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Last Word

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Dec 27, 2024 • 28min

Nikki Giovanni, Gerd Heidemann, Cherry Hill, Sir Richard Carew Pole

John Wilson on Nikki Giovanni, a leading poet in the 1960s Black Arts Movement who is hailed as one of the most important artist-intellectuals of the 20th century.Gerd Heidemann, the German journalist who found himself at the centre of one of the greatest journalist scandals of the 20th century, the Hitler diaries hoax.Cherry Hill, the award-winning model engineer who created detailed, functioning scaled-down models of Victorian traction engines.Sir Richard Carew Pole, the aristocrat who was a driving force behind the creation of Cornwall's Eden Project and Tate St Ives. Producer: Ed PrendevilleArchive: Industrial Nation, BBC Two, 2003; Heidemann arrested, BBC News, 1983; Forged Hitler diaries, Newsnight, BBC Two, 1985; Nikki Giovanni, Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 2024; Nihal Arthanayake: Sara Cox and Nikki Giovanni, BBC Radio 5 Live, 2024; Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, HBO, 2023; Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin: A Conversation, Soul!, 1971, Uploaded to Youtube 09.09.2022; The Black Woman, Stan Lathan, Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive, 1970, Uploaded to Youtube 30.09.2017; Nikki Giovanni Interviewed And Reads "Revolutionary Dreams"- February 1974, SMU Jones Film, Uploaded to Youtube 11.10.2023; Opening of the new Tate Gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, The Late Show, BBC, 1993; Prince of Wales officially opens new Tate Gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, BBC News, 1993; Upcoming opening of the Eden Project, BBC News, 2001; The Karen Hunter Show, SiriusXM Urban View (1993), Internet Archive, 12/05/2017
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Dec 20, 2024 • 27min

Baroness Wilkins, Charles Handy, Renee Bornstein, Tony Brignull

Matthew Bannister onBaroness Wilkins who became a wheelchair user after an accident aged 19 and went on to present TV programmes on disability issues and to campaign for the rights of disabled people. Charles Handy, the social philosopher and management theorist who predicted many changes to the world of work. Renee Bornstein who, as a child, survived being imprisoned by the Nazis.Tony Brignull, the acclaimed copywriter behind famous ads for Cinzano, Fiat Cars and Parker Pens. Producer: Ed PrendivilleArchive: France Crumbles, AP Archive, Uploaded to Youtube 30.07.2015; Paris Liberated, British Pathe, 1944, Uploaded to Youtube 13.04.2014; My Family, The Holocaust and Me, BBC, 2020; To remember but not to hate, French Holocaust Survivor Rene Bornstein, Dr Les Glassman, 2023; The testimony of Renee Bornstein, survivor of the Holocaust, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, 2021; 1 minute to leave your mark, Arjo Creative Papers, 2012; Clarks Shoes, CPD, 1978; Birds Eye’s Beefburgers, CPD, 1978; Heineken, CPD, 1970; Cinzano advert, CPD, 1978-83; Creative Leads - Tony Brignull, Uploaded to Youtube 30.04.2019; House of Lords, Hansard, parlamentlive.tv, 25.06.2015; 24 Hours, BBC, 12/01/1971; Open Door: America – We can do that, BBC2, 30.03.1983; Open Door: America – We can do that, BBC2, 30.03.1983; We Won't Go Away, The MN Gov. Council on Developmental Disabilities, Uploaded to Youtube, 25.04.2014; Belief, BBC, 2003; Something Understood: Buying and Selling, BBC, 2009;
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Dec 13, 2024 • 28min

Wolfgang Stange, Lord Renfrew, Julie Stevens, Mary McGee

Matthew Bannister on Wolfgang Stange, the director and choreographer who founded the Amici Dance Theatre Company which integrates able bodied and disabled performers. Sir Ben Kingsley pays tribute. Lord Renfrew, the leading archaeologist who used scientific techniques to challenge the received wisdom in his chosen discipline. Julie Stevens, the actor who was also one of the earliest presenters of Play School. Johnny Ball shares his memories of working with her. And Mary McGee, the American motorsport pioneer who competed in both motorcycle and car racing.Producer: Catherine PowellArchive: Cabbages and Kings: The Romans are Coming, BBC, 1972; Julie Steven’s Early Life, Rachel New, 2024; The All Star Record Breakers, BBC, 1976; The Avengers: Box of Tricks, ITV, 1963; The Avengers, ITV, 1963-4; Let’s Make a Musical: Salad Days, BBC, 1979; Star Turn, BBC Archive, 1977; Play Away, BBC, 1979; Play School, BBC, 1964; Play School, BBC, 1977; Chronicle: Lost Kings of the Desert, BBC, 1979; Young Scientists of the Year: Heat 2, BBC, 1979; Touching Earth, BBC, 1992; Web of Stories, 2017; Alan Macfarlane Archive, 2008
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Dec 6, 2024 • 28min

Vicky Stone, Penny Chuter, Clifton Wharton Junior, Peter Sinfield

Matthew Bannister onVicky Stone, the film maker who travelled to the remotest parts of Africa to make her award winning wildlife documentaries.Penny Chuter the medal winning rower who became coach of the GB team.Clifton Wharton Junior, the first black chancellor of a primarily white US university, the first African American to run a Fortune 500 company and the first to become Deputy Secretary of State.Peter Sinfield who wrote lyrics for King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Leo Sayer, Bucks Fizz and Celine Dion.Producer: Ed PrendevilleArchive: Art in the Board Room: Honoring the Wharton Legacy, Dr. Judith Stoddart, MSU Research, 1971; How America's Involvement In The Vietnam War Led To Protests | Our History, Our History, ITV, 1991; The Queen of Trees OFFICIAL, Narrated by Ian Holm, Deeble & Stone, Uploaded to Youtube, 3.05.2014; THE ELEPHANT QUEEN Official Trailer HD (2019) Documentary, Apple TV+ | Future Movies Starring : Chiwetel Ejiofor Directed By : Mark Deeble, Victoria Stone, Uploaded to Youtube 11.10.2019; Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble on The Elephant Queen, Apple TV+'s documentary feat Chiwetel Ejiofor The Upcoming. Interviewer: Ezelle Alblas Editor: Filippo L'Astorina, uploaded to Youtube, 11.11.2019; Wildlife on Two : Devilfish, BBC 1, 06.10.1991; Rowing Chat with Penny Chuter, Rowing Chat, 8.10.2017; Don't Call Me Shirley - Airplane! (9/10) Movie CLIP (1980); THE GREAT MATCH 1979:TERRY GRIFFITHS WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPION 23.04.2004
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Nov 29, 2024 • 28min

Madeleine Riffaud, Chris Topp, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Dr Julian Litten

Matthew Bannister onMadeleine Riffaud, the French resistance fighter who was tortured by the Gestapo, became a journalist and was embedded with the Vietcong in Vietnam.Chris Topp, the blacksmith who restored ironwork at Buckingham Palace, York Minster and St Paul’s Cathedral.Barbara Taylor Bradford, the best-selling author of A Woman of Substance and many other novels.Dr Julian Litten, whose fascination for the rituals surrounding death led to him being called “England’s foremost funerary historian”.Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive: General Charles De Gaulle speech, BBC Radio, 22/06/1940; Algerian War: 70 Years On, News Report actuality, France 24, 01/11/2024; Panorama: Vietnam: The Other World ,BBC Television, 31/03/1969; Barbara Taylor Bradford, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 11/07/2003; Reading: A Woman of Substance, HarperCollins Publishers UK SoundCloud Channel, Audio promo - Release date 25/10/2012; Barbara Taylor Bradford interview, Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 09/07/1999; Barbara Taylor Bradford interview, Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4, 30/11/2019; Reading: A Woman of Substance, HarperCollins Publishers UK SoundCloud Channel, Audio promo, Released date: 04/05/2017; BLACKSMITH'S CONTRACT: LOOK NORTH, BBC One North East & Cumbria, 14/07/1995; Reading the Past / Writing the Future - Chris Topp (Blacksmith), Uploaded to Youtube 14/05/2014; Songs of Praise: Rite of passage, Bereavement, BBC, 05/11/2002, Red Heaven Oral History Archive, Julian Litten talks with Dr Simon Machin, 14/03/2021; BBC News at One, BBC, 26/03/2015
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Nov 22, 2024 • 28min

Lord Prescott, Stephanie Collie, Dame Janet Nelson, Frank Auerbach

Matthew Bannister onLord Prescott, the working-class lad who became Deputy Prime Minister.Stephanie Collie, whose costume designs for “Peaky Blinders” and “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” inspired street fashion.Dame Janet “Jinty” Nelson, the leading mediaeval historian who wrote an acclaimed biography of the Frankish King Charlemagne.Frank Auerbach, one of the twentieth century’s finest artists. We speak to the art historian Catherine Lampert who sat for him every week for over forty years. Producer: Ed Prendeville
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Nov 15, 2024 • 28min

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

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 Belize. She signed up to serve Britain during the second world war and became a singer and advocate for the Windrush generation. Interviewee: Sir Ian McKellen Interviewee: Jeremy Howe Interviewee: Sunny Ormonde Interviewee: Sir Michael Heseltine Interviewee: Sir Hugo Swire Interviewee: Mike LindupProducer: Catherine PowellArchive used: Arena “ Theatre The Prospect Before Us” BBC Two 20th April 1977; “The Tragedy of King Richard II” 30th July 1970; “Great Canal Journeys, Bristol and North Devon” Channel 4 Director Mike Taylor October 23rd 2016; “EastEnders” BBC One 17th November 2014; “Churchill & The General” BBC Two 23rd September 1979; The Archers BBC Radio 4 3rd November 2008/ 31st July 2022; Desert Island Discs 28th February 2022; Pick of the Week 14th August 2022; American Masters Digital Archive: “Nadia Cattouse Paul Robeson Here I stand”. 27th July 1998. American Archive of Public Broadcasting; BBC Radio: “Two of a Kind: Amid The Alien Corn. “ 26th November 1963; “Angels” BBC TV 24th November 1975
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Nov 8, 2024 • 28min

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

Jules Buckley, a conductor and composer, shares insights from his collaboration with Quincy Jones at a BBC Proms concert, emphasizing the beauty of musical arrangements. Lee Dugatkin discusses Lyudmila Trut's groundbreaking fox domestication experiment, revealing astonishing evolutionary changes and ethical dilemmas. Janey Godley reflects on using her challenging Glasgow upbringing as comedy fuel, transforming adversity into laughter. Together, these fascinating stories celebrate creativity, resilience, and the power of connection.
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Nov 1, 2024 • 28min

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

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. Patti McGee, the first woman professional skateboarder. We have a tribute from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.Interviewee: Sir Roger Deakins Interviewee: Mike Leigh Interviewee: Fr Ron Lemmert Interviewee: Dr Miles Russell Interviewee: Hailey Villa Interviewee: Tony HawkProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used: Life is Sweet, 1991, Film4 Trailer, Director, Mike Leigh. Film4 Production, released date in the UK 22/03/1991; Dick Pope in conversation with Roger Deakins on NAKED (Mike Leigh, 1993), Cinematographers on cinematography, YouTube channel 10/02/2022; 'Naked' Q & A with Dick Pope, British Society of Cinematographers, YouTube, uploaded 05/08/2022; Naked film promo, Director Mike Leigh, British Film Institute, BFI YouTube channel 8 Oct 2021; Mr Turner, Film Promo, Director Mike Leigh, eOne UK , eOne UK YouTube channel, 15/05/2014; America's Catholic Church In Crisis, Reporting Religion, BBC World Service, 29/03/2002; Sister Sally Butler interview, The National Catholic Reporter (NCR), NCROnline YouTube Channel 14/07/2017; Sister Sally Butler interview, A Matter of Conscience: Confronting Clergy Abuse, Director: John Michalczyk, Producer: Susan A. Michalczyk, Vimeo upload, Editor Gautam Chopra, 01/02/2015; The Standing Stones perform Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry, Dir: Dr Miles Russell. Patti McGee interview, The Mike Douglas Show, KYW-TV, NBC, 1965;
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Oct 25, 2024 • 28min

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

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 increase the barn owl population of Suffolk.Interviewee: Lord Richards Interviewee: Noreen Farrell Interviewee: Melissa Gronlund Interviewee: Kathy Piotrowski Producer: Ed PrendevilleArchive used: Gen Mike Jackson interview, Six O’Clock News, BBC News, 14/06/1999; Gen Mike Jackson, BBC News, 07/03/2003; Lilly Ledbetter speech and interview, NPR, Uploaded 14/10/2024; Steve Piotrowski interview, BBC Radio Suffolk 19/10/2015; Spectrum: Out of Town , BBC One East, 16/04/1985; Wrens singing, BBC Sfx, May 1981; Atmospheres: Countryside (Barn Owl), BBC Sfx, June 1981; Birds: Robins, BBC Sfx, March 1986; BBC Radio Suffolk 19/10/15; Wood Pigeon, Tweet of the Day, 14/12/2023; Collared Dove, Tweet of the Day, 07/01/2024; Great Tits, A Guide to Garden Birds : Series 1 : Episode 2, 26/08/2008 ; Nightingale, BBC Sfx, May 1983; Swift Screaming Party, RSPB England, Facebook, 29/06/2024

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