May 31, 2026 · 55 min · 11 segments
The writer Simon Barnes has two very public passions - sport and the natural world. He wrote about both for The Times for 30 years, covering seven Olympic Games and six World Cup finals, while also…
Simon BarnesGuest
Michael BerkeleyHost[classical music]
The writer Simon Barnes has two very public passions: sport and the natural world.
He wrote about both for The Times for 30 years, covering seven Olympic Games and six World Cup finals, while also delivering columns on short-eared owls, mountain hares, and the organ pipe contact call of lions.
His books include reflections on the meaning and the soul of sport, and numerous titles about birds, including the best-selling How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher, in which he says, "Birdwatching is a state of being, not an activity.
It's about life, and it's about living." This way of seeing also informs his most recent book, How to Fly, which examines not only birds, but butterflies, bees, bats, and the deep human fascination with flight.
You brought to us today, on the wing as it were, Beethoven, Scarlatti, Monteverdi, and Messiaen.
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[classical music]
The writer Simon Barnes has two very public passions: sport and the natural world.
He wrote about both for The Times for 30 years, covering seven Olympic Games and six World Cup finals, while also delivering columns on short-eared owls, mountain hares, and the organ pipe contact call of lions.
His books include reflections on the meaning and the soul of sport, and numerous titles about birds, including the best-selling How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher, in which he says, "Birdwatching is a state of being, not an activity.
It's about life, and it's about living." This way of seeing also informs his most recent book, How to Fly, which examines not only birds, but butterflies, bees, bats, and the deep human fascination with flight.
You brought to us today, on the wing as it were, Beethoven, Scarlatti, Monteverdi, and Messiaen.