The Author Archive Podcast

Michel Roux Snr - Life is a Menu

When Michel Roux and his brother Albert came to London in the 1960s they revolutionised British gastronomy and became 'the godfathers of modern restaurant cuisine'.

Michel Snr died in March 2020 and his nephew continues the name and the culinary tradition.

When David Freeman met Michel Snr in 2001 they discussed his life as told in his book "Life is a Menu".

Lily Burana - Strip City

Lily Burana had been a stripper and when she decided to move to another profession she decided to go on one last stripping tour of the strip clubs of America.

She wrote about her exploits in her book Strip City: A Strippers Farewell Journey Across America. On a promotional visit to London she told David Freeman all about her adventures.

Melvyn Bragg - A Son of War

In this conversation, Melvyn Bragg tells David Freeman about his novel "A Son of War" which has a dimension of family autobiography.

Jennifer Lauck - Blackbird.

Jennifer Lauck spoke to David Freeman when her memoir 'Blackbird' was first published in the UK.

The very apt subtitle was 'A Childhood Lost'. A heartbreaking story.

Jonathan Coe - The Rotters’ Club

Jonathan Coe tells David Freeman about his novel 'The Rotters' Club' a story set in the 1970s when Prog Rock was giving way to punk and old Labour was losing  ground to Thatcherism.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes - The Secret Hunters

Sir Ranulph Fiennes met David Freeman when his book 'The Secret Hunters' was published in 2001.

The book tells the story of a diary that was found in a shelter in Antarctica in 1997. This opens the door to a world of deprivation, war, survival and revenge.

It's a gripping page-turning read, but is it fiction?

Anthony Holden - Shakespeare

David Freeman met Anthony Holden around the turn of the century to discuss Anthony's biography of William Shakespeare and was surprised to learn that there was so much biographical material available.

Carol Drinkwater - The Olive Farm

Carol Drinkwater came to prominence playing the wife of James Herriot in the first TV version of All Creatures Great and Small.

Now she is probably better known for living life on an olive farm in southern France.

She told David Freeman the story when The Olive Farm was first published.

Joseph Kanon - The Good German

This conversation with the American author Joseph Kanon took place in London when the novel The Good German was published.

The backdrop to the story is World War II.

In 2001such a war seemed a far distant nightmare that could never happen again. Surely it really could never happen because everyone knows how unthinkably bad it is.

But it is happening. As Joseph says in this conversation  .... who are the people who are inflicting these outrages? Do their mothers know what they are doing? Who could possibly think such outrages are justifiable?

Tony Hawks - One Hit Wonderland

In the summer of 2002 David Freeman talked to Tony Hawks about the challenge he had been given to have a hit record somewhere.

It's a remarkable, entertaining and almost unbelievable story. He reveals how he rose to the challenge and became a chart star in Albania with the help of Norman Wisdom. Simon Cowell gets a mention too.