Sir Ranulph Fiennes is still in the news. Where he is still unknown but he is often referred as a national treaure.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes met David Freeman when his book 'The Secret Hunters' was published in 2001.

The book tells the story of a diary that was found in a shelter in Antarctica in 1997. This opens the door to a world of deprivation, war, survival and revenge.

It's a gripping page-turning read, but is it fiction?

There is an article in the Daily Telegraph written by Petra Khasoggi.

When she was a teenager she discovered that her biological father is Jonathan Aitken. It is not a consistently happy story.

We are used to politicians , particularly Tory politicians, being untruthful.

Twenty five years ago Jonathan Aitken was a high profile journalist and Tory politician who found himself in very hot water

He was pursued mercilessly by sections of the British press when they gathered evidence to show that he had encouraged one of his daughters to lie in court to get him out of a tight legal corner into which his own lies had lead him.

He was found guilty and sentenced to a jail term

As a sideshow to his public fall from grace he ran up a huge legal bill which he could not pay. Bankruptcy was inevitable.

Many were sceptical when he 'found God' in jail. He confounded his critics however by sticking with religion and becoming ordained as a vicar. Later he returned to jail as a chaplain.

There was a book published in 2003 called 'Pride and Perjury'. Jonathan Aitken talked to David Freeman about it, and his life, soon after publication.

Jeffery Archer has died.

The obituaries all make reference to his colourful life.

This conversation was recorded in the year 2000.

LIke others that came after him this former vice chairman of the Conservative Party and would be Mayor of London had supreme confidence in his ability to tell lies and then lie his way out of the consequences of the earlier untruths. Jeffery Archer was supremely confident he would always 'get away with it'. The edifice of untruths became unsustainable and eventually collapsed.

The reason for this interview was the publication of a new collection of short stories. The coverage in the tabloids at the time was much more about his relationship with a prostitute and how he persuaded a friend to give her money to go away.

With hindsight his lies were going to send him to prison and I should maybe have asked him about being banished from the Tory party and his payments to sex worker Monica Coghlan. That might have made a more riveting conversation.

What cannot be denied is that he was a very successful author. A supreme storyteller.

The mid term elections are almost upon us.

It is very easy to get very troubled by the current US administration .

Doing diesel deals with the Putin regime .... organising a live streamed public execution..... every day a new low.

Who could have predicted that the American Vice President would have thought it part of his task to question the Pope's understanding of theology?

Who could have predicted that Donald Trump would think it a good idea to read parts of the Bible to the nation?

Have they redefined god in their own image?

It seems that the current American administration is behaving in even more wild emotionally driven vindictive ways.

This gripping and shocking book tells the story of the radical conservative movement shaping Donald Trump's agenda and how it threatens freedoms, values and democracy.

Since this conversation was recorded the situation has got much worse.

This splendid book tells the stories behind the buildings.

It starts 3,000 years ago in Troy and finishes with what castles have become in the nuclear age.

It's not just buildings, it's walls and people.

Dan even puts the bombastic projects of Donald Trump in an historical perspective. This might not make you feel better but it does provide context.

Vanity expressed in big extravagant buildings is not new!

Castles by Dan Jones is an entertaining page turner.

Before Patrick Nally created and sold sponsorship packages for FIFA and the Olympic Games, sport had no money.

Patrick was in at the beginning creating the money monster that sport has become.

He was even responsible for giving the world Sepp Blatter. Was that a good idea?

Should Gianni Infantino have a million pound plus salary?

In the early days were payments paid in brown envelopes in car parks?

It's a jaw dropping story!

There is a press story telling how Sir Rannulph Fiennes seems to have disappeared. Obviously I have no idea where he is. I remember him as a fascinating, engaging and memorable interviewee.

In 2019 Sir Rannulph was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease.

A few years ago as part of the Cheltenham Literary festival I interviewed Sir Rannulph on stage at the Everyman Theatre about his family history book 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'.

I remember shaking hands - a non standard formality for him. He told me how he had to adopt a DIY approach to dealing with frost bite in his fingers.

In this episode there's a conversation I had with Sir Rannulph later in a London studio, a chat with the legendary travel writer Eric Newby, and the life of the unforgettable adventurer Lucy Irvine.

Lucy had replied to an advertisement in 1980 seeking a woman to spend a year on a desert island with a man she didn't know. This adventure became a film starring Oliver Reid. She tells me how she went on to write the story of another island dwelling family in her book Faraway.

Memorable stories.

There is huge interest in the latest Charles Spencer book, but he has written about his family before.

They started as sheep farmers. They were successful!

This conversation was recorded in the 90s at Althrop the Spencer family stately home. Interesting to hear his view , all those years ago , of his sister Diana.

It was memorable to talk to the author in one of the grand rooms surrounded by portraits of his ancestors.

The purpose of the interview was to promote his family history book that was about to be published.