Hi, it's Nicola Cochlin. Young people have been making history for years, but we don't often hear about them. My brand new series on BBC Sounds sets out to put this right. In history's youngest heroes, I'll be revealing the fascinating stories of 12 young people who've played a major role in history and who've helped shape our world. Like Audrey Hepburn, Nelson Mandela,

Louis Braille and Lady Jane Grey, history's youngest heroes with me, Nicola Cochlin. Listen on BBC Sounds.

Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. My name's

Linda Davies, and I commissioned podcasts for BBC Sounds.

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality, featuring the most

knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC makes

podcasts about all kinds of things, like pop stars, poltergeists, cricket and conspiracy theories,

and that's just a few examples.

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected,

find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.

This is a download from the BBC.

To find out more, visit BBC.com.ukuk slash radio four.

Hello on today's program. What is an author's responsibility when it comes to issues of conscience?

Should novels do politics?

Pankaj Mishra and Roma Tienn join me to discuss this hot topic later on.

And we delve into the mind of one of the world's most reclusive novelists.

He was by nature very cautious, very much the tortoise.

When he sensed danger, he would withdraw into his shell.

He had been rebuffed by the Afrikaners too often, rebuffed and humiliated.

You've only to read his book of childhood memories to see that.

He was not going to take the risk of being rejected again.

A reading from Summertime, one of the fictional memoirs written by the double booker-winning

...