The Leisure Society with Gemma Cairney

Gemma joins Kathy Burke round at her house to talk about her love of television.

Gemma Cairney joins Bonnie Greer at one of her favourite places, the British Museum.

Gemma joins musician Ben Watt for a spot of birdwatching

Actress Zawe Ashton joins Gemma Cairney to the talk about how she spends her leisure time shopping in retail parks and how these seemingly menial non-artistic places calms her. Born in Hackney in London, Zawe attended Manchester University School of Theatre, where she gained her degree in acting. Her portrayal of Vod in Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong’s Fresh Meat won her a cult following and the diversity of her work across television, film and stage has attracted numerous accolades.

Gemma Cairney joins Damon Albarn for a chat about travel and adventure at his studios.

Throwing Muses frontwoman Kristin Hersh joins Gemma Cairney at the reptile house.

Gemma Cairney is joined by fashion designer Paul Smith to discuss his love of bicycles.

Santigold is the moniker of Philadelphia-born musician and producer Santi White. She released her debut album Santogold in 2008, followed by Master of My Make-Believe in 2012. She has since collaborated with the likes of Jay Z, Q Tip, Kanye West, Beastie Boys and Lykke Li. She joins Gemma at the Wallace Collection in London to talk about her loves beyond music including interior design.

Gemma Cairney continues a new series of The Leisure Society, interviewing cultural icons, tastemakers, artists and musicians about their pastimes, hobbies, collections and loves beyond what they are known for. For this programme Gemma joins R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe at the ICA in London to discuss his love of photography. He studied photography and painting at University of Georgia before leaving school to form the band R.E.M., serving as frontman and singer-songwriter until the band dissolved in 2011. The sensibility he began developing during his time as an art student transferred to his work for R.E.M. – from art directing their graphics, videos and stage design, to writing, composing and performance. His new book Volume 1, brings together nearly 40 years of creating and collecting photographic materials, in addition to posing as a subject in the photographs of others. He discusses the stories behind the photos of River Phoenix’s dreadlocks as they traversed the US in 1993 shortly before Phoenix died, Kurt Cobain’s hands, his first love Jeremy Ayers, Patti Smith, William Burroughs, and what happened when he met Andy Warhol for the first time. He also discusses love and loss, producing New York artist Fischerspooner’s new album, recently discovering the music of Nils Frahm and why he’s leaving Instagram.

Gemma Cairney continues a new series of The Leisure Society, interviewing cultural icons, tastemakers, artists and musicians about their pastimes, hobbies, collections and loves beyond what they are known for. For this programme Gemma joins Theresa “TT” Wayman from LA band Warpaint at the Science Museum in London to discuss how she discovered a love of marine biology and astronomy at an early age but went into a musical career with Warpaint the band she has been in for fourteen years. They also discuss her debut solo album Lovelaws, balancing having a child with being a touring musician and her introduction to frogs in Oregon when she was growing up.