Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

Dan Snow makes history exciting. Whether it’s through his award-winning documentaries, bestselling books, or popular podcast History Hit, he has a gift for bringing the past to life and showing us why it still matters today.Coming from a family of celebrated journalists—his father is broadcaster Peter Snow and his mother is Canadian journalist Ann MacMillan - Dan was immersed in storytelling from an early age. But what sets him apart isn’t just his passion for history, it’s his ability to look ahead. Spotting how storytelling and broadcasting were changing, he launched History Hit, a streaming platform that’s redefined how we engage with history. In this episode, Dan talks about growing up in a journalist household, his dad’s attempt to steer him away from broadcasting and why he decided to break away from traditional media. Dan’s new book The Story of England: The Making of a Nation is out now.

For thirty-six year, James has been chasing this interview and now, he's finally secured it. Actor, writer and director Rupert Everett joins him to talk about the highs and lows of his extraordinary 40-year career in show business. Rupert discovered performing when he was a young boy and got a thrill from showing off in school plays at Ampleforth College - so much so, that he left school at 15 to pursue a career in acting. His breakout role came in 1981 when he was cast as Guy Bennett in Another Country. He went on to find fame in Hollywood, starring opposite Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding. Despite his success, Rupert admits he lacked the confidence to fully embrace Hollywood. He continued working in films and theatre but started to concentrate more on his writing. After a decade in the making, he released his first screenplay The Happy Prince in 2018 - a deeply personal project which he also directed and starred in.

Growing up on a Lake District farm that had been in his family for centuries, James Rebanks always knew his place in the world. School wasn't for him - he felt his teachers looked down on farming and his grandparents worried education might lure him away from the land. By the age of 15, he had left school with just two O-Levels to work full-time on the family farm. But in the evenings, a new world opened up to him as he read through the books on his mum's bookshelves.Inspired, James began reading everything he could. In his twenties, he went to night school and then got a place at Oxford University where he graduated with a double first in history. Today, James is a bestselling author, telling the stories of the "nobodies" - ordinary people living extraordinary lives, who like him, are deeply rooted in the land. A farmer and a writer, James has managed to carve out a unique space as both a man of letters and man of the soil.His latest book, The Place of Tides is available now.

"I really need a future. What happened to me is so dark and so depressing that I've got to believe in something." On Boxing Day 2022, Hanif Kureishi's life changed forever. The acclaimed novelist and playwright had a fall that left him paralysed, a single, shattering moment that split his life in two. In this episode, Hanif tells James about the life he lived before the accident and what's happened since. Hanif has written about this extraordinary experience in his new book, Shattered, a deeply personal account of the accident and its profound aftermath. Shattered is available to buy now.This episode contains offensive language and sensitive topic discussions including racism. Listener discretion is advised.