Aaron Dignan is the founder of The Ready--a global organizational transformation and coaching practice--that helps companies large and small adopt new forms of self-organization and dynamic teaming. Clients include Johnson &amp; Johnson, Microsoft, Lloyds Bank, Citibank, Boeing, Mailchimp, Airbnb, Dropbox, and charity: water. 
 
He is also the founder of Murmur--a SaaS startup that helps teams scale culture through the magic of working agreements. The Murmur platform will allow every team on the planet to define and share their ways of working. 
 
Dignan is the author of Brave New Work (2019) and Game Frame (2011), co-host of the Brave New Work podcast, and a friend to misfit toys.

Aaron Dignan

Aaron Edwards is a senior lecturer in defence and international affairs at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, specialising in terrorism and counter-insurgency. He is the author and editor of several books, including Defending the Realm: The Politics of Britain’s Small Wars Since 1945, and has lectured all over the world on aspects of national and international security. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Aaron Edwards

Aaron Robertson is a writer, an editor, and a translator of Italian literature. His translation of Igiaba Scego’s Beyond Babylon was short-listed for the 2020 PEN Translation Prize and the National Translation Award, and in 2021 he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. His work has appeared in the New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, n+1, The Point, and Literary Hub, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Aaron Robertson

Aaron Shapiro

Aaron T Beck

Aaron Vallance

Aaron Young was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and read Politics and Communications at The University of Liverpool. He is a BAFTA-nominated director, producer and executive producer with over 20 years of experience across projects for the BBC, PBS, Channel 4, Channel 5, UKTV, UK Film Council and Arts Council England. A long-time collaborator of acclaimed historian, James Holland, he is the producer and director of the BAFTA-shortlisted BBC titles ‘Battle of Britain: The Real Story’ and, ‘Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the German Dams’, as well as ‘The Battle for Malta’, ‘Normandy ’44: The Battle Beyond D-Day’, the RTS-nominated ‘Imphal &amp; Kohima: Britain’s Greatest Battle.’, and the 3-part series, 'Normandy '44: D-Day and the Battle for France. His most recent credits include 'Hidden Histories of WWII', 'Lost Temples of Cambodia', the RTS-winning ‘Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany’, and ‘Prue Leith: Journey with My Daughter’. Aaron was named in the inaugural list of BAFTA ‘Brits to Watch.’ He is the co-owner of award-winning film and television production company, Bright Button Productions, and lives with his wife and children in Poundbury, Dorset.

Aaron Young

Aatish Taseer

Abbe Prevost

Abbey Bryant is an NYC-based award-winning illustrator. With her BFA in Children's Book Illustration, her notable illustrated books include Nautilus award winner Hazel Mist, Hypnotist as well as an Enchanted Fairy House Kit with Scholastic's Klutz! 
 
As a queer illustrator, LGBTQ+ themes and stories hold a spot near to her heart. Most days she can be found around the city drawing New Yorkers or sketching trees at the park.

Abbey Bryant

Abbey Clancy is a model, television presenter and the host of chart-topping podcast The Therapy Crouch. She was the runner-up of Britain's Next Top Model in 2006, winner of Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and went on to present Britain's Next Top Model. Later this year she will host Celebrity Homes on ITV.

Abbey Clancy

Abbie Greaves studied at Cambridge University before working in a literary agency for a number of years. She was inspired to write her first novel, The Silent Treatment, after reading a newspaper article about a boy in Japan who had never seen his parents speak to one another before. 
 
Abbie lives in Brighton with her boyfriend.

Abbie Greaves

Abbie Ross is a British author and psychotherapist. Her first book, Hippy Dinners, a funny and poignant memoir of her bohemian childhood in 1970s North Wales, has been optioned by Baby Cow, who are developing it into an 8-part television series. 
Before turning to writing, Abbie had a successful career as a producer at Aardman Animations, the acclaimed studios behind Wallace &amp; Gromit and the film Chicken Run. 
Today, she divides her time between her thriving psychotherapy practice in Bristol, and her writing, and finds that the two careers complement each other perfectly.

Abbie Ross

Abbie Spallen

Abbie Taylor lives in Dublin. She works as a doctor and has two daughters.

Abbie Taylor

Abby L Yates co-founded the Ghostbusters with Erin Gilbert. Ghosts from Our Past was her first book, now finally back in print.

Abby L Yates

Abby Lee

Abby Rawlinson is an integrative therapist with a private practice based in east London, UK. Her work mixes traditional psychotherapeutic theories with cutting-edge, evidence-based techniques into a style that feels relatable, down-to-earth, and compassionate. Abby regularly contributes to articles, including but not limited to Stylist, Elle, BBC, Harpers Bazaar, Sheerluxe, Women's Health, and Psychologies. She can be found on Instagram @therapywithabby or online at therapywithabby.co.uk

Abby Rawlinson

Abby Wambach is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, FIFA World Cup champion, six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award and one of Time’s Most Influential People. She is a founder of Treat Media, an award-winning media company that makes art for humans who want to stay human. Abby is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wolfpack and the New York Times bestseller Forward. Named one of the ‘50 Most Powerful People in Podcasting,’ she is co-host of the chart-topping podcast We Can Do Hard Things, which has received over a half billion plays. Abby is an executive producer of the Sundance award-winning film Come See Me in the Good Light, part owner of the NWSL’s Angel City Football Club and sits on multiple boards. Her most recent book, We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life’s 20 Questions, created with Glennon Doyle, Amanda Doyle and Treat Media, is being hailed as ‘the guidebook for being alive.’

Abby Wambach

Abel &amp; Cole’s story starts in 1988 with Keith Abel flogging potatoes door-to-door. ‘Of course potatoes are organic,’ he thought, ‘they’re vegetables’. However, he quickly discovered how unnecessarily complicated our food system had become and, consequently, realised the huge benefits of going organic and never looked back. In fact, Abel &amp; Cole still get veg from the farm where Keith's first organic spuds came from. 
To this day, their priorities remain the same. Now, selling 100% organic produce, Abel &amp; Cole believe that organic farming (a holistic system that encourages biodiversity) is the very best way to go. It protects our countryside and the critters that inhabit it, insists on the very best animal welfare, supports your local community and, frankly, tastes heaps better. Abel &amp; Cole think so anyway.

Abel & Cole Limited

Abhijit Banerjee, winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, is the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). In 2011, he was named one of Foreign Policy magazine’s top 100 global thinkers. Banerjee served on the U.N. Secretary-General’s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Abhijit V. Banerjee

Abhishek Mukherjee, 30, is a Delhi-based journalist. He holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Delhi University, a post-graduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Raipur. He also likes dogs.

Abhishek Mukherjee

Abi Elphinstone grew up in Scotland where she spent most of her childhood running wild across the moors, hiding in tree houses and building dens in the woods. After being coaxed out of her tree house, she studied English at Bristol University and then worked as an English teacher in Africa, Berkshire and London. She is the bestselling and multi-award shortlisted author of RUMBLESTAR (first in The Unmapped Chronicles), SKY SONG &amp; THE DREAMSNATCHER TRILOGY, published by S&amp;S. When she's not writing, Abi volunteers for Beanstalk, speaks in schools and travels the world looking for her next story.

Abi Elphinstone

Abi Falase is a Black British writer and director, reimagining fundamental societal concepts in inventive new worlds. Abi has written and directed a number of plays, including The Village and Rush with the Almedia Theatre, as well as Rift for Immediate Theatre and was shortlisted for the BBC Scriptworks ‘A Thousand Stories’ scriptwriting competition in 2021.

Abi Falase

Abi Titmuss

Abie Longstaff is the eldest of six children and grew up in Australia, Hong Kong and France. She knows all about squabbling, chaos and bossing younger sisters around. So she logically began her career as a barrister. She started writing when her children were born. Her favourite childhood books were Hating Alison Ashley, A Little Princess, Maura's Angel and The Black Stallion and she sneakily reads them again sometimes. Abie lives in Hove with her family.

Abie Longstaff

Abigail Ahern

Abigail Balfe is a queer, auDHD author-illustrator and Emmy award-winning creative based in Brighton. Before writing books full-time, Abigail led digital campaigns for pop stars such as One Direction and Little Mix, and for TV broadcasters including Channel 4 and Netflix. She also performed stand-up comedy and won several small trophies for her onstage humour, which featured life-size illustrations, ridiculous songs, and rambling stories about her family. In 2023, Abigail was named one of the Top 50 Influential Neurodivergent Women in the UK.

Abigail Balfe

Abigail Docherty

Abigail Foster is a Chartered Accountant and founder of Elent Finance, a financial education company designed to demystify the world of finance and empower you to achieve financial wellbeing. 
 
Abigail has worked with leading financial institutions across the UK, including HMRC, the Bank of England and Downing Street, and global companies such as Google and Goldman Sachs. She hosts a weekly money segment on LBC radio and has also appeared as a finance expert on ITV, Channel 5 and Sky News.

Abigail Foster

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Mary Cooper

Meet Anne Lister, the 18th Century landowner, industrialist, explorer, lesbian and feminist icon. This is her story... 
 
Anne was different from society’s expectations of a woman at the time: she not only did not wish to marry, but she also did not want to conform. Anne was only interested in women and had ‘marriage’ ceremonies with Mariana Lawton and later Ann Walker. She spent a great deal of time studying, managed her own estates, sought business opportunities, travelled widely and climbed mountains 
 
In this full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisation written by Mary Cooper and starring Deborah McAndrew as Anne, we meet the serial diarist as she describes her life, her loves and the societal changes happening around her. 
 
Cast: 
 
Anne......Deborah McAndrew 
Isabella......Helen Schlesinger 
Mariana......Kaye Wragg 
Eliza......Rina Mahoney 
 
Produced and directed by Nadia Molinan.

Such Sweet Possession: The Life and Loves of “Gentleman Jack”, Anne Lister

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Victoria Coren Mitchell

Victoria Coren Mitchell meets some fascinating women to explore the journeys they have made in the cars that they have known - and the sorts of things they shout in traffic. 
 
Hear what Dawn wrote on the back of her first car; find out which comedian totalled her beloved Cortina; and discover the advantages of the refrigerated glove compartment. Sarah Millican describes a traffic jam that lead to some desperate measures, Sheila Hancock explains how the trick of getting older is actually to speed up, and Jo Brand recounts how her car became an impromptu counselling couch for comedians (and when you shouldn't risk a roadside wee). 
 
Plus you can find out what no driving test examiner should ever say to a successful candidate. 
 
With guests including Dawn French, Germaine Greer, Sarah Millican, Olivia Coleman, Sheila Hancock, Jo Brand, Esther Rantzen and Claudia Winkleman. 
 
Produced by Gareth Edwards. 
A BBC Studios production.

Women Talking About Cars: Series 1-3

BBC Radio Comedy

What would Jonathan Agnew do if he wasn't a cricket commentator? Who would play Romesh Ranganathan in a film of his life? What's the naughtiest thing Sara Pascoe did as a child? 
 
It's not what you know, but who you know that matters... and indeed, how well you know them. The show is a bit like ‘Mr and Mrs’, except that it's not played by husbands and wives. Instead, panellists can pick anyone they like: dad, cousin, best friend, mother-in-law. 
 
What is Bridget Christie's worst fear? Or Ainsley Harriott's worst habit? Or Seann Walsh's worst gig? 
 
All these burning questions, and more, will be answered in this BBC comedy panel show hosted by Miles Jupp, where panellists are tested on how well they know their nearest and dearest. 
 
Get to know panellists such Rebecca Front, Roisin Conaty, Mark Steel, Tom Wrigglesworth, Ed Byrne, Tony Hawks, Rachel Riley, Richard Madeley, Dave Gorman, Lucy Porter, Richard Osman, Frankie Boyle, Susan Calman, Sara Cox, Katherine Ryan, Alan Johnson and Sarah Millican. 
 
Produced by Sam Michell.

It’s Not What You Know: Series 1-5

The BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show

Various

Forty-five episodes from Series 1-8 of the Sony Award-winning BBC Radio comedy show, hosted by Rufus Hound. 
 
In this hilarious and revealing show, host Rufus Hound invites his guests to revisit their formative years by dusting off their intimate teenage diaries and reading them out in public for the very first time. From terrible poetry, musings on pop music and cringeworthy crushes, to fond recollections of schooldays and exotic holidays, to poignant and searingly honest confessions, these extracts reveal the secret thoughts, feelings and experiences of a host of well-known celebrities – before they became famous. 
 
Among the contributors are Richard Herring, Shappi Khorsandi, Sheila Hancock, Meera Syal, Arabella Weir, Robert Webb, Caitlin Moran, Ken Livingstone, Terry Wogan, Alex Horne, Lionel Shriver, Michael Rosen, Ian Rankin, Debbie McGee and John Finnemore. 
 
As they delve into the past and reflect on their youth, will they be filled with nostalgia, or embarrassment? What would they say to their younger selves? And what song will they choose to sum up their teenage years? Find out all this – and a lot more besides – in these surprising, insightful and hugely entertaining shows. 
 
Produced by Harriet Jaine 
Executive Producer: Aled Evans 
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Episodes: 
 
Series 1 
Richard Herring 
Russell Kane 
Shappi Khorsandi 
Steve Hall 
Josie Long 
Jenny Eclair 
 
Series 2 
Sheila Hancock 
Victoria Coren 
Meera Syal 
Rob Deering 
Phil Nichol 
 
Series 3 
Michael Winner 
Janet Street-Porter 
Jo Caulfield 
Arabella Weir 
 
Series 4 
Robert Webb 
Caitlin Moran 
Jackie Kay 
Toby Young 
Rhona Cameron 
Julia Donaldson 
 
Series 5 
Ken Livingstone 
Vanessa Feltz 
Sarfraz Mansoor 
Rachel Johnson 
Janet Ellis 
Kate Mosse 
 
Series 6 
Terry Wogan 
Chris Difford 
Oona King 
Robert Newman 
Lucy Worsley 
Alex Horne 
 
Series 7 
Robert Peston 
Lionel Shriver 
Michael Rosen 
Samira Ahmed 
Chris Packham 
 
2017 Special 
Ian Rankin 
 
Series 8 
Debbie McGee 
John Finnemore 
Anneka Rice 
Pippa Evans 
Gyles Brandreth 
Helen Lederer

My Teenage Diary

Adolescent musings from Series 1-8 of the hit BBC Radio 4 comedy series

Maya Angelou

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Maya Angelou's poignant, powerful autobiography, starring Adjoa Andoh, Indie Gjesdal and Pippa Bennett-Warner. 
 
Abandoned by their parents, Maya and her older brother Bailey are sent to live with their grandmother and uncle in the small Southern town of Stamps in Arkansas. Struggling with rejection, they endure the prejudice of their white neighbours and suffer several racist incidents. 
 
One day, their father unexpectedly returns and takes the children to live with their mother in St Louis, Missouri. Aged only eight, Maya is abused by her mother's boyfriend, an experience that haunts her for a lifetime. Filled with guilt and shame, she refuses to speak to anyone except Bailey – until she meets Mrs Bertha Flowers, who encourages her love of books, helping her to find her voice and regain her own strong spirit. 
 
Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic, beloved worldwide, which recounts a youth filled with curiosity, wonder, disappointment, frustration, tragedy, and hard-won independence. This radio dramatisation, starring Adjoa Andoh, Indie Gjesdal and Pippa Bennett-Warner, plays out her extraordinary story with dramatic verve and poetic brilliance. 
 
Cast: 
Narrator (Older Maya)...Adjoa Andoh 
Maya...Indie Gjedsal/Pippa Bennett-Warner 
Bailey...Roshawn Hewitt 
Momma...Cecilia Noble 
Uncle Willie/Freeman/Daddy...Richard Pepple 
Steward/Lawyer...John Lightbody 
Girl...Francesca Elise 
Mother...Ellen Thomas 
Bertha Flowers...Nikki Amuka-Bird 
Spanish voices... Maider Jáuregui, Rocío Mesonero, Celia Romo, Julio Villa-García, Hugo Sánchez and Francisco Oda-Ángel @ Instituto Cervantes,Manchester 
Receptionist...Lauren Cornelius 
 
Dramatised by Patricia Cumper 
Produced by Pauline Harris

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Liam Williams

From Liam Williams, a two-time Edinburgh Festival Award Nominated comedian, comes a rich storytelling series about Liam's teenage misadventures in the Yorkshire suburbs. 
 
The first series delves into Liam's memories of his first fight, virginity loss, the best house party ever organised, and his marvellous outwitting of an entire teaching staff. This is the New Labour, post-mining, aspirational heartland, meeting 50 Cent and Generation Y ennui, represented in a bourgeois radio format - by one of Britain's most exciting comedians. 
 
Series two sees Liam anxiously awaiting A-Level results before trying to find his feet in a most alien of new environments, Cambridge University. There, he searches for hedonism, torn between the laddish drinking societies and the artsy intelligentsia of Cambridge University. 
 
Liam Williams is a critically acclaimed comedian, known for his wry poetic presentation style. He was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2013 Edinburgh Fridge Comedy Awards, and for Best Show at the 2014 awards. He has appeared as a guest stand up on Russell Howard’s Good News, and on Channel 4’s Drunk History. His successful mockumentary series on BBC Three in 2017 was called Pls Like, about a man trying to become a YouTube star. 
 
The series was recorded in Leeds and stars teens from Yorkshire as the young Liam and his mates. Ladhood received a commendation for Best Scripted Comedy at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2018. 
 
Produced by Arnab Chanda (Series 1) and Joseph Nunnery (Series 2).

Ladhood: The Complete Series 1 and 2

A BBC Radio 4 comedy

A centenary collection of the best BBC Radio programmes about the legendary Spike Milligan – including brand new documentary Spike Milligan: Inside Out 
 
Named for Spike’s explanation of his sense of humour – ‘I’m Irish – we think sideways’ – this BBC radio anthology, published to celebrate the centenary of his birth, provides unique insight into his genius. 
 
Spike Milligan: Inside Out sees Milligan admirer Michael Palin and Spike’s daughter, Jane, chat through some of Spike’s many audio recordings. Also included in this compilation is a wealth of archive material, much of it from 2012’s The Spike Show: Milligan Remembered, presented by Spike’s agent and friend Norma Farnes. 
 
In Milligan Chota Sahib, Spike recalls the excitement of his early life in India. Denis Norden pays tribute to his friend in Vivat Milligna: A Twenty-One Goon Salute, while In the Psychiatrist’s Chair: Spike Milligan finds Spike telling Professor Anthony Clare about the profound impact of shellshock on his mental health. 
 
Plus, we hear Spike’s favourite Goon Show episode, Fear of Wages, some magical poemand Spike Milligan: The Serious Poet, an award-winning documentary in which Spike’s three daughters discuss how their father’s serious poetry reflected his life and personality.

Thinking Sideways

A BBC Celebration of Spike Milligan

Chris Barker

Bessie Moore

Benedict Cumberbatch and Louise Brealey read a love story in letters, played out against the backdrop of the Second World War. 
 
‘Can you feel, as you read these words, that I am thinking of you now; aglow, alive, alert at the thought that you are in the same world, and by some strange chance loving me.’ 
 
A small blue box opened in 2008 revealed a wartime world of love, longing and frustration. Inside were bundles and bundles of letters written neatly in pen, in pencil, on thin blue airmail paper or headed army notepaper. Envelopes covered in postmarks, redirections, censor’s stamps. A love affair in letters, between two people who barely knew each other, thousands of miles apart, in the middle of a war, with no idea when or whether they will ever see each other again. 
 
On September 5th 1943, Chris Barker, a signalman stationed near Tobruk in North Africa, decided to write to a former work colleague, Bessie Moore, a Morse code interpreter at the Foreign Office back in London. The unexpected warmth of Bessie's reply changed their lives forever. 
 
Chris and Bessie's love letters first appeared in Simon Garfield's book To The Letter. They toured literary festivals as part of Letters Live before being published in a book, My Dear Bessie. 
 
 
Written by Chris Barker and Bessie Moore 
Letters compiled by Simon Garfield 
Adapted by Sara Davies 
Produced and directed by Gemma Jenkins 
 
Cast: 
Chris - Benedict Cumberbatch 
Bessie - Louise Brealey 
Irena - Jane Slavin

My Dear Bessie: A Love Story in Letters

A BBC Radio 4 adaptation

Joanna Bourke

Eyewitness accounts from the BBC Archive are at the heart of this unique history of the latter half of the 20th Century, narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith. 
 
The events of 1950-1999 are described by the people who saw them happen, from the Festival of Britain in 1951 through to dawn of a new millennium at the end of 1999. 
 
Inbetween are the eras of the Angry Young Men, the Teddy Boys and the Punk Rockers; the arrival of rock and roll and the permissive society; the advent of industrial strife in England and sectarian unrest in Northern Ireland; the rise to power of Margaret Thatcher; the miners’ strike, three day week and Winter of Discontent; the Queen’s Silver Jubilee; the IRA’s campaign of bombing and the eventual Good Friday agreement; the marriage of Prince Charles, the death of Princess Diana, the Poll Tax riots, and the British participation in wars in the Middle East and Bosnia. 
 
Events both joyful and sorrowful are illustrated with fascinating and rarely heard archive recordings, with a linking narration by the historia Joanne Bourke. Thought-provoking and moving, these are the voices of the past speaking to the present day.

Eyewitness: 1950-1999

Voices from the BBC Archives

Agatha Christie

A fascinating collection of archive radio programmes focusing on the life and work of crime fiction's grande dame and featuring Agatha Christie in her own words. 
 
Dame Agatha Christie published 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections in her lifetime, but to the public she remained an enigmatic figure. This quartet of BBC radio programmes looks at the woman behind the books, and explores the career of one of Britain's most famous mystery writers. 
 
Agatha Christie in Close-Up (1955) tells the story of the celebrated author, with contributions from Richard Attenborough, Allen Lane, Margaret Lockwood and Peter Saunders; while in The Mysterious Dame Agatha (1975), Cliff Michelmore presents an 85th birthday tribute with Peter Saunders, Nigel Stock and Julian Symons. Women of Mystery: Queen of Crime (1982) sees Jessica Mann investigating women crime writers and Christie in particular; and in Agatha Christie: Speaking Her Own Words (2015), we hear specially selected excerpts from the initial, dictated version of Christie's autobiography. Recorded in 1965, these unedited personal tapes were discovered by her grandson Matthew Prichard, who introduces the programme. 
 
Featuring the voices of fellow writers, friends, family and the Queen of Crime herself, this wide-ranging collection sheds new light on the bestselling novelist of all time. Duration: 2 hours approx.

Agatha Christie Close Up

A radio investigation into the Queen of Crime

Roald Dahl

Two new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of Roald Dahl's gripping autobiographical stories. 
 
These two compelling adaptations, based on Roald Dahl’s real-life tales of his of his boyhood and youthful overseas adventures, celebrate his remarkable life and commemorate his genius. 
 
Boy Dahl’s childhood was one of excitement, wonder, terror and sadness. From his fascination with the local sweetshop to the Great Mouse Plot, the horrors of boarding school, the obnoxious Boazers and his time as a chocolate taster for Cadbury’s, we hear of the extraordinary events that shaped him and inspired his bestselling books. 
 
Going Solo Setting sail for Africa on the SS Montola, aged 22, Dahl is plunged into an unfamiliar world of eccentric colonial characters. In Tanzania he enjoys life on the savannah, encountering lions and deadly mambas – but when World War II breaks out, and he must round up the Germans in Dar es Salaam, he experiences the brutality of war. As he leaves the bush behind and takes to the skies as an RAF pilot, many thrilling adventures and dangerous missions will ensue before he finally makes his way back home... 
 
Starring Patrick Malahide as the voice of Dahl, these colourful dramatisations will carry you away into worlds every bit as amazing, strange and memorable as the ones in his acclaimed fiction. Duration: 3 hours approx

Boy & Going Solo

BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas

Anthony Clare

Twelve editions of the groundbreaking BBC Radio 4 interview series presented by Dr Anthony Clare. 
 
A master of incisive interrogation, Dr Anthony Clare became renowned for In the Psychiatrist's Chair. From 1982 until 2001 he conducted in-depth interviews with prominent people from different walks of life, inviting them to answer penetrating questions about their lives and careers. 
 
These twelve shows include his encounters with writer and performer Spike Milligan, playwright Peter Nichols, author Maya Angelou, political activist Bruce Kent,gynaecologist Wendy Savage, pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, film director Ken Russell, politician Edwina Currie, former Lord Chanceller Lord Hailsham, theatre director Peter Hall, author Barbara Cartland and journalist Jean Rook. 
 
Often moving and always insightful, Clare's questions go to the very heart of his subjects as he encourages them to talk frankly about their deepest fears and innermost feelings – making for fascinating and compelling listening. 
 
Duration: 9 hours approx.

In the Psychiatrist's Chair

The renowned BBC Radio 4 interview series

Mark Jones

A unique collection of historic recordings covering the events of 1916, from the final evacuation of Gallipoli to the aftermath of the Somme. These fascinating and often poignant first-hand accounts describe the humiliating retreat by Allied forces from Gallipoli, starvation during the Siege of Kut-al-Amara in Mesopotamia, the Easter Rising - viewed from both sides of the Irish divide - and the costly battles of Jutland and the Somme. At Jutland, the only full-scale fleet-to-fleet encounter of the war, 6,000 sailors died. Survivors are haunted by memories of their drowning comrades but it is the Somme which arouses the strongest feelings. Soldiers speak bitterly of the carnage and needless sacrifices as men were cut down ‘like sickled grain’. With a final toll of over 600,000 Allied casualties and no decisive breakthrough, the battle marked the point at which hope began to fade. Among the reminiscences, conscientious objectors defend their beliefs, the poets Edmund Blunden and Robert Graves offer their own distinctive observations on life in the trenches and a fusilier on the Western Front recalls meeting his new battalion commander, Lt-Col Winston Churchill. Finally, David Lloyd George, looking back on 1916, remembers a ‘dark and desperate’ time for the country.Duration: 2 hours approx.

First World War: 1916

Voices from the BBC Archive

BBC Audio

Highlights from Richard Burton’s finest BBC radio performances from the 1940s to the 1980s. 
 
Richard Burton was one of the most famous British actors of the twentieth century, renowned for his magical, mellifluous voice. Before Hollywood tempted him away, he worked frequently for the BBC and many of his most electrifying performances were recorded there. 
 
This classic compilation features some of the very best of Burton, including his very first radio role in The Corn is Green; the heroic Roland in The Dark Tower; the apocalyptic poem 'Fire and Ice'; Henry V on the eve of Agincourt; the spine-tingling Under Milk Wood and the poignant In Parenthesis. Also included is the complete recording of Emlyn Williams’ suspenseful thriller Night Must Fall. 
 
In addition, there are extracts from interviews in which Burton talks about Dylan Thomas, his love of rugby, his deepest ambition and his own feelings about his incomparable voice. 
 
Whether performing Shakespeare, reading Robert Frost or simply talking about his life and career, Burton is never less than compelling, and this unique anthology is a superb tribute to one of the great icons of stage and screen. 
Duration: 2 hrs 50 mins approx.

Burton at the BBC

Classic Excerpts from the BBC Archive

Alistair Cooke

All six volumes of 'The Essential Letters from America', brought together for the first time in this definitive chronological collection of Alistair Cooke's finest broadcasts 
 
Alistair Cooke was the doyen of foreign correspondents and a radio legend, entertaining millions of listeners for over fifty years in his weekly 'Letter from America'. It was the longest-running show in radio history, and every show was a virtuoso performance. 
 
In this selection of his best and most memorable Letters, Cooke reports on landmark political events from Presidential elections to Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral and the assassination of JFK. He reflects on the war in Vietnam, the Watergate scandal, the Monica Lewinsky affair, the Watts and Rodney King race riots in LA in 1965 and 1992, the Gulf War and the terrible events of 9/11. 
 
Here are Cooke's observations on the Challenger space shuttle explosion, Black Monday, the catastrophic San Francisco earthquake of 1989 and - in his final Letter - President Bush's difficulties with the situation in Iraq. But there are also Letters in a more personal vein, as Cooke reflects on topics close to his heart such as sport (the Ali v. Liston fight, baseball star Joe DiMaggio and golfer Bobby Jones) and music (pianist William Kapell, jazz singer Louis Armstrong and composer Irving Berlin). 
 
The Letters are set in their historical context with a specially commissioned script narrated by award-winning broadcast journalist Matt Frei. This collection also includes a bonus programme, 'Remembering Alistair Cooke'.

Letter from America: The Essential Letters 1936 - 2004

With additional narration by BBC American correspondent Matt Frei

Ian Kelly

Benedict Cumberbatch reads Ian Kelly’s biography of one of the most beguiling and controversial individuals of any age. 
 
In this fascinating biography of the notorious libertine, Ian Kelly draws on documents by Casanova, his friends and his lovers (male and female) in order to bring fresh insights to the man’s life and world. The sights and smells of Eighteenth Century Europe are brought keenly to life, as are the colourful incidents of Casanova’s life. As the young cleric he embarked upon a scandalous affair with a married woman, fleeing eventually to Constantinople. He created a stir at the French court of King Louis XV, began intrigues in London that led him to a soaking in the Thames, and sought to meet Catherine the Great at a ball in St Petersburg. His own memoirs ensured his lasting fame, and changed the way we think and write about ourselves and about sex. 
 
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock; The Imitation Game; Star Trek Into Darkness) is the reader of this abridged edition, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Benedict Cumberbatch reads Ian Kelly's Casanova

A BBC Radio 4 reading

Samuel Pepys

Hattie Naylor

Kris Marshall and Katherine Jakeways star as Mr &amp; Mrs Pepys in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of the world famous diaries. 
 
Samuel Pepys was 26 when he decided to start keeping a diary, in January 1660. For the next ten years he faithfully recorded the day's events and confessed his innermost thoughts. That diary has since become one of our most important, and fascinating, historical documents. 
 
Pepys gave us eyewitness accounts of some of the great events of the 17th century, including the Great Fire of London and the Second Dutch War. He also told us what people ate and wore, what they did for fun, the tricks they played on each other, what they expected of marriage, and even how they conducted love affairs. He described London - the frozen river Thames, the rising crime rate and the poverty - and recorded the details of his own life: his wife, rivals, lovers and friends, his work for the Navy, his drinking and social life. 
 
Over 350 years may have passed since Pepys first put pen to paper, but the man and his preoccupations feel surprisingly familiar. In this major BBC Radio dramatisation of the journals, the sights and sounds of his world are vividly conjured. This collection comprises all ten radio series plus a special Saturday Drama centring on the Great Fire of London. 
 
 
Featuring Kris Marshall and Katherine Jakeways, as well as; ewan Baily, Rebecca Newman, Matthew Gravelle, Manon Edwards, Blake Ritson, Dick Bradnam, Lee Mingo, Andrew Wincott, John Biddle, Stephen Marzella and Bendan Charleson.

The Diary of Samuel Pepys

The BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

A unique collection of historic recordings covering events from the last days of peace to the Christmas truce, 1914. 
 
At midnight on 4 August, Britain had declared war on Germany. The pacifist Bertrand Russell was shocked by the pro-war euphoria on the streets, yet young men enlisted willingly because “it would all be over by Christmas”. It was not. Instead the opposing armies had become entrenched. It was the beginning of a long and bitter stalemate. 
 
In this new audio compilation, troops of the British Expeditionary Force vividly recall the exhausting retreat from Mons, the success at the Marne, and the first battle of Ypres, where the Territorials arrived in bright red London buses. For reconnaissance pilots, the battlefield was defined by blazing villages, and fields alive with German troops. 
 
Among the items which powerfully capture the mood of the time are an eyewitness account of the Kaiser’s reaction to the news from Sarajevo on 28 June; Margot Asquith, wife of the Prime Minister, remembering their despair at the inevitability of war; and the poignant reminiscences of civilians and soldiers.

First World War: 1914: Voices From the BBC Archive

Mark Bostridge

Alan Bishop

A selection of the powerful and poignant wartime letters of Vera Brittain and her friends.‘If war spares me,’ wrote Vera Brittain to her brother Edward in 1916, ‘it will be my one aim to immortalise in a book the story of us four.’ Seventeen years later, Vera was to achieve her aim with the acclaimed Testament of Youth. 
 
This series of letters was the inspiration behind Testament. Written between Vera, her brother, her fiancé Roland Leighton and their two best friends Victor Richardson and Geoffrey Thurlow, they give a unique perspective on the most horrifying conflict the world has ever seen. 
 
They show the heartbreaking disillusionment of an idealistic public-school generation, raised on ideas of patriotism and duty, as the reality of war emerged. Yet they also give a fascinating insight into the era as a whole: their generation’s literary tastes and the place of women in society. 
 
Read by Amanda Root, Jonathan Firth, Rupert Graves, James Wallace and Robert Portal, and first heard on BBC Radio 4, these deeply moving letters let us hear for ourselves the voices of Vera Brittain’s lost generation.

Letters from a Lost Generation

First World War letters of Vera Brittain and four friends

Henry Cooper

A fascinating chance to hear legendary boxer Henry Cooper talk about his life and career, in a selection of interviews taken from the BBC radio and TV archive. 
 
 The interviews are: Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 16 May 1966, featuring Roy Plomley); Parkinson , BBC One (first broadcast 19 October 1974, featuring Michael Parkinson); Parkinson, BBC One (first broadcast 24 October 1979, featuring Michael Parkinson, Benny Green); Maestro, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 11 June 1984, featuring Frank Keating, Jim Wicks) and Myself When Young, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 3 April 1991, featuring Claire Rayner). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Henry Cooper In His Own Words

Kelly Holmes

Dame Kelly Holmes won two gold medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in the 800 and 1500 metres. In this collection we hear - in her own words - about her determination and goals, as well as her difficult childhood. 
 
She talks about starting athletics when she was 13, driving lorries in the army and becoming an army fitness instructor. She discusses her intensive training - and injury - finally achieving her Olympic dream in Athens, and her homecoming parade back in the UK. She's also open about illness, losing confidence and self-harming, as well as new goals after athletics, such as focusing on fitness in schools, mentoring and writing a self-help book. 
 
 Interviews include: Sport on Four, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 16 September 1995); Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 6 January 2006); Graham Norton, BBC Radio 2 (first broadcast 15 January 2011). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Kelly Holmes In Her Own Words

Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim was a multi award-winning American composer, whose works garnered over 60 Tony Awards, as well as an Oscar for Best Song and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Here he discusses his life and achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive: PM, BBC Radio, 21 July 1973 (featuring Pete Myers); The Lively Arts, BBC Television, 2 January 1977 (featuring André Previn); The Levin Interviews, BBC Television, 24 May 1980 (featuring Bernard Levin); Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio, 16 August 1980 (featuring Roy Plomley); Face To Face, BBC Television, 9 January 1995 (featuring Jeremy Isaacs) and Front Row, BBC Radio, 19 October 2010 (featuring Mark Lawson). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Stephen Sondheim In His Own Words

Thomas De Quincey (Dramatised by Lavina Murray)

A full-cast dramatisation of Thomas De Quincey's 1821 autobiographical account of his consumption of the liquid opiate laudanum, a legal painkiller of the time, and his painful and surreal descent into addiction. Starring Oliver Cotton as the older Thomas and James Nickerson as the younger Thomas. Written by Lavinia Murray. Directed by Gary Brown.

Confessions Of An English Opium-Eater

Boswell James

Dramatisation by Robin Brooks of James Boswell's biography of Samuel Johnson, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Johnson's birth. Episode 1:  Young Boswell comes to London to seek out his hero. He wants to write a biography of the great man 'in scenes', with Johnson's conversation cast as dialogue. Nothing quite like this has ever been attempted before.Episode 2:  Boswell visits Johnson only intermittently, but relies on him more and more. Johnson meets Hester Thrale, who becomes his devoted friend and confidante, and the most important person in his life. Starring Kenneth Cranham and full cast. Directed by Claire Grove.

The A-Z Of Dr Johnson

Boswell's Life Of Johnson

Stephen King

Stephen King is one of the world's most successful authors, with a long list of hit novels to his name including Carrie, Misery, The Shining and Doctor Sleep. Here he discusses his life, his writing career and his many achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archives: Bookshelf, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 11 November 1984, featuring Hunter Davies); John Dunn, BBC Radio 2 (first broadcast 24 August 1998, featuring John Dunn); Front Row, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 28 December 1998, featuring Mark Lawson) and Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 19 November 2006, featuring Kirsty Young). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Stephen King In His Own Words

Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett was a much-loved writer who gained international fame for his Discworld fantasy series. In this recording we hear - in his own words - about science-fantasy and comedy writing. He discusses his fans and followers, how he enjoys writing and the importance of the Discworld characters. We hear his thoughts on fame and isolation, his attitude to money, and about his reaction to diagnosis with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He also discusses his inspirations and the business of being a writer, and talks openly about making his documentary on assisted death for television. 
 
The interviews included are: Bookshelf, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 24 January 1991, featuring Nigel Ford); Profile, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 4 March 1992, featuring Michael Rosen); Kaleidoscope, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 24 November 1995, featuring Brian Sibley); Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 9 February 1997, featuring Sue Lawley); The Big Question, BBC television (first broadcast 1 February 1998, featuring Mark Lawson); Open Book, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 29 April 2001, featuring Charlie Lee-Potter); Open Book, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 28 September 2003, featuring Mariella Frostrup); On the Ropes, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 20 May 2008, featuring John Humphrys); Front Row, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 1 September 2008, featuring Mark Lawson); Front Row, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 18 October 2011, featuring Mark Lawson). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Terry Pratchett In His Own Words

Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson is a world-famous entrepreneur and businessman. Here he discusses his life and achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive: Pebble Mill, broadcast on BBC One, 15 October 1984 (featuring Bob Langley); Desert Island Discs, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 4 June 1989 (featuring Sue Lawley); Sport on Four, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 12 May 1990 (featuring Byron Butler); Breakfast With Frost, broadcast on BBC One, 21 January 2001 (featuring David Frost); Midweek, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26 June 2002 (featuring Libby Purves); Steve Wright in the Afternoon, broadcast on BBC Radio 2, 4 July 2002 (featuring Steve Wright); The Johnnie Walker Show, broadcast on BBC Radio 2, 2 July 2006 (featuring Johnnie Walker). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Richard Branson In His Own Words

Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin is an internationally renowned artist. Here she discusses her life and achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archives: Breakfast With Frost, BBC One (first broadcast 7 November 1999); Front Row, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 6 Sept 2000, featuring Francine Stock); Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 9 Oct 2000, featuring Maud Hand); On the Ropes, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 24 July 2001, featuring John Humphrys); Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4, (first broadcast 28 Nov 2002, featuring Jenni Murray); Breakfast With Frost, BBC One (first broadcast 30 May 2004); Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 28 Nov 2004, featuring Sue Lawley); Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 15 March 2006, featuring Jenni Murray) and Mark Lawson Talks to Tracey Emin, BBC Four (first broadcast 14 March 2010). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Tracey Emin In Her Own Words

Shirley Williams

With recollections from childhood to the present, written and recorded for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Shirley Williams describes her life as one of Britain's foremost political women this century. She describes her early life with her pioneering pacifist mother, Vera Brittain; her father, George Caitlin and her mother's friend, the writer Winifred Holtby. From experiences as an evacuee in the United States and as an undergraduate in a fervent post-war Oxford full of exciting and ambitious contemporaries, she talks about the idealism that led her to decide, as a young woman of twenty, to devote her life to politics. From fighting elections to climbing the ministerial ladder as a woman, she recalls the Sixties when she rose to become one of the most prominent members of Harold Wilson's government, the Seventies when she served in the Cabinet and the turbulent Eighties when she was one of the Gang of Four, the founders of the SDP.

John Lennon

John Lennon was a world famous and influential singer/songwriter and former member of the Beatles. 
 
Here he discusses his life and achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive: Tonight, broadcast on BBC TV, 18 June 1965 (featuring Kenneth Allsop); The World of Books, broadcast on BBC Radio, 3 July 1965 (featuring Wilfred De'Ath); The Beatles in New York, broadcast on BBC Radio, 30 August 1965 (featuring Brian Mathew); Release, broadcast on BBC TV, 22 June 1968 (featuring Peter Lewis, Victor Spinetti); BBC Radio archive interview, dated 30 March 1969 (featuring Bob Parrin); BBC Radio archive interview, dated 1 January 1970 (featuring David Wigg, Yoko Ono); The Lennon Tapes, broadcast on BBC Radio, 18 &amp; 21 January 1981 (featuring Andy Peebles, Yoko Ono). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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