The Author Archive Podcast

Ruth Werner was born Ursula Kuczynski in Berlin. She was appalled by Hitler and became a lifelong communist and a spy.  During the 1940s she lived around Oxford and radioed secrets to Russia. Her spy codename was Sonja and her memoir was published as Sonja's Report. Ben MacIntyre wrote a best-selling biography of her .

This conversation looks back at the post war time when all the world aspired to be young and American. America was really perceived to be great back then.  How times change ........ Joseph Connolly paints a rock 'n roll picture.

When one looks at the antics and attitudes of the current president of the USA it easy to see parallels  with the world view of Henry VIII. 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

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 published. I would love to hear the Sedaris view of what is happening now in the US!    

After Ashley Kahn had published his book on the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue he turned his attention to the timeless John Coltrane record A Love Supreme. Not only is this still a highly regarded jazz performance, A Love Supreme is now the title of the biggest open air jazz festival in the UK.

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore explains the mythic status of  this eighteenth century Russian statesman, and military leader. Turns out that this slice of history informs current geo politics. In this conversation recorded in London in 2000 the historian Simon Sebag Montefiore tells David Freeman about practical poli