The Author Archive Podcast
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.
Show episodes
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
Paul Alexander : Bitter Crop - The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday's Last Year
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 rem
Rebecca Beattie - The Wheel of The Year : A witch’s view of the calendar. As traditional religions lose adherents the Wicca view gains in popularity.
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 hom
Joe Boyd discusses his memoir, White Bicycles:Making Music in the 1960s and his literary journey through global music, And the Roots of Rhythm Remain.
Joe Boyd is a man about music, record producer, a film producer and author. He arrived in London in 1964 with Muddy Waters and a host of blues musicians who played to sold out UK audiences when they were unappreciated in their US homeland. In this conversation he talks about Nick Drake, Paul Simon, The Incredible Strin
The effect of the American reverberates around the globe. There seems to be perceived electoral advantage in fanning hate and intolerance. The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine continue. Why is this? Is there any cause for optimism? Where do non rational beliefs and convictions fit in the conflicts? This conversation
