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Times
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
British podcasts are great — but there's a north-south problem
A few notable exceptions aside, podcasting can feel disproportionately metropolitan, often in accent, certainly in gaze. Much of the talent may originally come from afar (Alastair Campbell, Bradford; Emily Maitlis, Sheffield) but for many London feels like their pulpit. Crossed Wires, the podcast festival that last weekend took over some of Sheffield's best-known venues, including the Crucible Theatre, seeks to redress that. It was founded by the podcaster Alice Levine (My Dad Wrote a Porno, British Scandal), the producer Dino Sofos (the creator of Americast and The News Agents) and the local impresario James O'Hara (the music festival Tramlines), and the ambition is to create a podcasting equivalent to the Edinburgh Fringe, albeit for just one weekend annually. Sofos, however, wants to challenge London's cultural capital year round. He spent 14 years down south, pioneering BBC formats like Brexitcast. But to build his audio company Persephonica, he came home to Sheffield. Increasingly he perceives a north-south divide in career opportunities for young creatives, with the high cost of housing giving an unfair advantage to those already from the southeast. But podcasts can be produced from anywhere (as exemplified by two of Persephonica's highest-profile yet hardest-holidaying presenters, Dua Lipa and Lily Allen). Sofos dreams that others — perhaps even the BBC — will follow him to Sheffield and help to make England's sixth biggest city a centre for podcasting. This year's festival had the BBC Radio 1 breakfast host, Greg James, as its creative director. First, he lured back one of the city's most beloved sons, Michael Palin. The natty 82-year-old reminisced about once alighting from the London train 'wearing one of those communist-style collarless shirts'. A gruff South Yorkshireman barked, 'Hulloo!' before declaiming sotto voce: 'Bourgeois are back.' Palin has never worn that shirt since. • The best podcasts and radio shows of the week James hosted the Friday headliner Nobody Expects the Michael Palin Podcast. Then, a delightful Sheffield/Palin-themed edition of Rewinder. It was recorded at Cole Brothers, which for generations was Sheffield's destination department store, but since the closure of John Lewis in 2021 is a semi-derelict high street eyesore. Last weekend it was reclaimed as a BBC hub. So, in a sense, the bourgeoisie were back (Radio 4's controller even popped along to settle a potentially unpaid Palin guinea fee from the 1960s). But the venue's bare bulbs and wires hanging from concrete girders made this a buzzy, down-to-earth space. 'A better audience than at the Hay Festival,' said Rob Lawrie, the bluff Yorkshireman presenter of the investigative hit To Catch a Scorpion. North and south, privilege and poverty, the politics of a post-industrial landscape, all were recurring themes across a northern-accented weekend attended by more than 20,000. As Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett's guest on Dish, the Hull-raised comedian Lucy Beaumont was bleakly funny about the hunger-staving, cheap stodgy staples of Yorkshire cuisine. • The best podcasts and audiobooks for a family road trip Audiences flocked to hear a recording of Jarvis Cocker reading the Shipping Forecast. His Pulp bandmate the drummer Nick Banks joined Drunk Women Solving Crime. At the gateway to the Peak District, the novelist David Nicholls discussed his hiking romance You Are Here with Sara Cox ('delighted to be on my second favourite side of the Pennines'). At the festival's stimulating finale Pod Save the UK, Oliver Coppard, the mayor of South Yorkshire, dealt impressively with shouts of 'shame on you' for saying his office would not turn away arms manufacturing jobs, given local levels of long-term unemployment. Crucially, Crossed Wires events were great fun. The Saturday evening headliner was the class-riffing comedy Help I Sexted My Boss, presented by the Capital Radio breakfast host Jordan North and the etiquette expert William Hanson. Even before curtain up at the sold-out 2,200-capacity City Hall, its bars had run dry of 'G&D', the show's signature tipple of gin and Dubonnet. • Read more radio and podcast reviews Its innuendo-laden humour harks back to a pre-Palin(lithic) age. 'I'm more City Hall — you're sod all,' was Hanson's opening salvo to North, as if he were a snooty southern pantomime villain talking to Buttons. To cheers, North (born in York, brought up in Lancashire) explained Sheffield to Hanson (Bristol) as the city of Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Self-Esteem and Sean Bean. For the second half's opener, he and the producer did a 'full Monty', stripping to gold lamé briefs. Hanson, more demurely, unveiled a half Sheffield United, half Wednesday strip, then came good officiating the marriage proposal of Tristan to Shona. You'd have to have been a right misery-guts to have not been borne along. Edinburgh's festivals have been pivotal to the careers of some mentioned here, including Palin. Although this was much smaller in scale, it felt like there were parallels — another walkable festival in a university town girded by hills. I hope Sheffield's Crossed Wires succeeds and helps to devolve more podcasting power to the regions. What podcasts have you enjoyed recently? Let us know in the comments below
Forbes
08-07-2025
- Forbes
Mid-City Construction Finished, Madrid Is Richer, More Beautiful And Cultural Than Ever, With New Hotels And Fine Restaurants
General view of the city hall of Madrid, on December 6, 2019. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP) (Photo ... More by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images As I write this, Madrid is sweltering, but when I visited this spring the weather was ideal, as it will be again in the fall. All the more reason to visit this great capital city in those seasons, especially since all the massive construction work in its center has finally been accomplished, opening up the avenues, so that Madrid is more beautiful and scrubbed cleaner than ever. MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 27: A man looks at of 'The Garden of Earthly Delights Triptych' by the Dutch ... More painter Hieronymus Bosch ymus Bosch (Photo by Pablo) Getty Images Its position as one of Europe's cultural capitals has been assured since the 1990s, with museums and artistic events expanded well beyond the great Prado and Thyssen museums, boosted by its industrial sector but increasingly dominated by a strong service sector. On my trip I 'discovered' the Bellas Artes de San Fernando, a large collection that includes 13 Goyas and a vast number of his etchings and plates for Los Caprichos. Other recently enhanced institutions include the Palacio de Linares, seat of the Casa de América; the Muséo Arqueologico Naçional; and the Muséo Naçional del Romanticismo. A self-portrait by Francisco Goya (1785) at the Bellas Artes de San Fernando. John Mariani Today Madrid's stock market is the third largest in Europe and the city is ranked fifth most important leading Centre of Commerce after London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. As a result, like Barcelona, Madrid has become a very expensive city to live in, and tourists, with 11.2 million visitors last year, gobbled up the BnBs that were once apartments and spent more than 16 billion euros, with Americans leading the invasion. Rooms at the new JW Marriot Madrid are spacious and have calming lighting. JW Marriott Responding to this increasingly affluent market, major luxury hotel groups have been popping up on or off the main avenues to compete with longstanding institutions like The Ritz, Gran Hotel Ingles and The Palace, now joined by the thoroughly modern JW Marriott Madrid ( Sevilla 2 ), a block from the main avenue, Calle Alcalá ,with 139 rooms, most with private balconies. Rates are considerably below other deluxe properties like The Four Seasons up the block. Most rooms at the JW Marriott Madrid have balconies. JW Marriott My room was quite spacious, very quiet––Madrid is not a raucously loud city––with a balcony set with chairs and small table, a king-size bed and very well equipped modern bath. The expansive lobby has a separate area for the concierge's desk. There are now several hotels in Madrid that have first-rate restaurants rooms, and the JW Marriott's Qú by Mario Sandoval joins them with an à la carte dining room focusing on local products (Madrid has splendid markets from which to choose the best provender and meats). Sandoval is head of the Croque Group and comes from three generations of chefs. In 2013 he won the Spanish National Gastronomy Award, and his primary restaurant, Croque, has garnered two Michelin stars. Q by Mario Sandoval is a fine but casual dining room at the JW Marriott. JW Marriott Q is a simpler, more casual affair, with a smart décor and lounge, antique pillars, tall mirrors and star-like hanging lights. Cinco Jotas Jamon Ibérico de bellota 5J, which is considered the finest in Spain, uses only an ... More ancient breed of acorn-fed black pigs. John Mariani I had been eating a fair amount of Spanish ham on my trip, but only Q was offering Cinco Jotas Jamon Ibérico de bellota 5J, which is considered the finest in Spain, founded in Jabugo in 1879, uses only an ancient breed of acorn-fed black pigs (most producers use crossbreeds), and it has a sweet flavor and a satiny sheen of white fat. My friend and I also shared some cod fritters with aji amarillo mayonnaise and a plate of softly grilled artichokes. Spring's wild strawberries with ice creams served at Q. JW Marriott Lubina is a sea bass grilled à la bilbaina, with its characteristic, bold garlic and chile oil. For dessert there was a millefoglie of pineapple and cream with ginger ice cream; some perfect springtime strawberries slightly pickled and served with vanilla mascarpone and both strawberry and mint ice creams; and a chocolate, liquid center coolant with pistachio and violet ice cream, finishing off with glasses of Sherry. Afterwards, at about ten o'clock I took a stroll down the Avenida, which was teeming with young people returning from a Netflix kick-off party in Retiro Park buoyed as much by the music as by the moonlight over Madrid. In my next report on the city I'll recommend some more restaurants.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Empire of the Elite by Michael M Grynbaum – inside the glittering world of Condé Nast
Samuel Irving 'Si' Newhouse Jr became chair of Condé Nast, the magazine group owned by his father's media company, Advance Publications, in 1975. Under his stewardship, Condé's roster of glossy publications – titles such as Vogue, GQ and Glamour – broadened to include Architectural Digest, a revived Vanity Fair and the New Yorker. Newhouse spent big in pursuit of clout, and his company's extravagant approach to expenses became the stuff of legend. Condé positioned itself as a gatekeeper of high-end living but, as Michael Grynbaum explains in Empire of the Elite, its success in the 80s and 90s was down to its willingness to embrace 'low' culture. Condé brought pop stars, television personalities and tabloid intrigue into the highbrow fold, reconstituting cultural capital to fit the sensibilities of an emerging yuppie class with little interest in ballet or opera. Several moments stand out, in retrospect: GQ's 1984 profile of Donald Trump, which paved the way for The Art of the Deal; Madonna's 1989 debut on the cover of Vogue; and the New Yorker's coverage of the OJ Simpson trial in 1994. Tina Brown, appointed editor of the New Yorker in 1992 after a decade at Vanity Fair, said she wanted 'to make the sexy serious and the serious sexy'. Purists bemoaned what they saw as a slide into vulgar sensationalism, but Grynbaum maintains Brown 'wasn't so much dumbing down the New Yorker as expanding the universe to which it applied its smarts'. That expansiveness was key to Condé's mission, and it succeeded so comprehensively that today we take it for granted. Anna Wintour's Vogue would 'elevate the idea of street-style fashion, and presage the industry of stylists and celebrity brand ambassadors that have come to dominate lifestyle media', and GQ's preppy, 'proto-Patrick Bateman materialism' popularised 'the metrosexuality, dandyism and male self-care that have since saturated the culture'. The glory started to fade in the 21st century. The company's acquisitive ethos looked out of touch after the 2008 crash ('Condé's metier was privilege, and privilege had become a dirty word'), and its underwhelming record on race came under scrutiny with the advent of Black Lives Matter. Social media democratised the means of cultural curation, undercutting the authority of established taste-makers. The book ends on a wistful note as Grynbaum contemplates the decline of print media, and the end of an era of plenty. A similar sentiment is expressed in the poignant title of a recent memoir by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, When the Going Was Good. Like Brown's The Vanity Fair Diaries (2017) before it, Carter's memoir offers a vivid, first-hand glimpse of the Condé social whirl. Both books have been praised for their anecdotal brio, and criticised for their namedropping smugness. It's a trade-off. Conversely, Empire of the Elite is a sober affair – an unflustered, chronological account of half a century's comings-and-goings – but has the merit of relative objectivity. The author, a correspondent by trade, keeps his focus on events and his opinions largely to himself; he neither grates nor delights. Gossip junkies and vicarious bon vivants will have more fun with Carter, but Empire of the Elite is a lucid introduction to this rarefied milieu and the people who inhabited it. It sounds like an exhausting world to navigate, 'a land of unspoken codes … The proper knotting of an ascot; the angle of a tie bar; how you dressed, how you spoke, where you went, who you knew – these considerations mattered deeply.' Grynbaum quotes one journalist who believes she missed out on an editorship because, during the interview lunch, she gauchely ate asparagus with cutlery rather than by hand. Tellingly, several of the key players in the Condé story were outsiders: Newhouse, who was Jewish, felt excluded from the Waspy top echelons of US society; Alex Liberman, the veteran editorial director who took Newhouse under his wing and schooled him in urbanity, had been a refugee from Soviet Russia; Carter was a pilot's son from Toronto. These arrivistes understood status anxiety, and astutely monetised it, offering readers an empowering sense of in-group membership for the modest price of a magazine subscription. And, because the United States is a nation built on clambering ambition, it worked. Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped the World by Michael M Grynbaum is published by Hodder & Stoughton (£22). To support the Guardian, order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
The best hotels in Glasgow for boutique stays with fine heritage
Glasgow receives a fraction of Edinburgh's visitor numbers yet packs in just as much cultural capital. Its architecture spans the Gothic Glasgow Cathedral and the Art Nouveau edifices of Charles Rennie Mackintosh; its museums include the imposing Baroque of Kelvingrove Gallery and the internationally important Burrell Collection. Music fans dream of treading the sprung dancefloor of the Barrowland Ballroom, or celebrating Scotland 's folk scene at Celtic Connections festival. The food, too, is not the deep-fried fare you'd expect: these days it's less munchie box, more Michelin-starred dining. Until recently, Glasgow's accommodation reflected its status as Scotland's largest economy: sterile, multinational chain hotels meant a stay here was more business than pleasure. Thankfully, that's now changed: boutique brands and independent hoteliers have moved in, bringing new life to neglected tenements or heritage buildings. Whether your taste is for sybaritic spas, tartan-drenched Scottishness or a family-run restaurant with rooms, there's much to choose from in the Dear Green Place. Best hotels in Glasgow 2025 1. Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel & Spa What is arguably Glasgow's most luxurious five-star hotel sits in an ideal spot west of the city centre – just minutes from Kelvingrove Park, indie venue King Tut's Wah Wah Hut and several theatres. Behind the Georgian facade, you'll find Scandi-chic rooms: cool grey furnishings, marble bathrooms and tufted headboards. Restaurant Iasg (from the Gaelic for 'fish') serves up Shetland mussels and Cumbrae oysters. But the biggest draw is the Hebrides-inspired spa: there's an array of therapy pools, a frigid 'snow shower' and ice fountain to boost circulation, and treatments using seaweed skincare products from Stornoway-based brand Ishga. 2. Celentano's hotel Restaurants with rooms are usually reserved for rural areas, but Celentano's brings this intimate, inn-like experience to the big city. You'll want to eat at their Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant most nights: the smoked cod doughnuts might be the best thing you'll try in Glasgow. There are eight individually styled bedrooms, to which restaurant staff bring a breakfast of fresh sourdough, seasonal compote and more every morning. The East End location is excellent, right next to Glasgow Cathedral and Necropolis, as well as the underrated Friends of Glasgow Royal Infirmary Museum. 3. One Devonshire Gardens by Hotel du Vin Great West End hotels are relatively rare, so this is one to bookmark if you're keen to be near the Botanic Gardens and the much-loved 111 by Modou restaurant. Although, as befits the Hotel du Vin brand, there's a highly regarded restaurant right here, supplying artful Scottish-French plates and access to an extensive wine cellar. Room decor is sensitive to the building's Victorian history; florals, vintage dark-wood furniture and original art. The number of bay windows apparently increases with each price band. Address: 1 Devonshire Gardens, Glasgow G12 0UX 4. House of Gods hotel It's not for everyone. But for a few people, it'll be perfect. Maximalist excess is this hotel's modus operandi: rooms overflow with velvet drapes, animal print, brass and leather. It's overwhelmingly pitched at couples, with packages such as 'Treat Me Like I'm Famous' adding a VIP rider with golden rose petals, balloons, Prosecco, cocktails and a mimosa breakfast. The assumption appears to be that you won't leave your room – but if you do, you'll find the peerless Merchant City cocktail scene right outside, with The Amsterdam and The Absent Ear, two of the city's best bars, just two moments away. 5. The Address hotel This four-star hotel is the address for city-centre shopping – a short hop from 'style mile' Buchanan Street, and a few minutes from both major train stations if you want to pop over to Edinburgh for the day. Befitting the fashionable location, rooms are all mid-century lines, warm tones and retro-print curtains. Complement your retail therapy with holistic therapy in the wellness suite, which has heated loungers, and a well-appointed gym and a sauna with a pink Himalayan salt wall. Casual dining restaurant NORTH serves elevated pub grub; try the haggis bonbons or black pudding sausage roll. 6. The Social Hub Glasgow hotel When Glasgow's The Social Hub opened in Merchant City in 2024, it was the first UK outpost of the B Corp hotel group, founded in the Netherlands by Edinburgh man Charlie MacGregor. It's particularly suited to solo travellers, with a full calendar of ice-breaking events: there are exercise classes, cookery workshops with Glasgow chefs, and foodie pop-ups from local spots such as El Perro Negro. Indeed, there's little reason to leave: there's a gym, a restaurant, and a coworking space, plus clean-lined rooms with dedicated workspaces. A rooftop bar is due to open later in 2025. 7. Native Glasgow hotel Could this be the best view in Glasgow? The penthouse rooms of this marvellous heritage hotel look right onto George Square and the City Chambers, the interiors of which famously use more marble than the Vatican. Native Glasgow was formerly the headquarters of the Anchor Line Shipping Company; the Art Deco exterior retains its shell details and nautical emblems, from which the 1920s-themed interiors take inspiration. This concept reaches its peak in the Anchor Line Restaurant & Bar, which serves Scottish seafood and creative, Prohibition-inspired cocktails in a speakeasy-style space. 8. The Pipers' Tryst hotel For something a little different, book into a room above the (thankfully soundproofed) National Piping Centre. From the welcome single-malt whisky to the tartan-swaddled rooms, this is about as Scottish as you can get. The 'Pipe Major's Breakfast' uses smoked salmon and haddock from Glasgow-based fishmonger The Fish People. Plan to spend at least an hour in the museum, which narrates the long and complex history of the bagpipes in Scotland and beyond. Guided tours with a piper run on Fridays and Saturdays throughout summer and include a brief lesson on a chanter (the precursor to a full set of pipes). 9. Dakota Glasgow hotel The Dakota brand was founded by the late, great Glasgow hotelier Ken McCulloch (who also founded Malmaison), and aims to offer premium stays at an affordable price point. The Glasgow branch certainly delivers: all the vintage-inspired rooms include Sky TV and Chromecast, plus complimentary access to a nearby gym. The swish Jack's Bar serves craft cocktails inspired by notable Scottish characters, and the Grill restaurant has a crowd-pleasing pan-European menu. The location's not bad, either in the west of the city centre, near the Glasgow Film Theatre and a short walk from Kelvingrove Park. Address: 179 W Regent St, Glasgow G2 4DP 10. AC Hotel Glasgow Glasgow's Grade A-listed former Parish Hall has found new life as part of the AC by Marriott brand. 'Heritage' rooms and suites are in the old red sandstone building and are worth the extra outlay if you like period features; cheaper rooms are in the modern extension and have floor-to-ceiling windows. Either way, you'll benefit from a brilliant location just seconds from George Square. The Nordic-inspired Hazel restaurant is notable for its fantastic (and great value) afternoon tea: think parma ham and fig open sandwiches or strawberry and matcha Battenbergs.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Everyone in Australia can see Melbourne has lost its 'spark' and that it's 'haemorrhaging cultural capital'
Melbourne 'ugly' and claimed its biggest strength is its pubs in a scathing takedown. Betoota Advocate editor Clancy Overell said Victoria's capital had 'lost their spark and everyone can see it except for them'. 'Poor old Melbourne really hasn't recovered from those lockdowns have they,' he wrote on LinkedIn. 'When your city is actually that ugly, you kind of need a thriving nightlife to make up for the fact you don't have a Harbour or beach. 'Even the majestic Brown Snake that winds and sparkles its way through Brisbane city is an asset to the Queensland economy, despite the fact that it is extremely tidal and floods like every five years. 'But what's Melbourne got going for it nowadays? A comedy festival that prioritises the niche-est subcultures that ever existed on Smith Street? 'A flash casino? I don't even think they claim they have the best coffee anymore.' Overell conceded Melbourne's 'pubs are alright', but claimed this positive was 'a sign of a cultural deficit'. The editor claimed the city is full with 'for lease' signs due to hospitality owners going out of business. 'The "Most Livable City" is haemorrhaging the cultural capital that they once boasted after decades of masterfully navigating the intersection of sport, arts and dining,' he added. In the satirical post, the editor argued immigration 'from Greece or Italy' should be encouraged to help the city and stated it should focus on improving its nightlife. Overell made it clear he was only criticising Melbourne and praised regional Victoria. Victorian PR executive Felicia Coco agreed: 'As a born and raised Melbournian you pretty much nailed this and ngl it's sad. 'Idk maybe if we keep taxing small biz to death it will get better? 'But one thing we do have going for us is the burgeoning tag/s***graff movement.. it's giving halfway-house core. Vacant-and-vandalised is the new booked-and-busy.' Another added: 'Tbf, the squeeze on hospitality, live music, and culture at large is real. And I've often found myself suffering the same lament.' However, others jumped into defend Melbourne, with one commenting: 'It is sad to see non Victorians trying so hard to insult Melbourne. Even satirically, they just don't get how cool we are...' Taking aim at Sydney, one wrote: 'Funnily enough though, once or twice a year I suddenly feel rejuvenated about it all. Because I have to travel to Sydney. 'Go for a walk after 9PM and it might as well be one of those docos called "AFTER THE COLLAPSE" or something where they predict what the world will look like without humans.'
