Showing results by narrator "Keith Wickham" in All Categories

Father of cyberpunk William Gibson’s original script for Alien III, written in 1987 as a sequel to Aliens, never made it to our screens, although it went on to achieve cult status among fans as the third instalment that might have been after being leaked online. This terrifying, cinematic multicast dramatisation - directed by the multi-award-winning Dirk Maggs - is the chance to experience William Gibson’s untold story and its terrifying, claustrophobic and dark encounters between humans and aliens, as a completely immersive audio experience.

In 1831, Charles Darwin set out on an expedition to South America, brought along as a gentleman companion for Captain Robert FitzRoy. Initially conceived as a Christian mission, the voyage would change drastically as the Beagle sailed through the Pacific, with Darwin’s observations becoming the building blocks of his revolutionary theory of evolution. This theory put the rational, scientific Darwin at odds with the deeply religious FitzRoy, who would go on to publicly denigrate Darwin and his heretic ideas.

Rolf Dobelli reveals 52 of life's biggest mistakes, and shows why the key to living well is so much simpler than you might think. Just understand what the pitfalls are... then avoid them.

Since the dawn of civilisation, we've been asking ourselves what it means to live a good life: how should I live, what will truly make be happy, how much should I earn, how should I spend my time? In the absence of a single simple answer, what we need is a toolkit of mental models, a guide to practical living. In The Art of the Good Life, you'll find 52 intellectual shortcuts for wiser thinking and better decisions at home and at work. They may not guarantee you a good life, but they'll give you a better chance.

A millionaire English lord dreams of founding a Utopian community on a remote Pacific island. Among the 40-odd men and women selected for the project are a pestologist named Camilla and the narrator. Within hours of the group's arrival on the sunny isle, their radio has been destroyed. Within days, several members of the group are dead. Dream turns to nightmare as they discover the island is overrun by a species programmed to resist and dominate any invader.

When Emperor Constantine is gruesomely assassinated, fingers point at who is responsible. Amidst this turmoil, the rulers of the Six Realms must choose who among them will ascend the Lonely Throne. Meanwhile, in the outlands, the old races stir. The hunt for those with forbidden dark elf blood threatens another elvan war.

Brainjacking takes us on a journey through advertising and marketing's attempts to understand and influence our thoughts and desires, from the earliest billboards to the technologies of the future. To discover how science intersects with our desires and decisions, the book pulls together three strands that have a huge impact on our lives: advertising, how much privacy we can and should have in the new electronic world, and how to draw the line been information and influence. With Brian Clegg as your guide, this is a book that will help you unpick the insidious world of brainjacking

London is full of curiosities. Who knew that beneath the Albert Memorial lies a chamber resembling a church crypt? Or that there are catacombs under Camden? Who would expect to find a lighthouse in East London, sphinxes in South London, dummy houses in West London, or a huge bust of film director Alfred Hitchcock in North London?

News is to the mind as sugar is to the body. In 2013 Rolf Dobelli stood in front of a room full of journalists and proclaimed that he did not read the news. It caused a riot. Now he finally sets down his philosophy in detail. And he practices what he preaches: he hasn't read the news for a decade. Stop Reading the News is Dobelli's manifesto about the dangers of the most toxic form of information - news. He shows the damage it does to our concentration and well-being and how a misplaced sense of duty can misdirect our behaviour.

Life began with the hydrogenation of CO2, and this is the process we must return to in order to heal the planet. Ground-breaking ongoing research into bacterial processes means our knowledge of bacterial processes is ever-expanding, and we can harness this new knowledge to develop a parallel carbon economy using engineered bacteria for fuel, food, and materials. This would enable rewilding on a vast scale, with the small land footprint of bacterial technologies solving the current conflict in land use between farming and fuel and materials production.

In a Paris Opera House, Chorus singer Christine Daaé develops a relationship with a disfigured Phantom, who she believes to be the Angel of Music, promised to her by her late father. The Phantom tutors Christine, but the relationship breaks down when the Phantom discovers Christine's love for her childhood sweetheart Raoul. Who will win Christine's heart and with what consequence?

Plagued by the unsolvable murder that ruined his glowing career, a burnt-out detective is cruising through his final weeks until retirement. Until he is hand-picked to be part of a taskforce investigating old, unsolved murders. Hand-picked because the very killer he failed to catch is still out there. Can he finally get the closure he deserves?

Anger is all around us, from divisive social media arguments and heightened political divides to road rage and personal spats; from Black Lives Matter and climate justice movements to Trump, incels and white supremacists. When it materialises, it seems to cry out for recognition and response. It affects our bodies and can transition into violence. It can be inherited through the generations; it can manifest in criminal acts. What should we do with it, and can it ever be put to good use?

George and Weedon Grossmith's The Diary of a Nobody paints a detailed picture of life in 1892. Pooter's diary notes his daily business, parties, embarrassments, and his agitated relationship with son Lupin - a strikingly familiar world, brought to life by Keith Wickham, which provides continual amusement.

From the crystalline perfection of the snowflake to the transfer of energy from the Sun, science lies at the heart of the weather and our understanding of it. In recent years, weather science has moved to the leading edge with advanced modelling, versatile use of satellite data and a better understanding of mathematical chaos. This is a true example of hot science at work.

A wide-ranging and compelling account of the historical and current causes of wealth inequality, offering prescriptions for lasting solutions to an intractable problem, and for a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources.

Fred Twistleton is about to turn forty. Gathering with his friends to celebrate at a rented stately home, he finally hopes to get together with his college crush, the woman of his dreams, Heather. But Fred is also keen to publish his memoirs, and Heather realizes the revelations they contain could threaten her career as a high-flying foreign correspondent.

Detective Sergeant Tony Heaton has been living a lie for thirty years. Plagued by his failure to solve a brutal slaying in a peaceful seaside town, Tony is weeks from retirement when a new piece of evidence comes to light. He knows the case better than anyone on the planet, and is perfectly positioned to dive straight back in. But DS Heaton doesn’t need to solve the case. He already knows who the killer is, so as those around him sift the truth from the lies, he must work to stay one step ahead. The truth must stay hidden, even if that means lying to himself.

On a sun-hazed afternoon in the Florida Keys, a child goes missing from the beach. Dr Mirren Fitzpatrick appeals to the world to help find her eight-year-old adopted daughter. The family are on holiday from Ireland, far from home and desperate to return there as they arrived–together. Yet the police are immediately suspicious of Mirren. She was drinking at a bar–alone–shortly before reporting that her youngest child had disappeared. As rumours abound about Mirren’s past a trial-by-media ensues, and she is turned from a figure of pity to the villain of the piece.

Brian Clegg's acclaimed popular science book Inflight Science explored the science experienced on a plane flight. Interstellar Tours takes that concept and goes large. It takes the listener on a tour of our galaxy on the starship Endurance.