Advertise on podcast: The Author Archive Podcast

Before Patrick Nally created and sold sponsorship packages for FIFA and the Olympic Games, sport had no money. Patrick was in at the beginning creating the money monster that sport has become. He was even responsible for giving the world Sepp Blatter. Was that a good idea? Should Gianni Infantino have a million pound plus salary? In the early days were payments paid in brown envelopes in car parks? It's a jaw dropping story!

It is very easy to get very troubled by the current US administration . Doing diesel deals with the Putin regime .... organising a live streamed public execution..... every day a new low. Who could have predicted that the American Vice President would have thought it part of his task to question the Pope's understanding of theology? Who could have predicted that Donald Trump would think it a good idea to read parts of the Bible to the nation?   Have they redefined god in their own image? It seems that the current American administration is behaving in even more wild emotionally driven vindictive ways. This gripping and shocking book tells the story of the radical conservative movement shaping Donald Trump's agenda and how it threatens freedoms, values and democracy.  Since this conversation was recorded the situation has got much worse.

Jeffery Archer has died. The obituaries all make reference to his colourful life. This conversation was recorded in the year 2000, the year before he was jailed for perjury. Im sure it's coincidence that there are two ex high flying Tories on this podcast who both found themselves in jail for lying under oath. LIke others that came after him this former vice chairman of the Conservative Party and would be Mayor of London had supreme confidence in his ability to tell lies and then lie his way out of the consequences of the earlier untruths. Jeffery Archer was confident he would always 'get away with it'. The edifice of untruths became unsustainable and eventually collapsed.  The reason for this interview was the publication of a new collection of short stories. The coverage in the tabloids at the time was much more about his relationship with a prostitute and how he persuaded a friend to give her money to go away. With hindsight his lies were going to send him to prison and I should maybe have asked him about being banished from the Tory party and his payments to sex worker Monica Coghlan. That might have made a more riveting conversation.  What cannot be denied is that he was a very successful author. A lauded politician at the Conservative conference. Whatever you feel about Jeffrey Archer he was undeniably a supreme storyteller.

This splendid book tells the stories behind the buildings.  It starts 3,000 years ago in Troy and finishes with what castles have become in the nuclear age. It's not just buildings, it's walls and people. Dan even puts the bombastic projects of Donald Trump in an historical perspective. This might not make you feel better but it does provide context. Vanity expressed in big extravagant buildings is not new! Castles by Dan Jones is an entertaining page turner full of insights and fascinating facts.

There is an article in the Daily Telegraph written by Petra Khasoggi. When she was a teenager she discovered that her biological father is Jonathan Aitken. It is not a consistently happy story.  We are used to politicians , particularly Tory politicians, being untruthful. Twenty five years ago Jonathan Aitken was a high profile journalist and Tory politician who found himself in very hot water He was pursued mercilessly by sections of the British press when they gathered evidence to show that he had encouraged one of his daughters to lie in court to get him out of a tight legal corner into which his own lies had lead him. He was found guilty and sentenced to a jail term As a sideshow to his public fall from grace he ran up a huge legal bill which he could not pay. Bankruptcy was inevitable. Many were sceptical when he 'found God' in jail. He confounded his critics however by sticking with religion and becoming ordained as a vicar. Later he returned to jail as a chaplain. There was a book published in 2003 called 'Pride and Perjury'. Jonathan Aitken talked to David Freeman about it, and his life,  soon after publication.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is still in the news. Where he is still unknown but he is often referred as a national treaure. Sir Ranulph Fiennes met David Freeman when his book 'The Secret Hunters' was published in 2001. The book tells the story of a diary that was found in a shelter in Antarctica in 1997. This opens the door to a world of deprivation, war, survival and revenge. It's a gripping page-turning read, but is it fiction?

There is huge interest in the latest Charles Spencer book, but he has written about his family before. They started as sheep farmers. They were successful! This conversation was recorded in the 90s at Althrop the Spencer family stately home. Interesting to hear his view , all those years ago , of his sister Diana. It was memorable to talk to the author in one of the grand rooms surrounded by portraits of his ancestors. The purpose of the interview was to promote his family history book that was about to be published.

There is a press story telling how Sir Rannulph Fiennes seems to have disappeared. The facts seem to suggest that he is being held in a care home and his friends are discouraged from visiting him. If any friends manage to find him they have to sign an NDA. This seems very odd. Obviously I have no idea where he is. I remember him as a fascinating, engaging and memorable interviewee. In 2019 Sir Rannulph was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. A few years ago as part of the Cheltenham Literary festival I interviewed Sir Rannulph on stage at the Everyman Theatre about his family history book 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'. I remember shaking hands  - a non standard formality for him. He told me how he had to adopt a DIY approach to dealing with frost bite in his fingers. He no longer has the standard issue 10. In this episode there's a conversation I had with Sir Rannulph later in a London studio, a chat with the legendary travel writer Eric Newby, and the life of the unforgettable adventurer Lucy Irvine. Lucy had replied to an advertisement in 1980 seeking a woman to spend a year on a desert island with a man she didn't know.  This  adventure became a film starring Oliver Reid. She tells me how she went on to write the story of another island dwelling family in her book Faraway. Memorable stories.

The American president now suggests that he is closely associated with Jesus. He has distributed pictures. He is performing Bible readings. Will he include the bits from Matthew 5:9? Blessed are the peacemakers? He declares that he has been saved by God to make his country great again, I find it impossible not to wonder about the precise nature of the deity that he professes to believe in. Are Donald and his advisers familiar with the writings that are the basis of his religion?  This book by Catherine Nixey is terrific - its a revelation and it's now available in paperback format. Catherine has studied texts written around the same time as the writings we know as the gospels.  Some of these ancient documents tell the story of the bible characters we are familiar with in a totally different way. Listen to Catherine talk about her research and you will be surprised ..... probably very surprised!! Every time I see a politician leaning in a faith direction I want to urge them to read this book!

Antonio Forcione is a brilliant guitar player. Antonio really likes to entertain and he is joined by comedian, singer and songwriter Boothby Graffoe. When we talked Antonio was in a museum in Rome and Boothby was in Portugal. I'm David Freeman and I was in Cheltenham. I saw the show last night - it was brilliant.

Joseph Millson is an author but he is also a stage actor. Currently he is starring in the hugely successful West End revival of Phantom of the Opera. He tells me about his first novel - Miller Rose Roberts. Who she is, what she does and the role of tinnitus in the story. Joseph is an entertainer.... great fun. Amongst other stories he describes how his dad became fused to a bass guitar. He didn't mean to!

Jeanette Winterson celebrates her 67th birthday on August 27th. This interview was recorded when Jeanette was a 20 something brand new literary force and a CD was cutting edge technology. I remember this conversation with huge affection. Mostly I would talk to an author for 20 minutes or so but this conversation is twice that. It was recorded in the spring of 1984 when 'Oranges are Not the Only Fruit' was first published. I was very fortunate because I was one of the very first broadcasters to interview Jeanette. I had been reading the book in bed the night before and was buzzing with enthusiasm for it when I met her. Hear the author talk about her life in religious Accrington and why she rejected the faith. A superb book!

This archive interview dates back to March 2014. Jim Lovelock was in his mid nineties. I was delighted to interview him. As I said at the time for me it was like meeting Elvis! He was energetic, effervescent and wise. His wife Sandy was in the front row and he shone with contentment. When the conversation started I had no idea we were going to end up talking about microwave ovens .... but we started discussing climate change. And then moved on to falling in love ! 2014 is not long ago but the full ferocity of the effect of the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hadn't really been felt in the way it has now. So what did Jim think?

It is five years since the Taliban regained control in Afghanistan. Science is one of the many things they disapprove of. Religion is believed more than evident truth. All over the globe there are powerful politicians who have taken to denying scientific facts to further their own ambitions. This took another massive leap into the abyss when President Trump removed all the limits on greenhouse gas emissions in the US.  Not a solution to the problem - just a denial of its existence. Inconvenient scientific facts denied and dismissed. Unbelievable in our heating world There is a new book edited by Lawrence M.Krauss - The War on Science. Among the writers and scientists who have contributed chapters is Richard Dawkins. Professor Dawkins talked to me about his chapter.

The new war that is happening now and the the appalling inhumanity still happening in the world makes this conversation distressingly relevant. There is the thought that some people are less human then others.  Some people in power seem to think that bombs and missiles provide an answer. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10th 1948. We now live in a world where the rights agreed in that document are widely ignored. Racial intolerance is on the march . The horrible spectre of antisemitism is looming over the news as is denial of the rights of Palestinians.  As an American bishop recently said ..... immigrants and gay people are as valuable as everyone else. What would Sir Martin Gilbert make of the current situation? A good time to listen to the words of the late Sir Martin Gilbert. The name Winston Churchill has been used recently to score political points. Sir Martin Gilbert is known as Churchill's biographer, but also as the historian of the Holocaust. This conversation with David Freeman took place when his book Never Again was published. Sir Martin's thoughts on war are sadly relevant. Sir Martin died in 2015.