The Author Archive Podcast

Jon Ronson was not so well known when this conversation was recorded in the early 2000s I was very taken with the subject of the book and the way Jon talked about it. Being a Jewish journalist getting involved with people money raising for Hamas seemed improbable. It's true of course, as was Jon's interest in the wilder fancies of David Icke. Jon might well be fascinated by the wacky thoughts put...

As war rages in Europe again it becomes clear that the capacity for cruelty of man to a fellow human is seemingly infinite. This interview with the Northern Irish poet Brian Keenan took place in London a full 10 years after his release from his barbaric incarceration in Beirut where he had been  teaching at the local university. Brian talks eloquently about his brutal treatment, but also about the...

As the news from America becomes more and more worrying it's good to look back to the last century when everything was different and some American rock musicians brought joy to the world.  Peace and Love meant something back then. The Grateful Dead were very successful despite having no chart hits and they had a huge dedicated fanbase. They were formed in California in 1965 and performed regularly...

Kind of Blue is the most successful jazz LP ever made. It was recorded over two sessions in New York in 1959 and is still revered as a masterpiece. Ashley Kahn told David Freeman the story behind a historic music event.

This novel is set in the 1960s with a backdrop of The Beatles and other music of the time. It tells the story of Daisy Shoemaker who is 15 in 1964. She was born into a fundamentalist Mormon community on the US - Canada border. In a ceremony called Placement she is given as a teenage wife to a much older man. She finds this intolerable and runs away. The church official who makes the decisions is k...

Channel 4 are presnting an engrossing drama depicting the professional relationship that evolved between Mrs Thatcher the politician and  Brian Walden the labour MP turned television interviewer. The two lead actors Steve Coogan and Harriet Walter are excellent at showing the  friendly dimension to the relationship that turned sour under media pressure. David Freeman talked to the actress Harriet...

A Line in the Sand is a novel about two friends on an adventure in the Middle East based on an actual journey two real life friends took to Saudi Arabia and Damascus in 2006.  One of the inspirations for the trip was T.E Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia. The two authors Miles Spencer and Wells Jones had worked on a stage play based on the life of Lawrence and they decided to take a trip to see the la...

There is a new BBC TV history series by Simon Schama, The Story of Us. In the first programme Simon highlights the huge impact that Alan Sillitoe's novel 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' had when it was published in 1958. Alan Sillitoe spoke to David Freeman when his novel Birthday was published in 2001. Birthday is the sequel to Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. 1958 to 2001 is a ling time to...

This glorious popular science books tells the story of how black holes that were  thought to be too ridiculous to exist in 1916 had by 1971  been proved to exist. Einstein thought they were impossible but in 1971 Paul Murdin and Louise Webster discovered the very first black hole, Cygnus X-1 Marcus tells the story of these extraordinary people who discovered that black holes are centre stage in th...

Rebecca Beattie identifies as a witch. A few days before Hallowe'en Rebecca tells David Freeman how the world looks to her through the lens of her pagan world view.  The latest census information confirms that Rebecca's beliefs are gaining in popularity  

Terry Pratchett was a great supporter of the move to legalise assisted dying. This was partly due to his early onset Alzheimer's Disease which was diagnosed when he was in his 50s. He described the condition as as an embuggerance. Terry Pratchett died in 2015. This is a conversation from the archive recorded at his home office in Wiltshire. Terry started life writing when he was just a boy and in...

This interview was recorded in 2001 and in the introduction recorded at the time I say that the story is no longer relevant as the Taliban are  no longer in charge. This was true at the time but sadly the Taliban are back and the the story of The Breadwinner is all too relevant again. Did the UK let these people down?  

Jeanette Winterson celebrated her 65th birthday on August 27th. This interview was recorded when Jeanette was a 20 something brand new literary force. I remember this converstaion  with huge affection. Mostly I would talk to an author for 20 minutes or so but this conversation is twice that. It was recorded in the spring of 1984 when 'Oranges are Not the Only Fruit' was first published. I was very...

Emeritus Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe is an academic archaeologist who writes enthusiastically and engagingly about his passions. In this interview he talks to me about his book which tells the whole of African human history focussing on the Sahara. Sir Barry takes the story of us from our evolution through to the present day. Is he optimistic about our survival?

Steve Kershaw has two personas .... he is Steve the musician and Dr Stephen the classics tutor. He is involved in two new projects. One is a magnificent illustrated childrens encyclopedia of gods, monsters and mortals from ancient Greece. The other is a jazz trio recording. Steve is the Oxfordshire based bass player. The pianist and saxophonist Leonid and Nick Vintskevich are Russian . As Steve te...

Taylor Swift attracts huge interest in her song lyrics. They are studied as poetry. Rowland Bagnall is a different sort of poet. Near - Life Experience,  his new collection is just published When I spoke to him we talked about his poetic motivation and the process of writing these concentrated nuggets of observation. His replies are thoughtful and enlightening.

Tim Coulson talks about his book which tells the  amazing story of 13.8 billion years of history from the Big Bang to you! It is a wonderful read - inspiring, gripping and fascinating. And just a thought .... did a deity have a hand in the story? Tim explains his view!    

Truddi Chase lived with dissociative identity disorder a condition that used to be called multiple personality disorder. On the cover of her book the author was named as 'The Troops' - the name she gave to her 90 plus identities. When I interviewed her she was with her therapist Robert Phillips. The whole story was very difficult to assimilate as you can probably hear. Truddi died in 2010 but ther...

It's Bafta time again. The winner of the BAFTA for best actor went to Timothy Spall for his performance in 'The Sixth Commandment'. Timothy played Peter Farquar, a gay Christian teacher who was murdered by a student, Ben Field. The horrific murder actually happened in the normally peaceful  village of Maids Moreton in Buckinghamshire. The true story is told by David Wilson who lives in the village...

Ashley Mullinger is a commercial fisherman. She used to work in an office but found it dull and stressful. She  decided to go on a half day fishing trip with a couple of her friends just to make a change. The friends sort of liked it but Ashley REALLY liked it and now does it as a full time job. She is so good at it she was awarded the title of 'Fisherman of the Year'. In this conversation she exp...

There is an article in the Culture section of The Sunday Times about father and daughter Michael and Rebecca Frayn. Rebecca is a farmer and environmental activist and writer who lives in the north of Ibiza. Her new novel 'Lost in Ibiza' is coincidentally, about  a young environmental activist who travels to Ibiza to meet her biological father for the very first time. It's a story of family drama,...

Eric Bibb remembers his introduction into music via his dad Leon and the musical luminaries who visited the family home. Paul Robeson was his Godather, and a very young Bob Dylan gave him some sound advice. Now 72 Eric is still touring, playing, and writing songs. He is one of lifes gentlemen!

Sunken Lands is about a journey through flooded kingdoms and lost worlds. Gareth tells of places he has visited to see history and extrapolates forward to imagine the world we are leaving for future generations. There is anger, poetry, myth .... and David Bowie.

This conversation was recorded in 2000 when Robin Eggar's biography of Tom Jones was first published. At this time Tom's wife, Linda, was still alive and Tom himself was a mere 60 years old. It emerges from this interview that the man born Thomas Woodward was driven by two passions. What they are is revealed in this Author Archive episode.

Lisa has written a new memoir 'Better Broken Than New' She has ploughed this furrow before  and I interviewed her when 'Memory Maps' was published. Lisa has lived life to the full. She is a very beguiling woman and many men have fallen for her charms and married her. On the day I interviewed her she was in the mood for remembering her life and loves in wonderful detail.