Biteback Chats Books

This week we're discussing the ins and outs of that most controversial and complex of subjects: Brexit. It's been five years since the referendum and yet since it happened almost nobody is happy with the way Brexit unfolded. Why is that? Here to offer his insights is Brexitologist Chris Grey... Brexit Unfolded is available to order now: bitebackpublishing.com/books/brexit-unfolded Music Funkorama...

This week we’re jumping in our time machines and heading back to a time where politics was very different- and Margaret Thatcher was still prime minister. The year is 1987, and she’s about to fight her third election. With her is David Young, drafted in to help run it- and who decided to keep an audio diary during the months he spent doing so, which has now been published. Tune in to listen to him...

One hundred years have passed since the creation of Northern Ireland, but what have today's politicians learned from it? To mark the centenary, we’re speaking to Biteback author Kevin Marr, whose book What A Bloody Awful country is out now and looks back at a bloody history... Find his book here . Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License:...

Historian Tony Insall takes the mic this week to talk about Norwegian-British alliances during the Second World War and the incredible things their secret forces did to sabotage German occupiers. Secret Alliances is out now and available to order on www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/secret-alliances Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License:...

Donald Trump: reckless? Genius? Dangerous? Businessman Simon Dolan makes the case for a reassessment of this controversial president's time in office in the latest episode of the Biteback podcast. Trump: The Hidden Halo is out now : https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/trump-the-hidden-halo Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: htt...

It's 1953 and the Doomsday Clock has just been moved to two minutes to midnight. Join Biteback author Roger Hermiston as he discusses the trials and tribulations of a fascinating year for the latest episode of the podcast! You can buy Roger's book Two Minutes to Midnight here: https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/two-minutes-to-midnight Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetec...

The period of 2010-2015 was a turbulent time in British politics, and Alastair Campbell was there for it all. The latest instalment of his diaries covers the rise of David Cameron, Ed Miliband's tenure as leader of the Labour party, two inquiries and the spectacle that was the Olympics: sit back and listen to us discuss most of it! The Alastair Campbell Diaries Volume 8: Rise and Fall of the Olymp...

What does a physician do? John Quin spent his career in the NHS working with unruly patients, navigating hospital cliques and learning just what it was an endocrinologist does. In this chat we learn more about his career: the dark humour, the reality of working in Glasgow and how Nabokov got him through it all. John's book, Dr Quin Medicine Man, is out now: https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books...

A few days after Elisabeth Spencer's daughter Milly came out as trans, her husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Spencer's moving memoir of what followed, The Road to My Daughter, is an illuminating account of what it means to be the mother of a trans daughter, and in this podcast we chat about everything from the prejudice trans people face in the healthcare system, to the ways in which...

For this week's podcast we're travelling all the way to America! Our guest and Biteback author Annie Bracken worked for George HW Bush during his presidency and is full of stories about life in the White House, from awkward dates to going running with the secret service. Her book, How to Break Into the White House, is also out now: c heck it out here! How to Break Into the White House | Biteback P...

Economist and author Liam Halligan joins us for the first Biteback podcast of 2021 to chat about all things housing! We discuss the impact of big developers in the market, the reason house prices are so high and what politicians are doing to fix things... Liam's book Home Truths is out in paperback on the Biteback website: https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/home-truths Music Funkorama by Kev...

On this week's episode of the Biteback podcast we chat to Henry Milner, a criminal defence solicitor who has represented criminals in the UK for over fifty years. He talks about the dangers of defending a client in the seventies, some of his favourite cases and why professional criminals are always easier to represent than newbies. Henry's book, No Lawyers in Heaven, is out now: https://www.biteba...

Seasoned journalist Clive Irving pops into the virtual studios to chat about the royal family's relationship with the media, his time working on Fleet Street and what he thinks about the future of the crown... Clive's book, The Last Queen, is now available from the Biteback website: https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/the-last-queen Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.f...

Former Special Adviser Peter Cardwell has worked under four government ministers in his time, weathering gaffes, media storms and prime ministers. But what is it actually like to be a SpAd? In the latest edition of the Biteback podcast, we chat about meeting Kevin Spacey in airports, getting your inside leg measured in a government office and the surprising ways you can use gaffer tape... The Secr...

How would you go about changing the world? For fifteen-year-old Jonny Oates, the answer was simple: he boarded a plane to Addis Ababa with the intention of tackling the Ethiopian famine. The thirty years that followed taught him that creating change wasn't that easy... Listen to him talk about his mental health, his time in the coalition government and his love of Africa in this week's edition of...

Journalist Giles Edwards joins us to discuss what presidents and prime ministers do once they retire. From rubbing shoulders with Nelson Mandela to getting involved in the charity sector, the answer is quite a lot... Pre-order Giles' book here: https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/the-ex-men Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: ht...

We talk to Labour pollster Deborah Mattinson about the 2019 general election, the abandoned towns that switched from voting Labour to voting Conservative, and why Boris Johnson is enjoying a reputation as a modern-day James Bond. Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Journalist and author Yasmin Alibhai-Brown joins us in the virtual Biteback studio to talk about her new book, Ladies Who Punch,  incredible women  who have shaped today's society and her past as a (literal) bra-burning feminist... Ladies Who Punch is out now! Take a look at it here: https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/ladies-who-punch Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://...

Take a journey behind the doors of Buckingham Palace as former MP and cabinet minister Norman Baker discusses where the royal family's finances come from, the method behind the honours system and the fate of a certain Prince Andrew... Norman's book, ...And What Do You Do? is out in paperback on 8 September. Take a look at https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/and-what-do-you-do !  Music Fu...

How do you catch a drug smuggler who's famous for escaping captivity? New York Times journalist Alan Feuer dives into the murky world of El Chapo in this chat about his upcoming book, El Jefe, featuring wiretapping, corruption, and a fair amount of double-crossing... Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/lice...

Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw talks about his time in office, getting the timing right during a Commons debate, and the idiosyncrasies of Iran in this week's Biteback podcast. Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Journalist and author Eliane Glaser talks to us about defending the idea of liberalism, the defunding of the arts and the 'real elites' who are behind it. Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Former barrister and judge Inigo Bing joins us to talk about the relationship between the government and the law, how the public's trust in our judiciary is failing, and the astonishing fact that the UK doesn't have a written constitution... Inigo's book, Populism on Trial, is out on 20th August. Pre-order it on bitebackpublishing.com! Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.fil...

Professor of Journalism and former BBC journalist Kurt Barling takes the mic to chat about his book The R Word, his experiences of racism and the ways in which the UK should confront its history. Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sit down for a tale of deceit, ruthlessness and greed... We chat to Christopher Othen, the author of The King of Nazi Paris. Chris's book is about one of the most notorious gangs in French history, and we talk about its charismatic leader, Henri Lafont, the realities of wartime Paris and just what it took to blackmail a Nazi. Music Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/...