The funny, frank and full autobiography of the nation's favourite comedian.

It's the first time I've done this. Other people have written about me - or for me - but this time it's just my own life in my own words.

In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life.

Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of four, and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds.

Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart.

As a young comedian Billy broke all the rules. He was fearless and outspoken - willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness too. His startling, hairy 'glam-rock' stage appearance - wearing leotards, scissor suits and banana boots - only added to his appeal.

It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in 1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries, international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed. Billy's pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too - for over 50 years, in fact - until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson's Disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary drawings...and writing.

Windswept & Interesting is Billy's story in his own words. It is joyfully funny - stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend.

I didn't know I was windswept and interesting until somebody told me. It was a friend who was startlingly exotic himself. He'd just come back from Kashmir and was all billowy shirt and Indian beads. I had long hair and a beard and was swishing around in electric blue flairs.

He said: 'Look at you - all windswept and interesting!'

I just said: 'Exactly!'

After that, I simply had to maintain my reputation....

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WINDSWEPT & INTERESTING by Billy Connolly, read by Billy Connolly - audiobook extract

Listen to an excerpt of Helen Wan's THE PARTNER TRACK, read by Catherine Ho.

Ingrid Yung's life is full of firsts. A first-generation Chinese American, the first lawyer in her family, she's about to collect the holy grail of "firsts" and become the first minority woman to make partner at the venerable old law firm Parsons Valentine & Hunt.

Ingrid has perfected the art of "passing" and seamlessly blends into the old-boy corporate culture. She gamely banters in the corporate cafeteria, plays in the firm softball league, and earnestly racks up her billable hours. But when an offensive incident at the summer outing threatens the firm's reputation, Ingrid's outsider status is suddenly thrown into sharp relief. Scrambling to do damage control, Parsons Valentine announces a new Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, commanding Ingrid to spearhead the effort. Only she's about to close an enormous transaction that was to be her final step in securing partnership.

For the first time, Ingrid must question her place in the firm. Pitted against her colleagues, including her golden-boy boyfriend, Ingrid begins to wonder whether the prestige of partnership is worth breaching her ethics. But can she risk throwing away the American dream that is finally within her reach?

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The Partner Track by Helen Wan, audiobook excerpt

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell, Chapter 4

Read by Fred Sanders

From Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Will Bunch, the epic untold story of college—the great political and cultural fault line of American life

"This book is simply terrific." —Heather Cox Richardson, publisher of the "Letters from an American" Substack

"A must-read." —Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains

Today there are two Americas, separate and unequal, one educated and one not. And these two tribes—the resentful “non-college” crowd and their diploma-bearing yet increasingly disillusioned adversaries—seem on the brink of a civil war. The strongest determinant of whether a voter was likely to support Donald Trump in 2016 was whether or not they attended college, and the degree of loathing they reported feeling toward the so-called “knowledge economy of clustered, educated elites. Somewhere in the winding last half-century of the United States, the quest for a college diploma devolved from being proof of America’s commitment to learning, science, and social mobility into a kind of Hunger Games contest to the death. That quest has infuriated both the millions who got shut out and millions who got into deep debt to stay afloat.

In After the Ivory Tower Falls, award-winning journalist Will Bunch embarks on a deeply reported journey to the heart of the American Dream. That journey begins in Gambier, Ohio, home to affluent, liberal Kenyon College, a tiny speck of Democratic blue amidst the vast red swath of white, post-industrial, rural midwestern America. To understand “the college question,” there is no better entry point than Gambier, where a world-class institution caters to elite students amidst a sea of economic despair.

From there, Bunch traces the history of college in the U.S., beginning with the first technical schools, through the landmark GI Bill, and the culture wars of the 60’s and 70’s, which found their start on college campuses. We see how resentment of college-educated elites morphed into a rejection of knowledge itself—and how the explosion in student loan debt fueled major social movements like Occupy Wall Street. Bunch then takes a question we need to ask all over again—what, and who, is college even for?—and pushes it into the 21st century by proposing a new model that works for all Americans.

The sum total is a stunning work of journalism, one that lays bare the root of our political, cultural, and economic division—and charts a path forward for America.

After the Ivory Tower Falls by Will Bunch

An undercover ATF agent is going full throttle on a highway to hell as he tries to infiltrate the most notorious motorcycle club on the planet.

This story contains police violence, descriptions of violence, and graphic imagery. Sensitive listeners, please be advised.

BIG thanks to Jay Dobyns for sharing his story with Snap. There is so much that we were not able to share with you about Jay’s experience. To find out more check out his memoirs “No Angel” and “Catching Hell.”

Special thanks to George Christie.

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

Produced by Bo Walsh, original score by Dirk Schwarzhoff, artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 13 – Episode 34

No Angel

These favorite Brother and Sister Bear stories are wrapped up in this six-in-one Berenstain Bears audiobook collection!

These stories will remind young listeners of important biblical values and offers essential life lessons. From being kind to others to gossip to having a bad day, and forgiveness to helping others to doing your best, Brother and Sister Bear’s relatable adventures and everyday opportunities to learn will inspire listeners young and old.

This collection includes:

The Berenstain Bears and the Forgiving Tree: When Cousin Fred accidentally damages Brother’s brand-new bike, Brother Bear is angry. Can Sister Bear help him see that forgiving his friend is the right thing to do?

The Berenstain Bears Get Involved: A storm hits Bear Country, and it might flood! It’s up to the Bear family and the rest of the rescue team from the Chapel in the Woods to come together and save their community.

The Berenstain Bears and a Job Well Done: Brother, Sister, and Honey Bear need to clean their playhouse, but they’d rather play outside.

The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule: Should Sister Bear ignore the new girl at school just because her friends do? Choosing to be kind may not always be the easy choice, but it is always the right one.

The Berenstain Bears' Gossip Gang: Talking about others makes Sister feel like she is special, even if what is said might not be true. But when rumors are spread about her, Sister begins to understand just how hurtful gossip can be.

The Berenstain Bears Why Do Good Bears Have Bad Days?: Sister and Brother Bear go on a bike ride and fishing trip in the countryside, and things go very wrong. Brother falls into the pond, Sister’s fishing rod breaks, and they get caught in the rain on the way home. Why did this bad stuff happen to them?

The Berenstain Bears Brother and Sister Bear Favorites:

Includes all the Berenstain Bears family and friends who have been beloved by parents, grandparents, children, and grandchildren for decades
Features kid-friendly, easy-to-remember Scripture verses
Teaches valuable life lessons
Is a fun, new collection in the popular Zonderkidz Living Lights: A Faith Story series, which has sold over eight million copies since 2008

Directed by James Burrows by James Burrows with Eddy Friedfeld, read by James Burrows

Listen to an excerpt from I'M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy, read by the author.

I'M GLAD MY MOM DIED Audiobook Excerpt

Kyle Bagenstose from USA Today gives us a look at how the US is moving forward on climate change.

The US is making a big down payment on climate change. Here's what needs to come next

Frankie isn’t a real Media Influencer, but the Government saw the 500k followers he bought for his Instagram profile and arrested him anyway. Now he’s in a Media internment Camp.

Written by Benjamen Walker, with help from Louis Kornfeld.
Produced by Jonathan Mitchell

Part 2 is available now on Benjamen Walker's Theory of Everything.
https://toe.prx.org/2017/06/influencers-part-ii-of-ii/

The Truth

Influencers (part I of II)

The final work from the Pulitzer Prize&ndash;winning writer, actor, and musician, drawn from his transformative last days<br> &#160;<br> In searing, beautiful prose, Sam Shepard&rsquo;s extraordinary narrative leaps off the page with its immediacy and power. It tells in a brilliant braid of voices the story of an unnamed narrator who traces, before our rapt eyes, his memories of work, adventure, and travel as he undergoes medical tests and treatments for a condition that is rendering him more and more dependent on the loved ones who are caring for him. The narrator&rsquo;s memories and preoccupations often echo those of our current moment&mdash;for here are stories of immigration and community, inclusion and exclusion, suspicion and trust. But at the book&rsquo;s core, and his, is family&mdash;his relationships with those he loved, and with the natural world around him. Vivid, haunting, and deeply moving, <i>Spy of the First Person </i>takes us from the sculpted gardens of a renowned clinic in Arizona to the blue waters surrounding Alcatraz, from a New Mexico border town to a condemned building on New York City&rsquo;s Avenue C. It is an unflinching expression of the vulnerabilities that make us human&mdash;and an unbound celebration of family and life.

Spy of the First Person by Sam Shepard, read by Michael Shannon

Penguin Books publishes blockbusting, prize-winning, celebrated, controversial, heart-warming, thought-provoking and inspiring books by a range of authors from Ali Smith to Zadie Smith, Jeremy Clarkson to Jeremy Paxman and Jamie Oliver to Oliver Goldsmith.

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell, Chapter 4

Penguin Books UK

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