The Culture Show

Lauren Laverne and Mark Kermode return to present a new run of the arts show, which this week joins Ricky Gervais on set in America as he directs his first feature film This Side of the Truth. Meanwhile art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon is in Vienna attempting a Freudian analysis of the work of Gustav Klimt, and Mark joins contemporary poet Simon Armitage as he attempts to release his inner rock star in London's trendy Shoreditch.

Lauren Laverne and Mark Kermode host the arts show, tonight featuring 27-year-old Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel , some striking land art along the M8 motorway in Scotland, and more from Mark Pilkington on the set of Ricky Gervais 's film This Side of the Truth. Plus the latest movie releases, including The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton , and The Happening, and music from Elbow and Richard Hawley.

Vic Reeves visits Folkestone to find out whether its inaugural triennial, previewing new works by artists like Tracey Emin and Mark Wallinger , can breathe new life into the town. The BBC Big Band and blues singer Beth Rowley perform at the reopening of Morecambe's newly restored Modernist gem, the Midland Hotel, and there's a special tribute to Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Plus a preview of the imminent Edinburgh Film Festival and music from Neon Neon. Presented by Lauren Laverne and Mark Kermode.

Mark Kermode interviews film director Nick Roeg, who turns 80 in August, and whose new film Puffball, based on the novel by Fay Weldon , has so far been panned by critics in advance of its release next month. Plus Peep Show writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong discuss their influences, and Tim Samuels saturates the village of Comrie in Perthshire with hundreds of copies of the novels shortlisted for the coveted title Best of the Booker, due to be announced on 10 July. Music comes from Brazilian disco-funk outfit CSS.

London. In the spirit of Orwellian dread, ex-Celebrity Big Brother housemate Germaine Greer chairs a book group comprising former Big Brother contestants to consider George Orwell 's novel 7984, 60 years after its publication. Plus, DJ Bishi on his blending of English, Bengali and Bulgarian music to the London Symphony Orchestra's Eclectica soundscapes project, and tightrope walker Philippe Petit discusses the new Sundance Film Festival-winning documentary Man on Wire, which deals with his 1974 walk between New York's Twin Towers.

Former Baltimore police reporter David Simon , creator of acclaimed US cop show The Wire, accounts for its impact. With the upcoming Proms featuring many of Vaughan Williams 's key works, Verity Sharp explores his musical legacy on the 50th anniversary of his death. Lauren Laverne and Mark Kermode present.

Lauren Laverne interviews David Simon, creator of the acclaimed US cop show The Wire on why he breaks all the rules of television writing. Art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon risks a stiff neck in Rome to marvel at and decipher Michelangelo's vast fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which he commenced 500 years ago. It took four years to complete, and was dogged by battles with the artist's patron, Pope Julius II. Mark Kermode reviews the week's film releases including Puffball.

Mark Kermode accompanies film director Terence Davies back to his native Liverpool, and Lauren Laverne gets a tutorial in Afrobeat from Nigerian drummer Tony Allen. Andrew Graham -Dixon continues his aerial survey of British land art with a swoop over Ian Hamilton's Little Sparta, then Sean Henry's Couple. Plus, Mark Kermode on the week's film releases, including the latest Batman outing The Dark Knight, and Primal Scream introduce their new album.

Lauren Laverne quizzes mod father Paul Weller about his new album and turning 50; Andrew Graham-Dixon gains privileged access to the Vasari Corridor in Florence, which is 1km long and home to a collection of self-portraits of artists including Rembrandt, Bernini, Rubens, Ingres and Chagall; and Mark Kermode talks to theatre director Katie Mitchell whose new National Theatre production Some Trace of Her uses screens, cameras and live broadcasting to zoom in on the love triangle at the core of Dostoevsky's The Idiot.

Verity Sharp goes behind the scenes of Metallica's tour of Norway, and Andrew Graham-Dixon gets a rare opportunity to view Florence's Vasari Corridor and its huge collection of self-portraits dating back over 400 years. Elsewhere, Tim Franks reports from Jerusalem on a historic concert promoting peace in Israel. Plus music by Goldfrapp from their latest album.

Lauren Laverne presents the first of three shows from Edinburgh covering the highlights from the Festival and Fringe. The show comes from the Pleasance Courtyard, right at the heart of all the Edinburgh action, where comedian and musician Tim Minchin joins us to talk about his new show Ready For This? and French band Nouvelle Vague perform a bossa nova version of the Clash's Guns of Brixton.

Lauren Laverne presents the second of three shows from Edinburgh covering the highlights from the Festival and Fringe. On the show tonight is a preview of 365, the new work by The National Theatre of Scotland. The Edinburgh Festival Show has been following the work through rehearsal stages and tonight's programme features scenes from the play, one of the most hotly anticipated shows of the International Festival. Lauren is joined in the Pleasance Courtyard by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club and Snuff. Another of his novels, Choke, has recently been turned into a movie with Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston and Kelly Macdonald. Virtuoso Hungarian violinist Roby Lakatos plays us out with typical exuberance.

Lauren Laverne presents the last in the series of shows covering the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe. Coming from the Pleasance Courtyard, right in the middle of all the Edinburgh action, the programme will be covering the enormous range of shows and performances that hit Edinburgh in August. Joining Lauren at the Pleasance will be the legendary Joan Rivers. Her autobiographical play, a Work in Progress by a Life in Progress, in which she also appears, is set to be one of the most talked about shows on the Fringe and she remains one of the most entertaining, and occassionally shocking, acts on the circuit.