By words the mind is winged. Words are the blood of our lives. Audiobookradio its heart.
Words form the thread on which we string our experiences.
Aldous Huxley
Has the world ever been changed by anything save the thought and its magic vehicle the Word?
Thomas Mann
AudioBookRadio is the world’s first free internet radio station devoted to a varied range of compelling spoken word content. It took us time to get where we are but now we broadcast each and every day of the year with a stripped and stranded schedule which consists of 8 separate strands that are repeated 3 times a day. The 8 strands include poetry, short stories, author readings and interviews, real people telling real stories, New Voices, Alternative Radio, Laurence Olivier in classic plays, vintage Hollywood stars in radio versions of their movies and lots more. Each strand has a wide range of content so the poetry could be Derek Jacobi reading Tennyson, a contemporary award winning American/Scottish/Irish poet or a London slam.
We hope there is something interesting for everyone but would welcome any ideas or content that you think our listeners might be interested in. We are collaborative and flexible but having no advertisers or sponsors is limiting although we like to punch above our weight so do contact us with audio, feedback, ideas or anything at all. We hasten to add that suitable sponsors or advertisers can be easily accommodated! Join us on the journey.
Noon & 8pm & 4am
PLAYS/DRAMA
MUMBAI CHUZZLEWITS by JOHN DRYDEN Part 3
Brought to us by Radio Drama Revival we hear Part 3, the final part of this excellent drama that transposes Charles Dickens’ satire on the corrosive power of money to the hot, hectic streets of modern-day Mumbai, India. In it, the miserly old recluse Martin Chuzzlewit adopts an orphan girl, Mary, to be his caregiver. As she will inherit nothing upon his death, he believes she will do her utmost to keep him in good health. But when Chuzzlewit’s grandson Mickey falls in love with Mary, Martin’s plans are thrown into disarray. Disinheriting him, Martin triggers a complex web of deceit, betrayal and manipulation as the extended family and hangers-on close in, in pursuit of his fortune. This fast-paced drama full of intrigue, romance, suspense and murder is told in three hour-long parts, and you can hear previous parts on Radio Drama Revival introduced by Fred Greenhalgh.
1pm & 9pm & 5am
IN CONVERSATION with NOAM CHOMSKY
Noam Chomsky is a world class thinker and leader of Liberal America so therefore vilified by the Right. However, all would agree that his opinions and facts engage and drive the debate.
2pm & 10pm & 6am
POETRY & POETS featuring SEAMUS HEANEY
Seamus Heaney reads his own work followed by a chat with the late, great Seamus Heaney interviewed by Dennis O’ Driscoll
Heaney was born in April 1939, the eldest member of a family which would eventually contain nine children. He uses all aspects of Irish culture, history, folklore, song, myth, and religion to write poetry that not only describes the Irish experience to the reader, but also allows the reader to feel the experience and emotions of the Irish people. Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995.
ALTERNATIVE RADIO with ARUN GANDHI on Gandhian Nonviolence Today
Today, Arun Gandhi the grandson of India’s apostle of nonviolence, Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma” Gandhi talks about Gandhian Nonviolence Today. In 1991, Arun Gandhi and his wife Sunanda, founded The M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence in Memphis, Tennessee. He is an author, journalist, and activist who lectures on this subject all over the world.
4pm & Midnight & 8am
SHERLOCK HOLMES
GREG WAGLAND superbly narrates The Missing Three Quarter by Arthur Conan Doyle
5pm & 1am & 9am
SPARK LONDON
The concept is stand out simple. Real people telling real stories. Today’s are
Choose your own Adventure by Kit Lovelace and Down Old Compton Street by Clayton Littlewood.
A WORD IN YOUR EAR
Word in Your Ear are a Bath based collective of writers who gather to tell their stories. They liked the way our ancestors enjoyed stories – by listening to them. We totally agree with them so let’s have a listen to Carpe Diem by Natalie Bown and The Diary by Mark Rutherford.
TAKE FIVE with ANDREA DI ROBILANT
We asked the same five questions to a range of writers – today ANDREA DI ROBILANT, widely praised Italian writer and journalist who writes elegant, informative prose in both languages as evident from A Venetian Affair and his latest book Chasing the Rose.
6pm & 2am & 10am
HOLLYWOOD STAGE with JEZEBEL
Hollywood is indelibly printed in our minds as a go to place for entertainment and has been for decades. We take you back in time as The Hollywood ringmaster himself, CECIL B DE MILLE unveils ezebel featuring LORETTA YOUNG
7pm & 3am & 11am
SHORT STORIES – COLLINS & JEROME
THE DEAD HAND WILKIE COLLINS. READ BY RICHARD MITCHLEY.
It’s 1850 and young, easy-going Arthur Holliday visits Doncaster for the races, but all the hotel rooms are full, all that is, except for one remaining twin room that he’ll have to share with a stranger. After agreeing to take the room Arthur discovers his room-mate is recently deceased. Even then, all might be well if it wasn’t for the dead hand…
ON BEING IDLE BY JEROME K. JEROME. READ BY HUGH LAURIE.
It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation, then, and a most exhausting one. A few intriguing tips and observations on a fascinating pastime…