Noon & 8pm & 4am

PLAYS/DRAMA

MESSENGER WITHOUT WEAPON BY EDDIE LAWLER

The story of Hamburg-born writer Wolfgang Borchert (1921-1947) and his untimely death as a result of the Second World War. The youthful Wolfgang cannot imagine that the Hitler regime has the intelligence to last long, when all the fashions in music and clothing are coming from the USA, Britain and France.  But he is swept into uniform and the horrors of war on the Eastern Front.

 1pm & 9pm & 5am

IN CONVERSATION with LOUISE ERDRICH

Native American novelist Louise Erdrich, much-admired for her novels and children’s books centred in her native North Dakota, here reads a short story, “The Plague of Doves”, before joining in conversation with her friend, Gail Caldwell, the Pulitzer Prize winning critic of The Boston Globe.

2pm & 10pm & 6am

THE POETRY HOUR Vol 18 featuring Edmund Spenser & more

Poetry is often cited as our greatest use of words. The English language has well over a million and poets down the ages seem, at times, to make use of every single one. But often they use them in simple ways to describe anything and everything from landscapes to all aspects of the human condition. Poems can evoke within us an individual response that takes us by surprise; that opens our eyes and ears to very personal feelings.   Forget the idea of classic poetry being somehow dull and boring and best kept to school textbooks. It still has life, vibrancy and relevance to our lives today. In this hour we’ll be listening to Edmund Spenser, The Poetry of Wind and Rain and Victorian Poetry Volume 3

 All of them are from a dedicated poetry publisher – Portable Poetry who believe that poetry should be a part of our everyday lives, uplifting the soul & reaching the parts that other things can’t. Their range of audiobooks and ebooks cover volumes on some of our greatest poets to anthologies of seasons, months, places and a range of themes. Check them out at https://www.deadtreepublishing.com/  That’s Portable Poetry – poetry that carries you through!

3pm & 11pm & 7am   

ALTERNATIVE RADIO with ARUN GUPTA

Here at Audiobook Radio we are keen to provide a range of voices – very literally as well as in terms of opinions and views of the world. This strand created by Alternative Radio does just that. We will hear from some of the most informed minds and greatest social activists of our time whose take on justice and power does not chime with those that hold the power and don’t provide justice for all so we rarely get to hear from them in mainstream media. Different opinions always help inform our own and we are always eager to hear from listeners about this or any other strand. Contact us on the tab at www.audiobookradio.net.

Today’s talk is on Terrorism, Climate Change & Capitalism and given by Arun Gupta, journalist and activist who was a founding editor of The Indypendent and the Occupied Wall Street Journal. His articles appear in Alternet, Truthout, The Guardian and Z. He also appears on Democracy Now! and Al Jazeera.

4pm & Midnight & 8am

SHERLOCK HOLMES CLASSICS

ABR is proud to present two classic episodes starring Basil Rathbone. ‘The Problem of Thor Bridge’ followed by ‘The Adventure of Jasmine la Fleur.’

We close the hour with an author interview from KOBO and today’s guest is JAMES ROLLINS.

5pm & 1am & 9am                 

SPARK LONDON

The concept is stand out simple. Real people telling real stories.

A whopping 45 minutes-plus Spark London Special with a mixture of stories and songs. The theme for the evening was ‘Open Heart.’

TAKE FIVE with PAUL ‘SMILER’ ANDERSON

We asked the same five questions to a range of writers – today it’s…

PAUL ‘SMILER’ ANDERSON, a passionate mod revivalist and author of Mods, the New Religion. In his spare time he DJ’s and holds a full time job as a postman!

6pm & 2am & 10am

HOLLYWOOD STAGE with Captain Horatio Hornblower

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 CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER featuring GREGORY PECK

 7pm & 3am & 11am               

SHORT STORIES – LAWRENCE & WILDE

THE OLD ADAM BY D.H. LAWRENCE. READ BY DAVID SHAW-PARKER

David Herbert Richards Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist and literary critic. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation. Sons and Lovers and Lady Chatterley’s Lover are, of course, the most famous of Lawrence’s works.

THE SPHINX WITHOUT A SECRET BY OSCAR WILDE. READ BY MARTIN JARVIS

Lady Alroy is enigmatic in everything she does – a lady with the mysterious allure of a sphinx. She captures the heart of Lord Murchison with this mystery, to the point that he follows her to find out her secret. When he sees her going into a small house in a poor part of town, he jumps to the reasonable conclusion that she has a secret lover.