Taylor Swift, Sir Willard White, Matthew McConaughey

One of the world’s biggest pop star, Taylor Swift, talks about her new album 1989 with a live session performance. Detroit had been considering selling off its city-owned art collection worth $816m to pay towards bankruptcy. Should art pay for pensions? In the last of the BBC series of Africa Beats, we introduce Villy and his band The Xtreme Volumes. As the year’s biggest film opens widely around the world, we talk to Interstellar director Christopher Nolan. Sir Willard White, one of the deepest voices in classical music says that the presence of his profundo voice even surprises its owner. From Toronto we hear about the recent winner of Giller Prize, one of the biggest literary prizes in North America and new TV show Strange Empire. And, finally the musical history of the Slap Bass from the 1920s through Elvis, Sly and the Family Stone to a London studio.

(Photo: Taylor Swift (c) Jason Merritt/Getty Images, Sir Willard White (c) Dan Kitwood/Getty Images, Matthew McConaughey (c) Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)