Radio Oldie

Introduced by Barry Cryer, Anna Pasternak speaks at the Oldie's July lunch. Looking past the steely scheming facade that is so familiar  the public, Pasternak praised the better side of one of the most hated royals. Anna Pasternak's book is Untitled: The Real Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor.

Welcome to the July issue of the Oldie podcast. Harry Mount editor of The Oldie speaks to the comic genius Barry Cryer, who has been working in comedy since 1957. Here Barry Cryer talks about his life as a raconteur, the art of the perfect punchline and the beginnings of any good gag.

Christopher Lee speaks at the Oldie Literary Lunch about Lord Carrington: his peculiarly-named dogs, how he came to be 'an honourable man', and why he hated Boris. His new book Carrington: An Honourable Man was published by Viking books.

Introduced by Barry Cryer, Rachel Kelly spoke about her experiences with depression and anxiety, and how she beat them. Her new book, Singing in the rain: A Happiness Workbook​,​ published by Short books, outlines a series of exercises that can give you a sense of purpose.

Introduced by Barry Cryer, former MP Chris Mullin speaks at the Oldie's  June lunch about an encounter with George W Bush, the story behind his bestselling hit, A Very British Coup, and why he wrote a sequel to it. His new book, The Friends of Harry Perkins, was published by Scribner UK.

Sara Lodge, former speechwriter to Kofi Annan and author of Inventing Edward Lear, speaks at the Oldie Literary Lunch at Cholmondeley Castle about the hidden gems of Edward Lear: the links between pathos and absurdity in his poetry, his under-regarded art and the Owl and the Pussycat's sombre sequel.

Adrian Tinniswood, author of Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the British Royal Household, speaks about the man who got Prince Albert killed, the steady drinking of the Queen Mother and what makes the sovereign different, at the Sandstone Ridge Festival's Oldie Literary Lunch.

Welcome to the Oldie's June Podcast. D-Day took place 75 years ago on the 6th June. It was the largest invasion in military history. 7,000 vessels, 156,000 personnel and 1,200 planes and gliders were involved. Historian and bestselling author of D-Day: The Soldiers' Story Giles Milton, who has penned a piece for us about the soldiers' experiences on the day for this month's magazine talks to The Oldie's Editorial Assistant, Ferdie Rous.

With commemorations for the 75th anniversary of D-Day just around the corner, we were delighted to welcome Giles Milton to our May lunch. His new book, D-Day: A Soldiers' Story charts the stories of the men and women who took part in the Normandy landings. At the lunch, he recounted the tale of a one-man raid on a Normandy beach, in May of 1944, which ended in a chance encounter with Erwin Rommel.

During the Second World War, MI5 ran a secret operation to root out Nazi-sympathisers. At the Oldie's May literary lunch Robert Hutton spoke about the man in charge of it all. The unsung hero: Eric Roberts. The full story is detailed in Hutton's new book, Agent Jack: MI5's secret Nazi Hunter.