Richard Coles and Anita Anand meet Britain's leading lyricist Don Black who has worked with most of the top songwriters and composers including John Barry and Andrew Lloyd Webber and put words in the mouths of everyone from Matt Monro to Michael Jackson. 'Lost' actor Jeff Fahey tells about his work with refugees in Syria, the woman who invented the phrase explains why a dog is for life not just for Christmas, and we hear how the world's wackiest records are checked out in South America. Plus you...
Dec 21, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein with author, journalist and educational adviser Dreda Say Mitchell. They are also joined by listeners Sarah and Mark Horsburgh on their experience of offering respite foster care. We travel to Nottingham with John McCarthy on the trail of Alan Sillitoe, meet two lads who tell of a chance encounter with Nelson Mandela and Doreen Lawrence's Inheritance Tracks. Producer Alex Lewis.
Dec 14, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein meet novelist Michael Arditti who talks about faith and the novel, nearly dying after eating goats cheese and his travels around the Philippines researching a book, enjoy the Inheritance Tracks of Judith Kerr who wrote and illustrated, amongst other things, The Tiger Who Came To Tea, talk to Melvyn Evans who fought in Aden in the 1960's and realised, 40 years later, that he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and hear from Joe Glackin, a former priest w...
Dec 07, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Anita Anand with chef and restaurateur Rick Stein who tells of the ups and downs of his life, the Inheritance Tracks of Canadian author Margaret Atwood and traveller Tim Cope's tales of his journey on the trail of Genghis Khan. Teacher Guy Tarrant talks about the items that teachers have confiscated from pupils and Steve Rodgers, a fourth generation fisherman from Devon, joins Richard and Anita with his personal recollections of life on the sea and the future of fishing and we ...
Nov 30, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Anita Anand with Kids Company Founder Camila Batmanghelidjh, The Inheritance Tracks of Charlie Higson, JP Devlin waxing lyrical with actress Joan Collins, the willowy sound of a cricket bat being fashioned, Ben Markus who was given, maybe, 12 months to live in January 2012 on finding love and the strength to KBO ( keep battling on ), topical poetry from Luke Wright and John McCarthy is joined by London writer Travis Elborough on a trail through the capital to see the sites of s...
Nov 23, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein with poet Owen Sheers, Guantanamo artist Molly Crabapple, South Seas travellers Rosemary and Douglas Hadfield, 17 year old Lauren who found herself without a home, Elisa Berry who found herself looking after JFK's nieces on the day he was assassinated, and actor Mat Horne's Inheritance Tracks. Producer: Dixi Stewart.
Nov 16, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Anita Anand with neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield talking about her life and work, Julie Bailey who campaigned for reform after her Mother died at Stafford Hospital and who has been hounded from her Stafford home and business, 'Lorna' who lives in Belfast, was in care from around 14 years of age and now volunteers with a Children in Need project that helps others in care, and Diccon Bewes who has followed in the diary footsteps of Miss Jemima Morrell from Selby in Yorks...
Nov 09, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Anita Anand meet singer Linda Nolan who talks about how she turned to the Samaritans at low points in her life. They hear the Inheritance Tracks of Richard Eyre and the meditative sound of singing bowls. A refugee from Afghanistan explains how he got to Britain and a father and son tell of their adventures all over Britain. A daughter reveals her parent's surprising secret and we get a glimpse behind the scenes at a peace camp. Producer: Harry Parker.
Nov 02, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein with Horrible Histories author Terry Deary whose new adult history book is about the Roman Empire and whose play, Barmy Britain Part Two!, is on at the Garrick Theatre in London. They also talk to Jonny Mitchell, Head Teacher at the Thornhill Academy in Dewsbury and the subject of Channel 4's series 'Educating Yorkshire', Henry and Ingrid Wuga, Kindertransport refugees in 1939 who met and married in Glasgow and still live there together aged 89 and Barnaby Rogerson w...
Oct 26, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein meet space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock, a female trainee astronaut from the early 1960s, Jerri Truhill, and amateur rocketeer John Jacomb. Matt Eagles explains what is like to have had Parkinson's disease since the age of eight, Matthew Baylis tells the story of the cult religions of Vanuatu and June Lady Chichester enthuses about camels. MOBO founder Kanya King picks her Inheritance Tracks.
Oct 19, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein with writer Neil Gaiman, Matilda Tristram who discovered she had cancer when she was 17 weeks pregnant and decided to tell her story in a comic strip, Jazz Summers who spent 10 years trying to get out of the army, and John Levene who played the Yeti in the newly rediscovered episodes of Doctor Who. Musician Tori Amos reveals her Secret Life, The Comic Strip's Lana Pillay shares Inheritance Tracks, and John McCarthy goes to Cornwall to meet the Germans on the trail of...
Oct 12, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Anita Anand with guest Richard Osman, John McCarthy taking a trip on the sleeper train to Cornwall, writer and quiz lover Stevyn Colgan on his time as a member of Scotland Yard's 'Problem Solving Unit', Ian Tibbets on pioneering surgery that saved his sight and enabled him to see his two sons for the first time, sisters June Smith and April Scott on the Devon dialect, Neville Hume who still uses his Grandfather's 130 year old gardening tools and The Inheritance Tracks of actres...
Oct 05, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Anita Anand's guest's have a wide age range with one aged 89 and another aged 12 . They meet panel game chairman extraordinaire Nicholas Parsons and take a look at some lesser known aspects of his life. We hear the Inheritance Tracks of country singer Steve Earle, trace the fate of a GI bride, explore off-limits cityscapes with an urban explorer and discover what it's like to be a young woman in an old man's industry. Plus there's a glimpse of into how a young boy came to play ...
Sep 28, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Anita Anand and JP Devlin talk to Andi Peters, television presenter, voice actor and media executive, puppeteer Nigel Plaskitt who has worked on Spitting Image, Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet and is the man behind the PG Tips Monkey, Robin Mackness, one of the first people to import, in significant numbers, duvets to the UK, thus helping to change the bedroom habits of millions, John Ironmonger whose travels have deepened a love of leeches and rhinos, revel in the Inheritance Tracks of Agg...
Sep 21, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Anita Anand are joined by historian and broadcaster, Bettany Hughes who talks about her love of history, cricket and Istanbul, Dr Robert Poole who explains what happened on September 14th 1752 when Britain changed from a Julian calendar to a Gregorian calendar and Jess Herman who tells us about her work with Nicaraguan street children. They also hear a 'Sound Sculpture' of a Spitfire's Merlin engine described by Britain's only female Spitfire pilot Carolyn Grace, explore Andrew...
Sep 14, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Anita Anand are joined by author, Philip Pullman, wildlife rescuer, Trevor Weeks and upcoming young actor, Sarah Gordy who was born with Downs syndrome, and her mother, Jane. Choreographer Richard Alston choses his Inheritance Tracks, there's a visit to Betty's Reading Room on Orkney, a school Bell soundscape and Geoff Baker talks about the bid to break the British record of guitars playing in unison on the beach at Lyme Regis. JP Devlin fields your calls and emails. Producer: ...
Sep 07, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein are joined by writer and broadcaster, Michael Rosen, former SOE operative Noreen Riols and senior surgeon David Nott who talks about working in war and disaster zones. They hear the Inheritance Tracks of cook, writer and broadcaster Simon Hopkinson, the soothing sounds of a chess clock and share the memories of Edith Lee-Payne who was 12 and present when Martin Luther King made his famous speech. Producer: Chris Wilson.
Aug 31, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Anita Anand talk to actress Anna Chancellor, sample the delights of Georgian Pleasures with Professor Elaine Chalus, savour the bucolic, car-free life on Sark with restaurateur Elizabeth Perrée, hear the Inheritance Tracks of singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke, discover how glove-makers to the Queen, Andrew and Genevieve James, practice their craft, find out what the thing is about the "real" Paddy O'Connell from Skibbereen, County Cork and that other irrepressible Irishman, JP Devl...
Aug 24, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein entertain musician and broadcaster, Tom Robinson, hear the Inheritance Tracks of Django Bates, meet Simon Hood who cycled to every York City Football Club match over a whole season and Nina Wilson who cycled to every town and village in Norfolk, examine the allure of beer with beer sommelier Jane Peyton, talk to the last surviving British 'Dam Buster' George 'Johnny' Johnson and immerse themselves in the genteel atmosphere of Morecambe as JP Devlin meets people from ...
Aug 17, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and J P Devlin with actor Robin Ellis aka Poldark. He talks about his former role as the dashing Ross Poldark and about his newer-found role as a cookery writer. We have the Inheritance Tracks of KT Tunstall. John McCarthy meets cartoonist, novelist, and jazz musician Barry Fantoni in his home town of Calais. Rory McPhee savours the joys of seaweed, and Angelique Todd talks about her extraordinary life amongst the mountain gorillas of central Africa.
Aug 10, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein with violinist Nigel Kennedy, Lindsey Davis' Inheritance Tracks, cloud spotter Gavin Pretor-Pinney, beatboxer Shlomo and mouth-painter Barry West. Adrenalin junky pensioners Sylvia and Dennis Bloor on their love of rollercoasters and a mum who turned to the Beano to help her daughter's dyslexia. Producer: Debbie Sheringham.
Aug 03, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Sian Williams and Richard Coles meet Charles Saumarez Smith of the Royal Academy of Arts.
Jul 27, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with actor and comedian Lenny Henry, The Inheritance Tracks of former footballer Cyrille Regis, forensic anthropologist Heather Bonney, The Queen of Yorkshire Comedy, Jo Little on Cromer Pier, John McCarthy travels round the Lake District in Mike Hardings camper van and JP Devlin with a crowdscape from Dudley. Producer: Chris Wilson.
Jul 20, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with broadcaster, actor and writer Michael Palin, the Inheritance Tracks of Arthur Brown, orchid expert David Lang who explores the Dalai Lama's garden, Antoinette Haselhorst reflecting on her photographs of Nelson Mandela- who also bought her childhood home, JP Devlin out in Worcestershire hunting for moles with Mickey the Mole Catcher, a young Lithuanian accordionist professing his love for the wobbly keyboard and listeners sharing their thanks for past kindness...
Jul 13, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with film and television composer Debbie Wiseman and the Inheritance Tracks of Griff Rhys Jones. John McCarthy meets co-operative walkers in the Lake District, twins Marcus and Alex Lewis reveal the effect of an abusive upbringing on their memories, Rosa Rebecka relates the appeal of a hand-me-down guitar and John Viney tells what it's like to be a mystery shopper. As usual there are the thank you messages of listeners this week with a haggis flavoured anecdote....
Jul 06, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with singer Barb Jungr, the Inheritance Tracks of Otis Williams the co-founder of Motown wonders the Temptations, a crowdscape from Rochdale, non-operatic sounds from Glyndebourne, a story of survival on a sinking cruise ship, and sussex bats with bat conservationist Jenny Clark. Also, John McCarthy meets a mountain rescue team in the Lake District Producer: Chris Wilson.
Jun 29, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with writer and comedian Viv Groskop, the Inheritance Tracks of actor Paul Nicholas, author Sara Wheeler's first attempts to learn Russian and the sounds of a balalaika band. There's Angela's story of a broken family healed, David Chilvers's sighting of the world's first cosmonaut and Professor Carole Hough reveals what our names tell us about our origins. Producer: Harry Parker.
Jun 22, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with festival director and writer James Runcie, a visit to the Birmingham Model Engineering Society, the secret life of Yvette Fielding, The Inheritance Tracks of George Benson, Adrian Laing on growing up with a famous father, psychiatrist R.D. Laing, the award winning wildlife cameraman and photographer Doug Allan on the pleasures of adventure travel and diving with his son Liam and 16 year old scientist Jack Andraka, who's invented a landmark new test for pancre...
Jun 15, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with broadcaster Trevor Nelson, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and Neil Ansell who chose a life of poverty. The Inheritance Tracks of actor Alex Jennings, John McCarthy visits a secret urban garden and Kate Fox provides poetry. Listeners share their stories of a stolen stamp collection and a love affair with the ZX Spectrum computer and offer their thanks to strangers near and far. Producer: Debbie Sheringham.
Jun 08, 2013•1 hr 25 min
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with traveller Paul Theroux, Lucinda Lambton at Heathrow, John McCarthy in Painswick and Jamie Cullum's Inheritance Tracks. There are stories from a mother whose husband is serving life for killing their children, the 105 year old author as well as the glory that is Coronation Chicken and your Thank Yous Producer: Harry Parker.
Jun 01, 2013•1 hr 25 min
