Deep in the crate-crawling world of Conor Guilfoyle on mission is to save the lost recordings of the Irish jazz scene. The music of gum-chewing, with composer Andy Igamels, whose new album includes a measure of that mundane mastication; plus, a moment of pause as Patrick O'Laoghaire sails by with the latest of his island postcards.

Deep in the crate-crawling world of Conor Guilfoyle on mission is to save the lost recordings of the Irish jazz scene. The music of gum-chewing, with composer Andy Igamels, whose new album includes a measure of that mundane mastication; plus, a moment of pause as Patrick O'Laoghaire sails by with the latest of his island postcards.

Crate-crawling and gum-chewing | Culture File

Culture File Presents The Comfort Zone: artist and performer Day Magee comes to unpack the enduring value of C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, the 1942 epistolary satire of memos from a senior devil to his nephew, still green in the ways of evil. Inspo for a conversation that seeks to answer questions such as what is eternity? Is modern culture rubbish? How will heaven sort out the issue of remarried widows and widowers?

Culture File Presents The Comfort Zone: artist and performer Day Magee comes to unpack the enduring value of C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, the 1942 epistolary satire of memos from a senior devil to his nephew, still green in the ways of evil. Inspo for a conversation that seeks to answer questions such as what is eternity? Is modern culture rubbish? How will heaven sort out the issue of remarried widows and widowers?

The Screwtape Letters: with Day Magee

The full interview with Meghan O'Gieblyn from this week's Culture File. 

The full interview with Meghan O'Gieblyn from this week's Culture File.&nbsp;

Meghan O’Gieblyn Full Interview | Culture File

"We have to try to cure our faults by attention and not by will,” a thought from French mystic Simone Weil, inspires Meghan O’Gieblyn's new book, Will and Attention, a probing philosophical examination of addiction, recovery, beauty and grace.  As the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir heads to Ireland for the NCH's ECM 2026 festival, their conductor and Estonian musical mainstay, Tõnu Kaljuste talks language, Arvo Pärt and the musicking of their homeland. Paddy Woodworth finds some space on The Naturalist's Bookshelf for Juilian Hoffeman's Irreplaceable.

"We have to try to cure our faults by attention and not by will,” a thought from French mystic Simone Weil, inspires Meghan O’Gieblyn's new book, Will and Attention, a probing philosophical examination of addiction, recovery, beauty and grace. As the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir heads to Ireland for the NCH's ECM 2026 festival, their conductor and Estonian musical mainstay, Tõnu Kaljuste talks language, Arvo Pärt and the musicking of their homeland. Paddy Woodworth finds some space on The Naturalist's Bookshelf for Juilian Hoffeman's Irreplaceable.

Meghan O'Gieblyn, Tõnu Kaljuste, Paddy Woodworth | Culture File

The Comfort Zone: dancer and choreographer, Favour "Official PAK" Odusola brings the choreographic art of Les Twins for appreciation, and also creates a Comfort Zone Choreo (seated) for celebrated non-dancer Colm Tóibín.

The Comfort Zone: dancer and choreographer, Favour "Official PAK" Odusola brings the choreographic art of Les Twins for appreciation, and also creates a Comfort Zone Choreo (seated) for celebrated non-dancer Colm Tóibín.

Les Twins: with Favour Odusola

An epic trilogy of documentaries dedicated to a cinematic biography of Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges, premiered at this year's Venice Film Festival. Its director, Mariano Llinás and its main character, archivist and translator, Ernesto Montequin unfurl their completist life of Borges. An award winner at this year's Ars Electronica festival was SummitShare, a project from Zambia which uses AR and deep metadata to address the crisis in museums around contested cultural objects. One of the project's creators, Samba Yonga explains the problems around repatriation SummitShare promises to right.

An epic trilogy of documentaries dedicated to a cinematic biography of Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges, premiered at this year's Venice Film Festival. Its director, Mariano Llinás and its main character, archivist and translator, Ernesto Montequin unfurl their completist life of Borges. An award winner at this year's Ars Electronica festival was SummitShare, a project from Zambia which uses AR and deep metadata to address the crisis in museums around contested cultural objects. One of the project's creators, Samba Yonga explains the problems around repatriation SummitShare promises to right.

Samba Yonga, Mariano Llinás, Ernesto Montequin | Culture File

Musician, conceptual artist and regular Eno collaborator, Beatie Wolfe encourages The Comfort Zone crew to contemplate the not-quite-natural silence of an anechoic chamber. 

Musician, conceptual artist and regular Eno collaborator, Beatie Wolfe encourages The Comfort Zone crew to contemplate the not-quite-natural silence of an anechoic chamber.

The Comfort Zone: Anechoic Chambers with Beatie Wolfe

Culture File's summer reading club concludes with Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, Jorge Luis Borges' story of a possibly lost, possibly never-existing civilisation, hunted down by a literary flatfoot called Borges and his BFF, Adolfo Bioy Casares. Writer and critic Orit Gat helps Luke Clancy and Colm Tóibín assess the damage to the fabric of reality, while Ariel Hernandez (guitar) and Dermot Dunne (accordion) play some live milongas.

Culture File's summer reading club concludes with Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, Jorge Luis Borges' story of a possibly lost, possibly never-existing civilisation, hunted down by a literary flatfoot called Borges and his BFF, Adolfo Bioy Casares. Writer and critic Orit Gat helps Luke Clancy and Colm Tóibín assess the damage to the fabric of reality, while Ariel Hernandez (guitar) and Dermot Dunne (accordion) play some live milongas.

Culture File Presents Fictions: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius

Luke Clancy's culture come-all-ye, featuring bright spots in music, performance, film, tv and art from Ireland and the world. Broadcast Saturdays at 6.30pm, repeated Wednesdays at 9pm on RTÉ lyric fm.

Luke Clancy's culture come-all-ye, featuring bright spots in music, performance, film, tv and art from Ireland and the world. Broadcast Saturdays at 6.30pm, repeated Wednesdays at 9pm on RT&Eacute; lyric fm.

Luke Clancy's culture come-all-ye, featuring bright spots in music, performance, film, tv and art from Ireland and the world. Broadcast weekdays on Lorcan Murray's Classic Drive and Saturdays at 6.30pm on RTÉ lyric fm.

Culture File

Luke Clancy's culture come-all-ye, featuring bright spots in music, performance, film, tv and art from Ireland and the world. Broadcast Saturdays at 6.30pm and Wednesdays at 9pm on RTÉ lyric fm.

Luke Clancy's culture come-all-ye, featuring bright spots in music, performance, film, tv and art from Ireland and the world. Broadcast Saturdays at 6.30pm and Wednesdays at 9pm on RTÉ lyric fm.

Culture File

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