The Author Archive Podcast

Terry Pratchett - The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents.

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 home office in Wiltshire.

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!

Deborah Ellis - The Breadwinner : A book for children about about the life of a girl in Afghanistan living under Taliban rules.

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?

 

Jeanette Winterson - Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.

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!

Barry Cunliffe : Facing The Sea Of Sand - the Sahara and the peoples of Northern Africa

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?

Steve Kershaw - Mythologica and Vintskevich-Kershaw Trio

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.

Rowland Bagnall : Near - Life Experiences : Poetry Collection

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.

Tim Coulson - The Universal History of Us

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!

 

 

Truddi Chase - When Rabbit Howls : A memoir of living with multiple personalities.

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!

David Wilson - A Plot to Kill

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.

 

 

Ashley Mullinger - My Fishing Life

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.