I am a Marine Veteran and former chef who loves a great ice cold beer!
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Authors talking to David Freeman about their books. Most of the conversations are from David’s personal archive that have been collected over the past 40 years.
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Jilly Cooper is back in the news and she has every reason to be jolly. Her football novel is out and Disney have made a movie of one of her stories. I met Jilly when her novel Pandora was first published. She was jolly then too!!Par David Freeman
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Spike Milligan is a timeless national treasure. In this episode Spike Milligan talks to David Freeman about his life in comedy, The Goons, and the mental health problems that dogged his life after he was blown up by a wartime bomb.Par davidjohnfreeman
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Sir Martin Gilbert - Never Again - history of the Holocaust
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10th 1948. We now live in a world where the rights agreed in that document are widely ignored and some politicians openly seek to remove the UK from enforcing them. Plus racial intolerance is on the march . The horrible spectre of antisemitism is looming over the news as is denial of…
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Deborah Ellis - The Breadwinner : A book for children about about the life of a girl in Afghanistan living under Taliban rules.
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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?…
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Jeanette Winterson - Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.
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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 No…
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Barry Cunliffe : Facing The Sea Of Sand - the Sahara and the peoples of Northern Africa
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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 abou…
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When the lit fest season comes round some 'late' authors are very much missed. This is another conversation from the archive. Terry Pratchett died in 2015. Terry started life writing when he was just a boy and in adult life became press officer for the nuclear power stations of the Central Electricity Board. When the Pratchett books became hugely s…
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Steve Kershaw - Mythologica and Vintskevich-Kershaw Trio
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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 Leo…
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Paul Alexander : Bitter Crop - The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday's Last Year
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Bitter Crop is a superb biography of Billie Holiday who was probably the very best jazz singer there has ever been. The book title is takes from one of Billie's signature songs, 'Strange Fruit'. There have been films and many books about Billie's career but not all of them came close to telling the whole truth of a remarkable life. True there were …
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Colin Dexter - The Remorseful Day : Inventing Inspector Morse.
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Colin Dexter was a splendid writer. His creation Inspector Morse is superb on the page and just as gripping on television. I used to meet Colin in the pub on Banbury Road in Oxford, The Dew Drop. He was great company and almost completely unaware of his success and star quality. I recorded this conversation in his house after the publication of The…
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Simon Sebag Montefiore : the life of Potemkin : his bones are still making news.
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Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore explains the mythic status of this eighteenth century Russian statesman, and military leader. In this conversation recorded in London in 2000 the historian Simon Sebag Montefiore tells David Freeman about practical politics in 18th century Russia and how Potemkin made his way in society with the help of the love of …
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Rowland Bagnall : Near - Life Experiences : Poetry Collection
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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 e…
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Tim Coulson - The Universal History of Us
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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!Par David Freeman
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Marcus Chown - A Crack In Everything : How black holes came in from the cold
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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 di…
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Truddi Chase - When Rabbit Howls : A memoir of living with multiple personalities.
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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 y…
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David Wilson - A Plot to Kill
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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…
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Catherine Nixey - Heresy : Jesus Christ and other sons of God
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This new book is terrific - its a revelation. Catherine has studied texts written around the same time as the writings we know as the gospels. Some of these ancient documents tell the story of the bible characters we are familiar with in a totally different way. Listen to Catherine talk about her research and you will be surprised ..... probably ve…
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Ashley Mullinger - My Fishing Life
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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 'Fis…
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Rebecca Frayn - Lost in Ibiza
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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 th…
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Eric Bibb talks about his life in music
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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!Par David Freeman
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Leslie Howard - The Celestial Wife
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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…
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Angus Hanton - Vassal State
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This brand new book examines the astonishing extent of American ownership in UK business. Whether you are interested in 'taking back control' or how much of our day to day financial transactions happen via the US, you will find this fascinating and possibly horrifying.Par David Freeman
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Gareth E. Rees - Sunken Lands
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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.Par David Freeman
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Robin Dunbar - How Religion Evolved And Why it Endures
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In the spring of 2024 clashes driven by different religious beliefs and identities seem frighteningly threatening. Robin Dunbar is Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford. From his academic standpoint he charts the evolution of religion in all its many guises and forms. Does the professor's analysis explain the enduring but…
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Harriet Walter - Thoughts on Acting
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Succession is one of the great TV events. Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong. Kieron Culkin and Sarah Snook are rightly lauded for their acting ability but don't forget Harriet Walter who portrays the mother of Shiv, Kendall and Roman, Lady Caroline Collingwood. David Freeman talked to the actress Harriet Walter when her autobiography 'Other People's Shoes' …
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Tariq Ali - The Clash of Fundamentalisms : Christianity, Islam and Capitalism
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The year 2024 is proving as troubled as it's immediate predecessors. Why is this? Is there any cause for optimism? Where do non rational beliefs and convictions fit in the conflicts? This conversation with the activist and thinker Tariq Ali was recorded soon after the outrage of 9/11. There is a plan for the future in what Tariq was saying but I wo…
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Robin Eggar - biography of Tom Jones
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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.…
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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 Eunice Waymon. I interviewed Nina in December 1998 just before her last ever show at the Royal Albert Hall in London. She was …
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Andrew Lownie - Traitor King : The Scandalous Exile of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor.
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Once again Meghan and Harry are juggling with their identities. They are clearly wanting to be royal having given up being 'royal'. If you decide to walk away from your royal identity 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 rando…
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Lisa St Aubin De Teran - Memory Maps
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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…
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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. 'Them…
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Maeve Binchy - Scarlet Feather
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This conversation was recorded when the very last Maeve Binchy novel was published in paperback. Maeve was always an entertaining interviewee - getting her to talk was never a problem! Unsurprisingly her books continue to sell.Par David Freeman
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Chris Grey : Brexit Unfolded - How no one got what they wanted (and why they were never going to)
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As more Brexit checks and red tape come into action it is illuminating to remember how we get to be in this sorry situation. Many of the leading players are only where they are because they are Brexiteers. Professor Grey has made it a personal mission to chronicle the drama and effects of Brexit. He writes a blog and now the latest edition of his b…
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Magnus Magnusson - Scotland: The Story of a Nation
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Magnus Magnusson died in 2007. He was 77. I spoke to Magnus when his history of Scotland was first published in 2000. Our conversation covered thoughts on Scottish independence, the film Braveheart, Shakespeare and whatever happened to the Picts. There was so much more to Magnus than being the chair .....I've started so I'll finish ..... of Masterm…
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David Sedaris now fills arenas with enthusiastic fans but when David Freeman interviewed him in 2000 he was almost unknown. His book 'Me Talk Pretty One Day ' was just publishedPar davidjohnfreeman
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Justine Picardie - If The Spirit Moves You
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Her sister died of breast cancer and Justine just couldn't accept that her much loved sister had gone. This is conversation about grief and loss but it also about the lengths the bereaved will go to to re establish a link with the departed loved one. Despite being a journalist Justine tried everything and everybody. Mediums, spiritualists and peopl…
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Richard Dawkins - Growing up in the Universe
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Par David Freeman
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George Alagiah died on July 24 2023 Before George Alagiah was known as a BBC newsreader he was a working TV journalist. In this conversation recorded more than 20 years ago he recounts what Rwanda meant to him. Not a near perfect place to be deported to, but a country that had experienced the most horrendous genocide. He recounts the effect of cons…
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Alison Weir - Henry VIII : King and Court
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Although this account of the life lead by Henry VIII was first published at the turn of the century it is still selling well. Alison Weir thinks the key to understanding the famous Tudor King is to realise that he was never alone. Even a conjugal visit to his wife or a trip to the loo were attended by courtiers. Popular accessible history at it's e…
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Beatles Historian Mark Lewisohn, Thomasina Lowe on the Kennedy years and science writer Marcus Chown explains everything.
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The Beatles are chart toppers again. In this episode David Freeman talks to Beatles Historian Mark Lewisohn about his mammoth history of the Fab Four. Thomasina Lowe talks about her fathers photographs of the Kennedy presidential years and science writer Marcus Chown talks about his book "What a Wonderful World". that endeavours to explain almost e…
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Clementine Taylor - Something About Her
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A brand new novel by first time author Clementine Taylor. It is the story of two young women Aisling and Maya and their love. Of course it isn't a simple story. The complications and obstacles are engagingly told. The book is a real page turner. Both women are charismatic characters and as a reader you are supporting both of them ...... so how does…
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Sir Stanley Wells, Ellen Apsten.
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The Shakespeare First Folio was published 400 years ago. In this interview recorded in 2003 the Shakespeare scholar Sir Stanley Wells talks to David Freeman about Shakespeare the man and Shakespeare the writer. Russian history is all too relevant. Ellen Apsten tells David Freeman about the second novel in her series telling the stories of the power…
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This is a brilliant novel set in Leningrad in September 1941. It tells of love in a time of unimaginable hardship. The horrific reality of a siege is being played out again in the Middle East and Russian history is relevant to the war in Ukraine. Helen Dunmore was a major literary talent. Helen died of cancer in 2017.…
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Patricia Scanlan - Francesca’s Party
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'Revenge - God's gift to women!' That's the message printed on the cover of this book. So does the author know what the desire for revenge feels like?Par David Freeman
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Sarah Waters burst onto the literary scene at the very end of the last century with her novel 'Tipping the Velvet' The story centered on the love between two women in Victorian England. Her next novel Affinity was again set in Victorian times and centres on the spiritualism beliefs of the time. In this interview Sarah talked to me about her novel F…
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Maggie Gee : The White Family
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This novel was nominated for award when it was first published over 20 years ago. It has a message of acceptance and tolerance which, sadly, is still totally relevant. The novel was republished last year.Par David Freeman
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Simon Kuper - Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK
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There is a thought that UK politics is still suffering from 'long Boris'. His attitudes and behaviour still cast a long shadow. How did it all come to pass in the first place? How did Johnson and his coterie ever make it to the top of the pyramid? In this detailed and depressing book FT journalist Simon Kuper traces the idea of Brexit back to toffs…
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Henry Sanderson - Volt Rush : electric cars and the race to go green
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Once again transport is in the news. Is high speed rail the way forward? Should petrol and diesel cars be removed from sale by 2030? I moved over to an EV 8 years ago and have never been tempted to go back. In my experience the cars keep improving and much more slowly the charging infrastructure is getting marginally better. In Volt Rush Henry Sand…
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Jackie Collins , Joan Collins
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Par davidjohnfreeman
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Anita Shreve : The Last Time They Met
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Anita Shreve was a very successful writer mainly focussing on love and romance. She died in 2018 but her books still sell very well. She wrote the stories and lived the life marrying four times. She talked to me about her novel which is about a love that lasted through life even though the couple hadn't spent their lives together. I remember her as…
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