Last Word

Nov 15 2024 488 ep. 27 mins 15.4k

Last Word Podcast artwork

Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently

Society & Culture

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Timothy West, Sir John Nott, June Spencer, Nadia Cattouse

Nov 15 2024 27 mins

Matthew Bannister on the versatile actor Timothy West whose roles ranged from Shakespeare to soap operas. Sir Ian McKellen pays tribute.Sir John Nott, the Conservative politician who was Defence Secretary at the time of the Falklands War.June Spencer who played the matriarch of Ambridge, Peggy Wooley. She was the last original cast member.Nadia Cattouse, who was born in what is now

Quincy Jones, Janey Godley, Lyudmila Trut, Dr Paul Stephenson

Nov 08 2024 27 mins

Matthew Bannister onQuincy Jones, the music producer, composer and arranger who worked with artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson.Janey Godley, the comedian who used her challenging childhood and youth in Glasgow as material for her shows. Lyudmila Trut, the Russian geneticist who dedicated her life to a revolutionary – and evolutionary - experiment investigating

Dick Pope, Sister Sally Butler, Professor Tim Darvill OBE, Patti McGee

Nov 01 2024 27 mins

Matthew Bannister on Dick Pope, the cinematographer who worked closely with Director Mike Leigh on films like “Secrets and Lies” and “Mr Turner”. Mike pays tribute. Sister Sally Butler, the American nun who blew the whistle on historic child sex abuse in her New York parish. Professor Tim Darvill OBE, the archaeologist best known for his work on the history of Stonehenge. P

Sir Mike Jackson, Lily Ledbetter, Safeya Binzagr, Steve Piotrowski

Oct 25 2024 27 mins

Matthew Bannister onGeneral Sir Mike Jackson, the Chief of the General Staff at the time of the Iraq War.Lily Ledbetter, whose campaign for equal pay led to an Act of Congress. Safeya Binzagr, the pioneering Saudi Arabian artist whose career flourished despite the cultural restrictions on women in her societySteve Piotrowski, the ornithologist who ringed 100,000 birds and helped to

Alex Salmond, Ethel Kennedy, Ratan Tata, Fleur Adcock

Oct 18 2024 27 mins

Kirsty Lang on Alex Salmond, the former First Minister of Scotland. Ethel Kennedy, wife of Robert F Kennedy who went onto become a campaigner for Human Rights.Ratan Tata, the businessman who led the Tata Group for more than two decades.Fleur Adcock, the poet who's conversational, irreverent style made her one of the most popular voices in British poetry.Interviewee: Brian Taylor In

Lord Ouseley, Norman Ackroyd, Lore Segal, Cissy Houston

Oct 11 2024 27 mins

John Wilson on Lord Ouseley, the co-founder of the anti-racism football campaign ‘Kick it Out’ and former Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality. The landscape artist and printmaker Norman Ackroyd whose work celebrates some of the most remote and inhospitable areas of the UK. Lore Segal, the author whose book ‘Other People’s Houses’ told the story of her fleeing the

Kris Kristofferson, Camilla Carr, Hassan Nasrallah, Maria Benitez

Oct 04 2024 27 mins

John Wilson onKris Kristofferson, the singer, songwriter and actor who appeared with Barbra Streisand in ‘A Star is Born’ Camilla Carr, the aid worker who along with her partner was kidnapped and held hostage for 14 months in Chechnya. Hassan Nasrallah, for over 30 years he was the leader of Lebanon’s militant Shia Islamist movement, Hezbollah. The group was designated as a t

Peter Jay, Ed Johnson, Dame Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, Deborah Roberts

Sep 27 2024 27 mins

Matthew Bannister onPeter Jay, who was economics editor at the Times and the BBC and also Britain’s Ambassador to the United States.Ed Johnson, the CIA agent who played a key role in the Argo operation to smuggle US diplomats out of Iran – but kept his involvement secret until his death. His wife tells us she had no idea what his work involved.Dame Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, who ma

Dr George Berci, Olga Craig, Michaela Mabinty DePrince, Tony Strong

Sep 20 2024 27 mins

Matthew Bannister on Dr George Berci, the surgeon who pioneered the use of miniature cameras in operations to minimise cutting and accelerate patients’ recovery times. Olga Craig, the respected journalist from Northern Ireland who reported from war zones and covered the aftermath of the bombing in Omagh.Michaela Mabinty DePrince, the orphan from war-torn Sierra Leone who realised

James Earl Jones, Dr Helen Fisher, Sergio Mendes, Maureen Nicol

Sep 13 2024 27 mins

Matthew Bannister on James Earl Jones, the versatile actor whose roles ranged from the voice of Darth Vader to Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare. Adrian Lester pays tribute. Dr. Helen Fisher, the biological anthropologist who researched the science behind romantic love. Sergio Mendes, who introduced the world to his unique style of Brazilian music. His friend Herb Alpert sha