In this interview recorded exclusively for the Faber Podcast, historian, broadcaster and Chief Curator at the Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley takes us through Courtiers, her guided tour of the lives of the members of the Georgian Royal Household - both above- and below-stairs.

This month, George Miller interviews scholar James Shapiro and novelist Maria McCann, both of whom have explored historical themes in their recent work. In Professor James Shapiro's latest work Contested Will: Who Really Wrote Shakespeare? he delves into a subject that has divided scholars and historians for centuries. In new novel, The Wilding, Maria McCann brings to life a tumultuous family story, played out over generations, and set during the Restoration.

James Shapiro discusses Contested Will: Who Really Wrote Shakespeare? an investigation into a much-debated subject.

Maria McCann discusses her new novel, The Wilding, a passionate family story set in seventeenth-century England.

Our guests this month are Robin Dunbar and Alex Preston. Robin Dunbar is Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford and in How Many Friends Does One Person Need? he tackles aspects of human nature, taking in Twitter, Facebook and Dunbar's Number. Alex Preston is the author of This Bleeding City, his debut, cautionary tale of a City insider caught amidst a personal and professional boom and bust.

Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University, tells us more about his new book, How Many Friends Does One Person Need? and explains 'Dunbar's number'.

Alex Preston discusses his acclaimed debut novel, This Bleeding City, his timely fictional account of one man's rise and fall amongst the turbulence of the economic boom and bust.

America looms large in the new novels by Jonathan Lethem and Peter Carey, the interviewees in February 2010's Faber Podcast. George Miller discusses modern-day Manhattan - both real and unreal - as portrayed by Lethem in Chronic City, a book rich in metaphors. Peter Carey's Parrot and Olivier in America goes back a couple of centuries, but as Carey makes clear, there are clear parallels between an America in its infancy and today's state of affairs.

Recorded in January 2010, when he paid a visit to Faber's offices in London, Brooklyn author Jonathan Lethem spoke to us about his new novel, Chronic City.

On his short trip to the UK in February 2010, Peter Carey dropped by the Faber offices to speak to us about his new novel, Parrot and Olivier in America, which was shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize.