Natalie Haynes: Greek Myths, Medea and the Comedy of Classics

Natalie Haynes: Greek Myths, Medea and the Comedy of Classics

Author: Global September 5, 2025 Duration: 1:04:23

Natalie Haynes has never been easy to categorise. A stand-up comedian turned broadcaster and best-selling author, she has built a career out of making the ancient world vivid, funny and urgent. In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien talks with the presenter of Stand Up for the Classics about her unusual path from Birmingham bookshops to the Edinburgh Fringe, and from Radio 4 to re-imagining Medea.

They explore the strange alchemy of combining scholarship with humour, the myths that refuse to let her go, and why Jason may be one of antiquity’s least heroic heroes. Natalie reflects on the teachers and family who first filled her life with books, the risks of carving out a career that no one else was doing, and the joy of turning classical stories into something alive for modern audiences.

Clever, warm and very funny, Natalie shows how ancient tragedy and modern comedy can illuminate each other- and why she still feels most at home with the ghosts of Greece.

Find out more about Natalie Haynes book and tour No Friend to This House here


You know that feeling when a conversation goes deeper than you expected, moving past the headlines and soundbites into something more real? That’s the space where Full Disclosure with James O'Brien lives. Hosted by the award-winning LBC presenter and author, this podcast is built on a simple but powerful premise: a genuinely curious interviewer meeting fascinating people from politics, news, and entertainment. James O’Brien brings his thoughtful perspective to each discussion, not to debate, but to understand. The result is a series of compelling dialogues that feel more like eavesdropping on a great chat between insightful minds than a formal interview. You’ll hear guests reveal layers of their experiences and opinions in a way that only happens when the questions are interested, not just interesting. It’s a refreshing take in a crowded field, focusing on the substance and the story behind the public persona. For anyone interested in the forces shaping our society, arts, and culture, this podcast offers a nuanced and engaging listen. Each episode is a chance to step away from the noise and into a conversation that prioritizes depth and disclosure, all delivered with the intelligence and clarity listeners have come to expect from James O’Brien.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Full Disclosure with James O'Brien
Podcast Episodes
Jan Ravens: “I lived with a nameless dread” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:00
Jan Ravens, the acclaimed impressionist at the heart of Dead Ringers, grew up learning to change the mood of a room long before she ever changed her voice on stage. In this conversation with James O Brien, she reflects o…
Toby Jones: I never wanted to feel desperate about acting [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:28
From Truman Capote to Mr Bates, Toby Jones has built a career on disappearing- an actor whose transformations are so complete they can seem alchemical. But behind that versatility lies a story of inheritance, self-doubt…
Jimmy Wales: The man who built Wikipedia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:34
Long before it became one of the most visited websites on Earth, Wikipedia began as a radical idea from a curious boy in Huntsville, Alabama. Raised by a father who managed a grocery store and a mother and grandmother wh…
Cor Hutton: The Quadruple Amputee Who Found Her Feet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:59
In 2013, businesswoman and mum Cor Hutton was given just a five percent chance of survival after contracting pneumonia that developed into sepsis. She pulled through, but lost both hands and her legs below the knee.In th…