Delve deeper with our Companion Podcasts | Listen to expert insights from directors, actors, writers, and historians.
The Travelling Symphony Podcast.
A collection of 8 podcasts, each accompanying a film selection from our first season. We discuss the themes, ideas and concepts around each movie, as well as hearing from experts and thought leaders on historical accuracy, the challenges of film-making and the limits of modern science.
Available on Spotify, Apple, Acast, or wherever you normally get your podcasts.
We were extremely lucky to have amazing guests including director Gurinder Chadha (Blinded By The Light) and actor and writer Sanjeev Bhaskar (Paddington 2), as well as experts like Prof. Christopher Grey (The Imitation Game) and historian Peter Caddick-Adams (Dunkirk). We had a great time making the podcast and there were some excellent moments that stuck with us, including this bombshell:
“Everything you know about raptors is a lie”
- Palaeontologist Dr David Button on Jurassic Park
Podcast episodes.
I, Tonya
An athlete betrayed by her family, her sport and her nation.
We discuss I, Tonya with the fantastic Sarah Marshall - a native of Tonya Harding's home city of Portland, Oregon and author of the viral 2014 essay that redefined the skater's reputation.
Paddington 2
Sanjeev Bhaskar on community, favourite movies and Hugh Grant's improv skills.
We got the chance to chat to British acting legend Sanjeev Bhaskar, the creator and star of Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42, who played Dr. Jafri in Paddington 2. We covered all manner of subjects: immigration and representation, changing the notion of "their stories" to "our stories", his love of films and, of course, some of his best memories from making one of the most-loved family movies of the 21st Century.
The Imitation Game
The incredible true stories of the heroes of Bletchley Park.
A sensational episode where we speak with Professor Chris Grey, an expert in Organisational Theory and author of Decoding Organisation, about the accuracy of the film, including whether MI6 were involved with the passing of information to the USSR through Soviet spies, the complexity of the Enigma, the role of women at Bletchley and whether Turing was as difficult a character as is made out in the movie.
Blinded by The Light
Director Gurinder Chadha and actor Meera Ganatra on Springsteen, hope and humanity.
We were so lucky this week to have the chance to speak to Gurinder Chadha, director of Blinded By The Light. The acclaimed filmmaker joined us on for our live watch-along, as well as speaking to us on the live chat both before and after the movie. Gurinder gave us amazing insights into the way the film came to life, what it was like to watch Bruce Springsteen seeing it for the first time, how her messages of hope and humanity resonate so strongly right now and her favourite sections from the movie.
Searching For Sugar Man
Producer Simon Chinn on the incredible journey making the hit movie.
We had the privilege of speaking to Searching For Sugar Man producer Simon Chinn, one of the key figures in helping take the movie from director Malik Bendjelloul’s kitchen table all the way to Oscars success.
Simon gave us fantastic insights - from how a last-minute conference call decided the movie’s name, to how a special appearance from Rodriguez helped create the buzz around the film at Sundance Film Festival. He also spoke with great eloquence about Malik Bendjelloul himself, who tragically took his own life the year after his Oscars win.
Simon explained how Malik’s infectious personality and amazing creative spirit made Searching For Sugar Man special, as well as his memories from working with such a dedicated and unique mind.
Dunkirk
Historian and author Peter Caddick-Adams on the true history of Britain's miraculous WW2 evacuation.
For this week's companion podcast we had the chance to speak to professor, historian, author and broadcaster Peter Caddick-Adams, a man with a wealth of knowledge and fantastic insights into military history. Peter told us about the events that led to the evacuation of Dunkirk, which bits of Christopher Nolan's film were based on reality and which were artistic license, and how significant Britain's evacuation effort was in the course of the rest of the war.
It was an absolutely fascinating conversation and adds a lot of really important context to the 2017 movie.
Jurassic Park
Palaeontologist Dr. David Button on the fascinating truth of the movie's dinosaurs, plus Tom Fishenden on why the movie remains a classic.
If you've ever wondered anything about Jurassic Park's dinosaurs, you've come to the right place. We speak to palaeontologist and Dinosaur Researcher at the Natural History Museum Dr. David Button, who explained how fast a T. Rex really could have run, and whether Nedry's nemesis, the dilophosaurus, could have actually spat venom in his face.
David also told us about the fascinating methods that modern palaeontologists use to find out more about dinosaurs than was ever thought possible, as well as its importance in understanding the world we live in today.
Okja
Helen Pilcher on genetic modification, what we've already done to animals and how humans might be next.
You're already eating GM plants and genetically modified animal meat could be in our very near future - in fact if you're in Canada, you might already be eating GM fish without knowing it.
That's just a fraction of what we found out this week from author and scientist Dr. Helen Pilcher, who told us about the history, present and future of genetic modification - one of the main themes in Bong Joon-ho's brilliant film Okja.
We discuss how selective breeding thousands of years ago was humanity's first attempts at modifying the gene pools of the world around us, the incredible technologies being used right now that can switch on individual genes with pinpoint precision, and what might be in store in terms of genetically modifying humans.
