Aardman Animations' Pirate film; Jodi Picoult; Ben Okri - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

With Mark Lawson.

Hugh Grant leads the cast providing the voices for Aardman Animations' latest film The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, which takes the lawless seafarers from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Mark Eccleston reviews.

Novelist Jodi Picoult discusses her new book, which focuses on a pair of siblings trying to decide whether or not to remove life support from their father. She reflects on her approach to fiction, and the response she received from the Christian right in the USA to her last novel.

Madonna's twelfth album, M.D.N.A, is a new collection of tracks aimed at the dancefloor, and released ahead of an international tour this summer. Rebecca Nicholson gives her verdict.

Booker Prize-winning writer Ben Okri has published his first new collection of poetry for 13 years, with many of the poems featuring dedications. He considers the process of dedicating verse, and we hear from one of his dedicatees, musician and producer Brian Eno.

Producer Nicki Paxman.

Further episodes of Front Row: Archive 2012

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