Stephen Fry meets the brains behind the mobile phone. In this third episode, he looks at the discovery of text messaging. The engineers who designed the early texting facilities didn't imagine that anyone might want to reply. (Just in case, they added a short list of possible pre-set answers: yes, no and maybe). In the eighties, when network covera...

Before cars and planes, railways and steam engines were the main form of transport. And in the early days the engine driver was the fastest man on earth, travelling at 60 mph (and much faster than a car). No wonder it was every schoolboy's dream to become the driver of a locomotive, even though it was dirty and dangerous work. Some boys went straig...

What are the signs of anxiety? What is a panic attack? What is social anxiety? What is anxiety disorder? How to overcome anxiety and how to stop a panic attack: It is now possible to stop anxiety from stopping us in our tracks. In her book, Dr. Odessky helps you understand the process of anxiety, and how to arm yourself with strategies that work. D...

Bill Bryson has written books in a variety of genres including travel, languages and science. We have a number of his titles available to borrow from both our online and MP3 CD catalogues.

Nicholas Parsons is once again in the chair for this complete series of the popular BBC Radio 4 panel game. Featured in these eight episodes are panellists Paul Merton, Shappi Khorsandi, Tony Hawks, Graham Norton, Julian Clary, Gyles Brandreth, Sheila Hancock, Josie Lawrence, Phill Jupitus, Rick Wakeman, Pam Ayres and newcomers Russell Kane, Miles...

Stephen Fry meets the brains behind the mobile phone. There are more mobile phones in the world than there are people on the planet: Stephen Fry talks to the backroom boys who made it all possible and hears how the technology succeeded, in ways that the geeks had not necessarily intended. In this second episode, he traces the evolution of the mobil...

At the age of 38, Ronald D. Davis made a discovery that enabled him to read a book from cover to cover - for the first time. The methods he developed have helped thousands of children and adults around the world to overcome reading, writing, study and attention problems.

Stephen Fry meets the brains behind the mobile phone. There are more mobile phones in the world than there are people on the planet: In this first episode, Stephen Fry explores the creation of the mobile phone network. Richard Frenkiel, a Bell Labs engineer, who created the cellular networks on which all mobile phones depend, was himself never part...

Alan Durant is a children's author and poet. His Creepe Hall series and YA novel Publish or Die are available to borrow from our MP3 CD library.

Translated into fifteen languages with more than 7 million copies sold, The Power of Positive Thinking is unparalleled in its extraordinary capacity for restoring the faltering faith of millions. In this insightful program, Dr. Peale offers the essence of his profound method for mastering the problems of everyday living. You will learn: How to elim...

Across six decades, Sir Tom Jones has maintained a vital career in a risky, unstable business notorious for the short lives of its artists. With a drive that comes from nothing but the love for what he does, he breaks through and then wrestles with the vagaries of the music industry, the nature of success and its inevitable consequences. Having rec...

Stephen Fry traces the evolution of the mobile phone, from hefty executive bricks that required a separate briefcase to carry the battery, to the smartphones available today. There are more mobile phones in the world than there are people on the planet: Stephen Fry talks to the backroom boys who made it all possible and hears how the technology suc...

Conquest, trade and immigration have woven dozens of languages into English. Melvyn Bragg visits Liverpool, home of Scouse, an Irish-based variant of northern English made famous by the Beatles and countless comedians. By the mid-nineteenth century the port of Liverpool ranked second to London and became home to immigrants from all over the world w...

Sir Ernest Shackleton was one of the greatest explorers of the 20th Century. The authors of 'Shackleton's Way' explore the leadership skills of the man who, following the wreck of his ship Endurance and stranded 1200 miles from any form of communication, led all of his 27 men to safety.

Extraordinary step-by-step guide to achieving the characteristics that create success.

The power of English-and the "English of Power", as the language extends its influence from Court to Edinburgh. Melvyn Bragg goes to Edinburgh and the house of John Knox, the great Scottish apostle of the Reformation, who preached in English. Latin was replaced by English as the language of the Church when Henry VIII broke with Rome. And the 1611 K...

People today have more romantic options than at any point in human history, and thanks to social media, smartphones and online dating, our abilities to connect with these options are staggering. Yet we also have to face new and absurd dilemmas, such as what to think when someone doesn't reply to your text but has time to post a photo of a pizza on...

Peter Fleming, brother of the author Ian, tells the story of his journey from England via the Trans-Siberian Express to China, and his subsequent attempts to become the first Westerner to reach the anti-communist front.

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of Love, Tanya, the debut book from Youtube Fashion & Beauty guru Tanya Burr, read by Laura Riseborough. Tanya Burr is the UK's leading young voice in beauty and fashion and one of the country's biggest Youtube stars. Whether it's creating the perfect smoky eye or dressing well fo...

oin Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss in this fascinating guide to the sounds of our most popular coastal birds, as heard on BBC Radio 4. In the fourth of our series of bird guides, Brett Westwood is joined by keen birdwatcher Stephen Moss on the north coast of Devon, and with the help of wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson they offer a practical a...

Stephen Fry presents a special tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton, the sublime host of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, through the eyes of his close pals on the show and distinguished admirers, from Dame Judi Dench to Radiohead.The programme features many highlights taken from his thirty-six years at the helm of Radio 4's perennial antidote to panel games.