Matthew Bannister on
Professor David Vaughan OBE, who was a leading expert on the effects of climate change on glaciers in the Antarctic.
Burt Bacharach (pictured), who wrote scores of hit songs including 'I Say A Little Prayer', 'Do You Know The Way To San José' and 'Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head'.
Janet Anderson, the Labour MP who wrote entertaining ... Show More
Oct 3
Dame Jane Goodall, Tony Harrison, Lord Menzies Campbell, Danny Thompson
Matthew Bannister onDame Jane Goodall, the primatologist and environmental campaigner who changed our understanding of animal behaviour. Chris Packham pays tribute.Tony Harrison, the Yorkshire born poet who took his writing to new audiences through theatre and TV. Michael Rosen a ... Show More
27m 46s
Sep 26
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, John Stapleton, Mary Elizabeth Dodd, Claudia Cardinale
Matthew Bannister onSir Nicholas Grimshaw, the architect who designed the international terminal at London’s Waterloo Station and the Eden Project.John Stapleton, the TV presenter who fronted Watchdog with his wife and ITV’s breakfast and daytime shows. His friend Greg Dyke pays ... Show More
27m 34s
Sep 19
Robert Redford, Barbara Harvey, Rosa Roisinblit, Stuart Craig
Matthew Bannister on:Robert Redford, the film star who believed his striking good looks could be a curse as well as a blessing.Barbara Harvey, the mediaeval historian who revealed fascinating details of the lives of the monks of Westminster Abbey.Rosa Roisinblit, one of Argentina ... Show More
27m 49s
Jun 2023
Professor Peter Hennessy, historian
Professor Peter Hennessy is one of the UK’s leading contemporary historians. He has written acclaimed and important books about politics, the civil service, the intelligence agencies and the British constitution on which he is an expert. Peter was born in London in 1947 and read ... Show More
36m 58s
Feb 2021
George McGavin, entomologist and broadcaster
George McGavin is an entomologist, explorer and broadcaster, who has spread the word about the importance of insects to audiences in their millions. Born in Glasgow, he grew up in Edinburgh where he studied zoology at university. Following a PhD in entomology, he went on to teach ... Show More
36m 40s
Dec 2021
Playwright James Graham on Best of Enemies; Lamb film review; The Belarus Free Theatre; remembering actor Antony Sher
Britain’s foremost writer of political drama, James Graham, has written a new play ‘Best of Enemies’, about the television debates in the US in 1968 between the right wing thinker William Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal, the left wing writer. When they began yelling at each other rati ... Show More
41m 50s
Feb 2022
Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, statistician
Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter specialises in medical statistics. He is the Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at Cambridge University, and one of the most frequently cited experts in his field. During the Covid 19 pandemic, he has made regular appe ... Show More
37 m
Jan 2023
Kirsty Young, broadcaster
Kirsty Young was the award-winning presenter of Desert Island Discs between 2006 and 2018, interviewing 496 castaways. Her TV work includes BAFTA-winning coverage of events marking the centenary of World War One, and memorable live presentation from Windsor of the state funeral o ... Show More
52m 10s
Mar 2023
Jenny Beavan, costume designer
Jenny Beavan has won three Oscars for her costumes for the films Room with a View, Mad Max: Fury Road and Cruella, and has received nine further Academy Award nominations. She was born in London, and her parents were both professional musicians who encouraged her to paint, draw a ... Show More
38m 51s