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On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on how the U.S. Congress serves the financial interests of itself through insider trading.

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In her first work of non-fiction A Truce That Is Not Peace (4th Estate), acclaimed novelist Miriam Toews spirals out from a question asked of her at a literary festival in Mexico City – ‘Why do you write?’ – in a dazzling exploration of grief, guilt, futility and creativity. Toews read from her work, and discussed it with Octavia Bright, author of This Ragged Grace.

Jan Morris was one of the best known travel writers since World War 2, yet despite her fame she is an engima. The reason is simple. At the height of her success in the early 1970s she transitioned from male to female. The reasons for her going through what was still a fairly primitive risky procedure were clear to her but not to the world at large and other than one book of memoir Morris rarely spoke about it again. Sara Wheeler is herself a successful travel writer and biographer and in this FRDH podcast she speaks with host Michael Goldfarb about her authorized biography of Morris and the complicated and stupendously productive life she led. Give us 54 minutes to tell you all about it.

“Even if the US president is an idiot… he’s still the most powerful man in the world.” is just one of the sharp-edged insights from Seán Lemass, a leader who believed in decisive action and wasn’t afraid to provoke in the pursuit of progress. Pat is joined by Ronan McGreevy to unpack his book ‘Seán Lemass: The Lost Memoir’, which is a remarkable reconstruction of Lemass’s own voice drawn from 22 hours of recordings.

Catherine Lacey reads her story “Rate Your Happiness,” from the April 13, 2026, issue of the magazine. Lacey is the author of five books of fiction, including the novels “Pew” and “Biography of X,” both of which were short-listed for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2021 and 2024, respectively. Her memoir and novella, “The Möbius Book,” was published in 2025.

Jessie Buckley is an actor and singer. She recently won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe Award for her critically acclaimed role playing Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in Chloé Zhao’s film Hamnet. Her performance has also garnered her an Academy Award nomination.

Jessie won an Olivier Award for her portrayal of Sally Bowles in a 2021 West End revival of Cabaret. Her breakout film role came in 2018 when she played an aspiring country music singer in the musical Wild Rose.

Jessie was born in Killarney in County Kerry to creative parents. Her mother trained as a singer and harpist and her father, who ran a guest house when she was growing up, writes poetry. As a child Jessie and her siblings put on Irish dancing performances for people who stayed in the guest house.

In 2008 she appeared in the BBC talent show I’d Do Anything – the televised search to find a Nancy for a West End production of Oliver! Jessie came second in the competition and afterwards Sir Cameron Mackintosh, one of the judges, sent her on a Shakespeare workshop at RADA which she says changed her life.

She made her professional stage debut as Anne Egerman in the 2008/2009 revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music at London's Menier Chocolate Factory. In 2010 she stepped away from professional work and enrolled at RADA where she studied for three years.

After graduating she performed on stage, screen and television. She received her first Oscar nomination playing opposite Olivia Colman in the 2021 film the Lost Daughter.

Jessie lives in Norfolk with her husband and their baby daughter.

DISC ONE: Samhradh Samhradh - The Gloaming

BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Poems of Tim Buckley

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

It was one of the most bitter planning battles in Dublin’s history. Wood Quay, a priceless Viking settlement, was built over despite mass protests, court challenges, and 200,000 signatures. The result: Dublin City Council’s civic offices, a controversial but now established architectural landmark on the banks of the Liffey, but just 30 years on, the council wants to walk away at a potential cost of half a billion euro - but why? Joining Pat to discuss is architect, Roisin Murphy.

From over-worked medics to bent coppers, for the last 30 years Jed Mercurio has been responsible for some of the UK’s most successful TV series, including Cardiac Arrest, Bodies and Bodyguard. But Line of Duty is arguably his biggest hit, and recording has started for the much-anticipated seventh series.

The award-winning screenwriter, director and producer grew up in a working-class family in Staffordshire. His parents, Italian immigrants, were keen he fit in, but friends say Jed was unique from the get-go with big dreams and a determination to be the best.

He initially trained to be a doctor and demonstrated his sharp, witty writing in a medical school magazine. Half-way through his medical training, he joined the RAF and was taught to fly fighter jets, before pivoting to screenwriting.

Mark Coles looks back at his career so far.

Producer: Ben Carter

Trump’s war on Iran has highlighted recent dramatic changes in the politics of oil. While the United States still guarantees maritime security in the Middle East, it is no longer the primary beneficiary, with most oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf going to Asia. In Britain, meanwhile, debates over drilling in the North Sea point to the urgent need for electrification, both to achieve greater energy security and to reach net zero by 2050.

In this episode, James is joined by Helen Thompson, a professor of political economy at the University of Cambridge, who argues that the war, though far from inevitable, stems in part from regional and international tensions caused by the shifting of energy flows. They discuss the central role that finance, and insurance in particular, plays in deciding whether tankers can sail, and how energy requirements helped Trump to secure the backing of major US corporations in the 2024 presidential election.

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John Humphrys is back!

Radio Oldie is delighted to host a new podcast, The Odd Couple, sponsored by Baillie Gifford, starring the great broadcaster and Matthew Norman, Oldie columnist, formerly the Guardian diarist and Telegraph columnist.

For over 30 years, from 1987 until 2019, John Humphrys was the chief presenter on Radio 4’s Today programme. Now he and Matthew, great friends - often with severe differences of opinion - lock horns for the Oldie.

In the first episode, John recalls how the back-breaking poverty of his childhood in Splott, Cardiff, galvanised him to embark on his extraordinary career. And he movingly remembers being the first journalist on the horrifying scene in Aberfan 60 years ago, when a colliery spoil tip engulfed a school, killing 116 children and 28 adults.

John says of his new presenting companion, ‘Matthew is one of the most gifted hacks I’ve ever met: clever, funny, staggeringly articulate and with a total conviction that he’s right about everything. Always. But is he?’

Matthew says of the new venture, ‘At this point of the calendar, it behoves us to remember that we all have a cross to bear. Working with John Humphrys is mine.’
Recording provided by Yamaha Music