Two podcast hosts, one provocative question
New podcast So Hear Me Out explores classical music at its most curious, tackling our biggest philosophical questions
Pictured: Gillian Moore CBE and Linton Stephens (c) Pete Woodhead
Avid podcast listeners and music fans alike can now explore big questions — can music make you laugh, protest, or give hope to the imprisoned? — through a musical journey from the soundtrack of Star Wars to the works of Mendelssohn, Debussy, and beyond.
So Hear Me Out, a new classical music podcast from the Southbank Centre charts a weekly endeavour to unpick some of the most probing questions to be asked of music and its place in society. Co-hosted by musician and TV presenter Linton Stephens and the Southbank Centre’s Artistic Associate Gillian Moore CBE, the pair bring a lifetime’s worth of classical music knowledge and a curiosity for how the genre intersects with film, gaming, and popular culture.
Across eight 45-minute episodes, the two presenters tackle one provocative question per week, each bringing a piece of music in response and unpacking surprising connections — such as what John Williams’ Star Wars score and Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia Movement No. 3 have in common, or how we might understand protest through the score of Les Misérables.
Inviting a playful and accessible entry point into classical music, the series will tackle questions such as:
- Can classical music be funny? (Episode 1: 7 October 2025)
- Is it ok to use music from cultures not your own? (Episode 2: 14 October 2025)
- Can classical music be protest music? (Episode 3: 21 October 2025)
- Is classical music just one big remix? (Episode 4: 28 October 2025)
- Can classical provide hope to the imprisoned? (Episode 5: 4 November 2025)
- Does classical music make you happier? (Episode 6: 11 November 2025)
- Are film and video game scores proper classical music? (Episode 7: 18 November 2025)
- What does pop owe to classical music? (Episode 8: 25 November 2025)
So Hear Me Out trailer is out now, and following episodes launch on Tuesday 7 October 2025 to YouTube and all major podcast platform.
About the Southbank Centre
The Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest multi-arts centre and engages the most diverse audiences of any performing arts organisation in the UK. Our biggest venue, the Royal Festival Hall (2,700 seats) is the lasting legacy of the 1951 Festival of Britain and the ambition and values of that project – that arts, ideas, innovation and culture can heal communities and should be available and accessible to everyone – are still our guiding principles today. The Southbank Centre is uniquely able to offer a wide-ranging, inclusive and world-class artistic programme spanning contemporary visual arts, music, dance, performance, literature, comedy and spoken word across the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, the Hayward Gallery and our free spaces. We are also home to the National Poetry Library, the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), two resident organisations (Kinetika Bloco and Tomorrow’s Warriors) and six resident orchestras (Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Orchestra).
Website: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk
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