Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud

Rashida Jones is an award-winning American actor, writer, producer, and director with a dynamic body of work spanning film, television, and documentary filmmaking.

Her extensive acting credits include Sofia Coppola’s On The Rocks, The Social Network, Celeste and Jesse Forever, as well as the television series Parks and Recreation, The Office, Angie Tribeca and Sunny, which Jones executive produced. Jones will star in Lena Dunham’s upcoming film Good Sex, alongside Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo.

In 2025, she received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her performance in “Common People,” the premiere episode of the latest season of Black Mirror.

In addition to her work in front of the camera, Jones has built an acclaimed career as a writer, director, and producer. She co-directed the Grammy and Critics Choice Award–winning documentary Quincy and co-directed and co-produced the short documentary A Swim Lesson, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Academy Awards. Her directing credits include episodes of the television shows #blackAF and Angie Tribeca. Jones co-produced the Emmy-nominated documentary Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On.

Jones co-wrote the film The Invite with longtime creative collaborator Will McCormack, directed by Olivia Wilde, which was recently released. Additional writing credits include the Black Mirror episode “Nosedive,” the Oscar-winning Toy Story 4, and the Independent Spirit Award–nominated Celeste and Jesse Forever, in which she also starred. Jones and McCormack also run the production company Le Train Train, through which they have developed and produced a range of film and television projects.

In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Rashida Jones discuss fathers with style, Sofia Coppola, and falling in love with Kermit the Frog.

Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flea, born Michael Balzary, is a musician, writer and actor. He is one of the founding members and the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

Flea is a legend in the musical fraternity. His style, both sartorially and musically is instantly recognizable and brings an emotional charge to everything he is involved with.

Flea met Anthony Kiedis in high school in Los Angeles, and they formed the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1982. The band achieved major mainstream success with their album Blood Sex Sugar Magik in 1991. The band most recently released their thirteenth album, Return of the Dream Canteen, in 2022. 

In 2001, Flea co-founded the Silverlake Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, which is dedicated to supporting young people in learning about and performing music

In 2019 Flea released his memoir Acid for Children, which describes his chaotic and turbulent childhood until forming the Red Hot Chili Peppers.Flea has won six Grammys and has just released his first solo album, Honora, which sees him pick up the trumpet once again and includes collaborations with Nick Cave and Thom Yorke.In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Flea discuss unpredictable parents, finding freedom in music, and the role of the moustache.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leïla Slimani is a French-Moroccan writer. Born in Rabat, Morocco, she moved to Paris aged seventeen to study media and journalism at Sciences Po. 

She is the author of seven books published in the English language. Her debut Adèle was published in 2014, followed by Lullaby, which made Slimani the first Moroccan woman to win France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt. Her non-fiction work Sex and Lies compiles accounts of sex and sexuality from Moroccan women she had interviewed while on a book tour, while The Scent of Flowers at Night is a meditation on art, life and the craft of writing. Since 2020, Slimani has published a trilogy of semi-autobiographical works, beginning with The Country of Others, followed by 2022’s Watch Us Dance and I’ll Take The Fire, released in 2025.

A journalist and frequent commentator on women’s and human rights, she is French president Emmanuel Macron’s personal representative for the promotion of the French language and culture. She has served as a jury member at Cannes and as a judge for the International Booker Prize.

In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Leïla Slimani discuss the attraction of Russian novels, how grief can lead to creativity, and phobias.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charli xcx is a British musician, artist, and actor. Raised in Essex, she recorded her first album at the age of 14, and was discovered after posting demos on MySpace and performing at East London raves. She has since released six studio albums, with her seventh album Music, Fashion, Film releasing on the 24th of July.  

One of the defining artists of our time, Charli moves seamlessly between the experimental and the mainstream, building a career characterised by reinvention, collaboration, and a singular approach to artistry that has influenced both the sound and visual language of contemporary culture. 

Her work has earned widespread critical acclaim including five BRITs and three Grammy Awards, as well as the prestigious Ivor Novello Songwriter of the Year award in 2025, cementing her status as one of contemporary pop’s most influential creative voices.

Beyond music, Charli has become a defining presence in fashion and contemporary image-making and has expanded her creative practice into film, where she acts, writes, produces and scores projects, including a recent collaboration with John Cale of the Velvet Underground on the Wuthering Heights soundtrack. In 2026, Charli starred in and produced the film The Moment, a mockumentary about the musician preparing for a world tour, and is set to feature in films by directors including Gregg Araki, Takashi Miike and Romain Gavras.

In this episode, Bella Freud and Charli xcx discuss Music in Fashion, working with the legendary John Cale, and when being jealous is the greatest compliment to a peer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Currin is an American painter. Currin is widely recognised for his figurative oil paintings in which themes of sexual personae and historical painterly genres appear in surreal and sometimes disconcerting guises. Oscillating between a graphic sexuality and playful symbolism, Currin captures the tones and textures of everyday life with an acute sensitivity and a meticulous attention to detail.

Currin has exhibited internationally at galleries including Sadie Coles, Dallas Contemporary, Museo Stefano Bardini in Florence and Gagosian in New York. His first solo show was at White Columns in 1989, and in 2003, a mid-career survey of his paintings travelled to the Serpentine Gallery, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. 

His most recent exhibition is Opening Credits at Sadie Coles HQ in London. 

In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and John Currin discuss the importance of clothes in his paintings, Jarvis Cocker, and the nuance of Sean Connery vs Clint Eastwood.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices