Weaving ideas about our domestic and daily life with thoughts on style and the way wepresent ourselves, Alexandra Shulman combines anecdotes and observations from 25 years spent editing British Vogue and her current life as a freelance writer and commentator. She draws onher experiences as a magazine editor but also a mother, daughter, sibling, girlfriend,housekeeper ... Alexandra Shulman – Black Coffee and Red Lipstick

From the taking of Jerusalem in the 7th century AD by Caliph Umar, to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I, Christian popes, emperors and kings, and Muslim caliphs and sultans were locked in a 1,300-year battle for political, military, ideological, economic and religious supremacy. Simon Mayall focuses on ... Simon Mayall – The House of War: The Struggle Between Christendom and The Caliphate

A sparkling green field. A dull and scrubby patch of grass. One is the sanitised evidenceof monoculture, the other a world teeming with more life than you could ever imagine.Join John Wright, one of our best-known naturalists, as he uncovers the beauty andrich diversity of Britain's grasslands. Bursting with mushrooms, lichen and wildflowers,home to butterflies, ... John Wright – Grasslands

How did a film made to capture a pop phenomenon in real time become a genuine cinematic classic?Journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed explores how this beloved film captures both the band's coveted charisma and the shifting cultural landscape of 1960s Britain. A life-long fan, Samira first discovered the film at the age of 11 and ... Samira Ahmed – A Hard Day’s Night

Outdoor enthusiast, cyclist and acclaimed travel writer Simon Parker was restless for a new adventure, but with a small baby his explorations needed to begin at home. He decided to cycle through all 15 of the UK’s national parks in the anniversary year of the first one’s founding, the Peak District. While each of the ... Simon Parker – The Wild Ride Home

After almost a decade and a half of Tory rule, the 2024 General Election saw the Conservatives suffer their worst-ever defeat: they received 7.14 million fewer votes than in 2019; 23.7 per cent is their lowest ever vote share; and their current 121 MP contingent is their smallest since 1832. Meanwhile, the rise of Reform ... Anthony Seldon – Sunak at 10

Johnny Ball spent seventeen years working as a stand up comedian, and twenty years with BBC Television, where he wrote and presented twenty series of award winning programmes, including Play School, Think of a Number and Think Again, followed by five educational stage musicals, which played nationwide to many thousands of students. Here Johnny Ball ... Johnny Ball – Stories That Must Be Told

In 2021, Anthony Seldon, inspired by a fallen First World War soldier who dreamed of a ‘Via Sacra’ tocommemorate the war dead and stand as a marker for the triumph of peace, set out on a 1,000km walktracing the historic route of the Western Front. He went on to recount that story in the widely ... Anthony Seldon – The Path of Light

For over 10,000 years, the human race has been busy altering our environment and embracing 'progress', evolving seamlessly from hunter gatherers to the modern urban sophisticates we seeourselves as today. But what are the ideas and inventions that enabled humanity to become, by the early 21st century, a majority urban species for the first time? ... Jonn Elledge – 31 Inventions that Built Our World

Beloved, bestselling author Victoria Hislop explores the turbulence of the post-war era in Greece in this unforgettable and riveting new novel that will delight those fans who cherish The Island and The Figurine. During three years of brutal civil war in Greece, thousands of children were caught in the chaos that swept across the country. ... Victoria Hislop – The Wine Dark Sea

In Afterburn, Blake Morrison returns to poetry, his first calling, to offer scenes from his own life and the lives of others. In psychology, 'afterburn' refers to the time before a past event is assimilated – an idea that resonates through these poems (which themselves linger after reading) about memory and our attempts to articulate, ... Blake Morrison – Afterburn and On Memoir

Julian Fellowes is a multi-award-winning actor, writer, director, producer and Conservative peer. In conversation, Julian will talk about his early life, acting and the writing career that made him a household name. As creator of Downton Abbey, he has won three Emmy awards as well as the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Gosford ... Julian Fellowes – In Conversation: My Life and Work