Shows / MUBI Podcast
MUBI Podcast
The MUBI Podcast is an audio documentary series about how great cinema happens, and why it matters. Every season’s a deep dive into a different corner of movie culture — from classic needle drops, to movie theaters that changed the world. Plus, between seasons: intimate interviews with some of the best filmmakers alive. Nominated for multiple Webbys, Ambies, and British Podcast Awards. Hosted by veteran arts journalist Rico Gagliano. “It’s like This American Life for filmmaking stories” — Matt…
Episodes
MUBI PodcastYOL — The picture made from prison (feat. Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
How do you direct a Palme d’Or-winning film…from behind bars? Our new season about dissident filmmakers kicks off with the tale of Yilmaz Güney—one of Turkish…
MUBI PodcastPULP live! — Jarvis Cocker & Garth Jennings capture the power of pop
Pop icon Jarvis Cocker and director Garth Jennings (SING, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY) sit down with host Rico Gagliano to talk about their…
MUBI PodcastThe Cinémathèque française — celebrating 90 years and 2 revolutions (rewind)
90 years ago in Paris, a little 50-seat screening room opened its doors... and soon become probably the most important cinema ever. This month, the…
MUBI PodcastROSEBUSH PRUNING — Riley Keough eats the rich (and survives MAD MAX)
Cannes-winning actor/filmmaker Riley Keough (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE) is no stranger to the worlds of wealth or fashion, and in the bloody, bawdy new satire…
MUBI PodcastTHIS IS ENGLAND — Shane Meadows's 2-Toned look at skins and ska (w/ Jack O'Connell)
Rico gets a primer on the skinhead history—and ska-fueled soundtrack—behind THIS IS ENGLAND: The 2007 indie hit about misunderstood kids in a misunderstood…
MUBI PodcastAlejandro G. Iñárritu & Rodrigo Prieto look back on AMORES PERROS
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (THE REVENANT) and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (THE WOLF OF WALL STREET) have a blast telling host Rico Gagliano about the…
MUBI PodcastBELLY — Hype Williams and Soul II Soul bring hip hop "Back To Life"
In the '90s, there was no music video director in hip-hop bigger than Hype Williams. And he concentrated all his visual powers on his first (and for now, only)…
MUBI PodcastALL OF US STRANGERS — Andrew Haigh believes in the Power of Love
Isolated during the COVID pandemic, director Andrew Haigh (LOOKING) wrote a feature about a man trying to break out of isolation and loss...and peppered it…
MUBI PodcastBEND IT LIKE BECKHAM — Gurinder Chadha shoots and scores
On the opening day of the World Cup, we take a look and a listen to the soccer-centric sleeper BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (2002). Director Gurinder Chadha tells Rico…
MUBI PodcastCHUNGKING EXPRESS — Wong Kar Wai puts "Dreams" on the menu (rewind)
Shot on a shoestring in six wild weeks, CHUNGKING EXPRESS is the movie that put legendary Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai on the international map—along with…
MUBI PodcastDONNIE DARKO — Richard Kelly makes the ultimate ‘80s mixtape (rewind)
Another classic episode about great music in a great movie: DONNIE DARKO. Richard Kelly's genre-busting rookie feature was one of the first cult hits of the…
MUBI Podcast2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY — Stanley Kubrick finds heavenly music on vinyl (rewind)
While we polish up some brand-new episodes all about iconic movie needle-drops... we're resurfacing some classic episodes that tackled the same topic! Starting…
MUBI PodcastWHISPER OF THE HEART — Hayao Miyazaki takes “Country Roads”
How'd a 1971 country-pop anthem about West Virginia... inspire a 1995 anime classic about teens in Tokyo? We kick off a season about great movie needle-drops…
MUBI PodcastMY FATHER'S SHADOW — Akinola Davies Jr. dreams of 90s Nigeria
Akinola Davies Jr. never really knew his dad. But in MY FATHER’S SHADOW, his BAFTA-winning debut feature set in 90s Nigeria, the director imagines what it…
MUBI PodcastTHE SECRET AGENT — Kleber Mendonça Filho & Wagner Moura on memory and manguebeat
The Best Picture–nominated thriller THE SECRET AGENT tells a tale of intrigue and absurdity in ’70s Brazil. Director Kleber Mendonça Filho (PICTURES OF GHOSTS)…
MUBI PodcastLURKER — Alex Russell's outsider look at the in-crowd
Alex Russell just won 2 Independent Spirit awards for LURKER - his debut thriller about a superfan wheedling his way into a pop star's orbit. Alex tells Rico…
MUBI PodcastSENTIMENTAL VALUE — Joachim Trier’s different kind of meta-movie (w/ Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning & more)
Joachim Trier, co-writer Eskil Vogt, and an all-star cast including Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, Elle Fanning, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas talk about the…
MUBI PodcastWim Wenders LIVE in Berlin: 50 years of rock-n-road movies
Our New Year’s gift to you: Filmmaking legend Wim Wenders returns to the show for a career-spanning interview. Taped before a live audience in his home city of…
MUBI PodcastSALAAM BOMBAY! & THE LUNCHBOX — Mira Nair & Ritesh Batra deliver realism and romance
Legendary director Mira Nair and Cannes-winner Ritesh Batra made two very different hit films about very different sides of India's fabled food delivery…
MUBI PodcastKelly Reichardt: THE MASTERMIND behind some of the best movies of the century
The NYTimes just named Kelly Reichardt's THE MASTERMIND one of the top 10 films of 2025... and in this episode she looks back on the career that led up to it…
MUBI PodcastJIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI... and David Gelb changes how people eat it
Director David Gelb’s documentary about a tiny, austere sushi joint and its perfectionist chef defined a food-film style... and set off an international…
MUBI PodcastHAL & HARPER — Cooper Raiff comes unstuck
Sibling duo Hal and Harper are best friends, and have been ever since they lost their mother as children. But is there such a thing as being too close? And…
MUBI PodcastTHE TASTE OF THINGS — Alison Roman savors the opposite of a chef movie
Ex-NYTimes columnist and bestselling cookbook writer Alison Roman (SOMETHING FROM NOTHING) talks with Rico about the tropes of fictional film chefs, and how…
MUBI PodcastRATATOUILLE — Brad Bird cooks up the ultimate food film
The animated classic about an adorbs rat chef… spent nearly 7 years in the oven. Director Brad Bird (THE IRON GIANT) and producer Brad Lewis (ANTZ) tell Rico…
MUBI PodcastDIE MY LOVE — Lynne Ramsay unleashes the beast
In DIE MY LOVE, new mother Grace (a virtuosic Jennifer Lawrence) is stuck at home while her disinterested husband Jackson (Robert Pattinson) is at work. With…
MUBI PodcastARTISTS VS. AUTOCRACY: Istanbul cinema crosses the bridge
Istanbul is home to some great filmmakers trying to speak truth to power... in a country where the power is less and less willing to let them. Host Rico…
MUBI PodcastMUSSOLINI: SON OF THE CENTURY — Joe Wright gazes into the abyss
Joe Wright's known for Oscar-winning WWII epics like DARKEST HOUR. But his latest look at the era is a different animal: The nightmarish series MUSSOLINI: SON…
MUBI PodcastMULHOLLAND DRIVE in the rearview, with Deborah Levy
Enigmatic women, their doubles, and an unmistakable air of strangeness… Award-winning author Deborah Levy (HOT MILK) on the hallmarks of David Lynch’s…
MUBI PodcastDebbie Zoller drives LOST HIGHWAY
Make-up and prosthetics artist Debbie Zoller (LOST HIGHWAY, TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN) first worked with David Lynch on LOST HIGHWAY. She discusses their two…
MUBI PodcastHeidi Bivens outfits INLAND EMPIRE
How does costume shape character? Stylist and costume designer Heidi Bivens was in charge of wardrobe on INLAND EMPIRE. It was one of her first jobs, and David…
MUBI PodcastSabrina Sutherland guides TWIN PEAKS’ RETURN
David Lynch’s creative process was unconventional in many ways. For example, he preferred sketching his ideas as images to explaining them in words. Producer…
MUBI PodcastJennifer Lynch writes THE SECRET DIARY OF LAURA PALMER
Why was David Lynch so intrigued by the idea of “a woman in trouble”? His daughter, Jennifer Lynch, has a theory… She also discusses her bestselling novel THE…
MUBI PodcastMark Frost founds TWIN PEAKS
“These girls are jam packed with secrets,” said David Lynch about the women of TWIN PEAKS. Why did characters such as Audrey Horne and Shelly Johnson get…
MUBI PodcastIsabella Rossellini wears BLUE VELVET
When Isabella Rossellini appeared as the sadomasochistic Dorothy Vallens in David Lynch’s BLUE VELVET, audiences were scandalised. Nearly 40 years later, the…
MUBI PodcastNew Season Trailer: LADIES OF LYNCH (w/ Isabella Rossellini)
Coming Soon. LADIES OF LYNCH LADIES OF LYNCH explores the subversive female characters created by the late David Lynch, and the singular women who helped shape…
MUBI PodcastNothing rhymes with PAVEMENTS
Director Alex Ross Perry's PAVEMENTS is a rock doc like no other — a sprawling, funny, self-reflexive, weirdly touching meta-movie about '90s indie rock heroes…
MUBI PodcastLA film fades out...and in (w/ THE STUDIO's Evan Goldberg)
The film and TV biz defines LA—so what's it look like as the biz moves abroad? Host (and longtime Angeleno) Rico Gagliano takes a tour of a changing city, from…
MUBI PodcastKNEECAP — Rich Peppiatt on politics and partying
Our full interview with the writer/director of the Northern Irish indie phenomenon KNEECAP. Host Rico Gagliano visits Rich at his Belfast pad, to talk about…
MUBI PodcastAMORES PERROS shakes up Mexico City (w/ Gael García Bernal)
Superstar Gael García Bernal (THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES) and legendary set designer Eugenio Caballero (PAN’S LABYRINTH) help take host Rico Gagliano on a tour of…
MUBI PodcastSmashing in the doors of Amsterdam cinema (w/ BABYGIRL director Halina Reijn)
The Netherlands isn't known for tons of great movies... but its capital city of Amsterdam is packed with tons of great movie theaters. Rico takes us on a tour…
MUBI PodcastIreland tells its own tales (w/ KNEECAP director Rich Peppiatt)
Rico travels to Dublin and Belfast, and hangs with an epic lineup of local heroes, to learn how Ireland went from a backdrop for Hollywood rom-coms... to one…
MUBI PodcastGRAND THEFT HAMLET — How Shakespeare’s Danish prince conquered the movies
GRAND THEFT HAMLET tells the radical tale of a band of artists who stage a virtual production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet inside the online video game Grand Theft…
MUBI PodcastTHE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE — Magnus von Horn on the dark past...and present
The Oscar-nominated THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE is inspired by the grim, gripping true story of one of Denmark's most infamous criminals. Director/co-writer…
MUBI PodcastQUEER — Luca Guadagnino & Justin Kuritzkes take William S. Burroughs on a whole new trip
For their first project together since last year's steamy hit CHALLENGERS, director Luca Guadagnino (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) and writer Justin Kuritzkes tackle…
MUBI PodcastSPEED RACER — The Wachowskis go full throttle
After THE MATRIX and V FOR VENDETTA, the Wachowskis were ready to turn from darkness, into the bright, bright candy-colored light. The result was SPEED RACER…
MUBI PodcastSYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK — Charlie Kaufman’s movie of a lifetime
When screenwriter Charlie Kaufman started making his epic, heartbreaking directorial debut SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, he was the toast of Hollywood. Then it…
MUBI PodcastTHE HUDSUCKER PROXY — The Coen Brothers fall from a great height
In 1994, indie darlings the Coen Brothers went for the big time with a playful pastiche of classic Hollywood movies that pulled out every visual and comedic…
MUBI PodcastSYLVIA SCARLETT — Katharine Hepburn pays for her transgressions
It’s hard to imagine Katharine Hepburn as anything but a Hollywood icon. But in 1935, director George Cukor’s dreamy, gender-fluid comedy SYLVIA SCARLETT…
MUBI PodcastBABE: PIG IN THE CITY — George Miller makes one for the grownups
The first BABE was a family-friendly megahit. So for the sequel, why did director George Miller thrust his sweet porcine hero into a family-unfriendly…
MUBI PodcastSORCERER — William Friedkin’s heart of darkness
In the mid-’70s, legendary director William Friedkin — fresh off THE EXORCIST — helicoptered into South America with tens of millions of dollars… and emerged…
MUBI PodcastSKINAMARINK — The Internet’s own haunted house
Director Kyle Edward Ball had a nightmare as a child: "I was in my parents’ house, my parents were missing, and there was a monster." Turns out, this is a…
MUBI PodcastHOUSE — The Japanese psychedelic masterpiece
Few films have garnered the rabid, cult following over the years is a sight to behold. Giant cats. Talking houses. Heads coming out of wells. The images might…
MUBI PodcastTHE AMITYVILLE HORROR — America’s most haunted home
The most famous haunted house in America is a large Dutch Colonial family home that became a bestseller, super-successful horror movie and a franchise that has…
MUBI PodcastTHE DEVIL’S BACKBONE — Guillermo del Toro’s creative resurrection
After a bad experience in Hollywood, Guillermo del Toro had lost his spark. He got it back with a story of a haunted orphanage during the Spanish Civil War, a…
MUBI PodcastPOLTERGEIST — The first suburban haunted house
Before POLTERGEIST, haunted house movies took place in old, creepy mansions. Regular host Rico Gagliano visits the original suburban house in California to…
MUBI PodcastTHE SUBSTANCE — Coralie Fargeat rips beauty standards to gory shreds
Writer/Director Coralie Fargeat's Cannes-winning body-horror blitz THE SUBSTANCE features Demi Moore as an aging star who turns to a mystery drug in hopes of…
MUBI PodcastRiz Ahmed channels Yann Mounir Demange in DAMMI
Oscar-winning actor/producer Riz Ahmed (SOUND OF METAL) and acclaimed UK director Yann Mounir Demange (’71, TOP BOY) tell host Rico Gagliano about treading the…
MUBI PodcastThe Flipsides of Cannes — Featuring Wim Wenders and more
With Cannes 2024 underway, host Rico Gagliano takes a tour of the less-known corners of the legendary film festival—avoiding red-carpet glamour to bring you…
MUBI PodcastPERFECT DAYS — Wim Wenders cures his post-pandemic blues
Legendary filmmaker Wim Wenders returns to the show to tell host Rico Gagliano about his Cannes-winning, Oscar-nominated PERFECT DAYS—the story of a Tokyo…
MUBI PodcastHIGH & LOW - JOHN GALLIANO — Kevin Macdonald tackles fashion and forgiveness
Superstar fashion designer John Galliano wrecked his career when he was caught on video in a drunken, antisemitic rant circa 2011. Now, in a new documentary…