Snowcast

The award-winning screenwriter and playwright, Jack Thorne, joins Jon to discuss his work, passions, activism and politics.

They discuss Jack's new TV show, Best Interests, (starring Sharon Horgan and Michael Sheen) and why it was so tough to write this story.

At the age of 42, Jack was diagnosed with autism, something he is still processing. He talks openly about this and how it has affected him and his work. Jack talks about The TV Access Project - which is trying to change accessibility in television. It's something he's passionate about, and spoke about in his 2021 MacTaggart Lecture, when he said that: "TV has failed disabled people".

He reflects on this, two years on, and also tells Jon how much his 2017 lecture inspired him.

With a new TV series just out, and two plays on in London (The Motive And The Cue at the National and When Winston Went To War With The Wireless at the Donmar) you might think Jack would want a rest. But no, he's working on MORE projects because, in his words: "there are still many stories I want to tell".

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Journalist, broadcaster and best-selling author, Tim Marshall, joins Jon to talk about the power and politics of the new space race.

Tim's new book - The Future Of Geography - looks at how the developments in space will change our world forever.

The new space race is on, with China, USA and Russia leading the charge and many more vying for pre-eminence. But with eighty countries now in space, in some form or another, are the guidelines and laws outdated? And are the countries - and individuals - who are building new technologies to travel to, and exist in, space doing it for the good of others, or for their own financials gains?

Related links:

Tim's other books

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

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The Reverend Richard Coles left two major institutions within the same year; The BBC and The Church, but he cannot and will not sit still.

Richard joins Jon to discuss his fascinating life and career, the power of prayer and what the future holds for him without a dog collar...

Jon and Richard share their love and nostalgia for choral music, as well as looking at religion's place in society in 2023.

They also discuss Richard's writing, his upcoming tour and his own brilliant podcast, The Rabbit Hole Detectives.

RELATED LINKS:

Richard's latest novel, A Death In The Parish

His own podcast, The Rabbit Hole Detectives

And the upcoming tour, Borderline National Trinket

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David Harewood is an actor, director, author and activist. He was born in Birmingham, trained at RADA, and made a name for himself on the stage, with big roles that included Othello and Martin Luther King.

Most recently, he played the right-wing commentator William Buckley Jr. in Best Of Enemies. A fantastic production that is currently screening in cinemas, thanks to National Theatre Live.

His diverse screen work includes film, documentaries, and the hit thriller Homeland, which saw David relocate to America for a decade.

David often shines a light on issues and subjects that he cares about, through his roles and documentary subjects. And he spoke about racism and a psychotic breakdown with great honesty in his 2021 memoir Maybe I Don’t Belong Here. All of which is covered in this wide-ranging and candid conversation.

Related links:

David's website

David Harewood: Psychosis and Me (BBC)

Get On Up: The Triumph Of Black America (BBC)

1000 Years A Slave (Channel 5)

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Dame Joan Bakewell is a broadcaster, journalist, author and Labour Party peer. Her broadcasting career spans six decades and she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Royal Television Society in 2016, and a BAFTA fellowship in 2019.

At the age of 90, she is still presenting TV programmes (most recently Landscape Artist Of The Year), sitting in the House Of Lords and is the President of Birkbeck College, London.

Joan has written for various national newspapers including The Guardian and The Independent, and has also published many books. Her latest - The Ticking Of Two Clocks - is about her recent experience of downsizing her home.

She has been very open about her recent cancer diagnosis, and talks to Jon about how that has affected her outlook on life. Whilst reflecting on her incredible career and achievements, she also looks to the future, and discusses politics, peers and what pleasures are still to come.

Related links:

Joan's website

House Of Lords website

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Hannah is a Professor of Mathematics at University College London. She is an expert in algorithms, who studies the patterns in human behaviour – particularly in an urban setting.

Hannah is also a brilliant communicator, who shares her passion for maths - in books, podcasts, radio, television, and public talks.

Her hit shows include The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry, on Radio 4. While recent TV series, for the BBC and Bloomberg, have looked at technology and its implications for the future.

Hannah’s 2018 book, Hello World, explored the vast array of algorithms on which we increasingly rely.  As technology evolves at a rapid rate, she believes that we should stop seeing machines as objective masters and start treating them as we would any other source of power. Because, in the age of the algorithm, humans have never been more important.

Related links:

Hannah's website

The Future with Hannah Fry (Bloomberg)

The Secret Genius of Modern Life (BBC)

Try ChatGPT

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The comedian and writer Phil Wang was born in Stoke-on-Trent and spent his childhood in Malaysian Borneo, before moving to Bath at the age of 16. 

Phil successfully combined engineering with comedy at Cambridge University. He won the Chortle Student Comedy Award in his second year, a Comedy Central Award the following year, and became President of Footlights in his final year.

By this point, Phil knew that he wanted to pursue a comedy career. And he’s enjoyed great success ever since, with solo shows and his sketch trio Daphne.

Phil often talks about race in his comedy. It’s a subject he finds interesting and which he explored in greater depth, in his funny and thoughtful book, Sidesplitter: How To Be From Two Worlds At Once.

In this conversation, Phil chats about his hometown of Kota Kinabalu, moving to England, covering race and cultural differences in his comedy, cancel culture and his new show Wang In There, Baby!

Relevant links:

Phil's book: Sidesplitter

Phil's YouTube channel

Philly Philly Wang Wang on Netflix

Wangsplaining on Radio 4

Phil's sketch trio Daphne on Radio 4

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When not playing Lady Danbury, in the huge Netflix series Bridgerton, Adjoa is a renowned stage actor. Celebrated for her performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, The National Theatre, and The Globe. Where, in 2019, she played Richard II, in the UK's first all-women-of-colour production.

Adjoa has now turned her attention to Shakespeare’s Richard III. She directs and takes the lead role, inviting the audience to think about what happens to a person - and their sense of self - when bad intentions are ascribed to them, based solely on their appearance.

She passionately believes in the power of storytelling. For Adjoa, theatre and drama can be transformational - helping to shape our perspectives and, she hopes, make us feel empathy...even for someone with a reputation like Shakespeare's Richard III.

Related links:

Richard II (recorded at The Globe Theatre in 2019)

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

Island Queen: A novel about Dorothy Kirwan Thomas 

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Alastair Campbell started out in journalism and became Political Editor of the Mirror, before entering the political fray and helping return Labour to power, with a landslide victory in 1997.

He remains a prolific writer who’s found his voice - and lots of listeners - as a podcaster. Disagreeing agreeably with co-host Rory Stewart, on The Rest Is Politics.

His latest book is titled But What Can I Do? A question he finds more urgent than ever, in a political landscape, dominated by post-truth, polarisation and populism. 

This conversation was recorded on the 25th April, shortly after Alastair had returned from Belfast and events marking 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement. A good time for him and Jon to reflect on New Labour’s legacy and a little disagreement of their own.

Related links:

Jon interviews Alastair on Channel 4 News in June 2003

The Rest Is Politics

The Revenge of Power by Moisés Naím

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Dr Rachel Clarke is a palliative care doctor, and best-selling author. Who spent a decade, working as a journalist, before deciding to change careers.

She took her science A-Levels, studied in the evening and started at medical school, just before her 30th birthday. When the time came to specialise, Rachel chose palliative care because she was drawn to the challenge of helping patients approach the end of life. And she's now balancing a busy NHS career, with new charity called Hospice Ukraine, which she founded after visiting the country in October 2022.

Rachel has witnessed the impact of funding cuts from the perspective of both doctor and journalist. And she and Jon met on Thursday 13th April, as junior doctors entered a third day of strike action, with the dispute showing no sign of being resolved.

Related links:

Hospice Ukraine Launch Event

Rachel's website

Rachel on Twitter

Dame Cicely Saunders (who founded the first modern hospice)

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