A Line in the Sand is a novel about two friends on an adventure in the Middle East based on an actual journey two real life friends took to Saudi Arabia and Damascus in 2006. 

One of the inspirations for the trip was T.E Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia. The two authors Miles Spencer and Wells Jones had worked on a stage play based on the life of Lawrence and they decided to take a trip to see the landscape for themselves and meet the people Lawrence identified with.

This conversation with Wells Jones took place on 15th January 2025 when a cease fire had just been signed between Israel and Hamsas.

Line in the Sand explains some of the long history behind the conflict in the Middle East.

There is a new BBC TV history series by Simon Schama, The Story of Us.

In the first programme Simon highlights the huge impact that Alan Sillitoe's novel 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' had when it was published in 1958.

Alan Sillitoe spoke to David Freeman when his novel Birthday was published in 2001.

Birthday is the sequel to Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.

1958 to 2001 is a ling time to wait for a sequel.

So why did it take so long?

This glorious popular science books tells the story of how black holes that were  thought to be too ridiculous to exist in 1916 had by 1971  been proved to exist.

Einstein thought they were impossible but in 1971 Paul Murdin and Louise Webster discovered the very first black hole, Cygnus X-1

Marcus tells the story of these extraordinary people who discovered that black holes are centre stage in the cosmos. Indeed without black holes it is unlikely that we would exist.

Fasten your seat belts and prepare to be amazed.

A great book for the curious!!

Nina Simone was born on February 21st 1933.

There has been news recently of a plan to buy Nina Simone's childhood home in Tryon North Carolina and make it into a museum celebrating the life and work of the girl who was born Eunice Waymon.

I interviewed Nina  in December 1998 just before her last ever show at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

She was talking to me for a programme on the radio station Jazz fm, which would promote the concert.

Nina had a reputation for being a tricky interviewee but on the day she was delightful and during the conversation she was eager to give her views on sexism, racism and feminism.

After the interview I  was asked to introduce Nina on stage at the Albert Hall. It was a memorable day.

Bitter Crop is a superb biography of Billie Holiday who was probably the very best jazz singer there has ever been. The book title is takes from one of Billie's signature songs, 'Strange Fruit'.

There have been films and many books about Billie's career but not all of them came close to telling the whole truth of a remarkable life.

True there were drugs and alcohol but there was so mucah more than that. There was huge musical success and adulation -  Billie considered her life to be a triumph.

The conversation took place in July 2024 ..... 65 years after Billie died.

Rebecca Beattie identifies as a witch.

A few days before Hallowe'en Rebecca tells David Freeman how the world looks to her through the lens of her pagan world view. 

The latest census information confirms that Rebecca's beliefs are gaining in popularity

Terry Pratchett was a great supporter of the move to legalise assisted dying. This was partly due to his early onset Alzheimer's Disease which was diagnosed when he was in his 50s. He described the condition as as an embuggerance.

Terry Pratchett died in 2015.

This is a conversation from the archive recorded at his home office in Wiltshire.

Terry started life writing when he was just a boy and in adult life became press officer for the nuclear power stations of the Central Electricity Board.

When the Pratchett books became hugely successful he gave up the day job and by 1996 he was the bestselling author in the UK.

In public he always wore a big hat, and in his Wiltshire studio he was an early adopter of a robot vacuum cleaner. When he wrote he worked on four computer screens simultaneously. 

Great guy!

Joe Boyd is a man about music, record producer, a film producer and author.

He arrived in London in 1964 with Muddy Waters and a host of blues musicians who played to sold out UK audiences when they were unappreciated in their US homeland.

In this conversation he talks about Nick Drake, Paul Simon, The Incredible String Band, Paul Butterfield, MIke Bloomfield and the enduring power of real music.

A thought provoking podcast.

The effect of the American reverberates around the globe. There seems to be perceived electoral advantage in fanning hate and intolerance.

The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine continue.

Why is this? Is there any cause for optimism? Where do non rational beliefs and convictions fit in the conflicts?

This conversation with the activist and thinker Tariq Ali was recorded soon after the outrage of 9/11.

There is a plan for the future in what Tariq was saying but I wonder if he is as optimistic today. Will rational thought and reasoned discussion bring peaceful coexistence?

This new book is terrific - its a revelation.

Catherine has studied texts written around the same time as the writings we know as the gospels. 

Some of these ancient documents tell the story of the bible characters we are familiar with in a totally different way.

Listen to Catherine talk about her research and you will be surprised ..... probably very surprised!!

My favourite book of the year. Every time I see a politician leaning in a faith direction I want to urge them to read this book!