Adam Curtis is one of the UK's most iconoclastic and followed documentarians. His epic films, spanning decades of cultural and political history have become instant classics and gained him a worldwide following including the likes of Kanye West and Elon Musk. Richard Osman and Marina Hyde interview the BBC journalist about his disappointment at modern television, unique approach to archival material and his thoughts on modern culture at large. The Rest Is Entertainment is proudly presented by Sky. Sky is home to award-winning shows such as The White Lotus, Gangs of London and The Last of Us. Visit Sky.com to find out more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 👀 Join The Rest Is Entertainment AAA Club for exclusive bonus content, early access to Q&As, ad-free listening, our exclusive newsletter archive, discount book prices on selected titles with our partners at Coles, early ticket access to future live events, and our members’ chatroom on Discord. Just head to therestisentertainment.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestisentertainment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ✅ Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRestIsEntertainment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🎙️ Listen To The Podcast: https://lnk.to/TRIEYT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ✉️ Sign up to our newsletter: www.therestisentertainment.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 📱 Follow Us On Socials: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restisentertainment Twitter: https://twitter.com/restisents TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@restisentertainment Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restisentertainment Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/trientertainment.bsky.social ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 00:00 Intro 00:16 Introducing Adam Curtis 01:10 What is Curtis’ new docu-series ‘Shifty’? 16:23 What reaction is Curtis hoping to spark in an audience? 21:18 Has the invention of the smartphone affected the quality of archive footage? 27:22 Will young people be able to save us from ourselves? 29:10 How did it feel when he found out Elon Musk was a fan of his documentaries? 29:54 How does he think putting his work straight on iPlayer has brought in new audiences? 32:42 How does he feel about celebrity-fronted documentaries? 39:41 Where is generative AI taking us? 42:06 Outro