The Levin Interviews

Bernard Levin in conversation with Sir Clive Sinclair 'Within the not-too-distant future, we may not be the most intelligent species on earth.' These are the words, not of a science-fiction writer, but SIR CLIVE SINCLAIR , whose list of technical advancements to date make his assertions hard to ignore. He introduced the first pocket calculator, the first digital watch, the first flat-screen pocket TV and helped raise the level of computer literacy in Britain with his range of affordable microcomputers. In this conversation he shares his view of the present day and his extraordinary vision of the future.

Bernard Levin in conversation with Alan Ayckboum Playwright, director, lyricist and ex-actor, ALAN AYCKBOURN has been stage-struck since his youth. Now, in his 40s, he is one of the world's most successful writers of plays, squeezing up to three a year into the gaps between his full-time career as director of productions at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. It would be difficult to find a week when one of Ayckbourn's works is not in performance somewhere; but though his popular acclaim is hard to equal, he writes almost reluctantly.

VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY , one of the world's outstanding pianists, left Russia for the West in 1963 aged 26. By then he had already established an international reputation, having won the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in Brussels when only 18. Since then his life has centred completely around his music, which is 'always a joy' to him; he recently began to conduct, and now has almost as great a reputation as a conductor as he has as a pianist. Here he talks not only about his life and work today, but also about his extraordinary time as a musician in the Soviet Union.

Bernard Levin in conversation with Dame Elisabeth Frink Britain's foremost sculptress Dame Elisabeth Frink's themes - predatory birds and bird-men, wild boars, horses, standing figures - have become part of the language of the art of our world. Perhaps the most remarkable are her disembodied heads - 'Goggle Men', brutal figures of despotism; and their victims, 'In Memoriam' sculptures of noble sufferers. For her, 'art has always been a civilising factor.... I think a lot of governments have lost sight of humanity now'.

Bernard Levin in conversation with Sir John H. Plumb , who has been called 'one of the most enjoyable of living historians'. As well as the ever-popular England in the Eighteenth Century he has written two highly acclaimed volumes on Robert Walpole ; other important works include The Death of the Past, and the television series Royal Heritage. Throughout, he has successfully combined scholarship and popular readability. He has, until recently, been Master of Christ's College at Cambridge, where before that he was Professor of Modern History.

Bernard Levin in conversation with Dr Edward Teller Dubbed the 'father of the H-bomb', physicist Edward Teller is one of America's most controversial scientists. Defence super-hawk, confidant of presidents and said to be the inspiration behind President Reagan's proposed 'Star Wars' weapons programme, he is a man of great complexity and great conviction. The man who inspired Dr Strangelove proves himself to be a deeply thoughtful scientist with important views on defence, the responsibility of the scientist and Western relations with the Soviet Union.

Bernard Levin in conversation with Lord Rothschild Lord Victor Rothschild, head of the house of Rothschild in this country, has done many things besides being chairman of the family bank. First and foremost he was a distinguished scientist and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; since then he has chaired many organisations including the Agricultural Research Council, Shell Research Limited, and the Royal Commission on Gambling. He was the first Director-General of the Government Think Tank - the culmination of a varied and powerful career.

Bernard Levin talks to Sir Roy Strong , who has been Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum for ten years, and has combined a dashing style with a series of scholarly historical works, notably about the Tudors, the Stuarts, and the Victorians. He has also been Director of the National Portrait Gallery, where he was responsible for a series of spectacular exhibitions, acting on his conviction that 'to bring life and people into the museum is absolutely essential'.