大象传媒

Your daily journey into global arts, culture and entertainment, with Harriett Gilbert and Mark Coles.

Robert Wagner
The Strand talks to the veteran actor Robert Wagner. Having always longed to be an actor, he started off in the Hollywood studio system under the mentorship of the likes of Spencer Tracy. He starred in films such as 'A Kiss before Dying', 'The Longest Day', 'The Pink Panther' and most recently, the Austin Powers movies. On television he is best known for his role as the suave Jonathan Hart in Hart to Hart. However he also hit the headlines off screen as well, marrying Natalie Wood twice. For the first time in this memoir he talks about her tragic death, his relationship with the older Barbara Stanwyck and the scandalous lives of the Hollywood set.

"Pieces of my Heart" by Robert Wagner with Scott Eyman Published by Hutchinson 12th March 2009 ISBN: 978-0-0919-3113-1

Goran Bregovic
In the music of the Balkans, one of the biggest names is Goran Bregovic. Born in Yugoslavia to a Serbian mother and Croatian father, he's a rocker, a film-score composer, and leader of a 40-strong brass band called The Wedding and Funeral Band. The Strand hears his story and music from his latest album, Alkohol.

A Raisin In The Sun
"A Raisin in the Sun" made its Broadway premiere 50 years ago in March 1959. The play tells the story of a lower class black family's struggle in Chicago to gain middle class acceptance. Written by Lorraine Hansberry when she was only 29 years old, during the time when the civil rights movement was gathering pace, it has become one of the greatest American drams of the 20th century. The Strand looks at the impact of the play with US actor Novella Nelson and British actor/ director/ producer Josette Bushell Mingo.

Yasmin Alibai-Brown
Author and broadcaster Yasmin Alibai-Brown tells us about her new Memoir "The Settler's Cookbook" which tells the tale of how her family moved from India to Uganda and then onward to the UK. The book charts the journey of her family through the recipes and food she grew up on.

Viktor Muniz
Helen Clegg reports from an exhibition in Rio by Brazilian artist Viktor Muniz, who uses anything from chocolate to peanut butter to create his work. His latest exhibition is constructed from rubbish found at a dump near Rio.

New art from China
An oil painting Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante by Dai Dudu, Li Tiezi, and Zhang is an extraordinary painting depicting 103 figures from world history in striking detail Echoes of classic art seem to spring out from every point - but what does it mean? The work has become the latest internet hit as messageboards are abuzz with decoding its references. Tim Marlow discusses the enigmas of this unlikely gathering of historical figures in the afterlife.

Emmanuel Jal
Emmanuel Jal is the former Sudanese child soldier whose incredible life story has been charted in his rap records Ceasefire and Warchild. Following a film documentary about his journey, he is know releasing a book called "Warchild" which charts in full detail how his mother was murdered, he was inducted into a children's army and his ultimate rehabilitation by a British aid worker before he went on to become an internationally successful rapper who performed at Live 8 and Nelson Mandela's 90th birth celebrations. He talks to the Strand about the process of writing his life story.