Hi NYTRAM re "The Listener"
Answers / solutions to this crossword tend not to be given on this Forum, because there is what you might call a "gentlemen's agreement" that on-line discussion of it or comment on it is limited to that, and takes place on one thread on "The Answerbank".
I personally think it's a good idea that some crosswords are protected by this convention, but many CHF contributors abhor the idea that the Listener, or any other puzzle, should be sacrosanct. I fully expect many howls of protest, and even personal abuse, simply for telling you this.
You would definitely NOT be given any direct help on the Answerbank, where even broad hints are infra dig. I don't know when this convention occurred, but "traditionally" it seems most people observe a kind of edgy truce over it. Go to "The Answerbank" and search Listener, where a group of solvers regularly swap comments about the style, level of difficulty etc, but NEVER any answers.
In answer to your question about "Cruciverbalism", I would offer the following general advice, which is also useful for other Carte Blanche puzzles. Azed in the Observer is an occasional user of this format.
"Cold solving" the clues (i.e. working them out without any crossing letters) is the first order of the day. Do not write anything in the grid. Work in soft pencil. I suggest you use squared paper, and draw one or two rough grids.
The 180 degree symmetry is very important. If you look carefully, you'll see that at the start, and about half way through the clues, you will see 9 letter grid entries . You then need to look at the grid to give yourself some idea of about where they will occur. Note that only Acrosses will accommodate 9 letters. As the clues are given in "normal order, it's highly likely that the two 9 letter grid entries are along the top & bottom lines.
With 180 degree symmetry and down words only having 8 spaces, the 2 7 letter grid entries are probably downs. One will leave a blank on the top row, and the other a blank on the bottom row. It, therefore looks quite likely that these will fit in the first & 8th columns. So there is a distinct likelihood that the first 9 letter grid entry and the first 7 letter grid entry, might start with the same letter. Solve as many clues as you can before filling the grid. Also write down the omitted letters in clue order so that they spell out an instruction or allusion, which will lead you to the phrase to be highlighted. Try to get 1 across & 1 down first. Fit the rest in "jigsaw style. A great help to you when doing this will be the bars you draw, because if you draw one bar in the top half of the grid, it must be drawn in at the symmetrically opposite equivalent place in the grid.
The puzzle will have a theme covered by the title.