MUBI Podcast

MUBI

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 Wallin

  1. WHISPER OF THE HEART — Hayao Miyazaki takes “Country Roads”

    1 DAY AGO

    WHISPER 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 with the tale of WHISPER OF THE HEART — the anime that helped drive John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads" into Japanese culture. Guests include the song's co-writer Bill Danoff, plus rare interviews with Studio Ghibli cofounder Toshio Suzuki and his daughter Mamiko — the movie's lyricist.  The audio documentary podcast MUBI Podcast returns with a sequel to our super-popular season diving deep into the grooves of classic movie "needle drops."  Titled NEEDLE ON THE RECORD - SIDE TWO, in each episode host Rico Gagliano  tells the story of a film that fused music and image to make magic — and sometimes, change popular culture. Guests include director Gurinder Chadha and musician Bally Sagoo on BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM's bhangra bangers, and movie star Jack O'Connell on THIS IS ENGLAND, the ska-fueled drama that introduced him to audiences. YUKI'S SUN is now streaming almost globally as a part of the Drawn to Life: Animated Films collection on MUBI.  FLOW is now streaming on MUBI in the UK and Ireland.  To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country. WHISPER OF THE HEART will return to cinemas with an exclusive IMAX re-release across the US and Canada from April 21, newly remastered in 4K. Tickets are available here. MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

    35 min
  2. MY FATHER'S SHADOW — Akinola Davies Jr. dreams of 90s Nigeria

    9 APR ·  BONUS

    MY 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 would be like to spend the day with him. Akinola tells guest host Simran Hans how he recreated his own hazy childhood memories, and about his ingenious methods for getting a pair of remarkable performances from two young kids who had never acted on screen before. MY FATHER'S SHADOW is streaming exclusively on MUBI from April 10 in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Turkey, Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain and more.  To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country. MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

    28 min
  3. THE SECRET AGENT — Kleber Mendonça Filho & Wagner Moura on memory and manguebeat

    12 MAR ·  BONUS

    THE 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) and star Wagner Moura (CIVIL WAR) give Rico a primer on the real politics behind the film’s surreal moments… and hep him to the “manguebeat” music that rocked their world. THE SECRET AGENT is now showing in cinemas and is coming soon to MUBI in the UK, Ireland and Latin America. To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country. MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

    25 min
  4. LURKER — Alex Russell's outsider look at the in-crowd

    26 FEB ·  BONUS

    LURKER — 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 about his own experiences running with that kinda crowd... and what his twisted tale has in common with a certain kids' baseball movie. LURKER is now streaming on MUBI in the US and Canada.  To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country. MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

    26 min
  5. SENTIMENTAL VALUE — Joachim Trier’s different kind of meta-movie (w/ Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning & more)

    12 FEB ·  BONUS

    SENTIMENTAL 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 making and meaning of SENTIMENTAL VALUE — the multiple-Oscar-nominated juggernaut about a filmmaker whose daughters grapple with the ways his art intersects with their messy real lives. In this special episode, Rico learns about how the movie echoes in the filmmakers’ own lives… and the ways it does (and doesn’t) fit into the whole tradition of “meta-movies.” SENTIMENTAL VALUE arrives exclusively on MUBI from February 13 in the UK, Ireland, Latam and India. Coming soon to Turkey.  THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD is now streaming on MUBI in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, France, Italy, the Netherlands and India.  OSLO, AUGUST 31ST is now streaming on MUBI in the US, the UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands.  To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country. MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

    33 min
  6. Wim Wenders LIVE in Berlin: 50 years of rock-n-road movies

    8 JAN ·  BONUS

    Wim 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 Berlin, Germany, he tells Rico how classics like Wings of Desire (1987), Paris, Texas (1984), and more were informed by his love of rock n’ roll, riding the rails, and cinema itself. PINA is now streaming in the US and PERFECT DAYS is now streaming in the UK, Ireland, Latin America, Turkey, India and the Netherlands.  MY FATHER'S SHADOW is coming to cinemas in the UK, Ireland and Italy on February 6, in the US and Toronto on February 13, in Canada on February 20 and in Spain on March 6. To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country. MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

    48 min
  7. SALAAM BOMBAY! & THE LUNCHBOX — Mira Nair & Ritesh Batra deliver realism and romance

    18/12/2025

    SALAAM 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 system. Batra tells Rico about the romance of dabbawallas, while Nair remembers the mean streets of Mumbai's chaiwallas (and what she serves her son Zohran Mamdani at home). Just in time for holiday eat-a-thons, the award-winning MUBI Podcast is back and celebrating its tenth season with a four-course serving of stories about food on film. Titled "A Feast For The Eyes," the season digs into the ways filmmakers use food to provoke hunger, thought, nausea, political action...and sometimes all the above. Joining host Rico Gagliano is a sampler platter of luminaries from the film and culinary world, including directors Brad Bird (RATATOUILLE), Mira Nair (MONSOON WEDDING), and David Gelb (JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI), former New York Times food writer Alison Roman, and more. Gluttons for great cinema stories can start chowing down on episodes weekly, starting Thanksgiving Day. Let's Eat! Food and Film collection is now streaming on MUBI globally. THE LUNCHBOX is now streaming on MUBI in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Latin America and Netherlands.  To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country. MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

    45 min
  8. Kelly Reichardt: THE MASTERMIND behind some of the best movies of the century

    16/12/2025 ·  BONUS

    Kelly 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. From her debut RIVERS OF GRASS to the Oscar-nominated MEEK'S CUTOFF and beyond, it’s a trip through the indie wilds with one of America's best filmmakers — taped before a live audience at MUBIFest Berlin. THE MASTERMIND is now streaming exclusively on MUBI almost globally.  To stream more films of Kelly Reichardt, check out the American Outsider: The Films of Kelly Reichardt collection. Availability of films varies depending on your country. Pre-order your copy of The Mastermind book, featuring photographs, essays, and reflections on the making of Kelly Reichardt’s film. To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country. MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI’s curators.

    42 min
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About

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 Wallin

Information

  • Channel
    MUBI
  • Creator
    MUBI
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    93
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 MUBI
  • Show Website
    MUBI Podcast

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