Better Known

Leah Redmond Chang

24 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Leah Redmond Chang discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Leah Redmond Chang is a former Associate Professor of French...

Alice Loxton

17 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Alice Loxton discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Alice Loxton is a 28 year old history broadcaster and writer with ...

Charlie Russell

10 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Charlie Russell discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Charlie Russell she/her. Creative Associate and co-founder at Mischief. T...

Sunny Singh

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sunny Singh discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Sunny Singh is a writer, novelist, public intellectual, and a champion for de...

Alexandra Tolstoy

25 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alexandra Tolstoy discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Alexandra Tolstoy is an Anglo-Russian mother, adventurer, author and TV...

Julius Taranto

18 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Novelist Julius Taranto discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Julius Taranto is the author of a novel, How I Won a Nobel Prize,...

Faye Begeti

11 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Faye Begeti discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dr Faye Begeti is a practising neurology doctor and neuroscientist at Oxford ...

Kelly Link

04 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly Link discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Kelly Link is the author of White Cat, Black Dog; Get in Trouble, a finalist f...

Alice Kinsella

28 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alice Kinsella discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Alice Kinsella is a poet from Mayo, on the west coast of Ireland. She is t...

Robert McCrum

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Robert McCrum discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Robert McCrum is a writer and editor whose most recent book, Shakespearean ...

Less well known

14 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ivan looks back at previous discussions with a variety of guests and picks out the things which they think should be less well known. Foregoing the no...

Matthew Rice

07 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Rice discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Matthew Rice paints, writes and runs courses in the summer which utilise his...

Richard Mills

17 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Mills discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dr Richard Mills is Associate Professor in English Literature and Popular C...

Noreen Masud

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Noreen Masud discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Noreen Masud is a Lecturer in Twentieth Century Literature at the University...

Bob Cryer

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bob Cryer discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Bob Cryer is an actor and writer best known for Coronation Street and Hollyoaks...

Martin Knight

26 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Martin Knight discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Martin Knight is a British author. He has written autobiographies with foot...

300th episode: Henry Lewis

19 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

To mark the 300th episode of Better Known, actor Henry Lewis discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Henry Lewis is a power house...

Lucy Eaton

12 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lucy Eaton discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Lucy Eaton’s theatre credits include: The Duchess of Malfi (Old Vic), A Day ...

Simon Garfield

05 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Simon Garfield discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Simon Garfield was born in London in 1960. He is the author of an appealin...

Leah Morgan

29 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Leah Morgan discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Leah Morgan is a project engineer and science communicator working in fusion ...

Max Décharné

22 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Max Décharné discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Max Décharné‘s new book Teddy Boys – Post-war Britain and the First ...

Nigel Planer

15 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nigel Planer discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Nigel Planer is an actor, writer and musician. He played Neil in the BBC com...

Danell Jones

08 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Danell Jones discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Danell Jones is a writer with a PhD in literature from Columbia University. ...

Angus Jackson

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Angus Jackson discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Angus Jackson is a screen and stage director and writer. For the screen he ...

Cathi Unsworth

24 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cathi Unsworth discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Cathi Unsworth is a novelist, writer and editor who lives and works in Lon...

Doreen Cunningham

17 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doreen Cunningham is an Irish-British writer born in Wales. After studying engineering she worked briefly in climate related research at NERC and in s...

Becky Smethurst

10 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Becky Smethurst discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dr Becky Smethurst is a Royal Astronomical Society Research Fellow at the...

DanRam

03 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

DanRam discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. DanRam travels the globe as an Event MC & Speaker at over 100 events a year. H...

Helen Batten

27 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Helen Batten discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Helen Batten is an author and psychotherapist. Her non-fiction books delve i...

Andrew Pontzen

20 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Pontzen discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Andrew Pontzen is a cosmologist and a Professor at University College Lond...

Jonathan Sayer

13 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Sayer discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jonathan Sayer is an award-winning comedy playwright and screenwriter; he ...

Thomas Curran

06 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Curran discsses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Thomas Curran is a professor of psychology at the London School of Economics...

Anna Katharina Schaffner

30 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Anna Katharina Schaffner discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Anna Katharina Schaffner is a cultural historian and professiona...

Quiz Show

23 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ivan Wise adopts six quiz show formats and asks himself some searching questions. He uses Family Friends to try and work out if we all think of the sa...

David Robson

16 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David Robson discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. David Robson is an award-winning science writer based in London. His latest ...

Hana Ayoob

09 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hana Ayoob discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Hana Ayoob is a science communicator and illustrator using art and events to e...

Lewis Dartnell

02 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lewis Dartnell discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Professor Lewis Dartnell is a research scientist, presenter and author bas...

Oliver Burkeman

25 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Oliver Burkeman discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Oliver Burkeman is the author of the New York Times and Sunday Times best...

Rachel Nuwer

18 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Nuwer discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Rachel Nuwer is an award-winning freelance science journalist and author who...

Jack Ashby

11 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Ashby discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jack Ashby is the Assistant Director of the University Museum of Zoology, Camb...

Christian Donlan

04 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Christian Donlan discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Chris Donlan is a writer and journalist. He was born in Los Angeles and ...

Kate Harford

28 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Harford discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Rev. Kate Harford serves as University Chaplain at Oxford Brookes University...

Jeremy Musson

21 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Musson discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jeremy Musson is an author of many books on the country house and historic ...

Richard Fisher

14 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Fisher discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Richard Fisher is the author of The Long View: Why We Need to Transform Ho...

Fiona Bae

07 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fiona Bae discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Fiona Bae is the author of a book Make Break Remix: The Rise of K-style by Tham...

Mark Jones

30 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Mark Jones discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Mark William Jones is Assistant Professor in History at University C...

Peggy Orenstein

23 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Peggy Orenstein discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Peggy Orenstein is the author of the national bestseller Unraveling: What...

David Pickard

16 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David Pickard discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. David Pickard studied Music at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, before st...

Simon Parkin

09 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Simon Parkin discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Simon Parkin is a contributing writer for the New Yorker, and a critic for t...

Dale Salwak

02 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dale Salwak discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dale Salwak is Professor of English and American literature at Southern Calif...

Naoise Mac Sweeney

26 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Naoíse Mac Sweeney discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Naoíse Mac Sweeney is Professor of Classical Archaeology at the Univ...

Amit Katwala

19 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Amit Katwala discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Amit Katwala is a journalist and author, based in London. He is a writer and...

Dillie Keane

12 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dillie Keane discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dillie Keane is a performer and songwriter best known as one third of the sa...

Tim Richardson

05 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Richardson discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Tim Richardson is an historian and critic specialising in landscape design...

Kate Mosse

26 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Mosse is the author of nine novels & short story collections, including the No 1 bestselling The Joubert Family Chronicles, The Burning Chamb...

Devoney Looser

19 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Devoney Looser discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Devoney Looser, Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University, ...

Kevin Jared Hosein

12 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin Jared Hosein discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Kevin Jared Hosein is a Caribbean novelist. He has also worked as a se...

Rosie Andrews

05 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rosie Andrews discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Rosie Andrews was born and grew up in Liverpool, the third of twelve childr...

Raymond Baker

29 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Raymond Baker discusses with Ivan six aspects of financial secrecy which should be better known. Raymond Baker is the Founding President of Global Fin...

Steve Cross

22 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Steve Cross discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dr Steve Cross helps experts to become the most fun, engaging and effective v...

Kia Abdullah

15 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kia Abdullah discusses with Ivan six things which she thinks should be better known. Kia Abdullah is a bestselling author and travel writer. Her novel...

Twentieth Century In Reverse

08 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever have trouble remembering PIN numbers? Ivan Wise teaches you how: all you have to do is remember a hundred facts about the twentieth centur...

Alexandra Popoff

01 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alexandra Popoff is a former Moscow journalist and Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow. She is an expert on Russian literature and cultural history ...

Christmas Music

23 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ivan Wise discusses Christmas music that should be better known. Christmas is our most sturdily conservative tradition, and this December you will hea...

Francis Hamel

18 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Francis Hamel discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known. Francis Hamel is a British painter based in the UK with studios i...

Louise Hare

11 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Louise Hare discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Louise Hare is a London-based writer and has an MA in Creative Writing from B...

250th episode: Alan Rusbridger

04 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For the 250th episode, Alan Rusbridger discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Alan Rusbridger was Editor in Chief of the Guardia...

Dean Jobb

27 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

True crime writer Dean Jobb discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dean Jobb is award-winning true crime writer and a professor ...

Duncan Larkin

20 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Duncan Larkin discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Duncan Larkin has covered the sport of running for more than a decade. He’...

Tim Hannigan

13 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Travel writer Tim Hannigan discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Tim Hannigan was born and brought up in the far west of Cornwa...

Dan Schreiber

06 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Schreiber discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dan Schreiber is a writer, stand-up comedian, TV presenter, producer and po...

Five Years

30 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Five years after the first episode of Better Known, Ivan Wise talks again to previous guests Richard Elwes, Wasfi Kani and Kerry Shale. They discuss p...

Anna Ploszajski

23 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anna Ploszajski discusses with Ivan six things which she thinks should be better known. Dr Anna Ploszajski is an award-winning materials scientist, co...

Helen Gordon

16 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Helen Gordon discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Helen Gordon’s books include Notes from Deep Time (Profile), Landfall (Pen...

John King

09 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Novelist John King discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. John King is the author of nine novels with a tenth (London Country) t...

Anton Muscatelli

02 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Economist Anton Muscatelli discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli has been Principal and Vice-Cha...

Kamila Shamsie

25 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Novelist Kamila Shamsie discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Kamila Shamsie was born and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. Her nov...

Philip Ball

18 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Philip Ball discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Philip Ball is a freelance writer and broadcaster and worked previously for o...

Tharik Hussain

11 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Travel writer Tharik Hussain discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Tharik Hussain in an author and travel writer whose work oft...

Rebecca Struthers

04 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Struthers discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dr Rebecca Struthers is an independent watchmaker and time historian. T...

Rebeca Ramos

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rebeca Ramos discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Rebeca Ramos is a Venezuela-born architect and designer. Her international b...

Subhadra Das

21 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Subhadra Das discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Subhadra Das is a researcher and storyteller who looks at the relationship b...

David O Stewart

14 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Historian David O Stewart discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. A recovering lawyer and proud graduate of Curtis High School on...

Lavie Tidhar

07 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Novelist Lavie Tidhar discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Lavie Tidhar was born just ten miles from Armageddon and grew up on...

Roma Agrawal

31 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Roma Agrawal discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Roma Agrawal MBE is a structural engineer and author with a physics degree. ...

Tim Lott

24 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Lott discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Tim Lott was born in Southall, West London in 1956. After a career in journalism...

Emma Smith

17 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Emma Smith discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, Oxford: he...

Elisabeth Kendall

10 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Elisabeth Kendall discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Elisabeth Kendall is Mistress-elect of Girton College, Cambridge, and S...

Extremely Well-Known

03 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a change to the usual format, Ivan Wise discusses one thing which is Extremely Well-Known. In April 1912, the world's largest ocean liner, the Tita...

Andrew Martin

26 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Martin discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Andrew Martin is a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction books, some o...

Rupal Patel

19 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rupal Patel discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Rupal Patel’s high-octane career has taken her from jungles and war zones t...

Tori Herridge

12 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tori Herridge discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dr Tori Herridge is an evolutionary biologist and Daphne Jackson Research F...

Benjamin Myers

05 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Novelist Benjamin Myers discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Benjamin Myers was born in Durham in 1976. His latest novel is Th...

Catriona Seth

29 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Catriona Seth discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Catriona Seth FBA is the Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature and a ...

Neil Brand

22 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Neil Brand discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Neil Brand has been a silent film accompanist for over 30 years, regularly in ...

JD Dickey

15 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Historian JD Dickey discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. J.D. Dickey has for more than 20 years been observing and writing abo...

Rory Sutherland

08 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rory Sutherland discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known. Rory is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, an attractively vague job ...

Andy West

01 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Philosopher Andy West discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Andy West is philosopher in residence at HMP Pentonville, London. H...

Katja Hoyer

24 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Katja Hoyer discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Katja Hoyer is an Anglo-German historian and journalist. She is a Visiting Re...

Jenny Kleeman

17 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jenny Kleeman discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jenny Kleeman is a journalist, broadcaster and documentary-maker. She hosts...