Introducing: Sweeney Talks

Broadcaster Terry Christian grew up in a large Irish Catholic family in Manchester where not attending mass or university was out of the question. After dropping out of a chemistry course he didn't want to start, a young Terry caught the eye of a TV producer, kickstarting his presenting career. His big break came in the form of The Word, a youth-led and often anarchic TV show for Channel 4.

Blackadder legend Tony Robinson talks to James about the state of British politics, the power of meditation and the return of Time Team.

Content warning: this episode contains descriptions of racial violence, racial slurs and suicidal feelings. By the time Matthew Collins was 15 years old, he was enthralled by the far-right and had joined the National Front. But after one particularly violent incident in South East London, Collins began passing on his secrets to the other side. Now an activist for the anti-fascist organisation, Hope Not Hate, he tells James his remarkable story.

The internment of Japanese Americans across the U.S. during World War II is not an obvious subject on which to develop a musical, however it is exactly what George Takei, Star Trek legend and social media icon has done. Now in his mid-eighties, Takei brings a show inspired by events from his own childhood to London’s Charing Cross Theatre. Tickets for ‘George Takei’s Allegiance’ are available now until Saturday 8 April.

Back in the day when she was best known as Tricia Armstrong in Coronation Street, Tracy Brabin did not shy away from national politics, appearing in Labour campaigns and using her stardom to generate interest in the political project. But it was the tragedy and brutal murder of her friend Jo Cox in Tracy's hometown which catapulted her into the Commons. Now the first Mayor of West Yorkshire, she speaks to James about her life and the shocking events in the aftermath of Jo's death.