It was supposed to be “the war that will end war” – according to the misplaced optimism of British author H.G. Wells, and countless others like him who cheerfully expected “our boys” to be home by Christmas 1914.   Involving all the world’s great powers, more than 70 million combatants, and ...read more →

When we asked John Simopoulos, Founding Fellow and Dean of Degrees at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, to read Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner last year, we had an overwhelming response from listeners wanting to hear more from him. We’re thrilled to welcome John back to present this special ...read more →

Geoff Dyer is the consummate writer’s writer: winner of the Somerset Maugham Prize, the US National Book Critics Circle Award the E. M. Forster Award, and more.  The Daily Telegraph newspaper has called him “the best living writer in Britain”.  Zadie Smith believes he is “a national treasure.” This is ...read more →

Evie Blake is the name, Valentina is her scorching new mega-erotic novel – eat your heart out E.L. James, this is an author who can write! Based on the iconic character created by the Italian artist Guido Crepax, Valentina takes a male-created fantasy figure and gives her a real woman’s ...read more →

“I wanted to know what went on -what really went on – inside Viacom/CBS… about the collaboration between very big business and very big government.”  So says television legend Dan Rather in this special edition of The Debriefer.   ”I knew that a lot had gone on behind the scenes [in ...read more →

How do you go about writing a book about one of the most powerful dynasties on earth? That’s the challenge special guest Russ Baker faced when he first considered writing about the Bush family; a tribe that encompasses two U.S. Senators, one Supreme Court Justice, two Governors, two Presidents and ...read more →

To mark the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Pride and Prejudice, Peter takes tea with Claire Harman, author of the highly acclaimed biography Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World.  If you share E. M. Forster’s passion – “I am a Jane Austenite, and therefore slightly imbecile ...read more →