Front Row

The unique cultural heritage of Venice is under threat from increasingly frequent flooding and rising sea levels. Anna Somers Cocks OBE, founding editor of the Art Newspaper and Fellow of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, signed a letter appealing to the Italian Prime Minister to safeguard the city, on the eve of COP 26. She’s joined by Francesco da Mosto, Venetian architect and author, to tell us what’s at stake in the World Heritage Site he calls home.In his new book Kevin Birmingham investigates the true story that inspired Crime and Punishment. Marking the 200th anniversary of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s birth Birmingham joins Russian literature specialist Sarah Hudspith and Samira Ahmed on Front Row to consider Dostoevsky’s continuing relevance today.Paul McCartney explores the inspiration behind Pretty Boys, a song from his most recent album McCartney Three.The Hollywood actor Dean Stockwell, best known for his roles in Blue Velvet and Quantum Leap, has died. Film critic Tim Robey remembers some