rory Kinnear. Plus chair of judges, and former Front Row presenter, Kirsty Lang talks about the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction's shortlist which has been announced today. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

Sherwood and Homeland star David Harewood talks to us about his lead role in Channel 4's new legal drama Pierre, which is co-written by John Donnelly and playwright Roy Wiliams. Actor Simon Russell Beale discusses playing Liberace on stage in I'll Be Seeing You, the new play from Martin Sherman (who wrote Bent and Mrs Henderson Presents), a sparkling fantasia which follows a young writer struggling to create a play about the flamboyant superstar with a carefully constructed public image, who was awarded £8,000 in damages after an article strongly hinted he was a homosexual. The production - directed by Alan Cumming and Ben Occhipinti - is at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 11 October. An avatar of acclaimed Chinese-American pianist Yuja Wang is performing at the Southbank Centre in London between now and January with audience members donning a VR headset and wandering around the stage to observe her at close range. The Guardian's critic Erica Jeal, who described the performance as "like Disney's Fantasia on steroids" tells us more about the experience. And we discuss the rise of the cultural logging platform - such as Letterboxd and Storygraph - which help us curate what the films we watch and the books we read and which help us share recommendations with each other. And Bill Buckley pays tribute to broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, his colleague on the much-loved TV show That's Life!, who has died at the age of 86. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Tom Sutcliffe hosts the ceremony for BBC National Short Story Award and Young Writers Award 2026, in partnership with University of Cambridge, live from BBC Broadcasting House in London. As well as the announcements of the winners of both awards, Tom is joined by judges David Almond, Tahmima Anam and Saba Sams to discuss the key ingredients for a standout short story. They also recommend the short story writers and collections which they love to read. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Lucy Collingwood

The multi-award winning stage designer and artist Es Devlin talks to Samira as a retrospective of her work opens at the Design Museum in London. Devlin has created sets for theatre and opera and also for stadium concerts, fashion shows, and the Olympics opening ceremony. This is her first UK museum show and her first retrospective in Europe, and it celebrates her 30-year creative practice across stage design, art installations, sculpture and music. The music played in the exhibition and briefly on our programme was composed by Polyphonia. Sebastian Faulks, one of the country’s most acclaimed novelists, imagines the life of an ex-soldier stationed in 1946 Palestine at the end of the British Mandate in his new book Farewell to Eden. He talks to Samira about why this troubled period of history has drawn him in. The technology giant Apple has helped transform the way we listen to music through its devices and platforms, and is now opening its own 600-capacity concert venue at Battersea Power Station in London, with Elton John headlining its first show. Samira speaks to Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services and Health, about the company’s ambitions for Apple Music Hall and its role in the music industry. Jonathan Jones reviews the work of the nominees for this year’s Turner Prize. Producer: Eliane Glaser

A special edition of Front Row from the BBC's poetry and performance festival - Contains Strong Language Since self-publishing a poetry pamphlet in 2020, Donna Ashworth has gone on to become the UK's bestselling living poet of the decade. She talks about her new book, The Art of Being Easily Pleased: Words To Unlock A Wonderful life, and shares some of her new poems. The phenomenally successful musical, Operation Mincemeat, which looks at a WW2 deception operation, began life as a 15 minute performance at The Lowry as part of the art centre's artist development programme. Natasha Hodgson and David Cumming, two of the original members of the team that created the show, discuss one of the musical's best loved songs, Dear Bill, and there'll be a special performance of it. Anthony Almeida is directing a new production of Othello, set in 1980s Britain which draws parallels between the political and military turmoil of that time with those of Shakespeare's 16th century setting in Venice and Cyprus. He talks about the play's language of leadership in challenging times. The TS Eliot Prize-winning poet Joelle Taylor set her collection, Maryville, in a butch bar to explore the lives of four butch lesbians and the underground landscape of queer culture. She discusses the new performance version of these poems that she'll be presenting at the Contains Strong Language festival. Presenter - Samira Ahmed Producer - Ekene Akalawu

In this week's Review Show, our guest critics Hannah McGill and Fergus Morgan join Kirsty Wark to discuss three dystopian thrillers: Bestselling novelist Emily St John Mandel's latest work of speculative fiction, Exit Party, chronicles how a range of characters respond to a complete collapse in society - in America, where Texas and California are now republics, and militia roam the streets, and in Paris, where a giant dome has been constructed to protect elites. An alien invasion in the heart stopping South Korean sci-fi action thriller Hope, by writer, director and producer Na Hong-jin, which received an enthusiastic ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to become a smash box office hit. And a new adaptation of George Orwell's seminal 1984, in which a couple's love affair is an act of rebellion against a totalitarian regime, which is touring Scottish theatres between now and November. Producer: Mark Crossan

Comedian Russell Kane tells us about playing an older Romeo in a new take on Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. Author Samantha Ellis gives her verdict on the new film adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility starring Daisy Edgar-Jones. This week marks 100 years since the birth of John Coltrane. Saxophonist Soweto Kinch and Grammy award winning music historian Ashley Khan discuss Coltrane’s significance and legacy. And we reveal this year’s Booker Prize shortlist live on air. Literary critic and journalist Alex Clark joins Tom to discuss the six shortlisted titles. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet.

Roger Taylor has been a driving force behind Queen, one of the most successful bands in history. The songwriter, drummer and singer talks to Tom Sutcliffe about his 7th solo album Violence Insane in a Beautiful World. Stars Wars legend George Lucas has long sought to fulfil his dream to open a museum for his vast art collection, which includes everything from the comics of R. Crumb and Moebius to the art of Frida Kahlo, Banksy and Norman Rockwell. Art critic Jocelyn Silver joins to tell us about what fans can see when the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts opens in Los Angeles tomorrow. Imagine a scenario where Russia attacks the UK and the decisions about how the country responds are down to you. That's the task taken on by ex-politicians from across the political parties in a new TV series called The Wargame. Tom talks to ex MP Jim Murphy, who took part as the Foreign Secretary, and one of the Executive Producers Nicola Brown. As the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has announced a new committee to look into Eurovision, journalist and Eurovision expert William Lee Adams explains why we don’t have the best track record with song success and what the committee could learn from other countries. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Andrea Kidd