The Specialist | The Multi-Million Dollar Banana, with David Galperin

Welcome to Intelligence Squared where great minds meet. I'm head of programming Connor Boyle. Today, something a little different, we're excited to share with you a handpicked episode of a brand new series, The Specialist, produced by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Sotheby's. We've all heard the stories of the record-breaking works, headline-grabbing auctions and moments that shock the art world and beyond. But have you ever wondered what's happening behind the scenes?

What goes into valuing a masterpiece or who the people are really behind the gavel? The specialist brings you art's most extraordinary stories, told by the experts who witness them, in short episodes, perfect for a weekend listen. Now, over to the specialist. And if anything, the work itself is about the art market.

And so getting a sort of peek beneath the curtain as to the process of bringing a work like that to auction actually reveals a lot about the dynamics of the market itself and I think speaks to the mechanics of what makes the artwork powerful. And for me, it was a lesson in trusting gut and instinct and it was a reminder that pushing the envelope a little bit can be sometimes the most rewarding thing. Sotherby's is the temporary custodian of some of the world's most rare, remarkable, and coveted art and objects. In each episode we'll be exploring the significance and journey of an extraordinary work told by those who know it best. This is The Specialist.

We already have this episode, so unlocking it is cheap and permanent: the full transcript (13 minutes, 2,083 words), segment and word-level timestamps, and .txt, .srt, .vtt and word-level JSON downloads, as many times as you like, forever.

No account needed, we create one from your checkout email. With credits it is 1 credit; packs start at 5 episodes for $3.49, and monthly plans are cheaper still.