Showing results by narrator "Deirdra Whelan" in All Categories

The discovery of radium in the late 19th century prompted a flurry of experiments to scope the limits of its potential applications. Half Lives tells the fascinating, curious, sometimes macabre story of the element through its ascendance as a desirable item - a present for a queen, a prize in a treasure hunt, a glow-in-the-dark dance costume, a boon to the housewife and an ingredient in a startling host of consumer products - to its role as a cure-all in everyday 20th-century life.

1938, as the world spirals towards war, Klara Koch is employed as Hitler's personal cook. While Germany reveres the image of the Fuhrer, Klara and the household staff are privy to the real Hitler—his secrets, his ailments and his addictions. As Klara observes those circling the Fuhrer, she realises that not all of them are his admirers. Hitler is right to be paranoid. This thoroughly researched and compelling story takes listeners right up close and personal with Hitler as he spirals increasingly out of control in pursuit of his drug-fuelled quest for world domination.

As a leader, do you feel you face a straight choice between high performance versus wellbeing? Strategic resilience allows you to achieve both, without compromise. At The Resilience Engine, we believe that everyone deserves to perform well without compromising their wellbeing. We know our approach works because it’s backed up by 10 years of research and experience with thousands of clients in more than 75 organisations.

Nazi Germany has been crushed, but is the war really over? Klara, Hitler's personal cook, swears she glimpsed him fleeing the Berlin bunker via a secret tunnel. The world needs undeniable proof of the Fuhrer's death, but it's not that simple. While Allied intelligence agents scour Europe to find such proof, and a Hitler double—"the Wolf"—lays a false trail across two continents, the real Hitler hides out in a Polish monastery, desperate to find his gold train so he can fund the Fourth Reich.

A sister searches for her missing brother as a new power rises amid the splendour and the squalor of a once great city. Lower Rhumbsford is a city far removed from its glory days. On the banks of the great river Rhumb, its founding fathers channelled the river's mighty flow into a subterranean labyrinth of pipes, valves and sluices, a feat of hydraulic prowess that would come to power an empire. But a thousand years have passed since then, and something is wrong.

Emma Bowen has never had a close relationship with her mother, barely speaking with her in the last years of her life. But after her mother’s death, Emma finds something that might just explain the distance between them. Discovering letters between her mother and grandmother, it seems to Emma that her mother has always been difficult. As she searches for answers about her own childhood, Emma is drawn into the mystery of her mother’s enigmatic life.

London, 1899: Head of Special Branch Commander Thomas Pitt is summoned to Buckingham Palace. In the twilight of her years, Queen Victoria is all too aware that the Prince of Wales will soon inherit her empire and must be beyond reproach. She tells Pitt she tasked her close friend and confidant, John Halberd, with investigating the Prince's friends, specifically Alan Kendrick, a wealthy playboy and betting man, but before he could report back Halberd was found dead in a rowing boat on the Serpentine.

Taking you on an in-depth tour of your everyday household products, Anna Turns reveals the harmful chemicals that lurk inside your home, the damage they can cause and helpful swaps and tips to avoid them wherever you can. Go Toxic Free is a vital guide to help us all make important changes to our lifestyles and consumption to help reduce the devastating impact of chemical pollution.

Meet Elsa Zero: Bad neighbour. Single mother. Ex-deep cover agent. And right now, the most dangerous person on Earth. When Elsa's dull but dedicated boyfriend proposes in a packed restaurant, she doesn't think her evening can get any worse. But as the clock strikes midnight, her world is turned upside down. Suddenly Elsa is running for her life, trying to keep her children safe, and desperate to discover what the hell is going on.

January in Gotland. The days are short, the air is cold, and all the roads are covered in snow. On a deserted, icy backroad, these wintery conditions will soon bring together a group of strangers with a force devastating enough to change their lives forever when, in the midst of a brief period, a deadly accident and two separate crimes leave victims in their wake. Four years later a single phone call is all it takes to bring back the terror of that day and to set in motion a plot for revenge.

The public think Ava's a monster. Ava thinks she's blameless. In prison, they called her Butcher Bird—but Ava's not in prison any more. Released after 25 years to a new identity and a new home, Ava finally has the quiet life she's always wanted. But someone knows who she is. The lies she's told are about to unravel.

On the beautiful island of Santaniki, close to Crete, it's not all white sands and sunshine. When retired bookseller Ariadne Blunt suggests the English residents form a choir, there are groans of resistance. After a little persuasion, the group gather in Ariadne's olive garden to rehearse, but each member of this choir has their own anxieties and secrets. Ariadne's partner, Hebe, is in failing health. Clive struggles to accept the loss of his wife while Della, the Pilates teacher, drinks too much and Chloe, Queen Bee of the village society, faces a family dilemma.

Maximise your happiness in the workplace. Stop negative thinking and tackle your problems at work using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Learn to control anger and frustration, reduce workplace anxiety and take control of your work-life balance by introducing CBT’s insights into your working day. Full of real-life examples and useful exercises, this practical guide will help you to replace feelings of inadequacy and a lack of motivation with new ways of thinking, to help you work better with others and make you happier and more effective in the workplace.

They would rather die than become mothers. A serial killer is on the loose in Tel Aviv. Each victim is found tied to a chair with a baby doll glued to their hands, the word 'mother' carved into their forehead like a mark of Cain. Stowed away between the wax figurines of the Bible museum where she works, Sheila Heller knows both victims. She suspects the killings have something to do with a pact their group all made at university - to never have children. What Sheila doesn't know is who is committing these gruesome acts of ritualistic violence, and whether she herself might be next.

The cracks in Clémentine and Édouard’s marriage are becoming impossible to ignore. Her work as a perfumer is no longer providing solace and her sense of self is withering. Then, decades after the end of a bisexual love triangle, Clémentine’s former lover resurfaces. What does she want, if not revenge? Set in Paris and Provence, this is a beautifully crafted, intimate portrait of a woman navigating conflicting desires whilst dreaming of a fulfilling future.

What if you knew the truth but couldn’t remember? Over a decade ago, Heidi was the victim of a brutal attack that left her hospitalised, her younger sister missing and her best friend dead. But Heidi doesn’t remember any of that. She’s lived her life since then with little memory of her friends and family and no recollection of the crime. Now, it’s all starting to come back. As Heidi begins retracing the events that lead to the assault, she is forced to confront the pain and guilt she’s long kept buried. But Heidi isn’t the only one digging up the past.