Our 2019 cultural roundup: the biggest and best of the year

From Lizzo and Fleabag to Greta Thunberg and the Impossible Burger, Lilah and Gris look back at the biggest themes, people and moments of the year. How did we go from talking about 'global warming' to the 'climate crisis'? How has technology opened up the generational divide? And how is culture reflecting the changing conversation around gender, race and representation? Plus: we asked our FT colleagues for their stand-out moments of 2019! Melissa Ingabire takes on the surprising ascendance of country music, via Lil Nas X and Kacey Musgraves. Alec Russell describes meeting the 89-year-old Irish novelist Edna O'Brien. Jo Ellison explains why Karl Lagerfeld's death marked the end of an era in fashion. And Anna Nicolaou argues that 2019 was a great year for movies - thanks, in part, to streaming platforms like Netflix. The episode rounds out with reader recommendations to help you with your holiday gift list. We're taking a short break -- we'll be back in late January 2020! Let us know who we should interview and which subjects we should tackle in our second season. You can get in touch on Twitter @FTCultureCall or by email at [email protected]. And if you like the show, the kindest gift you could give us is a review on Apple Podcasts. ***Links from the episode, arranged by theme:*** Gris's Lunch with the FT with superstar violinist Nicola Benedetti (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/33ed2b6e-1b3e-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4 Climate: Greta Thunberg has Lunch with the FT: https://www.ft.com/content/4df1b9e6-34fb-11e9-bd3a-8b2a211d90d5 Why renting your wardrobe makes fashion sense: https://www.ft.com/content/f8b1b96c-ffb7-11e9-be59-e49b2a136b8d Review of Eco-Visionaries exhibition at the Royal Academy (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/25e8d842-1684-11ea-9ee4-11f260415385 Technology: Anna Nicolaou on TikTok and how video shaped a generation: https://www.ft.com/content/dd7234e8-fcb9-11e9-98fd-4d6c20050229 John Thornhill's review of Shoshana Zuboff's book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: https://www.ft.com/content/43980f9c-0f5b-11e9-a3aa-118c761d2745 Review of Euphoria on HBO: https://www.ft.com/content/bed942be-b2aa-11e9-bec9-fdcab53d6959 MeToo and female creators: Rebecca Traister on the toll of MeToo: https://www.thecut.com/2019/09/the-toll-of-me-too.html Gillian Tett's review of She Said, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's account of breaking the Weinstein story: https://www.ft.com/content/02b579fc-d480-11e9-a0bd-ab8ec6435630 Review of Fleabag series two on BBC/Amazon Prime: https://www.ft.com/content/443bcecc-35c9-11e9-bb0c-42459962a812 Review of Russian Doll on Netflix https://www.ft.com/content/ef66cb66-1d79-11e9-b2f7-97e4dbd3580d Profile of Lizzo from The Cut: https://www.thecut.com/2019/02/lizzo-flute-pop-star.html Race and representation: Review of Stormzy's headline performance at Glastonbury: https://www.ft.com/content/ee3303d6-9b23-11e9-9c06-a4640c9feebb A clip of Stormzy's performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX4Anwyzhmw Review of Kara Walker's water fountain at Tate Modern: https://www.ft.com/content/73573e6a-e44e-11e9-b8e0-026e07cbe5b4 Review of Fairview at the Young Vic (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/d7f135d8-1b44-11ea-9186-7348c2f183af Gris's podcast interview with George the Poet: https://www.ft.com/content/5a8e2aa2-1eaf-4f4d-b12e-f536d17075ea Review of Bernadine Evaristo's Booker-winning Girl, Woman, Other: https://www.ft.com/content/8b808cac-7587-11e9-b0ec-7dff87b9a4a2 Op-ed by Bernadine Evaristo on being a black woman in 2019 (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/156f5a42-155b-11ea-8d73-6303645ac406 FT colleagues recommend: Alec Russell interviews novelist Edna O'Brien: https://www.ft.com/content/e31a1164-15db-11ea-9ee4-11f260415385 Jo Ellison's obituary of Karl Lagerfeld: https://www.ft.com/content/cf64d152-344c-11e9-bd3a-8b2a211d90d5 Anna Nicolaou on online streaming in 2019: https://www.ft.com/content/03b86b7a-014e-11ea-be59-e49b2a136b8d Review of Marriage Story: https://www.ft.com/...