One to One

Evan Davis continues his exploration into deception by talking to those who've had cause to be economical with the truth. We think of truth and falsehood as simple binary concepts. Statements surely have to be one or the other. Well not quite. In these interviews Evan meets people who've found themselves on the fuzzy boundary between truth and falsehood. This week he meets Penny Gadd who lead life as a married man but who became more and more aware that she needed to change sex. She'd concealed her feelings for years and as in so many deceptions she'd concealed them from herself too.

Evan Davis explores the issue of deception by talking to those who have had cause to be economical with the truth . From doctors, guilty of well intentioned obfuscation, to ex-fraudsters skilled at outright lies, over the next four weeks, as Evan takes over the One to One chair, he discusses the complicated truth about lying with those, for whom the truth is rarely plain and never simple.

Lyse Doucet is in Kabul to talk to Rangina Hamidi who runs a successful company which gives women economic independence. However she's now 'given up' on Afghanistan following the murder of her father who - at the time of his death - was the Mayor of Kandahar.

In 1981, at the age of three, Rangina Hamidi's family escaped their native Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. They spent seven years in Pakistan before moving to the United States and settling in Virginia.

But in 2003 (following the fall of the Taliban) Rangina returned to Afghanistan and set up Kandahar Treasure; a private company run by women, it makes and sells traditionally embroidered fabric.

However, Rangina is now packing up and leaving, returning to the United States. The reason is the recent murder of her father, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, who was killed in a suicide bomb attack in July. His death has left her feeling 'negative' and 'pessimistic' , and although her decision to leave makes her feel as if she has failed, she says she needs the space to heal.

One day she may return, and hopes it will be to a more peaceful country.

Join Lyse Doucet as she speaks to Rangina Hamidi for this week's One to One.

Producer: Karen Gregor.

For this week's edition of 'One to One' Lyse Doucet has travelled to Kabul to speak to Nader Nadery, a human rights campaigner who, despite living under direct threat from the Taliban, continues to work for the future of his country.

He's in his thirties, which means that in his lifetime his country has never been at peace. When he was eight his primary school was destroyed by the Mujahideen and, in his twenties, he was arrested and tortured by the Taliban. Highly educated and able to live abroad should he want to, he's chosen to remain in Kabul and now works for a human rights organisation. His inspiration is Ghandi - his telephone screensaver bears his image - yet he must travel in an armoured car for his own protection.

Producer: Karen Gregor.

Lyse Doucet presents the second in Radio 4's new interview series where respected broadcasters follow their passions by speaking to the people whose stories interest them most.

Lyse has a long-standing connection to the country and people of Afghanistan, having reported from there for over 20 years. This month marks the 10th anniversary of the American led invasion, a good time to reflect on recent history and consider the future. This week she's talking to a media mogul who's changed the face of popular culture in a country where, until recently, TV was banned:

Saad Mohseni has become known as Afghanistan's answer to Rupert Murdoch. Until recently he would have accepted that as a huge compliment, perhaps no longer. But, either way, Mohseni is a big player. Running his media empire out of offices in Dubai and Kabul, he's revolutionised TV and Radio broadcasting in Afghanistan by

His father was an Afghan diplomat who moved his family around the world - London, Tokyo, Kabul, with a long period in Australia. where, eventually, Saad became an investment banker.

But shortly after the fall of the Taliban, Saad Mohseni returned to Afghanistan and, long fascinated with the media, established a hugely successful media empire.

Join Lyse as she speaks to Saad Mohseni for One to One.

Producer: Karen Gregor.

One to One is a new series of interviews on Radio 4 in which well respected broadcasters follow their personal passions by talking to the people whose stories interest them most.

The first set of interviews will be presented by Lyse Doucet.

Lyse Doucet has a long-standing connection to the country and people of Afghanistan; she's reported from there for over 20 years.

Over the next four weeks Lyse will be in conversation with Afghans - young and old, living at home and abroad - to hear their remarkable stories. This month marks the 10th anniversary of the American-led invasion of Afghanistan, a good time to reflect on recent history and consider the future.

Masood Khalili is Afghanistan's Ambassador to Spain, but he's also a poet who says his life is "10% about politics and 90% about culture".

On the 9th of September 2001, he was the only survivor of an Al Qaeda suicide bomb attack which killed his friend and legendary military leader, Ahmad Shah Masood. An attack which is regarded as a pre-cursor to 9/11.

Khalili's injuries were so severe that he was lucky to live and can no longer endure the dry, dusty conditions of his homeland. Lyse Doucet went to see him in Madrid where he described the bomb blast and the impact it has had on him.

He also talked about his occasional visits to, and memories of, his beloved garden near Kabul. That garden is a metaphor for the way he regards his country -

"I see a flower there and it's blossoming and I say my country will be ok. my country will be like that flower".

Producer: Karen Gregor.