Adam Henson presents Countryfile, often from his 650-hectare farm in the Cotswolds. Having studied Agriculture at college, Adam took over Bemborough Farm from his father, Joe. The farm now grows wheat, spring barley and oilseed rape, runs a flock of 400 commercial ewes and has the UK's leading collection of rare breeds, many of which are in demand for film sets and advertisements. Cotswold Farm Park (www.cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk) offers a total countryside experience for all the family, welcoming more than 100,000 visitors each year. 
 
Adam presented Lambing Live with Kate Humble, writes for Countryfile magazine and has appeared on Radio 4's On Your Farm and Farming Today. He is the author of three previous books, Adam’s Farm: My Life on the Land, the Sunday Times bestseller, Like Farmer, Like Son and A Farmer and His Dog.

Adam Henson

Adam Higginbotham writes for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, GQ, Businessweek, Smithsonian, Men’s Journal, and The Atavist. He began his career in magazines and newspapers in London, where he was the editor-­in-chief of The Face and a contributing editor at The Sunday Telegraph. The author of Midnight in Chernobyl, he lives in New York City.

Adam Higginbotham

Adam Hills is an internationally recognised comedian and host of award-winning Channel 4 show The Last Leg. His collection of stories from a life in comedy, Best Foot Forward, was a Times bestseller.

Adam Hills

Adam Howling

Adam J. Kurtz

Adam Jacot de Boinod

ADAM JOHNSON won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2013 for his second novel, the New York Times bestseller The Orphan Master’s Son (‘Excavates the very meaning of life’ New York Times). His short story 'Nirvana' won the prestigious Sunday Times/EFG Short Story Award. He is the author of acclaimed story collections, Fortune Smiles and Emporium and the novel Parasites Like Us. He teaches creative writing at Stanford University and lives with his family in San Francisco.

Adam Johnson

Adam Kay is a former doctor who has written five million books and sold seven copies. No, hang on – he’s written seven books and sold five million copies. His debut book, This is Going to Hurt, is a literary sensation: a Sunday Times number one bestseller for over a year, winning a record-breaking four National Book Awards and selling over 3 million copies. Kay adapted This is Going to Hurt as a BAFTA-winning comedy-drama series for the BBC. Adam Kay’s children’s books have been translated into 32 languages and sold over 1 million copies, making him one of the UK’s bestselling children’s authors. Kay’s Anatomy became the fastest-selling children’s general non-fiction hardback of the decade. His first picture book, Amy Gets Eaten, was published in 2023, and his first children’s novel, Dexter Procter the Ten-Year-Old Doctor, was published in September 2024.

Adam Kay

Adam studied illustration and animation, and received a BA followed by an MA from the Edinburgh College of Art. As a student he won a competition to create a short film for MOMI and Channel 4, and once his career producing animated commercials was under way, he became an illustrator as well. He has regular columns in the UK and the US.

Adam Larkum

Adam Lashinsky

Adam Macqueen

Adam Mars-Jones

Adam O'Riordan was born in Manchester in 1982, where he currently lives. In 2008 he became the youngest Poet-in-Residence at The Wordsworth Trust, the Centre for British Romanticism. His first collection In the Flesh (2010) win a Somerset Maugham Award. He is the Academic Director of the Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Adam O'Riordan

Adam Phillips, formerly Principal Child Psychotherapist at Charing Cross Hospital, London, is a practising psychoanalyst and a visiting professor in the English department at the University of York. He is the author of numerous works of psychoanalysis and literary criticism, including most recently On Giving Up, On Wanting to Change, Attention Seeking, In Writing, Unforbidden Pleasures and Missing Out. He is General Editor of the Penguin Modern Classics Freud translations, and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature.

Adam Phillips

Adam Rackley

Adam Richardson is the UK's top trending health and fitness coach with a rapidly growing audience across both TikTok and Instagram. Adam is passionate about removing barriers to exercise and movement, a philosophy that is key to his work as a Personal Trainer in which he strives to help his clients feel more confident, as well as more fit and healthy.

Adam Richardson

Adam Roberts is acknowledged as the senior scholar of international relations in the UK. He was Montague Burton Professor of International Relations at Oxford University 1986-2007, and President of the British Academy 2009-13 - the head of humanities in Britain. He was on the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London (2002-08), a member of the UK Defence Academy Advisory Board (2003-15) and is now on the Board of Advisers of the Lieber Institute for Law and Land Warfare at the United States Military Academy, West Point.

Adam Roberts

Adam Roberts is the author of The Amateur Gourmet and Secrets of the Best Chefs, and coauthor of Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway. He started his food blog, The Amateur Gourmet, in 2004 and currently writes The Amateur Gourmet Newsletter on Substack. Roberts has also written for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, and for film and television. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their dog, Winston. Food Person is his first novel.

Adam Robinson is based in the Middle East and is a regular contributor to newspapers in the Arab world and also to the British media. He is the author of numerous books on the region, including Bin Laden: Behind the Mask of the Terrorist.

Adam Robinson

Adam Ross

Adam Rutherford

Adam Rutherford is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and geneticist at University College London. His books include A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, The Book of Humans, and the Sunday Times bestseller How to Argue with a Racist. He has written and presented numerous documentaries for BBC radio and television, including Inside Science and The Cell. Adam has also worked as a science advisor on many films, including the Oscar-winning Ex Machina (2015) and Annihilation (2018).

Adam Smith

Adam Smyth runs the 39 Step Press, an experiment in printing, from a cold barn in Oxfordshire. He is also Professor of English Literature and the History of the Book at Balliol College, University of Oxford.

Adam Smyth

Adam Sweeting

Adam Tandy

Adam Thirlwell was born in London in 1978. The author of three previous novels, his work has been translated into thirty languages. His essays appear in the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, and he is an advisory editor of the Paris Review. His awards include a Somerset Maugham Award and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; in 2018 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has twice been selected by Granta as one of their Best of Young British Novelists.

Adam Thirlwell

Adam Thorpe was born in Paris in 1956. His first novel, Ulverton, appeared in 1992 and he has published two books of stories and ten further novels, most recently Missing Fay (2017), and six poetry collections. 
 
 
www.adamthorpe.net

Adam Thorpe

Adam Tooze is the author of the highly praised Crashed, The Deluge and The Wages of Destruction, all published by Allen Lane. He has been the recipient of the Wolfson Prize for History, the Longman-History Today Book of the Year Prize and the Lionel Gelber Prize. Tooze has taught at Cambridge and Yale and is now Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of History at Columbia University.

Adam Tooze

Adam Usden

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David Whitaker

'History must take its course...'   The TARDIS materialises in the middle of a holy war between King Richard the Lionheart and the Saracen leader, Saladin, in 12th Century Palestine. As the Doctor, Vicki, Ian and Barbara explore their surroundings, they are suddenly caught up in a Saracen ambush - and Barbara is kidnapped.   For the time travellers, intrigue and espionage ensue as they once again become involved in living history. A newly-knighted 'Sir Ian of Jaffa' makes haste to find and rescue Barbara, whilst the Doctor finds it difficult to stay out of trouble in the court of the King...   This classic adventure, only two episodes of which survive in the BBC film archive, stars William Hartnell as the Doctor, William Russell as Ian, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara, and Maureen O'Brien as Vicki. Amongst the guest cast are Julian Glover as Richard, with Jean Marsh as his sister Joanna.

Doctor Who: The Crusade (TV Soundtrack)

John Betjeman

In this fascinating collection of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive, John Betjeman (Poet Laureate 1972) talks about his life and career as one of the foremost poets of the 20th Century. 
 
The interviews included are: Asian Club, broadcast on BBC Radio, 7 July 1959 (featuring Arthur Russell and studio audience); People of Today, broadcast on BBC Radio, 24 December 1959 (featuring Irene Slade); Omnibus, broadcast on BBC TV, 5 November 1972 (featuring unnamed interviewer); Parkinson, broadcast on BBC TV, 17 February 1973 (featuring Michael Parkinson); Desert Island Discs, broadcast on BBC Radio, 12 April 1975 (featuring Roy Plomley); Parkinson, broadcast on BBC TV, 5 November 1977 (featuring Michael Parkinson); John Betjeman: A Tribute, broadcast on BBC TV, 5 June 1984 (featuring unnamed interviewers); Time Enough! Or Not Enough Time, broadcast on BBC TV, 8 May 1994 (featuring Jonathan Steadall). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

John Betjeman In His Own Words

Sapper

Cyril McNeile

Julian Rhind-Tutt reads Sapper's thrilling adventures of private detective Captain Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond, as heard on BBC Radio. In these six episodes, the demobbed officer offers his services to any client offering adventure. This leads him into danger and dashing escapades, as he finds himself grappling a gorilla; trying to save the realm from dreadful peril; protecting a Duchess's pearls and battling to foil the evil Peterson, who is planning to overthrow the Government...

Julian Rhind-Tutt reads Sapper's Bulldog Drummond

A BBC Radio 4 Extra reading

Alan Harris

Lighthouse keepers Howell and Griffith are posted to 6 weeks on the Smalls - a desolate rock 20 miles off the Pembrokeshire coast. But the two men share a past, and because of what happens next, lighthouses would never again have only a crew of two. Based on a true story. Written by Alan Harris, and starring Paul Rhys as Howell and Ifan Huw Dafydd as Griffith. Directed by James Robinson.

Lighthouse

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Alice Nutter

A family saga covering four decades, My Generation offers a window into the drugs and pop-fuelled protest movement inspired by writer Alice Nutter's own experience of the protest movement (she was part of the band Chumbawamba). With original music by Harry Hamer, My Generation stars Jo Hartley (Waterloo Road; This Is England) as Cath, Jason Done (Waterloo Road) as Mick in a cast that also includes Aimee Leigh Foster, Emma Rydall and Carla Henry. First broadcast: BBC Radio 3, February 5, 2012.

My Generation

Drama On 3

Nick Wood

Stephen Luckwell is an autistic teenager with an enquiring mind. His teacher, Claire, helps him through the daily activities which present him with enormous challenges, from deciphering phrases such as 'I was miles away' or 'I wouldn't want to be in your shoes', to understanding private jokes and other people's expressions. It's the day of the regional heats of the Young Artists' competition and Stephen is preparing how to behave. If he's properly prepared he can behave appropriately. Meanwhile Claire has some huge life changes in store, but she's not quite so prepared as Stephen. Written by Nick Wood and starring James Rastall, Emily Chennery and Simon Lee Phillips. Produced and directed by Fiona Kelcher.

My Name Is Stephen Luckwell

Dan Cruickshank

Geoffrey Fletcher's London was not the big landmarks, but rather 'the tawdry, extravagant and eccentric'. He wrote about parts of the city no-one ever had before. This could be an art nouveau pub, a Victorian music hall, a Hawksmoor church or even a public toilet in Holborn in which the attendant kept goldfish in the cisterns. He was drawn to the corners of the city where 'the kids swarm like ants and there are dogs everywhere'. This classic book was originally published in 1962 and has been in and out of print ever since. In 1967 it was turned into an acclaimed documentary film starring James Mason. Following a series of sold out screenings at the Barbican and the ICA, the film was re-released on DVD in 2008. This book is a must-have for anyone with an interest in London, and will surprise even those who think they know it well.

The London Nobody Knows

Frances Fyfield

'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' is a tantalising element of the Dickens manuscript archive held by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 
Along with fellow crime-writer Simon Brett and Dickens scholar Professor Jenny Hartley, Frances Fyfield uses the packed manuscript pages, detailed number plans and early cover designs to try and make sense of one of English Literature's great mysteries: what really happened to the eponymous hero. Edwin Drood. 
Dickens died shortly after bringing the curtain down on Chapter 23, barely half way through the twelve monthly instalments. He suffered a massive stroke later that day, 8 June 1870, and died the next day. 
By that stage in Dickens' novel, Edwin has gone missing and it is suspected that he has been murdered but no body has been found. The finger of suspicion points at Neville Landless but the author seems to be hinting at the guilt of a more sinister figure, the leader of the Cathedral choir, John Jasper. 
Ever since, Dickensian enthusiasts have searched the book for every hint of a clue as to what the author intended to do with the characters he'd created. Frances isn't afraid of joining these so-called 'Droodians' in trying to employ her crime-writer's insights to make sense of the pieces of the jigsaw left to us. 
But her investigation, which takes her to Rochester where the novel is set, also examines the state of Dickens' mind at the time, and his fascination with the criminal mentality, including vintage Dickensian types like Mr Crisparkle, the angular Mr Grewgious and the hideous auctioneer Mr Sapsea. 
Frances and her colleagues also search the manuscript for signs of the author's failing health, and, perhaps more importantly, failing ability. 
What they find is the usual high octane writing style, brilliant inventiveness and perhaps a greater subtlety in characterisation than in many of the earlier works. 
Producer: Tom Alban. 
 First broadcast: BBC Radio 4, 19 January 2012.

The Mystery Of The Mystery Of Edwin Drood

Alexandra Wood

A love story told across the two New York blackouts of 1965 and 1977. Larry and Nancy meet during the first blackout, while the prosperous city enjoys a spontaneous holiday. Twelve years on, the city is very different: rioting and looting accompany the blackout in a time of economic depression, and the couple must fight for their survival in a world which seems irrevocably changed. Starring Megan Ketch as Nancy and Brian Hastert as Larry. Written by Alexandra Wood. Directed by Lu Kemp. First broadcast: BBC Radio 4, 19 January 2012.

Twelve Years

Pearse Elliott

Best friends Aidan and Paul make a yearly pilgrimage to catch their rock idols AC/DC on their European tour. This year Paul has chosen Zurich - and Aidan soon discovers why. The cast stars Conleth Hill as Paul and Patrick FitzSymons as Aidan, with music by Brendan Ratliff. First broadcast: BBC Radio 3, February 4, 2012.

Zurich (The Wire)

Richard Curtis

Ben Elton

The complete soundtracks of all four Blackadder series, plus over three hours of specials and extras 
 
Through the ages of Britain, from the 15th century to the 21st, Edmund Blackadder has meddled his way along the bloodlines, aided by his two imbecilic sidekicks, Lord Percy and Baldrick, and hindered by an assortment of dimwitted aristocrats. With cunning plans and cutting comedy, listen as the Blackadder dynasty plot their way through history… 
 
The Black Adder – Set in the Middle Ages, this iconic first series follows the fictitious reign of King Richard IV, played by Brian Blessed, through the experiences of his unfavoured second son Prince Edmund “The Black Adder” 
 
Blackadder II - The Blackadder genes resurface in Elizabethan England for more historical comedy 
 
Blackadder the Third - Blackadder turns up as butler to the Prince Regent in the late 18th Century 
 
Blackadder Goes Forth – The scheming Blackadder is dropped into the trenches during the First World War 
 
Also included in this collection are eight Blackadder TV and radio specials: Blackadder’s Christmas Carol, Blackadder: The Cavalier Years, Blackadder: Woman’s Hour Invasion, The Shakespeare Sketch, Blackadder: Back and Forth, Blackadder: The Army Years, Blackadder: I Have a Cunning Plan and the Blackadder instalment of the TV series Britain's Best Sitcom. 
 
Written by film and TV royalty Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and Rowan Atkinson, and starring comedy giants Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson, and Rik Mayall, this is history at its grittiest and funniest. 
 
Track Listing:<ul><li>Chapters 1-6: The Black Adder</li><li>Chapters 7-12: Blackadder II</li><li>Chapters 13-18: Blackadder the Third</li><li>Chapters 19-24: Blackadder Goes Forth</li><li>Chapter 25: Blackadder’s Christmas Carol</li><li>Chapter 26: The Cavalier Years</li><li>Chapter 27: Woman’s Hour Invasion</li><li>Chapter 28: The Shakespeare Sketch</li><li>Chapter 29: Back and Forth</li><li>Chapter 30: The Army Years (Royal Variety Performance)</li><li>Chapter 31: I Have a Cunning Plan</li><li>Chapter 32: Britain's Best Sitcom</li></ul>Cast and credits 
Written by Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and Rowan Atkinson 
 
Edmund Blackadder - Rowan Atkinson 
S. Baldrick - Tony Robinson 
Melchett - Stephen Fry 
Lord Percy Percy – Tim McInnerny 
George – Hugh Laurie 
Queen Elizabeth I / Various – Miranda Richardson 
 
Including standout performances by Rik Mayall, Miriam Margolyes, Patsy Byrne, Brian Blessed, Robbie Coltrane, Jim Broadbent, Gabrielle Glaister, Elspet Gray, Robert East, Helen Atkinson-Wood, Bill Wallis, Stephen Frost, Mark Arden, Lee Cornes, Warren Clarke, Philip Pope, Barbara Miller, David Nunn, Denis Lill, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Stephen Frost, Chris Barrie, Jeremy Hardy and Ben Elton. 
 
 
©2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Blackadder: The Complete Collected Series

Dave Gorman

Dave Scott

Dave Gorman hosts a one-off, very silly panel show that takes place in a world where the Pub Olympics is far more important than that other Olympics you might have heard about. Contestants Chris Addison, Roisin Conaty, Geoff Lloyd and Seymour Mace compete for gold medals in a series of ridiculous rounds, very loosely based on sports. Usain Bolt can run the 100m in 9.58 seconds. What do the panellists think they could do in 9.58 seconds? Contestants have to fill the Olympub Jukebox with sports themed discs. Tammy Wynette Ball anyone? And what Olympic themed panel show would be complete without Quiz Akabusi? Produced by Carl Cooper.

Dave Gorman's Pub Olympics

Andy Merriman

June Whitfield stars as the indomitable actress Margaret Rutherford in a tale of chimpanzees, Jordanian Princes, an adoring husband and falling in love with a musician 30 years her junior. First broadcast in BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Drama slot. With June Whitfield as Margaret, Ryan McCluskey as Malcolm, Sean Baker as Stringer, Gabrielle Lloyd as Rumer, Adeel Akhtar as Prince Juan, Lloyd Thomas as the driver, Sally Orrock as the chimp trainer and Sam Dale as the doctor. Written by Andy Merriman. Directed by David Hunter.

A Monstrous Vitality

Radio 4 Afternoon Drama

Robert Peston

It's a world in which teamwork and goals are more than just motivational phrases, and moving the goal posts will get you sent off the pitch. Football management has come a long way since men in sheepskin coats bestrode the land. The BBC's business editor Robert Peston lifts the lid on this multimillion pound industry and, with managers like Harry Redknapp, Dario Gradi and Sam Allardyce, explores the management skills of Britain's top football managers - as well as asking what football managers can learn from their counterparts in the boardroom.

Among The Managers

David Hockney

David Hockney has been described as Britain's 'greatest living artist'. In this fascinating collection of archive interviews we hear - in his own words - about his paintings, his schooldays and the attitudes he had while growing up. Hockney discusses the influence that his family had on him, as well as his passion for drawing and his work rate. He also touches on the importance of different types of medium, the different periods in his life - and his future. 
 
 Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

David Hockney In His Own Words

David Fisher

John Leeson reads this thrilling novelisation of a classic Doctor Who serial. 
 
In search of a segment of the Key of Time, the Doctor, Romana and K9 arrive on the planet Tara, whose population has long mastered the art of android engineering. Romana is apprehended by the ambitious Count Grendel, who seeks to overthrow the king in waiting, and the Doctor is coerced into helping those loyal to the crown. 
 
With Reynart locked away in Grendel's dungeons, the Doctor must perfect an android that can be crowned in his place. Yet Reynart is not the only one of Grendel's prisoners to have a double: the captive Princess Strella is Romana's doppelganger. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues as Grendel seeks to destroy the Doctor in his race to the Taran throne. 
 
Now published in paperback and ebook by BBC Books, David Fisher's novelisation is read by John Leeson, the original voice of K9 in the BBC TV series. 
 
©2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Doctor Who: The Androids Of Tara (Classic Audio Original)

Cavan Scott

Mark Wright

The Doctor, Amy and Rory are awe-struck by their first sight of Hope Eternal, a super-earth bigger than Earth itself with heavy gravity, volcanoes and a crust loaded with mineral deposits. But their wonder is cut short when they discover a body dumped on the ground - a huge figure with extraordinarily long arms covered in thick, purple scales. Yet the corpse is not alien: he's human, albeit unlike any human Amy and Rory have ever seen. The Nu-Humans have adapted their genes to fit their new environment, and formed a thriving colony. But now they are facing a terrible threat. Can the Doctor find out who is killing Nu-Humans and why - before he, Amy and Rory are themselves tried for murder? Written specially for audio by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, The Nu-Humans features the Doctor, Amy and Rory as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill in the acclaimed hit series from BBC Television. It is read by Raquel Cassidy, who played Miranda Cleaves in the 2011 TV episodes The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People.

Doctor Who: The Nu-Humans

John Morton

Intrepid broadcaster Roy Mallard sets out to give us an insight into the lives of ordinary people in these two episodes form the original BBC Radio 4 series: 'The Headmaster' and 'The Solicitor'. Roy tackles the burning educational issues of the day with comprehensive school headmaster Nigel Peacock, and Nicola and Graham Broadbent are questioned closely in a rollercoaster ride through the nitty-gritty reality of life as solicitors in Alderly Edge, Cheshire.

People Like Us

Nigel Rees

This exclusive compilation was first published to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 'Quote, Unquote'. It takes a fond look a the show in which celebrity guests are quizzed about quotations, famous and obscure, and invited to contribute their own quotes and anecdotes. From identifying Shakespearean dialogue, attributing witty last words and putting names to famous one-liners, panellists go on to discuss everything that could possibly fall between two quotation marks, from eavesdropping to epitaphs.  This collection features more than fifty of the show's most entertaining guests, including David Attenborough, Alan Bennett, Kingsley Amis, Russell Harty, Judi Dench, Glenda Jackson, Denis Healey, Ian McKellen, Tim Rice, Terry Wogan, Peter Ustinov and Denis Norden.

Quote... Unquote

Highlights from the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 panel show

Tim Franks

BBC Radio 4 tackles the impending 2012 Olympics by going to the heart of the entire festival and celebrating not just the winning, but the taking part in one of the great contests from Olympic history. Presented by Tim Franks.

The Taking Part

Vasily Grossman

Vasily Grossman, author of Life and Fate, was transformed by his experiences as a war correspondent. Following the shock invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Grossman volunteered for front line duty. Declared unfit for active service he was assigned to Red Star newspaper as a special correspondent. In these BBC Radio programmes, Elliot Levey reads three of Vasily Grossman's front line despatches. The first is a heroic and intimate portrait of a sniper, the second deals with the battle for Stalingrad and the final one details the murder of millions of Jews on Soviet soil: an account that was rejected by the military censor and only rediscovered in the late 1990s. Translators: Jim Riordan &amp; Polly Zavadivker. Producer: Mark Burman.

Vasily Grossman From The Front Line

Robert M. Pirsig

Peter Flannery

An odyssey into life’s challenging questions during an unforgettable summer motorcycle trip 
 
Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance became an instant bestseller upon its publication in 1974. A powerful examination of how we live, as well as a breath-taking meditation on how to live better, it tells the epic story of a father and son’s motorcycle trip across America’s Northwest in the 1960s. 
 
Pirsig’s modern classic transformed a generation and continues to inspire millions of readers today. Dramatised for radio for the first time by Peter Flannery (Our Friends in the North, George Gently, The Devil’s Whore), this fantastic full-cast production stars James Purefoy (Rome, Injustice, Ironclad) and adds a new and original dimension to an iconic work. Following a father and his young son on their cross-country summer adventure from Minnesota to California, it is a story of love, fear, growth, discovery and acceptance. Both personal and philosophical, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is also a compelling study of relationships, values, enlightenment and meaning. 
 
The maintenance of the motorcycle throughout the journey illustrates how to unify the cold, rational realm of technology with the warm, imaginative realm of artistry. Resonating with the confusions and the wonders of existence, the narrator wrestles with some of the most important philosophical questions of the 20th century. His need to also reconcile his past and present selves drives him and his son forward, to a point where all is either lost or won on the Chautauqua spiritual journey. 
 
This audio edition includes a bonus 10 minutes of material that was not broadcast on the radio. 
 
NB: the recording contains strong language. 
 
Production credits 
Author: Robert M. Pirsig 
Dramatist: Peter Flannery 
Original music: Jon Nicholls 
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore 
Producer: Melanie Harris 
 
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4. 
 
© 2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance®

Dirk Bogarde

This fascinating selection of extracts provides a vivid audio portrait of Dirk Bogarde, the award-winning actor and accomplished writer and artist who died in 1999. 
 
 Interviews include: Picture Parade, broadcast on BBC TV, 10 January 1961 (with Robert Robinson); The Movies, broadcast on BBC TV, 17 April 1967 (with Roger Hudson); Film Time, broadcast on BBC Radio, 12 June 1971 (with Anthony Bilbow); Parkinson, broadcast on BBC TV, 10 October 1971 (with Michael Parkinson); The Sounds of a Lifetime, broadcast on BBC Radio, 3 June 1972 (with Sheridan Morley); Profile, broadcast on BBC Radio, 18 March 1980 (with Kathleen Cheesmond); Parkinson, broadcast on BBC TV, 19 March 1980 (with Michael Parkinson); Woman's Hour, broadcast on BBC Radio, 19 March 1980 (with Jenni Mills) and 15 September 1986 (with Sarah Dunant); Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio, 31 December 1989 (with Sue Lawley); Bookshelf, BBC Radio, 13 March 1992 (with Nigel Forde). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Dirk Bogarde In His Own Words

Saki

Beasts on the Lawn is a collection of Edwardian short stories by Saki (H. H. Munro) recycled and restaged in a modern day gated community for the far too wealthy for their own good. The tales are woven together by the character of Clovis, a security guard. She recalls the events of strange days and long nights. The five stories are: Tobermory, The Interlopers, Sredni Vashtar, Gabriel Ernest and Mrs Packletide's Tiger. Starring Pippa Haywood as Clovis, with Nick Mohammed, Alan Coveney, Dolly Wells, Ed Weeks, Jennifer Lee, David Collins, Paul Dodgson, Barbara Flynn, John Sessions, Malcolm Hamilton, Amy Clifton, Carl Prekopp, Ed Weeks, Dolly Wells, Marcia Warren and Jennifer Lee Jellicorse. Adapted by Sean Grundy. Director: Alison Crawford.

Beasts On The Lawn

Sarah Daniels

Chloe has cerebral palsy and is certain she will lose her adored carer Rose, when Rose falls for an apparently perfect man. First broadcast in BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Drama slot. Starring Lesley Manville as Rose, Amy Golden as Chloe, Alex Tregear as Chloe's voice and Jelena Budimir as Alex. Written by Sarah Daniels. Director: Sally Avens.

But If You Try Sometimes

Sarah Naomi Lee

Philippa is a librarian from a long line of librarians. When her father dies and her mother loses her wits, Philippa tries the only language Vera understands, that of the Dewey cataloguing system, to guide her back to sanity. Starring Olivia Colman as Philippa, Sheila Reid as Vera, Caroline Guthrie as Sheila and Paul Rider as Alistair. Written by Sarah Naomi Lee. Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.

Dewey Eyed

Doug Lucie

Doug Lucie's satirical sequel to 'Hitched' revisits the bride and groom, Emma and Richard, two years after their big day. The honeymoon is well and truly over and wedded bliss hasn't turned out to be, well, blissful. With their relationship at crisis point, Emma returns from America with her young daughter to discover her life isn't the only one that has changed. But just what has happened between Emma and Richard, and why has she returned home without him? When Richard in turn flies back to the UK, the stage is set for another unforgettable family encounter. With sparks sure to fly at a family reunion no one wants to attend, Emma and Richard must finally decide what the future holds for their marriage. Will it be Hitched or Ditched? Starring Harry Lloyd and Lydia Leonard as Richard and Emma, with Stephen Moore, Frances Barber, David Schofield, Cheryl Campbell, Adrian Lukis, Brendan Patricks, Alison Pettit and Lynn Farleigh.

Ditched

Malcolm Hulke

Whilst visiting the Master, who has been exiled to a luxurious castle prison on a small island, Doctor Who and Jo Grant learn that a number of ships have vanished in the area. Whilst investigating these mysterious disappearances, Jo and the Doctor are attacked by a Sea-Devil, one of a submarine colony distantly related to the Silurians.   Soon they discover that the Sea-Devils plan to conquer the Earth and enslave humanity, aided and abetted by the Master. What can Doctor Who do to stop them?   Geoffrey Beevers, who played an incarnation of the Master in the classic BBC TV series, reads Malcolm Hulke's complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1974.

Doctor Who And The Sea-Devils

John McCarthy

This series, broadcast on Radio 4, is an assessment of the Bible's cultural, political, moral, social and personal impact, and a personal odyssey for John McCarthy as he questions the chapters he read during his time in captivity and discusses the meaning of truth and what it means to be human.

John McCarthy's Bible Journey

Ken Dodd

Ken Dodd and a supporting cast give us Ken's unique look behind the scenes and the show at his fictional theatre, the Palace Of Laughter. Enjoy more hilarity from the Squire of Notty Ash in these four classic radio shows, recorded in 1986 and 1987 at the Wigan Little Theatre, the Southport Little Theatre, Crewe's Lyceum Theatre and the Garrick Theatre, Stockport, respectively.

Ken Dodd's Palace Of Laughter

Black Star Series

Blacklist

Set inside Blandings Castle, this comedy series follows Lord Emsworth and his pig Empress as they meet with his dysfunctional family and friends, and the havoc that follows.

Blandings

Blandings Castle

Blood City Rollers

Bloodlines

Blossom Street

Blue Ant

Bluey

Bodyguard

Bodyguard Series

Bollocks to Alton Towers

Book of Dust Series

Borderlands

Born Wicked

Boudica: the last defender of the Celtic culture; the only woman openly to have led her warriors into battle; the only British warrior to have stood against the might of Imperial Rome - and triumphed. 
 
This is her story.

Boudica

Boy Soldier

Brain Chemicals

Brave Bunnies

Bridge

Bridget Jones's Diary

Brief Encounters

Bright Young Things

Brotherband

Arthur Bryant and John May are Golden Age detectives living in the modern world. Together they head up the Peculiar Crimes Unit, ready to solve any of the weird and wonderful crimes that fall across their desks.

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