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.

Joe is currently on tour in North America launching the American paperback.

A thought provoking podcast.

Billie Holiday, Eleanora Fagan was born on April 7th 1915.

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.

Ruth Werner was born Ursula Kuczynski in Berlin.

She was appalled by Hitler and became a lifelong communist and a spy. During the 1940s she lived around Oxford and radioed secrets to Russia.

Her spy codename was Sonja and her memoir was published as Sonja's Report. Ben MacIntyre wrote a best-selling biography of her ...Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy.

David Freeman spoke to her in Oxford.

This conversation looks back at the post war time when all the world aspired to be young and American.

America was really perceived to be great back then.

How times change ........

Joseph Connolly paints a rock 'n roll picture.

When one looks at the antics and attitudes of the current president of the USA it easy to see parallels with the world view of Henry VIII. Although this account of the life lead by Henry VIII was first published at the turn of the century it is still selling well.

Alison Weir thinks the key to understanding the famous Tudor King is to realise that he was never alone. Even a conjugal visit to his wife or a trip to the loo were attended by courtiers.

Popular accessible history at it's entertaining best.

David Sedaris now fills arenas with enthusiastic fans but when David Freeman interviewed him in 2000 he was almost unknown.

His book 'Me Talk Pretty One Day ' was just published.

I would love to hear the Sedaris view of what is happening now in the US!

After Ashley Kahn had published his book on the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue he turned his attention to the timeless John Coltrane record A Love Supreme.

Not only is this still a highly regarded jazz performance, A Love Supreme is now the title of the biggest open air jazz festival in the UK.

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore explains the mythic status of this eighteenth century Russian statesman, and military leader. Turns out that this slice of history informs current geo politics.

In this conversation recorded in London in 2000 the historian Simon Sebag Montefiore tells David Freeman about practical politics in 18th century Russia and how Potemkin made his way in society with the help of the love of Catherine the Great.

Their relationship has been told in films but the way Simon tells the story is probably more gripping and unbelievable.

Simon told the story in full in his the books, Prince of Princes, and Catherine the Great and Potemkin, The Imperial Love Affair.

Interesting to hear Simon say that Putin read this book and what he learned has informed his political views. This lead to the invasion of Ukraine and a significant incident when Russian troops broke into the crypt of the cathedral in Kherson and removed the bones of Grigory Potemkin.

This is history to remember. Putin uses this history to justify his 'special military operation'.