Making sense of the British Empire's legacy... through the stories of people who lived through it. Through six intimate conversations with a new generation of writers and historians - journalist Afua Hirsch tries to break through old cliches, and unpick the true legacy of this complicated and difficult inheritance. She speaks to leading figures in British culture today - from poet Benjamin Zephaniah to actress Diana Rigg, broadcaster Anita Rani to novelist Nadifa Mohamed - discovering vivid family stories of the people who made Empire what it was.

Training your body for a marathon is tough. Training your mind is even harder. Unless you have Ant Middleton as your mentor.... The former special forces soldier, and star of SAS: Who Dares Wins, has recruited five first-time Virgin Money London Marathon runners who have recently faced-up to a variety of mental health challenges. Supported by elite marathon runner Mara Yamauchi and sports psychologist Dr Josephine Perry, Ant is on hand to help them battle through their self-doubt, anxiety and fears, can they overcome their psychological barriers to reach the finish line?

Speedway was a prime-time sport in the 1970s and 1980s. Its most successful riders were household names, and events would be held in venues as large as Wembley Stadium, attracting tens of thousands of spectators. In a time of only three terrestrial TV channels in the UK, you were guaranteed to find Speedway racing on one of them on a Saturday afternoon. At one point, London alone was home to 11 separate clubs. Today it has none. So what put this once-dominant sport on the slide?

Tea Malmegård interviews ten chefs she greatly admires from various parts of Scandinavia. By visiting the chefs in their natural habitat – the kitchen of their famous restaurants – Tea is able to break down the barrier that normally exists between guests and the secret world of chefs.

In The Other Animals, a worm goes through a breakup, a vulture contemplates the act of killing, a whale falls in love with a song, and more.  

This funny, moving collection of eight stories - written by a diverse crew of scientists, literary writers, and comics, and informed by science - explores what animal perspectives can show humans about the world we all share....

Imagine having three life-coaches who had been through the toughest mental and physical challenges; a crack team of problem-solvers who knew in their day job that one mistake could be the difference between life - and death. Think Like a Spy brings together ex-officers from the CIA, the FBI and the British Royal Marines. Across eight themed half-hours, they recount their experiences of working in the most stressful situations around the world - and how you can apply the same techniques to your own everyday life to become more productive, more perceptive and confident.

After advice on which skin care will get you glowing? Our gal Cleo knew a thing or two. Feeling a bit gloomy? Aristotle’s got a cure for that. Never quite sure which cutlery to use at social occasions, or how to boost your fitness? Join three curious comedians and their trusty guru as they dig up some of history’s most bizarre life hacks and put them to the test. From how to bag that hot date, to tips on excelling at work – the team get busy building the ultimate collection of archaeological-advice so you too can Crush It Like Cleopatra.

Inspirational hacks to transform expand your imagination and your creative writing. Writer and podcaster Ross Sutherland offers you a suite of writing techniques to get your creative juices flowing. This series is packed with tips gleaned from literature’s finest writers, but don’t worry - Ross isn’t about to ask you to write a dense novel or an academic text. Through a series of playful exercises he’s encouraging you to have fun, to experiment, to play and to fall in love with the written word.

You Heard it Here First is an audio recommendation show that helps you discover your next listen. Hosted by Imriel Morgan, the show cherry-picks from the Audible catalogue of podcasts, audiobooks and dramas, with laughs and fascinating facts along the way. You’ll hear from Audible’s Editors – the in-house audio experts – as well as from lovely listeners who know their favourite genre like the back of their hand. And that’s not to mention the clips of chats with a variety of authors. You’ll also find out how you too can be featured in the podcast!

How do we get happy? Listen to a positive, step-by-step guide on the building blocks for personal happiness by Dr Tim Sharp (aka Dr Happy). Through ten daily habits, this series provides the learnings and practical strategies for creating a happier life. Dr Tim Sharp is a clinical and consulting psychologist with three degrees in psychology and a distinguished career over several decades. He’s Australia’s very own “Dr Happy” and the founder of The Happiness Institute.

Christmas is the world’s biggest festival, yet we barely understand how we got here. Somewhere between Jesus, Dickens and Coke, Christmas became the beloved chaotic present-fest that it currently is. If it’s a turkey, we should really stop stuffing it. So let’s unwrap it instead.... Join journalist Grace Dent, comedian Paul Kerensa and a house-full of special guests for a festive, fun and fact-filled sleigh-ride through the history of our Christmas traditions.

Campbell Parkes may be an idiot but he still has his own radio show, broadcast every day at midnight to a dwindling audience. His long-suffering producer Michelle longs to pursue real journalism but instead must listen to Campbell's on-air rants about expensive cinema tickets and reusable coffee cups every night. When an opportunity to grab the station's hallowed breakfast slot develops, it's time to raise their game and make the biggest splash possible - no matter how outrageous. It's a win-win situation: supporters tune in to cheer you on, and detractors tune in just to hate you.

Comedian Stephen K Amos is back with a third series of his legendary talk show! Recorded at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival, Stephen sits down with some of the most brilliant comedians from the UK and beyond in front of a live studio audience. Expect big laughs, unexpected revelations, and hilarious stories – plus a live comedy performance at the end of each show.

Murdoch is an innovator who has re-shaped a media industry across continents, from Australia to the UK to the US. He is a disruptor who has changed the nature of our politics with a steadfast focus on giving the people what he believes they want. But to what extent has Murdoch shaped our modern world? Has he created new audiences, or given existing, under-served audiences a voice? And what motivates the media mogul? Money or power? David Dimbleby, one of the UK’s most respected politics and current affairs journalists, has followed Murdoch’s career for more than five decades.

John Safran has fallen in with the wrong crowd, again. He has spent months among sorcerers, satanists, and exorcists and he's spilling the beans in a new podcast. Forget gentle white witches and tarot card readers. John packs his bag and fearlessly heads off to places where black magic leads not only to exorcisms but... murder. He flies to the US and investigates a gang who murdered a teenage girl for disturbing their satanic shrine. He sails to remote islands in Vanuatu, where laws have been passed to quash witchcraft and contravening them can lead to a public hanging or exile.

Wednesday, October 2, 2002.

Aspen Hill, Maryland. Northgate Plaza.

5:20 PM.

Inside Michael’s craft supply store, cashier Ann Chapman rings up another customer. Then it happens. A loud crack; a gust of wind; the light in register five goes dark.

Over the next 23 days, the entire DC area will be thrust into a reign of terror unprecedented in American history. Sniper attacks targeting and murdering everyday citizens will bring the entire region to its knees.

At the heart of Audible’s three year partnership with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) is the involvement of LAMDA students in the creative process of making new audio dramas especially for young people. Four original audio dramas were commissioned from some of the UK’s most exciting emerging writers. The dramas were workshopped with LAMDA students and these final productions were recorded by graduating third years.  The result is four brilliantly unique pilot episodes of dramas for a new generation that speak to the complex times we live in.

An audio dramatisation of July 1914 Countdown to War by Sean McMeekin. 'The story of the 37 days that led Europe to war after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 1914.'

Set on a large ranch in rural upstate New York, it’s early days for the eccentric group of people who call themselves “The Zeta Family” - quite possibly the next big cult phenomenon.

An audio dramatisation in 6 episodes of With Our Backs To The Wall: Victory and Defeat in 1918 by David Stevenson, Professor of International History at the LSE.

'How Germany, having seemingly come so close to victory in the Spring and Summer of 1918, was forced on to the defensive in September. By October, it had initiated negotiations for peace, signing an armistice on November 11th.'

Homeless Bodies and Other Stories is an original fiction podcast featuring audio-exclusive short stories from award-winning authors and Sunday Times best-sellers, inspired by objects & artefacts from Wellcome Collection’s permanent exhibition, 'Medicine Man', in London. Exploring themes of otherness, humanity, history, society and belief, Homeless Bodies and Other Stories brings together a gripping collection of tales that are unsettlingly eerie and provokingly current.

Dermot O’Leary interviews a range of people he greatly admires from the worlds of sport, fashion, politics and entertainment. Dermot says: "People, Just People is born out of curiosity to find out more about the lives of individuals that I’ve watched from afar – but not had the chance to get to know. How they got to where they did, the highs and lows that shaped that journey, and what have they learned along the way?"

The original comedy legends are back, exclusively to Audible! The Goodies, aka Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie, are one of comedy’s most influential and treasured groups. After 50 years, they’ve reunited for a new set of audio adventures. Expect their trademark surreal humour, and some very, very special guests....

Some people amass artwork. For others, it's stamps. But why would you want to collect the possessions of a serial killer? Journalists Poppy Damon and Alice Fiennes travel from New York to Scotland to probe one of the internet’s strangest subcultures – the people from all over the world who can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on so-called “murderabilia”. From the Muswell Hill Murderer, Dennis Nilsen, to Charles Manson, the duo explore the grisly yet lucrative business in trading everything from handwritten letters to prisoners' hairbrushes.

Growing up in a poor Yiddish speaking home in 1950s London, Lillian – then just a teenager – marries charming older man Raymond. One day he takes their children to the local park. But he never returns. When they reappear 40 years later – the search for the truth begins. Unfolding like a mystery, we follow Danny Ben-Moshe and his eccentric Jewish family as they unearth secrets, attempt to reconcile, and hear shocking news that sheds a new light on events. This series builds upon the story from Danny’s award-winning documentary film My Mother’s Lost Children.

On the surface, the Victorian age is one of propriety, industry, prudishness and piety. But scratch the surface and you’ll find scandal, sadism, sex, madness, malice and murder. Presented by Stephen Fry, this series delves deep into a period of time we think we know, to discover an altogether darker reality. The stories we’re told offer a different perspective on an era which underwent massive social change. As education, trade, technology and culture blossomed, why was there an undercurrent of the ‘forbidden’ festering beneath Victorian society?

In December 2017 the famous porn star August Ames committed suicide in a park in the Conejo Valley. It happened a day after she’d been the victim of a Twitter pile-on by fellow porn professionals. A month later, August’s husband Kevin connected with the writer Jon Ronson so they could piece together the story of how Twitter bullying killed his wife. What neither Kevin nor Ronson realised was that Ronson would soon hear rumours and secrets hinting at a very different story - something mysterious and unexpected and terrible.   

Lu and her friends are all hitting 50 and have no intention of learning to knit. Feisty and fabulous, this foursome is determined to grow old disgracefully. Join them on their journey across the desert and across the years to their home town and a school reunion, in this audio drama from the international best-selling author of The Bride Stripped Bare.

The Golden State Killer. The East Area Rapist. The Original Night Stalker. The Visalia Ransacker.

The monster who preyed on Californians from 1975 to 1986 was known by many aliases. And while numerous police sketches tried to capture his often-masked visage, the Golden State Killer spent more than 40 years not only faceless, but nameless.

Audible Live returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019 to bring you more hilarious stand-up from the world’s best comedy festival. From comedy legends to hotly tipped up-and-coming stars, we’ve brought together some of the best stand-up talent, including Iain Stirling, Britain’s Got Talent winner Lost Voice Guy, Steven K Amos, Nick Helm, Tiff Stevenson, Zoe Lyons and many more. With 12 episodes recorded exclusively for Audible across 12 nights, this is the next best thing to being there!

This much we do know: Sophie Toscan du Plantier was murdered days before Christmas in 1996, her broken body discovered at the edge of her property near the town of Schull in West Cork, Ireland. The rest remains a mystery.Gripping, yet ever elusive, join the real-life hunt for answers in the year’s first not-to-be-missed, true-crime series.

How can we change our behaviours? The first step is understanding our habits. For better or worse, habits are the invisible building blocks of daily life. Research suggests that about 40% of what we do is repeated almost daily and yet most of the time we aren’t really aware of what’s happening. In this series, neuroscientist Ash Ranpura and comedian Alice Fraser deep dive into the science of behaviour change. They want to find out how we can make good habits and how we can break bad ones.

Meditation is everywhere: your mobile phone, clothing stores and even in colouring books. But where does it come from and what even is it? With the help of neuroscientist Ash Ranpura, comedian Alice Fraser explores the science, history and culture behind meditation. On the way we will meet the tiny part of the brain that triggers most of our fear and anxiety, the NBA coach who taught Michael Jordan how to meditate, and the writer who says the best way to cope with our polarised politics is to practice mindfulness.

From sex trafficking and fraud to government secrets and anonymous hacking groups, this definitive exploration and exposé of the dark web goes where no documentary has gone before. The anonymous and lawless online environment of the Dark Web makes headlines on a daily basis. It touches all of our lives, without our knowledge, in many different ways. But where do the myths end and reality begin? Tech writer and broadcaster Geoff White ( Channel 4 News) wants to find out.

On New Year’s Eve 1999, a young Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian TV screens — awkward, self-conscious... and the new President. Two decades later, Putin is still in power, standing self-assured and at ease on the world stage. How did a once little known KGB bureaucrat become one of the most dominant figures of twenty first century politics? In this gripping narrative history, Misha Glenny, journalist and best-selling author of McMafia, tells the story of an unexpected and swift rise to power — one full of political intrigue, backroom deals, courtroom battles and war.

As a child, Chris Hooper dreamed of monsters. But in deep space, he found only darkness and isolation. Then, on planet LV178, he and his fellow miners discovered a storm-scoured, sand-blasted hell - and trimonite, the hardest material known to man. When a shuttle crashes into the mining ship Marion, the miners learn that there was more than trimonite deep in the caverns. There was evil, hibernating and waiting for suitable prey. Hoop and his associates uncover a nest of Xenomorphs, and hell takes on a new meaning. Quickly they discover that their only hope lies with the unlikeliest of saviors.... Ellen Ripley, the last human survivor of the salvage ship Nostromo.

Make sure the kids aren’t around! Just because you’re a grown-up doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the art of the children’s bedtime story. Nick Offerman presents this collection of 15 short stories written in the style of a classic kid’s tale, but with a decidedly dark and adult approach.  

Britain's most chilling crimes are brought sensationally to life in this compelling new series, using court room transcripts, police interviews, 999 calls, secret audio recordings and eye witness testimonies. With new insights into those responsible - from the shocking murders and manhunt of Raoul Moat to Jamie Bulger's killers - this show is not for the easily disturbed.

Follow Andrew Scott (BAFTA-winner, Sherlock, James Bond: Spectre) and Freema Agyeman ( Sense8, Doctor Who) as they race against time to solve this multi-layered political thriller. On a sullen, cloudy July day, ten years since 7/7, the confident and optimistic British Prime Minister is visiting a charity in East London. It's just two months after the general election which saw John Campbell's government returned to power with a clear majority, the economy is on the mend and the coalition is fast becoming a bad memory.

World-renowned adventurer and broadcaster, Bear Grylls, presents some of the most incredible near-death experiences, told by those who lived to tell the tale. These extraordinary and diverse accounts of human bravery, mental and physical strength - and sometimes sheer luck - range from being stranded for more than 50 days at sea, to surviving world-changing acts of terrorism. Bear contextualises each feat of endurance or bravery by relating them to his own experiences of near-misses and misfortune from his military career and survivalist adventures.

The 3-Day Effect is a look at the science behind why being in the wild for a minimum of three days can make us happier, healthier and more creative. Whether it’s rafting down Utah’s Green River, backpacking in Colorado wilderness or strolling through Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., scientists are finding that immersions in nature can reduce anxiety, enhance creativity and boost overall well-being.