About John Gibbons: John Gibbons is an environmental journalist and commentator who has been speaking about climate change in Ireland for over a decade. The Lie of the Land is his first book.

John Gibbons

Dave Gibbons

About Stella Gibbons: Stella Gibbons was born in London in 1902. She went to the North London Collegiate School and studied journalism at University College, London. She then worked for ten years on various papers, including the Evening Standard. Stella Gibbons is the author of twenty-five novels, three volumes of short stories, and four volumes of poetry. Her first novel Cold Comfort Farm (1932) was an immediate success and won the Femina Vie Heureuse Prize for 1933. Among her works are Nightingale Wood (1938), The Bachelor (1944), Westwood (1946), and Starlight (1967). She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1950. Stella Gibbons died in 1989.

Stella Gibbons

Edward Gibbon

Lewis Grassic Gibbon

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Rich Cohen

Whether you know him as El Amigo, the Banana Man, the Gringo, or simply Z - whether you even know him at all - Sam Zemurray lived one of the greatest untold American stories of the last hundred years. 
 
A tough, uneducated Russian Jew who found himself and his fortune in turn-of-the-century New Orleans, Zemurray built a fruit-selling empire hustling rotting fruit to market to eke out the slimmest profit, to eventually become a backchannel kingmaker and capitalist revolutionary. The Fish That Ate the Whale spans the transition from Old-World business to New-: from privateer adventurers seeking fortunes in remote frontiers, to buccaneers of high finance and wars fought with media, no-bid contracts, and necessary illusions. 
 
Part of what makes this book so remarkable - and its dubious hero so compelling - is the almost invisible ease with which Cohen's threads intertwine to create a larger pattern that seems so obvious once you step back to see it. Z's story spans the birth of modern foreign relations, the creation of the CIA, smuggling dispossessed Jews out of Europe, the invention of Israel, corporate espionage, the Bay of Pigs, political assassination, and the unspoken motives of the Cold War. It is a twentieth-century epic, and standing at its core is a man unlike any we've seen before or since, who, for good or ill, looked at what was, but saw only what was possible.

The Fish that Ate the Whale

The Life and Times of America's Banana King

Nicola Slade

Gone are the days when recording an album required a large, expensive recording studio and piles of ultra hi-tech equipment. Lily Allen's myspace video netted her no.1 in the UK singles chart and an NME nomination, folk singer Seth Lakeman made an album in his kitchen for £300 and has been nominated for a Mercury Prize. And of course, there's the Arctic Monkeys - winners of a Mercury Prize, a Brit Award and two NME awards, who marketed their album through demo tapes and file sharing. 
 
Nicola Slade shows how anyone can record and mix killer music from the comfort of their bedroom. The author explains what hardware, software and mixing equipment is required, and includes a history of the digitisation of music, advice on marketing and promoting your music and contributions from DIY music artists who have made it big.

How to Make Music in Your Bedroom

Fergus Byrne

Canny, infuriating, cynical and generous by turns, Felix Dennis was a true one-off. When he died in 2014 he was a multi-millionaire. Yet he spent his last months writing poetry and planting the millionth tree in his own forest in Warwickshire. Journalist Fergus Byrne got to know him well in this time and was granted exclusive access to Dennis's archives and papers. He found everything had been kept and, along with hours of interviews with girlfriends, family, staff and friends the world over, he has now written the only authorised biography of a man who described himself as lucky to have led several lives. 
 
His early rebellious days started with dropping out of grammar school, playing in a rock 'n' roll band, and being imprisoned (with Richard Neville and Jim Anderson) for charges of obscenity relating to a priapic Rupert Bear in the 'schoolkids' issue of the magazine Oz. The launch of Kung-Fu magazine, created when Dennis spotted a queue at a Leicester Square cinema for a Bruce Lee film, changed his fortunes. An industrious and self-destructive era then followed. He moved to America, added the magazines MacUser and Maxim to his portfolio, but also discovered crack, hookers and S &amp; M. When his lifestyle led him to hospital, he gave up the drugs overnight and took to writing poetry. He acquired a mansion in Warwickshire, bought a much loved home in Mustique from rock star David Bowie, gave generously to charities, planted the largest broadleaf forest in Britain, and published several volumes of verse promoted by very well received readings nationwide. 
 
This is a hugely readable account of one of the most extraordinary characters of our time.

More Lives Than One: The Extraordinary Life of Felix Dennis

Huw Davies

Fiction will never be able to compete with the bizarre nuggets of truth continually thrown up in the daily news. This bumper collection of the year's weirder gems, taken from news sources around the world, and organised into thematic chapters (Sex, Animals, Politics, Sport etc.),includes such tales as the chimpanzee who made crank phone calls, the chess game prematurely ended by a flying cow, and the airline pilot who had to borrow money from his passengers to refuel the plane. So forget the endless column inches on economic downturn, this is the real news and it tells you more about life on earth than you'd ever wish to know.

Another Weird Year

Bizarre news stories from around the world

BBC Radio Comedy

Three series of the award-winning satirical panel game, chaired by Sandi ToksvigHosted by the peerless Sandi Toksvig, these 25 episodes take us through the highlights and lowlights of 2008, a year dominated by the global financial crisis and the US presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain.Scrutinising stories both world-shaking and whimsical are an esteemed panel of comedians, journalists and commentators, among them Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Phill Jupitus, Francis Wheen, Kevin Day, Carrie Quinlan, Mark Steel, Hugo Rifkind, Justin Edwards, Sue Perkins and Robin Ince. Trying not to laugh as they read out listeners’ comic cuttings are newsreaders Harriet Cass, Chris Aldridge, Carolyn Brown, Peter Donaldson, Charlotte Green, Rory Morrison, Corrie Corfield and Neil Sleat.Subjects picked apart by the panel include Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarah Palin, Boris Johnson’s election as Mayor of London, the Large Hadron Collider, the dangers of obesity, stroppy teenagers and fuel duty protests – as well as the sex life of chimpanzees, naked flights for nudists, the formula for the perfect Yorkshire pudding and the surprising revelation that fish can count to four...Production creditsChaired by Sandi ToksvigChair’s script written by Stephen Carlin, Lucy Clarke, Rhodri Crooks, Jane Lamacraft, Simon Littlefield, Matthew Morton, Paul Kerensa, Suk Pannu, James Sherwood, Danielle WardWith additional material by Stephen Carlin, Aaron Counter, Miriam Elia, Alistair Griggs, Gareth Gwynn, Jane Lamacraft, John-Luke Roberts, James Sherwood, Alan Stafford, Rory Stamp, Liz StephensProduced by Ed Morrish and Victoria LloydA BBC Studios ProductionSeries 64 featuring: Kevin Day, Jack Dee, Justin Edwards, Simon Evans, Jeff Green, Andy Hamilton, Phil Hammond, Jeremy Hardy, Phill Jupitus, Fred MacAulay, Sue Perkins, Carrie Quinlan, Mark Steel, Francis WheenSeries 65 featuring: Kevin Day, Simon Evans, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Phill Jupitus, Fred MacAulay, Sue Perkins, Hugo Rifkind, Carrie Quinlan, Mark Steel, Francis WheenSeries 66 featuring: Jo Caulfield, Kevin Day, Justin Edwards, Simon Evans, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Robin Ince, Phill Jupitus, Fred MacAulay, Sue Perkins, Hugo Rifkind, Carrie Quinlan, Mark Steel, Francis WheenNews items read by Harriet Cass, Chris Aldridge, Carolyn Brown, Peter Donaldson, Charlotte Green, Rory Morrison, Corrie Corfield and Neil SleatFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 11 January-29 February 2008 (Series 64), 2 May-11 June 2008 (Series 65), 26 September-21 November 2008 (Series 66)© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The News Quiz 2008

Series 64, 65 and 66 of the topical BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show

Each of the 90 postcards in this box represents a unique collaboration between art director, designer, editor and author, with input from colleagues in sales and in marketing. In every case the aim was to produce a design which connects with a reader, which stands out on the shelves and – more recently – online and is true both to the spirit of the book and the author’s intentions. That so many of these covers were designed in the last century and still speak so strongly is a tribute to the vitality of this collaboration. 
 
The box represents the work of a sequence of talented and inspirational art directors and their teams, from Jan Tschichold in 1947 to Richard Bravery today, including Germano Facetti, Alan Aldridge, David Pelham and John Hamilton. Each of them combined their individual talents with the design trends and aesthetics of their eras, drawing increasingly on the energy and creativity of the wider culture and counter-culture, and altering the balance of brand and book. 
 
All these 90 covers are drawn from the archives of the Penguin General division – a tight-knit group of imprints comprising Viking, Hamish Hamilton, Fig Tree, Sandycove and Penguin Life, each of whom publish in paperback under the Penguin banner. We have chosen these 90 book designs collaboratively and we hope you will find a postcard within for every mood and every occasion.

Penguin 90th Anniversary Postcards

Adam Lashinsky

Uber is one of the most fascinating and controversial businesses in the world, both beloved for its elegant ride-hailing concept and heady growth, and condemned for CEO Travis Kalanick's ruthless pursuit of success at all cost. 
 
In Wild Ride, Adam Lashinsky, veteran Fortune writer and author of Inside Apple, traces the story of Uber's meteoric rise: from its murky origins to its plans for expansion into radically different industries. The company has already poached entire departments from top research universities in a push to build the first self-driving car and possibly replace the very drivers it's worked so hard to recruit. 
 
With access to current and former employees, as well as CEO Travis Kalanick, this book will be the first to unlock Uber's vault. It's a story that start-up founders, business executives, tech-savvy readers, and drivers and riders will find riveting.

Wild Ride

Inside Uber's Quest for World Domination

Clare Pollard

What is The Tiger Who Came to Tea really about? 
 How is Meg and Mog related to Polish embroidery? 
 And why does death in picture books involve being eaten? 
 
Fierce Bad Rabbits explores the stories behind our favourite picture books, weaving in tales of Clare Pollard's childhood reading and her re-discovery of the classic tales as a parent. Because the best picture books are far more complex than they seem - and darker too. Monsters can gobble up children and go unnoticed, power is not always used wisely, and the wild things are closer than you think.

Fierce Bad Rabbits

The Tales Behind Children's Picture Books

Tony Fletcher

To this day, they were, their fans believe, the best band in the world. Critics and sales figures told a similar story. Yet for all their brilliance and adoration – their famously energetic live shows routinely interrupted by stage invasions – The Smiths were continually plagued by their reticence to play the game, and by the time of 1987’s Strangeways Here We Come, they had split. 
 
Tony Fletcher’s A Light That Never Goes Out – part celebration, part paean – moves from Manchester in the nineteenth-century to the present day to tell the complete story of The Smiths. The product of extensive research and unprecedented access, it will serve to confirm The Smiths as one of the most important and influential rock groups of all time.

A Light That Never Goes Out

The Enduring Saga of the Smiths

In time-honoured fashion, Another Weird Year 4 brings you the stories that no lover of bizarre, inexplicable and downright hilarious news items can afford to miss, all handily grouped by theme (Love and Marriage, Law and Order, Animals etc). Read about: the blind man banned from saying 'phlegm'; the woman who bored a burglar to sleep with her family snaps; the woman who seduces men in her sleep; the man who thought he was a cat and got stuck up a tree; another man who got out of his car and took a shower... in a car wash... with his car left outside; the shepherd that had to drive his drunk sheep home; and not forgetting the pigs given a sauna and massage before being taken for slaughter - proof again from Another Weird Year that there is humanity in even the weirdest human behaviour. All the stories are true - you couldn't make them up!

Another Weird Year 4

Paul Greenberg

We eat more fish than ever before. But what's the story behind the fish on your plate? Where did it come from? Which fish can we buy without worrying? What's the difference between wild, farmed and organic? What does overfishing mean - and should humans just stop eating fish altogether? 
 
Paul Greenberg takes us on an eye-opening culinary journey from trawler to table, travelling to fair trade Eskimo fisheries, Norwegian mega salmon farms and rough South Pacific seas in search of wild tuna. Along the way he gives us the facts about fish, showing how the choices we make when we're faced with a seafood menu or supermarket shelf affect the whole world.

The Fish on Your Plate

Why We Eat What We Eat from the Sea

Fred Sirieix

WITH A FOREWORD BY MICHEL ROUX JRA great restaurant is as much about the service as the food. It&rsquo;s about the smile when you arrive, the way you&rsquo;re seated at your table, the glass of your favourite wine appearing as if by magic. Nothing is too much trouble. The art of perfect service may seem&amp; effortless but what&rsquo;s really going on behind the scenes...?From belligerent Michelin-starred chefs to Bollinger-swigging managers, Britain&rsquo;s best-known, best-loved maitre d&rsquo; is here to lift the lid on life behind the scenes of the world&rsquo;s best restaurants. With over 25 years&rsquo; experience of charming guests, Fred Siriex has seen and heard it all, and as always, he&rsquo;s here to help.In Secret Service Fred shares his hilarious and hair-raising tales of life front-of-house, divulging his philosophy about how to ensure a first-class restaurant experience, and showing who&rsquo;s ultimately in control in the dining room. Pull up a chair, settle in and prepare for the juiciest meal of your life as Fred reveals the highs, the lows and the keys to life on the other side of the table, all in his own inimitable style.

Secret Service

Lifting the Lid on the Restaurant World

Three series of the satirical radio panel show chaired by Sandi Toksvig 
 
Ever since 1977, The News Quiz has been finding the hilarity in the headlines and providing witty commentary on stories big and small. In these 25 episodes from 2009, the inimitable Sandi Toksvig is in the hot seat, presiding over an all-star panel of journalists and comedians. 
 
Bringing their A-game to the show are regulars including Jeremy Hardy, Andy Hamilton, Mark Steel, Francis Wheen, Sue Perkins and Carrie Quinlan, as well as relative newcomers such as Chris Addison, Phill Jupitus, Rory Bremner, Robin Ince and David Mitchell. 
 
Each episode brings a fresh crop of news for the team to get their teeth into, and among the topics under discussion are Barack Obama's first 100 days, MP's expenses, Twitter's shakedown of super-injunctions, North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the Iraq inquiry and the perils of drunken trampolining. Rounding off the proceedings are newsreaders Harriet Cass, Peter Donaldson, Charlotte Green, Corrie Corfield, Neil Sleat, Carolyn Brown and Rory Morrison, with a selection of classic comic cuttings sent in by listeners. 
 
Production credits 
Chaired by Sandi Toksvig 
Chair's script written by Stephen Carlin, Lucy Clarke, Rhodri Crooks, Jon Hunter, Simon Littlefield, Suk Pannu, James Sherwood and Danielle Ward 
 
With additional material by Nathon Caton, Matt Charlton, Steve Day, Gary Delaney, Miriam Elia, Gareth Gwynn, Elliot Howe, James Kettle, Benjamin Partridge, Dale Phillips, Dominic Philpott, Rory Stamp, John-Luke Roberts and Holly Walsh 
 
Produced by Victoria Llloyd, Katie Tyrrell and Ed Morrish 
A BBC Studios Production 
 
Series 67 featuring: Chris Addison, Clive Anderson, Dave Gorman, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Laurence Howarth, Shappi Khorsandi, Phill Jupitus, Fred MacAulay, David Mitchell, Sue Perkins, Carrie Quinlan, Mark Steel, Danielle Ward, Francis Wheen 
 
Series 68 featuring: Rory Bremner, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Robin Ince, Phill Jupitus, Josie Long, Fred MacAulay, Sue Perkins, Steve Punt, Carrie Quinlan, Hugo Rifkind, Mark Steel, Danielle Ward, Francis Wheen, Andy Zaltzman 
 
Series 69 featuring: Rory Bremner, Simon Evans, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Robin Ince, Miles Jupp, Fred MacAulay, David Mitchell, Andy Parsons, Sue Perkins, Carrie Quinlan, Hugo Rifkind, Paul Sinha, Mark Steel, Holly Walsh, Danielle Ward, Francis Wheen 
 
News items read by Harriet Cass, Peter Donaldson, Charlotte Green, Corrie Corfield, Neil Sleat, Carolyn Brown and Rory Morrison 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 9 January-27 February 2009 (Series 67), 1 May-19 June 2009 (Series 68), 25 September-20 November 2009 (Series 69) 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The News Quiz 2009

Series 67, 68 and 69 of the topical BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show

Susan Orlean

Susan Orlean's collection of profiles ranges from the well-known (Marky Mark) to the unknown (Colin Duffy, a typical American man, aged ten) to the formerly known (the cult sixties girl group the Shaggs). Orlean meets with Cristina Sanchez, Spain's first fully-qualified female matador, Silly Billy, New York's most successful children's clown, an African king who is a New York taxi-driver, and a champion show dog called Biff, who from a certain angle looks like President Clinton. As in her remarkable bestseller The Orchid Thief, soon to be the basis of Spike Being John Malkovich Jonze's new film, starring Meryl Streep and Nicholas Cage, Orlean's eye for the fascinatingly bizarre and her wonderfully witty way with language make her take on the world utterly original and unique.

The Bullfighter Checks Her Make-Up

James Hogg

Robert Sellers

Spontaneous, hilarious, irrepressible and, of course, trailblazing - Kenny Everett was revolutionary in television and radio comedy. Chris Evans, Chris Moyles, Rob Brydon and Steve Wright have all cited Kenny as a huge influence on their work - even the great Spike Milligan called him a genius. It was Kenny who developed the radio show format with which we are so familiar today: a mix of music, jingles, funny voices and sound effects. When he seamlessly made the move to television in the seventies, he created unforgettable characters such as Sid Snot, Cupid Stunt and Marcel Wave. 
 
Rarely seen without a smile on his face in public, in reality, Kenny was a deeply insecure man who suffered severe bouts of depression. He also struggled with his sexuality, only coming out to the public in 1985. Diagnosed with HIV in 1987, Kenny died in 1995. 
 
This in-depth and affectionate biography has been fully authorised by Kenny's family and contains original interviews with Kenny's sister, Kate and with his former wife, Lee, as well as entertainment figures such as Barry Cryer, Cliff Richard, Chris Tarrant and Paul Gambaccini. Packed with fabulous stories about the highs and lows of Kenny's life, his great friendships with The Beatles and Freddie Mercury, this is a book that any fan of comedy and entertainment must read.

Hello, Darlings!

The Authorized Biography of Kenny Everett

Bruce Dover

When China's reformers eased open the communist giant's doors to the world, they found Rupert Murdoch standing outside in his best suit with a bunch of flowers. Used to being courted by those in power, Murdoch made a clumsy suitor. If the billionaire media mogul thought he could swagger into China and add the world's biggest audience to his News Corp empire, he quickly discovered that things worked differently in the Middle Kingdom. The communist leadership kept the 'ultimate capitalist' at arm's length. 
 
Nonetheless, amid many blunders and much wasted money, News Corp managed to connect China to the world through the Internet and to transform its staid television service into a popular-entertainment medium. But was Beijing simply using Murdoch to help the country modernise and to rehabilitate its image in the wake of Tiananmen Square? 
 
Bruce Dover, Murdoch's man on the ground in China for much of the 1990s, delivers a rollicking insider's account of doing deals at the highest level of business and politics. In this intimate portrait of the impulsive billionaire in his prime, Dover describes fatefully introducing his boss to Wendi Deng, the woman who would become his second wife - News Corp's future has a Chinese face after all.

Rupert's Adventures in China

How Murdoch Lost a Fortune and Found a Wife

Alys Fowler

Lovingly cultivated by horticultural expert and Guardian columnist Alys Fowler, this charming miscellany celebrates everything there is to know about herbs and their significance in our gardens, kitchens, medicine cupboards and daily lives. 
 
With her unparalleled horticultural experience, Alys explores the abundance of uses of these incredible plants and writes beautifully about how herbs have become entwined in our lives past and present. Designed to inform, entertain and delight, this book offers a fusion of botanical, practical, cultural and historical information, accompanied by beautiful line illustrations, and will be a welcome and well-thumbed addition to many a potting shed, kitchen shelf and bedside table.

A Modern Herbal

Tom Watkins

LONGLISTED FOR THE PENDERYN MUSIC PRIZE 2017 
 
The coke-fuelled mania behind pop’s greatest successes 
 
 
Tom Watkins is the famously entertaining pop Svengali with killer commercial instincts and prodigious talent for design. He propelled the Pet Shop Boys, Bros and East 17, among others, to global stardom, all whilst maintaining a savage hedonistic lifestyle and a stellar art collection. His fingerprints are all over British pop, and he’s decided the time has come for a tell-all autobiography about the business behind the stars that shaped your life in the 80s and 90s. 
 
Follow Tom’s journey from his humble boyhood in post-war South-East London, to his teenage misdeeds and the birth of Rock and Roll; his days as a design student under the tutelage of Terence Conran and Rodney Fitch, to the excesses of the 80s and 90s where he became one of the original boy band innovators – the driving force behind the pop icons plastered on the walls of teenage girls’ bedrooms. 
 
Funny, unstoppable and outspoken, a razor-sharp and greatly respected businessman, marketing visionary, designer and art collector, Tom takes us through his extraordinary and colourful life into the inner-circle of 80s pop-culture. From hobnobbing with Bruce Sprinsteen to bust-ups with Bros, Tom has seen it all. 
 
Expect a gripping, gossipy, meticulously researched memoir of the drug-addled 80s and 90s, layered on top of an insightful and intelligent portrait of a recent but very different age, from the singular perspective of a man who played a huge role in defining the era and paved the way for industry moguls like Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh.

Let's Make Lots of Money

My Life as the Biggest Man in Pop

Secrets of a Rich, Fat, Gay, Lucky Bastard

Four further series of the award-winning satirical panel show 
 
For over 45 years, The News Quiz has been taking a scalpel to the headlines, dissecting them with its inimitable blend of satire, silliness and sharp-witted commentary. These 32 episodes, first broadcast between April 2018 and May 2019, find the team tackling stories big and small from that news-packed year. 
 
Miles Jupp is in the chair for three of the four series, while in Series 97 he shares presenting duties with guest hosts Simon Evans, Susan Calman, Fred MacAulay, Bridget Christie, Jo Brand and Lucy Porter. Jostling for a by-line are panellists including Rory Bremner, Phill Jupitus, Paul Sinha, Neil Delamere, Felicity Ward, Ayesha Hazarika, Phil Wang, Jayde Adams, Katie Perrior, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Geoff Norcott, Kemah Bob and Andy Zaltzman. 
 
Topics under the magnifying glass include the treatment of the Windrush Generation, the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, Greta Thunberg, Vladimir Putin, a Royal Wedding, a Royal baby and Theresa May's resignation. In addition, there's a special 'Best of 2018' show and a tribute to Jeremy Hardy, who died in 2019. 
 
Production credits 
Chaired by Miles Jupp, Simon Evans, Susan Calman, Fred MacAulay, Bridget Christie, Jo Brand and Lucy Porter 
Chair's script written by Ed Amsden, Madeleine Brettingham, Catherine Brinkworth, Liam Byrne, Sarah Campbell, Lucy Clarke, Tom Coles, Max Davis, Nick Doody, Clint Edwards, Dan Evans, Jessica Fostekew, Gabby Hutchinson-Crouch, Jon Hunter, James Kettle, Jenny Laville, Laura Major, Robin Morgan, Sarah Morgan, Benjamin Partridge, Mike Shephard, Ian Smith, Katie Storey and Danielle Ward 
With additional material by Simon Alcock, Gemma Arrowsmith, Dan Beckett, Adele Cliff, Lee Dilley, Charlie Dinkin, Will Duggan, Edward Easton, Alice Etches, Jules Garnett, Sara Gibbs, Alex Hardy, Cameron Loxdale, Tom Mayhew, Jane McCutcheon, Eleanor Morton, Dan Page, Heidi Regan, Vivienne Riddoch, Nathan Roberts, Phoebe Roy, Kat Sadler, Esyllt Sears, Michael Stranney and Edward Tew 
Produced by Joe Nunnery, Sam Michell, Richard Morris and Victoria Lloyd 
A BBC Studios Production 
 
Series 96 featuring: Angela Barnes, Fern Brady, Desiree Burch, Susan Calman, Michael Deacon, Neil Delamere, Simon Evans, Daniel Finkelstein, Kerry Godliman, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Helen Lewis, Zoe Lyons, Vicki Pepperdine, Lucy Porter, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Hugo Rifkind, Suzi Ruffell, Mark Steel, Holly Walsh, Felicity Ward, Francis Wheen, Andy Zaltzman 
 
Series 97 featuring: Jayde Adams, Angela Barnes, Katy Brand, Rory Bremner, Jen Brister, Susan Calman, Daliso Chaponda, Neil Delamere, Simon Evans, Deborah Frances-White, Andy Hamilton, Ayesha Hazarika, London Hughes, Rhys James, Phill Jupitus, Helen Lewis, Lloyd Langford, Andrew Maxwell, Katie Perrior, Lucy Porter, Hugo Rifkind, Mark Steel, Eleanor Tiernan, Sindhu Vee, Phil Wang, Danielle Ward, Felicity Ward, Francis Wheen 
 
Series 98 featuring: Jen Brister, Desiree Burch, Susan Calman, Neil Delamere, Simon Evans, Andy Hamilton, Ayesha Hazarika, Nish Kumar, Helen Lewis, Zoe Lyons, Andrew Maxwell, Katie Perrior, Lucy Porter, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Hugo Rifkind, Tim Shipman, Paul Sinha, Eleanor Tiernan, Phil Wang, Danielle Ward, Francis Wheen 
 
Series 99 featuring: Angela Barnes, Kemah Bob, Frankie Boyle, Jen Brister, Desiree Burch, Alun Cochrane, Neil Delamere, Simon Evans, Kerry Godliman, Andy Hamilton, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Ayesha Hazarika, Helen Lewis, Zoe Lyons, Fred MacAulay, Andrew Maxwell, Geoff Norcott, Rachel Parris, Katie Perrior, Lucy Porter, Hugo Rifkind, John Robins, Mark Steel, Ellie Taylor, Danielle Ward, Andy Zaltzman 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 13 April-1 June 2018 (Series 96), 31 August-19 October 2018 (Series 97), 28 December 2018-15 February 2019 (Series 98), 12 April-31 May 2019 (Series 99) 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The News Quiz: 2018 – 2019

Series 96, 97, 98 and 99 of the topical BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show

Sandi Toksvig is at the helm for two final series of the satirical radio panel game 
 
After nine years, 28 series and over 220 episodes in the hot seat, Sandi Toksvig stepped down from The News Quiz at the end of Series 87. These two superlative series are her last hurrah - and our last chance to enjoy her unique blend of wit, warmth and intelligence, as she leads the panel in a whimsical review of the headlines. 
 
Jeremy Hardy and Susan Calman both take a turn in the chair, but for 12 of these 14 episodes, Sandi is at the helm as they take a wry look at the news in all its larger-than-life glory. Topics on the agenda include the threat of a 'Grexit', the re-internment of Richard III, MPs' salaries the dangers of skinny jeans, head transplants, French food waste and middle-class bees... 
 
Slogging it out to come up with the funniest jokes on these disparate subjects are players including Craig Ainsley, Elis James, Samira Ahmed, Fred MacAulay, Romesh Ranganathan, Susan Calman, BJ Novak, Sara Pascoe, Phill Jupitus and Helen Zaltzman. Reading out the amusing misprints, typos and innuendos sent in by listeners are Corrie Corfield, Kathy Clugston, Susan Rae, Neil Sleat, Zeb Soanes and Diana Speed. 
 
Production credits 
Chaired by Sandi Toksvig 
Series 86, Episode 5 chaired by Jeremy Hardy 
Series 86, Episode 7 chaired by Susan Calman 
 
Chair's script written by Jack Bernhardt, James Bugg, Lucy Clarke, Max Davis, Jon Hunter, Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, James Kettle, Simon Littlefield, Tom Neenan, John-Luke Roberts and Andy Wolton 
 
With additional material by Ed Amsden, Liam Byrne, Sarah Campbell, Tom Coles, Ben Harris, Daniel Hooper, Jenny Laville, Robin Morgan, Keiron Nicholson and Matilda Wnek 
 
Produced by Richard Morris and Lyndsay Fenner 
 
A BBC Studios Production 
 
Series 86 featuring: Craig Ainsley, Samira Ahmed, Susan Calman, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Elis James, Phill Jupitus, Sam Leith, Camilla Long, Fred MacAulay, Andrew Maxwell, Bob Mills, BJ Novak, Sara Pascoe, Romesh Ranganathan, Hugo Rifkind, Mark Steel, Holly Walsh 
 
Series 87 featuring: Samira Ahmed, Susan Calman, Rebecca Front, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Elis James, Miles Jupp, Phill Jupitus, Fred MacAulay, Bob Mills, Justin Moorhouse, Lucy Porter, Hugo Rifkind, Mark Steel, Holly Walsh, Francis Wheen, Helen Zaltzman 
 
News items read by Corrie Corfield, Kathy Clugston, Susan Rae, Neil Sleat, Zeb Soanes and Diana Speed 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 20 February-3 April 2015 (Series 86), 15 May-26 June 2015 (Series 85) 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The News Quiz 2015: Sandi Toksvig's Final Shows

Series 86 and 87 of the topical BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show

Richard Littlejohn

Richard Littlejohn's cast of characters &shy; including Two Jags, the Wicked Witch, Captain Hook and the Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban &shy; are now part of the fabric of the nation. He ridicules the country Britain has become over the past ten years - the barmy bureaucracy, the surveillance state, the petty interference in our lives, the suffocating regulations, policemen and judges who think they're part of the social services and the insanities of the 'elf 'n' safety industry, which has created such idiocies as forcing revellers celebrating Guy Fawkes Night to watch a bonfire on a big screen. 
 
'Littlejohn has been ... a vivid exponent of a great British columnar style that stretches back five centuries or more. He's a distant, bastard cousin of Thomas Nash, Daniel Defoe and Alexander Pope. Cassandra and Bernard Levin might justly buy him a pint in the Cheshire Cheese. Like or loathe him, he's the real, talented deal.' Observer

Littlejohn's Britain

Charles Clover

We have reached a pivotal moment for fishing, with seventy-five percent of the world's fish stocks either fully exploited or overfished. If nothing is done to stop the squandering of fish stocks the life of the oceans will face collapse and millions of people could starve. 
 
Fish is the aspirational food for Western society, the healthy, weight-conscious choice, but those who eat and celebrate fish often ignore the fact that the fishing industry, although as technologically advanced as space travel, has an attitude to conservation 10,000 years out of date. Trawling on an industrial scale in the North Sea takes 16 lbs of dead marine animals to produce just 1lb of sole. Regulation isn't working, fishermen must cheat or lose money, dolphins and other wildlife (seabirds, turtles, sharks) are killed unnecessarily and fish stocks are collapsing despite the warnings. 
 
The End of the Line looks at the problem and proves that we, as consumers, have to change if the situation is to improve.

The End Of The Line

Lindsey Hilsum

The gripping life story of the great war correspondent Marie Colvin told by one of her closest friends 
 
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD 
WINNER OF THE JAMES TAIT BLACK AWARD 
 
Marie Colvin was glamorous, hard-drinking, braver than the boys, with a troubled and rackety personal life. She reported from the most dangerous places in the world and her anecdotes about encounters with figures like Colonel Gaddafi and Yasser Arafat were incomparable. She was much admired, and as famous for her wild parties as for the extraordinary lengths to which she went to tell the story. 
 
Fellow foreign correspondent Lindsey Hilsum draws on unpublished diaries and interviews with friends, family and colleagues to produce a story of one of the most daring and inspirational women of our times. 
 
A Sunday Times Book of the Year 
'A stunningly good biography' WILLIAM BOYD

In Extremis

The Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin

Simon Napier-Bell

Pop manager extraordinaire Simon Napier-Bell had had enough. He'd had enough of pop groups. He'd had enough of the constant grief at home with his two ex-boyfriends bickering and bleeding him dry; and most of all he'd had enough of the music biz. But then he fell in love with a new passion - the Far East; and a dynamic new duo - George and Andrew - jointly called Wham! Soon, in an audacious attempt to have the best of both worlds, he found himself offering to arrange for Wham! to be the first ever Western pop group to play in communist China - a masterstroke of PR which, in one swift stroke, would make them one of the biggest groups in the world. 
 
What follows is an exciting, unpredictable and hilarious romp around the more curious corners of the world as Napier-Bell dives into the unknown, attempting to achieve the unachievable. We soon find ourselves in the company of a wonderful cast of petulant pop stars, shady international 'businessmen', and a hilarious confusion of spies, students and institutionalised officials and ministers as he edges ever closer to inadvertently becoming one of the first Westerners to break down the walls of communist China.

I'm Coming To Take You To Lunch

A fantastic tale of boys, booze and how Wham! were sold to China

This brand new collection of strange news stories covers a year of hilarious-but-true gems from around the world. In this new volume of stories from the inexplicable to the downright ridiculous, the snippets are again grouped by theme (Sex, Animals, Sports, Politics etc.) and cover such tales as: a man who faked being deaf and dumb for seven years because his wife was a nag; zookeepers who were sacked for eating the animals; a clairvoyant telling the future by feeling his clients' bottoms; a Turkish woman who kept a herd of cows in her apartment; a footballer transferred for his weight in prawns; and a Canadian man arrested for not eating an iced bun. This is real life - but not as you'd expect. Prepare to be baffled.

Another Weird Year II

A brand-new collection of previously unpublished episodes taken from the programme’s first four decades 
 
Shimmering like jewels on a velvet backcloth of world events, this collection presents 14 vintage episodes from BBC Radio 4’s long-running panel show, chaired by Barry Took and Simon HoggartJoining regular panelists Alan Coren, Richard Ingrams, Jeremy Hardy and Francis Wheen to sparkle humorously are guest players including Kate Adie, Peter Cook, Andy Hamilton, Tony Hawks, Ian Hislop, Armando Iannucci, Julia Langdon, Ann Leslie, Fred MacAulay, Stan McMurtrie, Eve Pollard, Oliver Pritchett, Steve Punt, Libby Purves, Gillian Reynolds, Gay Search, John Sergeant, Linda Smith, Mark Steel, Mark Steyn and Michael White. The original Radio 4 broadcast dates are 01/01/1981, 07/05/1983, 24/03/1984, 30/11/1989, 21/03/1992, 10/04/1993, 21/03/1998, 17/04/1998, 28/05/1999, 17/03/2000, 06/10/2000, 11/05/2001, 13/12/2002, 25/11/2005Cast and credits:Chaired by Barry Took & Simon HoggartFeaturing: Kate Adie, Peter Cook, Alan Coren, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Tony Hawks, Ian Hislop, Armando Iannucci, Richard Ingrams, Julia Langdon, Ann Leslie, Fred MacAulay, Stan McMurtrie, Eve Pollard, Oliver Pritchett, Steve Punt, Libby Purves, Gillian Reynolds, Gay Search, John Sergeant, Linda Smith, Mark Steel, Mark Steyn, Francis Wheen, Michael WhiteNewsreaders: Corrie Corfield, Peter Donaldson, Eugene Fraser, Charlotte Green, John Marsh, Brian PerkinsProduced by Lucy Armitage, Jenny Campbell, Louise Coates, Danny Greenstone, Armando Iannucci, Simon Nicholls, Alan Nixon, Jon Rolph, Colin Swash, Katie TyrrellWritten by Debbie Barham, Paul Carenza, Dave Cohen, Rhodri Crooks, Tom Jamieson, John Langdon, Simon Littlefield, Paul McKenzie, Iain Pattinson, George Poles, Felix Riley, Hugh Ryecroft, Robert Fraser SteeleEpisode selection by Michael Stevens©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The News Quiz: Gems from the Archive

Highlights from the Topical Radio 4 Panel Show

All three series of the award-winning satirical news show from 2023 
 
Originally conceived as a one-off whimsy, The News Quiz is now in its 46th year and still going strong. In these 26 shows, host Andy Zaltzman gathers up handfuls of headlines and hurls them at the panellists, who promptly fling back punchlines, puns and persiflage. 
 
Kicking off with a ‘Best of 2022’ episode reflecting on the highs and lows of a year in which Britain had two monarchs and three Prime Ministers, the team go on to peruse the biggest, funniest and most noteworthy events of 2023. Among the stories discussed are the UK strike wave, the conflict in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation, Boris Johnson’s WhatsApps, HS2 grinding to a halt, the looming general election and BRITS IN SPACE – as well as the curious case of 200,000 stolen Cadbury Creme Eggs and the surprise appearance of a walrus in Scarborough. 
 
Mulling over all this, and more, are some of the nation’s best comedians and journalists, including Anushka Asthana, Chris McCausland, Simon Evans, Andy Hamilton, Susie McCabe, Ian Smith, Scott Bennett, Ayesha Hazarika, Ria Lina, Mark Steel, Zoe Lyons and Ashley Storrie. 
 
Production credits 
Hosted and written by Andy Zaltzman 
With additional material by Simon Alcock, Rebecca Bain, Davina Bentley, Catherine Brinkworth, Carl Carzana, Suchandrika Chakrabarti, Ben Clover, Cody Dahler, Max Davis, Kate Dehnert, James Farmer, Aidan Fitzmaurice, Alice Fraser, Jade Gebbie, Mark Granger, Adam Greene, Will Hall, Miranda Holms, Cameron Loxdale, Caroline Mabey, Stuart Mitchell, Eleri Morgan, Eleanor Morton, Alfie Packham, Vicky Richards, Christina Riggs, Rhiannon Shaw, Mike Shephard, Katie Storey, Peter Tellouche, Zoë Tomalin and Jennifer Walker 
 
Produced by Georgia Keating, Sam Holmes and Gwyn Rhys Davies 
Executive Producers: James Robinson, Richard Morris and Pete Strauss 
Production Co-ordinators: Ryan Walker-Edwards, Becky Carewe-Jeffries and Dan Marchini 
Sound Editors: Jerry Peal, Marc Willcox, Giles Aspen, John Hemingway and David Thomas 
 
Series 110 featuring: Maisie Adam, Samira Ahmed, Kate Andrews, Anushka Asthana, Angela Barnes, Alasdair Beckett-King, Scott Bennett, Catherine Bohart, Frankie Boyle, Simon Evans, Andy Hamilton, Isabel Hardman, Ayesha Hazarika, Shaparak Khorsandi, Nish Kumar, Helen Lewis, Ria Lina, Camilla Long, Zoe Lyons, Alex Massie, Susie McCabe, Chris McCausland, Geoff Norcott, Andy Parsons, Lucy Porter, Hugo Rifkind, Ian Smith, Mark Steel, Ashley Storrie, Holly Walsh, Felicity Ward 
 
Series 111 featuring: Kate Andrews, Anushka Asthana, Scott Bennett, Rachel Cunliffe, Neil Delamere, Andrew Doyle, Simon Evans, Alice Fraser, Freddy Gray, Andy Hamilton, Isabel Hardman, Rosie Holt, Ria Lina, Camilla Long, Andrew Maxwell, Susie McCabe, Robin Morgan, Geoff Norcott, Andy Parsons, Lucy Porter, Ian Smith, Ashley Storrie 
 
Series 112 featuring: Anushka Asthana, Tom Ballard, Alasdair Beckett-King, Bethany Black, Daliso Chaponda, Andrew Doyle, Simon Evans, Alice Fraser, Ayesha Hazarika, Athena Kugblenu, Ria Lina, Zoe Lyons, Alex Massie, Susie McCabe, Chris McCausland, Robin Morgan, Rachel Parris, Lucy Porter, Hugo Rifkind, Ian Smith, Mark Steel, Felicity Ward 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 30 December 2022-10 March 2023 (Series 110), 28 April-9 June 2023 (Series 111), 8 September-27 October 2023 (Series 112) 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The News Quiz 2023: The Complete Series 110, 111 and 112

The topical BBC Radio 4 panel show

Alexander C.Karp

Nicholas W.Zamiska

**THE SUNDAY TIMES AND #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** 
 
A sweeping indictment of the West’s culture of complacency and a passionate call to wake up to our new reality from the bold thinkers behind tech giant PalantirOur most brilliant engineering minds once collaborated with government to advance world-changing technologies. Their efforts secured the West’s dominant place in the geopolitical order. But that relationship has now eroded, with perilous repercussions. 
 
In this ground-breaking treatise, one of tech’s boldest thinkers and his longtime deputy offer a searing critique of our collective abandonment of ambition. Palantir co-founder and CEO Alexander C. Karp and Nicholas W. Zamiska argue that in order for the West to retain its global edge?and preserve the freedoms we take for granted?the software industry must renew its commitment to addressing our most urgent challenges, including the new arms race of artificial intelligence. 
 
At once iconoclastic and rigorous, this books also lifts the veil on tech giant Palantir and its broader political project from the inside, offering a passionate call for the West to wake up to our new reality.

The Technological Republic

Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West

Alan Ruddock

Michael O'Leary is a business giant. He transformed Ryanair from a loss-making joke of an Irish carrier into one of the most valuable airlines in the world, and in the process he has revolutionized the very nature of commercial aviation. In this, the first biography of O'Leary, Alan Ruddock portrays the man in three dimensions and examines the business miracle &ndash; often talked about but poorly understood &ndash; that O'Leary has wrought.

Michael O'Leary

A Life in Full Flight

Sandi Toksvig’s first four series as host of the popular satirical comedy showTaking over the News Quiz chair from Simon Hoggart, comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig steps up to the plate to lead the intrepid panellists in a round-up of the biggest (and smallest) news stories of 2006 and 2007. With the exception of one show, hosted by Clive Anderson when Sandi had the flu, she chairs each of these 33 episodes with her characteristic wit, charm and erudition.Squaring up to the headlines are a panel of regulars and new recruits, including Clive Anderson, Jo Brand, Fred Macaulay, Andy Zaltzman, Simon Evans, Nick Revell, Phil Hammond, Stewart Lee, Caitlin Moran and the late, great Alan Coren. Between rounds, newsreaders Charlotte Green, Carolyn Brown, Peter Donaldson, Harriet Cass, Corrie Corfield, Rory Morrison and Chris Aldridge read a selection of funny cuttings sent in by listeners.Among the topics covered in these four series are Gordon Brown succeeding Tony Blair as PM; the death of Boris Yeltsin; the Iraq war; immigration and the NHS – plus telephone telepathy, cheating cheetahs, Prozac for dogs and the startling discovery that mice are actually completely uninterested in cheese. Series 63 also includes a special Alan Coren tribute show following his death in 2007, dedicated to his many contributions to The News Quiz and presented by Sandi Toksvig, Jeremy Hardy and Andy Hamilton.Production creditsChaired by Sandi ToksvigChair’s script written by Lucy Clarke, Rhodri Crooks, Paul Kerensa, Simon Littlefield, George Poles, John Finnemore and Danielle WardWith additional material by James Allnutt, Madeleine Brettingham, Stephen Carlin, Lloyd Langford, Matthew Morton, Kieron Quirke, John-Luke Roberts, James Sherwood and Danielle WardProduced by Katie Tyrrell and Ed MorrishA BBC Studios ProductionSeries 60 featuring: Clive Anderson, Jo Brand, Jo Caulfield, Jackie Clune, Alan Coren, Simon Evans, Andy Hamilton, Phil Hammond, Jeremy Hardy, Stanley Johnson, Phill Jupitus, Sarah Kendall, Stewart Lee, Fred MacAulay, Mark Steel, Francis Wheen, Andy ZaltzmanSeries 61 featuring: Clive Anderson, Jo Brand, Clive Coleman, Alan Coren, Dave Gorman, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Armando Iannucci, Phill Jupitus, Shappi Khorsandi, Fred MacAulay, Caitlin Moran, Mark Steel, Francis WheenSeries 62 featuring: Alan Coren, Simon Evans, Andy Hamilton, Phil Hammond, Jeremy Hardy, Armando Iannucci, Phill Jupitus, Fred MacAulay, Sue Perkins, Carrie Quinlan, Mark Steel, Nick Revell, Francis Wheen, Andy ZaltzmanSeries 63 featuring: Jo Brand, Justin Edwards, Simon Evans, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Phill Jupitus, Fred MacAulay, Sue Perkins, Greg Proops, Carrie Quinlan, Nick Revell, Mark Steel, Francis WheenNews items read by Charlotte Green, Carolyn Brown, Peter Donaldson, Harriet Cass, Corrie Corfield, Rory Morrison and Chris AldridgeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 8 September-27 October 2006 (Series 60), 5 January-23 February 2007 (Series 61), 27 April-15 June 2007 (Series 62), 28 September-23 November 2007 (Series 63)© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The News Quiz 2006 – 2007: Sandi Toksvig Takes the Helm!

Series 60, 61, 62 and 63 of the topical BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show

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