David and the Wire

In this episode, first aired in 2014, we examine three very different kinds of black boxes—spaces where we know what’s going in, we know what’s coming out, but can’t see what happens in-between. From the darkest parts of metamorphosis to a sixty-year-old secret among magicians, a ...  Show more

Before he was even born, Sarah and Ross Gray knew that their son Thomas wouldn’t live long. But as they let go of him, they made a decision that reverberated through a world that they never bothered to think about. Years later, after a couple of awkward phone calls, they go on a ...  Show more

David Sedaris is a writer whose humorous stories and wry takes on everyday encounters have led to 13 bestselling books and many radio programmes including Meet David Sedaris on BBC Radio 4. His work is based on his own life and, although very funny, does not shy away from the ble ...  Show more

It has ever and always been true, David Whyte reminds us, that so much of human experience is a conversation between loss and celebration. This conversational nature of reality — indeed, this drama of vitality — is something we have all been shown, willing or unwilling, in these ...  Show more

David Isay is the founder of StoryCorps and winner of the MacArthur Genius Grant and 2015 TED Prize. His new StoryCorps book is “Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work”. This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “David Isay — L ...  Show more

David Harewood is an award-winning actor, star of Supergirl and Homeland, and best-selling author behind Maybe I Don’t Belong Here, one of the best-reviewed and best-selling books of 2021. One of the best actors of his generation, with honours from Queen Elizabeth to prove it, Da ...  Show more