The Author Archive Podcast

Before Patrick Nally created and sold sponsorship packages for FIFA and the Olympic Games, sport had no money. Patrick was in at the beginning creating the money monster that sport has become. He was even responsible for giving the world Sepp Blatter. Was that a good idea? Should Gianni Infantino have a million pound plus salary? In the early days were payments paid in brown envelopes in car parks...

Jeffery Archer has died. The obituaries all make reference to his colourful life. This conversation was recorded in the year 2000. LIke others that came after him this former vice chairman of the Conservative Party and would be Mayor of London had supreme confidence in his ability to tell lies and then lie his way out of the consequences of the earlier untruths. Jeffery Archer was supremely confid...

This splendid book tells the stories behind the buildings.  It starts 3,000 years ago in Troy and finishes with what castles have become in the nuclear age. It's not just buildings, it's walls and people. Dan even puts the bombastic projects of Donald Trump in an historical context. This might not make you feel better but it does provide context. Vanity expressed in big extravagant buildings is no...

There is an article in the Daily Telegraph written by Petra Khasoggi. When she was a teenager she discovered that her biological father is Jonathan Aitken. It is not a consistently happy story.  We are used to politicians , particularly Tory politicians, being untruthful. Twenty five years ago Jonathan Aitken was a high profile journalist and Tory politician who found himself in very hot water He...

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is still in the news. Where he is still unknown but he is often referred as a national treaure. Sir Ranulph Fiennes met David Freeman when his book 'The Secret Hunters' was published in 2001. The book tells the story of a diary that was found in a shelter in Antarctica in 1997. This opens the door to a world of deprivation, war, survival and revenge. It's a gripping page-turnin...

There is huge interest in the latest Charles Spencer book, but he has written about his family before. They started as sheep farmers. They were successful! This conversation was recorded in the 90s at Althrop the Spencer family stately home. Interesting to hear his view , all those years ago , of his sister Diana. It was memorable to talk to the author in one of the grand rooms surrounded by portr...

Joseph Millson is an author but he is also a stage actor. Currently he is starring in the hugely successful West End revival of Phantom of the Opera. He tells me about his first novel - Miller Rose Roberts. Who she is, what she does and the role of tinnitus in the story. Joseph is an entertainer.... great fun. Amongst other stories he describes how his dad became fused to a bass guitar. He didn't...

This archive interview dates back to March 2014. Jim Lovelock was in his mid nineties. I was delighted to interview him. As I said at the time for me it was like meeting Elvis! He was energetic, effervescent and wise. His wife Sandy was in the front row and he shone with contentment. When the conversation started I had no idea we were going to end up talking about microwave ovens .... but we start...

Simon Nicol was one of the founder members of Fairport Convention in 1967. Fifty nine years ago. He talks about being a member of the  ground breaking Folk Rock band who still draw a capacity crowd at the Cropredy Festival. The thoughts and memories of a musician who started his career in the legendary flower power hippie 'Summer of Love'. Times have changed!   

David Sedaris now fills arenas with enthusiastic fans but when I interviewed him in 2000 he was almost unknown. His book 'Me Talk Pretty One Day ' was just published. There is a new collection of Sedaris writing just published - this conversation gives context and back story.    

Harry talks to me about his book which tells of the  harsh life lived by gladiators, but also extends to the ideas and philosophies that defined Roman life. This is not fiction. It's an account written using evidence from the time. A gripping read. Some of the events told are hideous to us, but we have to remember that  not that long ago our ancestors flocked to public executions. In some places i...

It is very easy to get very troubled by the current US administration . Who could have predicted that the American Vice President would have thought it part of his task to question the Pope's understanding of theology? Who could have predicted that Donald Trump would think it a good idea to read parts of the Bible to the nation?   Have they redefined god in their own image? It seems that the curre...

Sir Anthony Seldon has written about a 1,300 kilometre walk he took across Europe from Southern France, through Austria and the Czech Republic finally reaching his destination, Auschwitz in Poland. On the journey he seeks out inspiring stories of the lives of 'figures of light'. As he tells me , while he was walking through places associated with fascism and the second world war he was well aware...

Steve Ashley played a gig to a hometown Cheltenham crowd on June 26th 2026. It was a triumph. Steve has had a long illustrious career in music and political activism. This conversation was recorded in November 2025, a few months before his  80th birthday.  His passions, enthusiasms and commitment remain undimmed. In this informal interview Steve tells of his influences and motivation. He clearly h...

Racism is sadly on the rise. Misogyny is on the rise. All of these opinions  remind me of what Nina Simone said to me. She was the victim of cruel prejudice. She was angry. Nina Simone was born on February 21st 1933. There has been news recently of a plan to buy Nina Simone's childhood home in Tryon North Carolina and make it into a museum celebrating the life and work of the girl who was born Eun...

When 'Entitled ' was published last year it caused quite a stir, changed the lives of the Duke and Duchess of York for ever .... and became a number one bestseller. The new paperback of Entitled contains a whole chapter of new information and chronicles what has happened in a tumultuous year. Andrew Lownie predicts that there is more information to come. The story continues ...... A gripping conve...

Doubles is a powerful compact story, a novella. The protagonist is a 12 year old girl who finds comfort and security in numbers and maths. It takes place in 1968 in an institution for troubled youth. The novella explores how the 'good' girl, over a period of six months, turns into a delinquent. The conversation with Dr Gold is thoughtful, passionate and engaging.  Doubles is a  short book that sta...

Antonio Forcione is a brilliant guitar player who is just about to go on tour. Antonio really likes to entertain and he is joined by comedian, singer and songwriter Boothby Graffoe. When we talked Antonio was in a museum in Rome and Boothby was in Portugal. I'm David Freeman and I was in Cheltenham.

Prue is back as a judge on The Great American Cooking Show.  In our conversation Prue talks to me about her life and how she still has a lot of fun. Ageing, acting your age, health, exercise, fame ...... she talks about it all!!!    

Some interviewees I remember as 'troupers'. At the very top of that tree were the Collins sisters. Joan is now 93. She is still looking galmorous at Cannes! I remember a televised conversation I had with Joan. Her assistant decreed that the lighting must be subtle but Joan herself insisted on full on straight in the face spots. I had theories why this might be her preference. Over the years I inte...

In this early Author Archive podcast John Le Carre talks about writing politics , and Mallory Blackman explains the political thinking behind Noughts and Crosses. Maggie Gee gives the background to her novel The White Family that endeavours to explain prejudice and the national treasure Jilly Cooper gives background to how life might be in the English counties. Her 'Rivals' is back on UK TV. The e...

The American president now suggests that he is closely associated with Jesus. He has distributed pictures. He is performing Bible readings. Will he include the bits from Matthew 5:9? Blessed are the peacemakers? He declares that he has been saved by God to make his country great again, I find it impossible not to wonder about the precise nature of the deity that he professes to believe in. Are Don...

The war that is spreading across the Middle East has a religious dimension. American aggression is supported by evangelical Christians, Iran is an Islamic state and Israel has its own Jewish deity. Donald Trump seems to waver been god and allah. None of the gods seem to be seekers for peace. All seek vengeance and revenge.  In early 2025 a million Hindus tried to bathe in a river at the same time....

  The new war that is happening now and the the appalling inhumanity still happening in the world makes this conversation distressingly relevant. There is the thought that some people are less human then others.  Some people in power seem to think that bombs and missiles provide an answer. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10th 1948. We now live in a world where the...

The man who used to be Prince Andrew is now back at his new Norfolk home with dogs for company. Apparently he will soon have a chef and a valet who will address him as 'Sir'. Unbelievable. The sorry story continues. Andrew and his ex wife Sarah are in the Epstein linked news again. The photographs of him on his knees by a young lady lying on her back on the floor don't look good.  A new paperback...