The Author Archive Podcast

The war that is spreading across the Middle East has a religious dimension.

American aggression is supported by evangelical Christians, Iran is an Islamic state and Israel has its own Jewish deity.

Donald Trump seems to waver been god and allah.

None of the gods seem to be seekers for peace. All seek vengeance and revenge. 

In early 2025 a million Hindus tried to bathe in a river at the same time. Why would anyone think this would be a good idea.

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 shrinking appeal of non logical beliefs?

The man who used to be Prince Andrew is now back at his new Norfolk home with dogs for company.

Apparently he will soon have a chef and a valet who will address him as 'Sir'. Unbelievable.

The sorry story continues.

Andrew and his ex wife Sarah are in the Epstein linked news again.

The photographs of him on his knees by a young lady lying on her back on the floor don't look good. 

A new paperback edition of Entitled is published soon.

Andrew Lownie will be talking about it here on the Author Archive.

 

 

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In the wake of the Andrew Windsor  scandal there is much questioning of the need for the  royals at all

Being royal is not a job you can apply for.  If you decide to walk away from your royal identity or are pushed away from it 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 randomly given to a person who is clearly not up to the task. The book is the basis of the Channel 4 programme that shed light on the whole episode.

As well as telling the historical story Andrew Lownie discusses the lessons that can be learned by the present Royal Family. 

This book was published long before 'Entitled'.

 

 

 

Eric Bibb is a blues music legend.

In this conversation he talks about his teenage life growing up in the middle of the New York civil rights movement.

The people he knew... Paul Robeson, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger ..... and how his father Leon Bibb continues to be an inspiration.

In the middle of an increasingly wayward world Eric Bibb is a voice of sanity.

The future of democracy is a popular talking point at the moment. It seems some democratically elected leaders would like to change the system that gave them the job in the first place.

History records that we have been here before! When I talked to Dr Steve Kershaw about his book about battles in ancient Greece. it seemed that the human desire for conflict is unchanged through history. 

Three Epic Battles that Saved Democracy is an entertaining and instructive read - now published in the US by Pegasus Books. 

Great review in the Wall Street Journal.

Will it be read in the White House?

 

In 2019 Sir Rannulph Fiennes was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease.

A few years ago as part of the Cheltenham Literary festival I interviewed Sir Rannulph on stage at the Everyman Theatre about his family history book 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'.

I remember shaking hands  - a non standard formality for him. He told me how he had to adopt a DIY approach to dealing with frost bite in his fingers.

In this episode there's a conversation I had with Sir Rannulph later in a London studio, a chat with the legendary travel writer Eric Newby, and the life of the unforgettable Lucy Irvine.

Lucy had replied to an advertisement in 1980 seeking a woman to spend a year on a desert island with a man she didn't know.  This  adventure became a film starring Oliver Reid. She tells me how she went on to write the story of another island dwelling family in her book Faraway.

Memorable stories.

 

Michael Payne has spent his whole working life in the sports marketing business.

In his autobiography he tells how sport became big business.

In this  wide ranging conversation we discuss how the Olympics were saved from oblivion, whether FIFA were right to award Donald Trump a special peace prize.... and the major challenges facing sport in our connected digital age.,

Unbelievably Sophie Kinsella has died.  

This archive conversation was recorded at the Langham Hilton in London and I remember that Sophie ( real name Madeleine) turned up with lots and lots of shopping. That was to be expected because the conversation was to mark the publication of the third in the shopaholic series of stories.

She was great fun to talk to. That  isn't PR  spin .... she really was.

Huge sympathy to her husband and five children. 

 

 

Putin seems determined 'to make Russia great again'

His motivations are difficult to understand but listening to historian Simon Sebag Montefiore might go some way to explaining his thinkng.

Simon Sebag Montefiore explains the mythic status of  this eighteenth century Russian statesman, and military leader Grigory Potemkin. 

In this conversation recorded in London in 2000 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 actions.

 

 

 

 

 

The cover of this new book declares that in it Marcus Chown explains the simple way to understand the most important ideas in science.

Marcus is one of the very best science writers on the planet.

Listening to this conversation you might marvel at his patience as he explains the workings of a quantum computer to me.

I learned a lot!