#FIRSTLOOK: “NEEDLE ON THE RECORD SIDE 2” PODCAST RETURNS FOR ELEVENTH SEASON

MUBI’s multi-award-winning MUBI Podcast returns for an eleventh season. Titled Needle on the Record – Side 2, the audio documentary series revisits the theme of one of its most-streamed seasons, with a fresh exploration of the power of music in film. A special preview episode will launch on April 16, 2026 with the full series launching from June 4, 2026.

The latest episodes dive into the enduring impact of cinematic “needle drops” – moments where filmmakers deployed pre-existing music instead of an original score, for maximum impact. Across the season, host Rico Gagliano explores iconic musical moments that have shaped pop culture, from British pop and house, to bhangra and electronic dance in Gurinda Chada’s Bend it Like Beckham, to the ska and punk soundtrack of Shane Meadows’ This is England.

Guests this season include Jack O’Connell (This is England, Sinners), and Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham), alongside some of cinema’s greatest music supervisors, with further names to be announced.

A special preview episode, releasing April 16, spotlights Whisper of the Heart (1995) – the beloved coming-of-age classic from celebrated Director Yoshifumi Kondo, based on the original manga by Aoi Hiiragi and screenplay and storyboards by Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki. Featuring its memorable use of the country classic ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ the episode unpacks the film’s surprising reimagining of the song to match its urban Tokyo setting and to deepen its emotional resonance.

The episode features interviews with the producer of the film and Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki and his daughter Mamiko Suzuki, who adapted the lyrics of the song with Miyazaki for the film. Host Rico Gagliano shared his excitement to cover the film’s beautiful use of the song:

“Growing up in ‘70s-era West Virginia, ‘Country Roads’ — basically a hymn to the state — was just always around, like oxygen. Learning Studio Ghibli made it kind of the same for ‘90s Japan has been a trip.”

The film will return to cinemas with an exclusive IMAX re-release by GKIDS across the US and Canada from April 21, newly remastered in 4K.

To celebrate the launch of Season 11, MUBI Podcast will also re-release standout episodes from Season 3: Needle on the Record throughout the month of May, including those dedicated to Chungking Express, Donnie Darko, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

LISTEN TO SPECIAL PREVIEW EPISODE FROM APRIL 16 AND FOLLOW THE PODCAST ON YOUR PREFERRED APP HERE

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Some previous and upcoming MUBI Releases include: Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The End, Magnus von Horn’s The Girl with the Needle, Pinny Grylls & Sam Crane’s Grand Theft Hamlet, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Ira Sachs’ Passages, Pedro Almodóvar’s Strange Way of Life, Molly Manning Walker’s How to Have Sex, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave, Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, Lukas Dhont’s Close, and Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman.

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