Insight with Jon Ronson: The Men Who Stare at Goats and Other Stories

Why are Iraqi prisoners of war being forced to listen to Barney the Purple Dinosaur’s theme tune repeatedly, at top volume? Why have 100 de-bleated goats been secretly placed inside the Special Forces command centre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina? Has the US army really enlisted the help of Uri Geller? In The Men Who Stare at Goats, soon to be made into a feature film with an all-star cast, author Jon Ronson searches for answers to these and many other questions, revealing some of the extraordinary beliefs at the core of the War on Terror.

Jon Ronson is a writer and documentary film maker. His books, Them: Adventures With Extremists and The Men Who Stare at Goats were international bestsellers. He also writes occasionally for The Guardian and currently writes and presents the BBC Radio 4 series, Jon Ronson on...  He has made several films for Channel 4, including the acclaimed five part series the Secret Rulers of the World and the multi award-winning Tottenham Ayatollah. His most recent documentaries are Reverend Death (Channel 4) and Robbie Wiliams and Jon Ronson Journey to the Other Side (Radio 4).

Peter Curran is an award-winning writer, DJ, presenter, documentary maker and failed drummer. BBC Radio 4 listeners will have heard him as MC of Saturday night’s cultural funfest Loose Ends and he occasionally has a go at presenting The Weekender on Radio 2 and Saturday Live on Radio 4. Peter has a wealth of hair-raising anecdotes involving his encounters with many cultural icons from Kingsley Amis and Peter Cook to people who are still alive such as Van Morrison and Tracey Emin. He has chaired numerous high profile arts and culture conferences involving Cambridge University, The Royal Society, Radio Academy, Royal College of Art and the BBC Music Festival.