Bölümler
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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 the rights of Palestinians.
A good time to listen to the words of the late Sir Martin Gilbert.
Sir Martin Gilbert is known as Churchill's biographer, but also as the historian of the Holocaust.
This conversation with David Freeman took place when his book Never Again was published. Sir Martin's thoughts on war are sadly relevant.
Sir Martin died in 2015.
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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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Eksik bölüm mü var?
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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 Not the Only Fruit' was first published.
I was very fortunate because I was one of the very first broadcasters to interview Jeanette.
I had been reading the book in bed the night before and was buzzing with enthusiasm for it when I met her.
Hear the author talk about her life in religious Accrington and why she rejected the faith.
A superb book!
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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 about our survival?
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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 successful he gave up the day job and by 1996 he was the bestselling author in the UK.
In public he always wore a big hat, and in his Wiltshire studio he was an early adopter of a robot vacuum cleaner. When he wrote he worked on four computer screens simultaneously.
Great guy!
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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 Leonid and Nick Vintskevich are Russian .
As Steve tells me the wide geographical distribution sometimes make rehearsal tricky!
The record is called 'I'll Show You a Beautiful Country.
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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 drugs and alcohol but there was so mucah more than that. There was huge musical success and adulation - Billie considered her life to be a triumph.
The conversation took place in July 2024 ..... 65 years after Billie died.
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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 Remorseful Day. He was relaxed and very happy to look back at his life in education and crime writing.
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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 Catherine the Great.
Their relationship has been told in films but the way Simon tells the story is probably more gripping and unbelievable.
Simon told the story in full in his the books, Prince of Princes, and Catherine the Great and Potemkin, The Imperial Love Affair.
Interesting to hear Simon say that Putin read this book and what he learned has informed his political views. This lead to the invasion of Ukraine and a significant incident when Russian troops broke into the crypt of the cathedral in Kherson and removed the bones of Grigory Potemkin.
This is history to remember. Putin uses this history to justify his 'special military operation'.
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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 enlightening.
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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!
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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 discovered that black holes are centre stage in the cosmos. Indeed without black holes it is unlikely that we would exist.
Fasten your seat belts and prepare to be amazed.
A great book for the curious!!
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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 you can probably hear.
Truddi died in 2010 but there is a website dedicated to her and her autobiography is still in demand.
It seems that her condition was a result of abuse in her childhood.
A story like no other!
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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 is told by David Wilson who lives in the village in his book 'A Plot to Kill'.
He told David Freeman about it.
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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 very surprised!!
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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 'Fisherman of the Year'.
In this conversation she explains her passion for the life and her fears for the future of the whole commercial fishing industry.
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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 the very first time.
It's a story of family drama, but it is also the story of a paradise island under threat.
A great holiday read!
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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!
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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.
The church official who makes the decisions is known as Bishop and he assures his followers that he has a direct line to God. Amazingly they believe him.
It's a gripping and enraging read. It's fiction but events like the book describes are still happening today. The fundamentalist cult is vey much alive and well.
There is a Netflix documentary about the group .. Keep Sweet : Pray and Obey.
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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.
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