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For the final Blackwell podcast of the year, we take a look back at some of the hightlights from our shows of 2009 in a two-part Christmas special. Listen to our regular host George Miller as he revisits some of the best interviews of the year including his discussions with Hilary Mantel, Philip Hoare, Alain de Botton, Mary Beard, Micheal Slater and more.

John Gray's 2002 book 'Straw Dogs' offers a profound assessment of what it means to be human, challenging our long-held assumptions about our place as humans in the hierarchy of life. The book was named among the top 100 Blackwell Books of the Decade so we invited John to come and discuss his bestselling book.

Listen to John Sutherland, author of 'Curiosities of Literature'. In the book, Sutherland presents a series of essays in which he looks to answer a range of literary curiosities including: 'When did cigarettes start making an appearance in English literature?', 'Who wrote the first Western?', 'Is there any link between asthma and literary genius?' and more.

John Gray's book 'Straw Dogs' features in the Blackwell Books of the Decade list. Listen to John as he discusses 'The Revenge of Gaia', one of his three favourite books of the last 10 years.

John Gray's book 'Straw Dogs' features in the Blackwell Books of the Decade list. Listen to John as he discusses J.G. Ballard's 'The Complete Short Stories', one of his three favourite books of the last 10 years.

John Gray's book 'Straw Dogs' features in the Blackwell Books of the Decade list. Listen to John as he discusses 'A Little Larger Than the Entire Universe', one of his three favourite books of the last 10 years.

Marcus du Sautoy's 'The Music of the Primes' features in the Blackwell Books of the Decade list. Listen to Marcus as he discusses 'Logicomix', one of his three favourite books of the last 10 years.

Marcus du Sautoy's 'The Music of the Primes' is a critically acclaimed popular science book that delves into the mysterious world of prime numbers. The paperback release features in the Blackwell Books of the Decade list and with that in mind, our regular host George Miller spent some time with Marcus to discuss his bestselling title.

Marcus du Sautoy's 'The Music of the Primes' features in the Blackwell Books of the Decade list. Listen to Marcus as he discusses 'The Housekeeper and the Professor', one of his three favourite books of the last 10 years.

Michael Slater is Emeritus Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College, University of London. In his new book, titled simply 'Charles Dickens', Slater draws on a lifetime of research to present a masterful biography of the great Victorian novelist. The book provides a comprehensive account of Dickens' personal and emotional life with the core focus on his career as a writer and professional author, covering not only his big novels but also his phenomenal output of other writing.

Marcus du Sautoy's 'The Music of the Primes' features in the Blackwell Books of the Decade list. Listen to Marcus as he discusses 'The Oxford Murders', one of his three favourite books of the last 10 years.

In his new book 'The Hammer and the Cross', Robert Ferguson provides a fresh approach to the Viking Age utilising his long familiarity with the literary culture of Scandinavia with the latest archaeological discoveries and the evidence to make the most convincing modern portrait of the Viking Age to date.

With his 2005 bestseller, The Bedside Book of Birds, Canadian author Graeme Gibson gave readers a beautifully illustrated miscellany of the avian world. Now with 'The Bedside Book of Beasts', Gibson extends his reach to other wildlife combining beautiful illustrations, scientific extracts, poems, fables and stunning photography to present a captivating celebration of wild animals.

Marcus Chown is a former radio astronomer at CALTEC and current cosmology consultant of New Scientist magazine. In his latest book, 'We Need to Talk About Kelvin', Chown shows how familiar, everyday occurrences can teach us profound truths about the fundamental nature of reality. From the bizarre particle/wave duality of photons in the light of your reflection from a window, to the traces of cosmic background radiation left from the Big Bang found on an untuned television set, 'We Need to Talk About Kelvin' will change the way you look at the world forever.

Praised as "the most entertaining historian alive" by The Spectator magazine, David Kynaston is an English historian who has written numerous books on British history. In his latest offering, 'Family Britain, 1951-1957', Kynaston presents a collection of diaries and memoirs to paint a picture of yesteryear's Britain which is as fascinating as it is moving.

Listen to John Grindrod discuss his hilarious new book 'Shouting at the Telly'. The book features funny and heartfelt rants and raves from a host of comedians, writers and viewers on everything the box has to offer: from soaps to sitcoms, sci-fi to reality shows, HBO to QVC.

With her Man Booker Prize victory still fresh in the memory, Hilary Mantel takes some time out of her very busy schedule to discuss the book that won her the prestigious prize, 'Wolf Hall'. The book is set in the 1520s and tells the story of Thomas Cromwell's rise to prominence in the Tudor court. Listen as Mantel discusses the book.

In his groundbreaking new book '1415', Ian Mortimer looks at Henry V's 'year of glory', a period of religious persecution, personal suffering and the Battle of Agincourt, and asks whether the King deserves to be remembered as the greatest man who ever ruled England.

Jenny Uglow, author, historian and critic discusses her latest book 'A Gambling Man'. The book presents a study of Charles II, exploring his elusive nature through the tumultuous first decade of the restoration, a period which saw the plague, the Fire of London and the Dutch war.

Dan Cruickshank discusses his new book 'The Secret History of Georgian London'. The book looks at the darker side of the Georgian capital, where prostitution was rife, houses of ill repute were widespread, and many tens of thousands of people were dependent in some way on the wages of sin.