Radio & TV Journalism

Stand-up fans rejoice - this cracking collection contains a whole seven series of top-drawer comedy, recorded live at London and Manchester's legendary Comedy Store and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Enjoy over eleven hours of laughs from some of the biggest and best stand-ups on the circuit, hosted by three fantastically funny comperes: Simon Bligh, Ross Noble and Adam Hills.

Included here is an A-Z of top-drawer comic talent, from Dan Antopolski to Andy Zaltzman, by way of Richard Ayoade, John Bishop, Alan Carr, Omid Djalili, Noel Fielding, Rhod Gilbert, Reginald D Hunter, Shaparak Khorsandi, Sean Lock, Lee Mack, Dara O Briain, Lucy Porter, Gina Yashere and a host of other peerless performers.

It's all the fun of a comedy club, without the need to leave your armchair - just sit back and laugh along as these classic comic talents work their inimitable magic on stage.

In this no holds barred account of life in the seconds before, during and after going on air, Newsnight presenter and leading journalist Emily Maitlis gives us the insider info on what we don't get to see on-screen. Giving us the inside scoop on her interviews with everyone from Emma Thompson to Russell Brand, and Donald Trump to Prince Andrew this is a brilliant exposé of the moments that never make the news.

Alistair Cooke held a unique position as a commentator on American life and politics. This is a record of sixty years of Anglo-American misunderstanding and Cooke's efforts to put the record straight.

First broadcast in 1990 and 1991, here are all 14 episodes of the cult comedy sketch show written and performed by Tim Firth, Tim de Jongh, Michael Rutger and William Vandyck. Join the team as they whisk the audience away on a series of adventures, including a day trip to Margate, Territorial Army manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain, an excursion to Nevada for NASA astronaut training, a Euro link-up in France and a luxury tour of London. Along the way, they entertain us with a plethora of precision comedy sketches, interspersed with songs, jokes and banter. You'll get drawn in to the architects' improvisation game, Whose Pencil Line Is It Anyway?, discover an unusual way of plotting a novel, step inside the mind of a Shakespearean actor, and listen to some rather surprising Books at Bedtime... There's also a phone-in for people having problems with their phones, a car valeting service with a twist, and a James Bond theme as written by Richard Stilgoe - plus Cockney rhyming slang for dyslexics, the news for suspicious people, Crufts for ordinary dogs and scores of other comic skits. And in two fantastic festive specials, it's party time as the quirky quartet serve up some far from traditional Christmas fare - including dried fish, advocaat and an exploding rabbit...

An enthusiast's guide to the shows that have made Radio 4 what it is, with an addictive mix of biography, anecdote and occasional useless fact. It also explores some of the wonderful corners of the network's history that are long forgotten by all but a few.

Chris Addison - the thinking idiot's pretend anthropologist - takes us on a comic journey through the vast and rich subject of human history in these eight hilarious comedy lectures. Aided by Professor Austin Herring (aka Geoffrey McGivern), Dan Tetsell and Jo Enright, who put their considerable talents to use in sketches illustrating the lectures, he examines how Homo sapiens became Top Species, charts the rise and fall of the Western world and looks at what's next for the future of mankind.

Once again the fact-finding foursome behind the podcast No Such Thing As A Fish have been newspaper-trawling and website-crawling to create your ultimate guide to the past twelve months. Learn which of Donald Trump's claims are so bizarre they can't even be fact-checked. Find out why every single French MP received camembert in the post. And get to the bottom of all the improvements made to the Ford company's robotic bum. All this and much, much more. From Assange to Zuckerberg, taking in Cardi B, CCTV, D-Day, and eSports, The Book of the Year is the only book you need to make sense of the year, no matter how senseless it might have seemed.

In 1922, a tiny group of men and women came together to found the BBC, using what had been a weapon of war - Marconi's wireless - to remake culture for the good of humanity. Twenty years later, when George Orwell famously quit the Corporation, he decided he was done 'doing work that produces no result'. Yet the BBC is now one of Britain's most beloved institutions. From Daleks to Desert Island Discs, the BBC has blazed a trail for British entertainment. Yet it has also always been at the forefront of global change, both breaking and covering the most important stories of the century on Panorama and BBC News. This is a stirring and monumental history of the British cultural stalwart which created modern broadcasting one hundred years ago.

For nearly 75 years, one BBC programme has been a constant factor in chronicling the way sport is covered, in all its many facets.

First broadcast in 1948, Sports Report is the longest-running radio sporting programme in the world and one of the BBC's hardy perennials. Pat Murphy has been a reporter on the programme since 1981 and here he sifts comprehensively through the experiences of his contemporaries and those who made their mark on Sports Report in earlier decades.

Drawing on unique access from the BBC Archives Unit, he highlights memorable moments from Sports Report, details the challenges faced in getting live interviews on air from draughty, noisy dressing-room areas and celebrates the feat of just a small production team in the studio who, somehow, get the show up and running every Saturday, with the clock ticking implacably on.

Journalist and writer, Martha Gellhorn, was always involved in radical politics. She became a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War, after her marriage to Ernest Hemingway, and covered many other major conflicts up to the 1980's.

The broadcaster and writer gives a vivid picture of life in Iran.

John Humphrys shares his feelings about the use and misuse of the English language. It shows how we use words and reveals the way we see the world.

Frank Gardner had a love of all things Arabic and after studying Arab and Islamic studies at university, he became a banker then a journalist with the BBC. Ironic then that he was shot and left for dead in Riyadh by a passing group of Islamic extremists. His bravery in the face of his injuries and subsequent disabilities is outstanding.

Part of BBC Radio 3's 'The Essay' strand, The Book That Changed Me features writers, academics and other eminent professionals discussing the literary works that have had the greatest impact on their lives. This fascinating selection contains some of the best episodes from the series, including legendary songwriter Steve Earle on Truman Capote's masterpiece In Cold Blood; academic Monica Siddiqui on Austen's Pride and Prejudice; and Tony Blair's onetime strategist Alastair Campbell on Flaubert's seminal Madame Bovary.

Renowned film director Richard Eyre reveals how Angus Calder's social history The People's War evokes memories of his childhood; neurobiologist Colin Blakemore explains why he loves Darwin's lesser-known work, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals; visual artist Tacita Dean describes how Marguerite Yourcenair's Fires helped her find her voice as a writer, feminist and filmmaker; and David Simon, creator of TV's The Wire, relates how James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men made him realise the importance of reportage. Absorbing and enlightening, this entertaining collection sheds new light on the intellectual lives of a host of famous names, and celebrates the transformative power of literature.

The author visited Afghanistan and for four months lived with the family of Sultan Khan, a bookseller who has supplied books to the people of Kabul, defying Communists and the Taliban. She paints a picture of family life where Sultan is the absolute authority.

The tag-team interview show where the celebrity guest becomes the interviewer

A complete collection of the talk show with a twist - the guest each week becomes the interviewer in the following episode. Focusing on the career and passions of a figure in the entertainment world whose work they admire, each interviewer gets to delve into the life of their hero as well as revealing hidden aspects of themselves.

Featuring great British comedians, award-winning actors, and iconic musicians and writers, Chain Reaction serves you double helpings of amazing individuals like Johnny Vegas, Barry Cryer, Lenny Henry, David Tennant, Eddie Izzard, Lee Mack, Ruby Wax, Stephen Merchant, Caitlin Moran, Frankie Boyle, Bob Mortimer, Vic Reeves, Olivia Colman, Katherine Ryan, Ian Hislop, Victoria Coren-Mitchell, Joe Lycett, Sara Pascoe, Tim Vine, and many, many more.

David Baddiel attempts to unravel an array of life's conundrums, as suggested by the public on Twitter. In each episode he speaks to experts and the general public to make sense of common, yet little understood, subjects and impart his new-found knowledge on each topic in under 15 minutes. 

From the global economy to electricity, much loved comedian David Baddiel gets to the heart of issues that dominate random shower musings and dinner party debates. He attempts to understand areas including fracking, rugby, hacking, The Constitution, fashion and even the modern-day enigma, The Kardashians. Where do fossil fuels really come from? How do Bitcoins work? What does the International Monetary Fund actually do? Why is all my data stored in The Cloud? And when does a cry become a sob? Join Baddiel in his quest to understand these puzzling topics, and the world.

For more than three decades, millions of Britons have woken to the sound of John Humphrys’s voice. As presenter of Radio 4’s Today, the nation’s most popular news programme, he is famed for his tough interviewing, his deep misgivings about authority in its many forms, and his passionate commitment to a variety of causes. Here, John charts his journey from the poverty of his post-war childhood in Cardiff, leaving school at 15, to the summits of broadcasting.

John Simpson is one of the country's most respected journalists who has reported for the BBC on, and from, trouble spots all over the world. In his latest volume of memoirs he looks at his own childhood, and tells the strange and sometimes painful story of his family.

The author, a paraplegic since the age of 19, invites the reader to travel with him as he explores life for the disabled.

Allow yourself to be cast away in eight glorious decades of the most iconic show on radio, Desert Island Discs, with 80 of the most powerful and unforgettable interviews, revisiting every era of Desert Island Disc's storied history. Also featuring brand new material as castaways are interviewed about their experiences - did the conversation go how they expected? Would Sir Patrick Stewart still take his beloved billiards table (and a shed to keep it in, of course)? And does Hilary Devey stick by her endless supply of Cointreau?

Business journalist Kamal Ahmed and start-up supremo Rohan Silva lift the lid on the realities of starting your own business in a series of candid, unfiltered interviews with innovators who have changed our world. We hear the unvarnished truth about their successes, failures, and the challenges they faced on the way to realising their vision. From fearless company founders to visionary CEOs, each has a fascinating story to tell. There's Julie Deane, who went from starting The Cambridge Satchel Company at the kitchen table with £600 to selling 10,000 bags a month; Tony Kitous, who arrived in London from Algeria with nothing and ended up with a chain of 25 Comptoir Libanais restaurants; and Temie Giwa-Tubosun, creator of LifeBank, which works to improve access to essential medical supplies in Africa and has saved over 7000 lives.

They're joined by a wealth of other inspiring disrupters to share their hard-earned wisdom, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, lastminute.com founders Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Mumsnet's Justine Roberts and Sir James Dyson. Among the lessons they've learned are knowing when to cut your losses, how to change direction without giving up on an idea, the dangers of over-idealism and self-delusion and the importance of patience, persistence and passion. The advice they give - about managing relationships, maintaining self-belief and not being afraid to make mistakes - is invaluable for everyone, not just entrepreneurs, and will help you to succeed both in business and in life.

Anna Blundy received a telephone call in November 1989 to say that her father, foreign correspondent David Blundy, had been shot whilst reporting the war in El Salvador. In 1997 Anna, also a journalist, went to El Salvador to try to discover the truth of his death. She recalls her experiences in this moving portrait of a country and a man. Contains some offensive language.

Award-winning broadcaster, bestselling author and zoologist Lucy Cooke has produced and presented numerous natural history shows on TV and radio, and has been tipped by The Times as 'the next David Attenborough'. In this BBC Radio 4 series, first broadcast under the title The Power Of..., she delves into the animal kingdom, exploring what gives certain species the evolutionary edge over their rivals.

Over the course of 8 episodes, she probes the science behind our seeming obsession with all things cute; unleashes her inner sloth to discover the surprising benefits of being slow; learns that honesty isn't always the best policy, whether you're a chimp, a squid or even a human being; and finds out why being small can give you step up on the evolutionary ladder.

She also investigates the animal communities that thrive on co-operation and peaceful behaviour, and considers why it works for them; looks at the power of celibacy and meets nature's ultimate self-cloning sisters; discovers how some species make a success out of going solo; and asks why it can pay to stir once the sun goes down - and whether future survival for many diurnal animals may depend on a nightlife.

1982 was a historic year, a year in which the battle for a small group of islands in the South Atlantic dominated the news.

From the initial broadcasts of the growing Argentine threat and Mrs Thatcher's speech to the Commons informing them that a Task Force will sail, to the battles for Goose Green and Port Stanley, the Argentine surrender and the controversial sinking of the Belgrano - all these historic moments, together with all the other important events of the Falklands War, are recorded here, in live BBC Radio News coverage.

Released to mark the 40th anniversary of the conflict, this collection of recordings from the BBC Radio News team brings to life the events of the Falklands War and includes speeches and statements from journalists and survivors, as well as key political figures such as Margaret Thatcher and former President of Argentina Leopoldo Galtieri.

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A collection of criticisms, articles and essays written after the author returned to live in England in 1988.

Chaired by Simon Brett, this intriguing, interactive panel show challenges professional crime novelists to put their experience and expertise to the test as they try to unravel various mind-bending mysteries. Each episode features a death and a denouement - with various red herrings and misdirections along the way. As the murder scenario is described and the clues laid out, our writer-detectives take turns cross-examining the suspects. Among the baffling cases they tackle are a dead Dowager Duchess, a 1930s murder at sea, a pantomime crime, a monastery mystery and an Elizabethan court killing.

A stimulating evaluation of forty years of Indian independence.

A revealing account of our times from the author who spent a decade as Editor of the Sunday Times, always in the midst of controversy.

Everybody leaves a trace. The ghosts of Button House may have been dead a long time - some of them a very long time - but they have all left their mark on the world (even if, in Robin's case, that mark is just a handprint on the wall of a cave).

Gathered together in this volume is a treasure trove of unearthed cuttings, original records and rare artefacts that explore the unseen lives of those who died at Button House: from Thomas's love letters to Pat's 'Summer Camp Rap', and from Julian's campaign promises to Lady Button's Rules of Etiquette. There are even documents dictated to the one person who can see and hear the ghosts: Alison Cooper.

Written by the show's creators this eclectic archive is a unique chance to discover more about the beloved ghosts of Button House.

Justin Webb's childhood was far from ordinary.

Between his mother's un-diagnosed psychological problems, and his step-father's untreated ones, life at home was dysfunctional at best. But with gun-wielding school masters and sub-standard living conditions, Quaker boarding school wasn't much better.

And the backdrop to this coming of age story? Britain in the 1970s. Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and Free. Strikes, inflation and IRA bombings. A time in which attitudes towards mental illness, parenting and masculinity were worlds apart from the attitudes we have today. A society that believed itself to be close to the edge of breakdown.

Candid, unsparing and darkly funny, Justin Webb's memoir is a portrait of personal and national dysfunction. So was it the brutal experiences of his upbringing, or an innate ambition and drive that somehow survived them, that shaped the urbane and successful radio presenter we know and love now?

After an early career as a journalist, John Sergeant joined the BBC in 1970, and for 30 years covered many important news stories as a special correspondent and political correspondent. In 2000 he became ITN's Political Editor. In this book he wittily describes his experiences reporting on the country's leading politicians.

The author, failed soldier turned journalist, reported on most major conflicts from Northern Ireland in 1969, through Biafra, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Middle East to the Falkland's War of 1982. Here the self-confessed coward describes his experiences.

Individuals who have experienced some of society's biggest issues tell their stories - and search for answers.

From climate change, fake news and vaccine hesitancy to mental health, addiction and domestic violence, there are no shortage of societal problems facing the UK right now. But while we are aware these challenges exist, without personal experience it is hard for us to understand what it is like to struggle with them, and harder still to envision potential solutions.

These compelling documentaries, first broadcast on radio under the title 'My Name Is...', introduce us to a range of individuals who have confronted various hardships, telling their stories and following them as they ask difficult questions and endeavour to drive positive change. Among those we meet are Rachel, who has been sectioned multiple times and seeks to challenge the status quo around psychiatric treatment;

Katie, a onetime problem gambler investigating how online gambling firms target the vulnerable; 

Abi, who almost died at the hands of her violent boyfriend and now helps others stay safe;

and Fozia, a doctor horrified by the Covid conspiracy theories that leave patients afraid to come to hospital even when they're seriously ill.

We also hear from others whose stories are less harrowing, but equally absorbing.

There's Noga, a 17-year-old youth strike organiser doing everything she can to save the planet; Hamza, a basketball and martial arts coach who believes broadening access to sport can improve opportunities for disadvantaged kids;

Lucy, who's looking for love and wondering whether to ditch the dating apps;

and 11-year-old Roman, who adores Minecraft and wants to know if his parents' limits on his screen time are fair.

Offering unique insight into the lives of a host of extraordinary people, these fascinating first-person accounts highlight the complexity of the issues affecting Britons today, and provide diverse perspectives on how we can set about tackling them.

It is ninety years since the BBC made its first broadcast and the British love affair with radio began. This is a journey through that fascinating history and a celebration of the many wonderful voices that were part of it: The Goons and Kenneth Horne, comedy greats of the 1950s; John Peel, Alan Freeman and other heroes of the pirate stations; all the way up to some of the much-loved voices of today.

When Tony Hardstaff breaks the bank playing ‘Snap!’ at the St Petersburg Casino, he is swept up in a maelstrom of romance and adventure. Seduced by the sultry Natassia Fillipovna Karamazov, Tony is caught in flagrante by the Russian mafia, and flees for his life. Taking the first plane out, Tony returns to his ancestral home in Grimesdale, and to the bosom of the family he left a decade earlier.

But the prodigal son is not welcomed with open arms. His ruthless 183-year-old father Obadiah is less than thrilled to see him, his sister Jane is so shocked, she suffers a nosebleed, and his mother Alice is so upset, she drops dead on the spot. To cap it all, Tony’s Brontë-obsessed ex-sweetheart has gone round the bend, his best mate Dave is now leader of the Morris Dancing Survivalist Militia, and the town he grew up in is under threat…