PODCASTS/AUDIOBOOKS
Daphne du Maurier Double Exposure: Beside Myself
BBC Sounds, review by Yvette Huddleston
Part of a BBC celebration of the life and work of author Daphne Du Maurier, this biographical drama stars Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy. Bonham Carter plays du Maurier who is going through a period of depression and insomnia. While she is out walking along the clifftops near her home Kilmarth in Cornwall, she is approached by a stranger (Nighy). As a well-known public figure, du Maurier is used to fans seeking her out, so she tries to avoid him, but he is persistent and eventually they fall into conversation. As they walk and talk, du Maurier, a very private person, is surprised to find that she is revealing a lot about herself – how she writes, her approach to her work and other personal details.
The Political Butterfly Effect BBC Sounds, review by Yvette Huddleston
In this fascinating series, the Guardian’s media editor Jim Waterson explores how occasional small coincidences can have far-reaching effects and sometimes change the course of history. The events that Waterson investigates include how the loss of a handwritten note from Boris Johnson led to the collapse of his 2016 Conservative leadership campaign and eventually to Theresa May becoming prime minister and how Farouk Al-Kasim, an Iraqi immigrant to Norway, helped to make his adopted home one of the most successful oil producers in the world. Other episodes include an exploration of the link between a failed West End musical based on the life of Leonardo Da Vinci and Australia’s immigration policy and how the Vietnam War may have changed the way Americans eat.
Terribly Famous: George Michael Various platforms, review by Yvette Huddleston
In the latest four-part season of Terribly Famous, hosts Emily Lloyd-Saini, Alice Levine and Anna Leong Brophy follow the story of George Michael from his closeted rise to superstardom to his very public coming out. As a young, hugely successful pop star in the early 1980s, Michael was hiding a potentially career-ending secret. His carefully constructed public persona was as a macho heart-throb, much admired by his teenage girl fanbase. But he was living a lie and while he sang about freedom, it remained elusive for him. Over the course of three episodes, his story is told and in a bonus episode the hosts are joined by actor and George Michael superfan Russell Tovey who considers the singer-songwriter’s life and legacy today.
Legacy: Nina Simone Various platforms , review by Yvette Huddleston
In their latest series exploring the lives and legacies of extraordinary people, hosts journalist and broadcaster Afua Hirsch and author and historian Peter Frankopan turn their attention to the formidable Nina Simone – singer, songwriter and activist. Born in 1933 in the rural south of the USA, Nina Simone was widely known as “the High Priestess of Soul” and wrote several era-defining songs. Much of her best work was recorded during, and influenced by, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, releasing powerful protest songs such as Mississippi Goddam alongside all-time classics such as IPuta Spell on You and she faced discrimination and prejudice herself during her lifetime. Hirsch and Frankopan tell her story and assess her legacy.