Sir Anthony Seldon has written about a 1,300 kilometre walk he took across Europe from Southern France, through Austria and the Czech Republic finally reaching his destination, Auschwitz in Poland.

On the journey he seeks out inspiring stories of the lives of 'figures of light'.

As he tells me , while he was walking through places associated with fascism and the second world war he was well aware of the worrying state of global politics in the 21st century.

The Path of LIght is now available as a paperback.

Steve Ashley played a gig to a hometown Cheltenham crowd on June 26th 2026.

It was a triumph.

Steve has had a long illustrious career in music and political activism.

This conversation was recorded in November 2025, a few months before his 80th birthday. His passions, enthusiasms and commitment remain undimmed.

In this informal interview Steve tells of his influences and motivation. He clearly has a lot of fight and lyricism left!

A very entertaining musician and stimulating conversationalist.

Racism is sadly on the rise.

Misogyny is on the rise.

All of these opinions remind me of what Nina Simone said to me. She was the victim of cruel prejudice. She was angry.

Nina Simone was born on February 21st 1933.

There has been news recently of a plan to buy Nina Simone's childhood home in Tryon North Carolina and make it into a museum celebrating the life and work of the girl who was born Eunice Waymon.

I interviewed Nina in December 1998 just before her last ever show at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

She was talking to me for a programme on the radio station Jazz fm, which would promote the concert.

Nina had a reputation for being a tricky interviewee but on the day she was delightful and during the conversation she was eager to give her views on sexism, racism and feminism.

After the interview I was asked to introduce Nina on stage at the Albert Hall. It was a memorable day.