The Author Archive Podcast

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...

. In the wake of the Andrew Windsor  scandal there is much questioning of the need for the  royals at all Being royal is not a job you can apply for.  If you decide to walk away from your royal identity or are pushed away from it just what are you left with? This book,'Traitor King', tells the story of an inglorious royal. It is a shocking example of what happens when inherited status is randomly...

There are powerful politicians who have taken to denying scientific facts to further their own ambitions. This took another massive leap into the abyss when President Trump removed all the limits on greenhouse gas emissions in the US.  Not a solution to the problem - just a denial of its existence. Inconvenient scientific facts denied and dismissed. There is a new book edited by Lawrence M.Krauss...

Eric Bibb is a blues music legend. In this conversation he talks about his teenage life growing up in the middle of the New York civil rights movement. The people he knew... Paul Robeson, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger ..... and how his father Leon Bibb continues to be an inspiration. In the middle of an increasingly wayward world Eric Bibb is a voice of sanity.

The future of democracy is a popular talking point at the moment. It seems some democratically elected leaders would like to change the system that gave them the job in the first place. History records that we have been here before! When I talked to Dr Steve Kershaw about his book about battles in ancient Greece. it seemed that the human desire for conflict is unchanged through history.  Three Epi...

In 2019 Sir Rannulph Fiennes was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. A few years ago as part of the Cheltenham Literary festival I interviewed Sir Rannulph on stage at the Everyman Theatre about his family history book 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'. I remember shaking hands  - a non standard formality for him. He told me how he had to adopt a DIY approach to dealing with frost bite in his fingers. In t...

Michael Payne has spent his whole working life in the sports marketing business. In his autobiography he tells how sport became big business. In this  wide ranging conversation we discuss how the Olympics were saved from oblivion, whether FIFA were right to award Donald Trump a special peace prize.... and the major challenges facing sport in our connected digital age.,

Unbelievably Sophie Kinsella has died.   This archive conversation was recorded at the Langham Hilton in London and I remember that Sophie ( real name Madeleine) turned up with lots and lots of shopping. That was to be expected because the conversation was to mark the publication of the third in the shopaholic series of stories. She was great fun to talk to. That  isn't PR  spin .... she really wa...

Putin seems determined 'to make Russia great again' His motivations are difficult to understand but listening to historian Simon Sebag Montefiore might go some way to explaining his thinkng. Simon Sebag Montefiore explains the mythic status of  this eighteenth century Russian statesman, and military leader Grigory Potemkin.  In this conversation recorded in London in 2000 Simon Sebag Montefiore te...

The cover of this new book declares that in it Marcus Chown explains the simple way to understand the most important ideas in science. Marcus is one of the very best science writers on the planet. Listening to this conversation you might marvel at his patience as he explains the workings of a quantum computer to me. I learned a lot!