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 world with his own label, ruffling industry feathers and dressing huge stars – including Madonna in the now-infamous bustier – along the way. Hear him discuss his childhood inspirations, his love of British eccentricity and his vision for the future of the fashion industry in our podcast.

Southbank Centre: Think Aloud

Jean Paul Gaultier in conversation

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 sibling rivalry, her love for the landscape of her home in Pakistan's Swat Valley, and, of course, her belief in the power of education. 'We need to change the ideology. We need to tell people what the real power is. You are not powerful if you have a gun, because through guns you can only kill. You are powerful when you have a book, when you have a pen, because through pens you can save lives. And that's the change that we want to bring in our society.'

Malala Yousafzai In Conversation with Jude Kelly

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.

A fly’s-eye-view of Among the Trees

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’.

Artist interview: George Shaw and Patrick Langley

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 than just the mouth. "I mean as a kid I absolutely despised poetry...it was as dry as trigonometry… it was like looking at a traffic cone”   ANTHONY ANAXAGOROU Out-Spoken’s year-long residency at Southbank Centre continues on 20 June with poetry from Ilya Kaminsky, Kei Miller and Sabrina Mahfouz and live music from Gabriella Vixen and Lloyd Llewellyn. Book tickets and find out more: http://bit.ly/2MgMvgH

Contemporary poetry: why I am not a poet

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 possible with sound." ACTRESS Southbank Centre's exploration of Stockhausen is from 14th May to the 2nd June and you can find full details and book online at southbankcentre.co.uk/stockhausen

Stockhausen: the point music changed forever

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

Comedy: why we need to laugh at politics

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 greatest Go players. In this latest episode of our Think Aloud podcast, presenter Harriet Fitch Little speaks with Southbank Centre's Performance and Dance Programmer, Rupert Thomson and actor and director Thomas Ryckewaert about their fascination with Move 37. They talk about what this moment meant for arts and society, and how ultimately it may shape our relationship with artificial intelligence. Also in this episode, we hear an interview with Patrick Tresset, an artist who has programmed robots to draw portraits for him. Working in Tresset’s own style of drawing, they act like an artist and has no idea how the drawings will turn out. Move 37 by Thomas Ryckewaert comes to Southbank Centre on 14 March, 2019. Buy tickets here: http://bit.ly/2GGlvD0

Artificial intelligence: creative robots and Move 37

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 eliminate the past and who should be dealing with this - the authors, the publishers or the parents? Also, children's author and illustrator Nadine Kaadan answered the burning question: how do you create a character for children? To see all the events at Imagine Children's Festival and to buy tickets, go to https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/imagine-childrens-festival

Children's books: why literature for the future is stuck in the past

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 hear more podcasts at: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/blog/podcasts

The secrets behind the laughs

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'.

Modern music: composing, curating and cl***ical

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, comedian Holly Walsh answers the question that all stand ups fear - what do you do if nobody laughs..? You can hear more podcasts at: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/blog/podcasts

Comedy: the truth and the lies

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 https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/efg-london-jazz-festival

Jazz: gatekeepers, dates and dancing

For national #AskACurator 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, Senior Programmer Performance & Dance and Jessica Cerasi, art curator and author of 'Who's Afraid of Contemporary Art?'

Ask the curators: the stresses and secrets of programming

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, how we should talk about disability, and how she has no strong feelings towards cats.

Unlimited: legs, wheels and biscuits

Some of the biggest and most influential names in modern literature, art, music and performance share their stories, thoughts and ideas. In this podcast you'll hear us in conversation with the people shaping arts and culture today. Southbank Centre is home to Royal Festival hall, Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the National Poetry Library. Our podcasts reflect our richly diverse events, exhibitions and festivals programme featuring artists and thinkers from around the world.

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Southbank Centre: Think Aloud

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