BOOKED IN

In August 2014, the world was shocked and appalled by the brutal murder of James Foley.  An American journalist, Foley was captured by ISIS in 2012 and ultimately beheaded on camera - with the barbaric execution uploaded to the internet.  Ten years on, I spoke with his mother Diane about her extraordinary strength and compassion, even towards those who inflicted so much pain on her famil...

Back in 2018 and during the throes of his addiction, Hunter Biden fathered a child with a woman from Arkansas, called Lunden Roberts.  Despite a DNA test unequivocally confirming he was the father, the Biden family are yet to meet her in person - and the president and first lady only acknowledged their granddaughter last year following criticism in the mainstream media.  Roberts has...

Pornhub has been one of the top 10 most popular websites in the world - with as many as 130 million daily visitors. At least 6.8 million videos are uploaded to the site annually - but what if I told you that amongst that content there were thousands of trafficking and underage victims? Laila Mickelwait's recently published book, Takedown, breaks down the cost of profit in porn, and is already on t...

In November 2015, Jessica Waite's life was turned upside down when her husband Sean died suddenly. They shared a son together and had been life partners for twenty years. But within days of his passing her life was turned upside down once again, when she learned she was not just mourning his loss, but the loss of the marriage she thought they had shared. Jessica's newly released memoir, The Widow'...

One of the most quoted lines in American history is from President John F Kennedy's inauguration in 1961. 'Ask not, what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.' In this explosive new book, 'Ask Not', Maureen Callahan examines the legacy of the Kennedy family through the lens of numerous women - both in and out of the family - and tells their harrowing tales. This book h...

A few weeks ago, I asked on Instagram what people's favourite memoir was and an extraordinary number of people mentioned a book called 'Poor' by Katriona O'Sullivan. The book made me laugh, it made me cry, and most of all it made me think everyone - EVERYONE - should read it. After listening to my chat with Katriona, I think you'll see why. Enjoy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...

Following the death of Osama bin Laden, an Irish-American criminal called James 'Whitey' Bulger became number 1 on the FBI's most wanted list. The myth of Whitey Bulger even loosely inspired Jack Nicholson's character in the classic movie, The Departed. I spoke with author and journalist Dick Lehr about the stunning story he broke about Bulger while working on The Boston Globe's 'Spotlight' team,...

Conor Niland is a former tennis professional whose new book, The Racket, documents in raw detail his experience as a player ranked 129 in the world. With Wimbledon back on our screens, it's that time of year again where everyone loves tennis - but this book provides rare insight into the realities of the sport far from centre court. Niland is brutally honest, funny and real throughout, never afrai...

Dr Sara Glass is the author of a newly published and powerful memoir called 'Kissing Girls on Shabbat'. Born and raised in a devout Hasidic community in Brooklyn, Glass knew for sure by the age of 32 that she was gay. For those who might be skeptical about listening, thinking 'how can I relate to a gay, Jewish woman?' Trust me. While this book documents her journey through religious identity and s...

Justin Scheck is an investigative reporter and the co-author of the best selling book, Blood & Oil. We spoke all about his research on Saudi Arabia and the country's crown prince and de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman. Blood & Oil was the first book I read this year, and I absolutely adored it. With at least 7,000 Saudi princes and a de facto leader who could potentially rule the country...

Bill Browder is the best selling author of two books, Red Notice and Freezing Order. In them, he documents his time in Russia, the killing of his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, and what led to him becoming one of President Putin's most outspoken critics. We spoke about all of this, plus the war in Ukraine and the impact of sanctions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emeritus Professor at Oxford University and renowned historian Avi Shlaim has written many books over the years about the Middle East. His most recent release is much more personal. 'Three Worlds, Memoirs of an Arab Jew' is an intimate look at the Shlaim family's journey from upper class Jews in Baghdad to their reluctant move to Israel two years after the state was established in 1948. We had a t...

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