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Last Word

Latest episodes

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Dec 1, 2023 • 28min

Henry Kissinger, Terry Venables, Paul Watson, Rachel Heller

Matthew Bannister onHenry Kissinger, a towering figure in international diplomacy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize but was condemned by some as a war criminal. Also, Terry Venables, the colourful manager who took the England Football team to the semi-finals of Euro 96.Paul Watson, the pioneer of reality TV whose “fly on the wall” techniques caused controversy. Sir Peter Bazalgette pays tribute.And Rachel Heller the artist who was born with Down’s Syndrome and whose work was collected by fellow artists including David Hockney, Sir Peter Blake and Maggi Hambling.Producer: Ed Prendeville
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Nov 24, 2023 • 28min

Captain Don Walsh, Dame A.S. Byatt, Rosalynn Carter, Dr Finlay Macleod

Matthew Bannister onCaptain Don Walsh, the American submariner who made the first descent to the deepest place in the ocean – the Mariana Trench. His friend and fellow deep sea explorer Victor Vescovo relives the experience for us.Dame A.S. Byatt, the author best known for her Booker Prize winning novel “Possession”.Rosalynn Carter, the former First Lady of the USA.Dr Finlay Macleod, the historian from the Isle of Lewis who fought to preserve the Gaelic language. Robert Macfarlane pays tribute.Interviewee: Rebecca Morelle Interviewee: Victor Vescovo Interviewee: Neil La Bute Interviewee: Sam Leith Interviewee: Kate Andersen Brower Interviewee: Robert Macfarlane Interviewee: Agnes RennieProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used:Rebecca Morelle interviews Don Walsh, BBC News, 23/02/2012, They Dived 7 Miles, British Pathe News Reels, 08/02/1960; Witness History : The world's deepest dive 11km down, BBC World Service, 01/03/2021; Don Walsh interview, Short CUts 18, The Descent, BBC Radio 4, 05/03/2019;
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Nov 17, 2023 • 28min

Peter Betts, Audrey Salkeld, Heather Rogers KC, Louise Meriwether

Matthew Bannister on Peter Betts, who was the UK’s lead negotiator at international climate change summits.Audrey Salkeld, the mountaineering historian best known for her work on the ill-fated Mallory and Irvine expedition.Heather Rogers KC, the lawyer who championed freedom of speech in many high profile casesLouise Meriwether, the author and journalist whose acclaimed novel “Daddy was a Number Runner” told the story of her childhood during the depression in Harlem.Interviewee: Fiona MacGregor Interviewee: Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC Interviewee: Geoffrey Robertson KC Interviewee: Adam Salkeld Interviewee: Ed Douglas Interviewee: Cheryl HillReading extract by: Susan AbebeProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used:News report following 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Copenhagen, BBC News, 12/19/2009; News report, The Paris Agreement, UN Climate Change Conference (COP21), BBC News, 13/12/2015; Pete Betts interview, 194: Making a Difference, Outrage + Optimism podcast, Outrage + Optimism Ltd, uploaded 30/03/2023; Spycatcher ruling, Newsnight, BBC Two, 13/10/1988; David Irving, HardTalk, BBC News, 28/04/2000; Denial - official movie promo, IMDB, uploaded 2016; Louise Meriwether Lecture, Lectures to the Black Experience in the Arts course, University of Connecticut 14/03/1972;
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Nov 10, 2023 • 28min

Ken Mattingly, Anne Wright, Mary Gallacher, David Kirke

Matthew Bannister onKen Mattingly, the astronaut who missed flying into space on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission because he had been exposed to German measles. We have a tribute from Fred Haise who did take part in that hazardous flight.Anne Wright, who devoted her life to conserving the wild animals of India.Mary “Tiny” Gallacher who worked behind the scenes at Rangers Football Club in Glasgow for over 50 years.David Kirke, the co-founder of the Dangerous Sports Club who took part in the first modern bungee jump wearing top hat and tails and carrying a bottle of champagne.Interviewee: Fred Haise Interviewee: Belinda Wright Interviewee: Raza Kazmi Interviewee: John Gallacher Interviewee: David Mason Interviewee: Chris BakerProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesApollo 13 official movie trailer , Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures All-Access YouTube channel, uploaded 12/04/2011; Ken Mattingly interview, NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project, Thomas K. Mattingly II, interviewed by Rebecca Wright, Costa Mesa, California, 06/11/2001; NASA’s Look at 50 Years of Apollo, NASA, YouTube channel uploaded 13/04/2020; Apollo 13, CBS News Coverage of Apollo 13, 17/04/1970; Apollo 13 re-entry, BBC One, Cliff Michelmore, James Burke, Geoffery Pardoe and Patrick Moore, BBC, 17/04/1970; Anne Wright interview, Witness History, The End of British Rule in India 22/07/2014; Mary Tiny Gallacher interview, Rangers Retro , Tiny's Team, Rangers Football Club Official YouTube Channel, uploaded 25/10/2023;
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Nov 3, 2023 • 28min

Matthew Perry, Benedict Birnberg, Field Marshall Muthoni Wa Kirima, Professor Jose Harris

Matthew Bannister onBenedict Birnberg, the radical lawyer who fought the cases of the far-left Angry Brigade and the Mangrove Nine and got the murder conviction of Derek Bentley quashed.Professor Jose Harris, the historian best known for her acclaimed biography of William Beveridge.Field Marshall Muthoni Wa Kirima, the last Mau Mau fighter to lay down her arms after the rebellion against British rule in Kenya. Matthew Perry, the actor best known for playing Chandler Bing in the TV sitcom “Friends”.Interviewee: Ariadne Birnberg Interviewee: Gareth Peirce Interviewee: Dr Beth Rebisz Interviewee: Professor Stuart Jones Interviewee: Natalie JamiesonProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used: Ben Birnberg appearance on Newsnight, Derek Bentley news report, BBC Two, 30/07/1998; Mangrove Nine, The Reunion, BBC Radio 4, 05/09/2021; King Charles speech, State Visit to Kenya, BBC News, 01/11/2023; Mau Mau Disorders, British Pathe News, British Pathe YouTube Channel, uploaded 13/014/2013; Interview with Muthoni Wa Kirima, MauMau Chronicles, Youtube uploaded, 09/09/2023; Muthoni Wa Kirima singing, Museum of British Colonialism, uploaded 11/01/2020; Jose Harris appearance on Thinking Aloud, BBC Two, 28/10/1984; Sir William Beveridge talks to Pathe Gazette (1942), British Pathe YouTube Channel uploaded 13/04/2014; Jose Harris interview, Analysis : The Deserving and the Undeserving Poor, BBC Radio 4, 21/11/2010; Friends TV Promo, IMBD; Matthew Perry interview, Q with Tom Palmer, YouTube, uploaded 22/11/2022; Matthew Perry appearance in panel discussion on Alcoholism, NewsNight, BBC Two, 16/12/2013; Matthew Perry interview, uploaded CNN, 31/05/2013;
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Oct 30, 2023 • 28min

Sir Bobby Charlton, Dr Evelyn Fox Keller, Julian Bahula, Haydn Gwynne

Matthew Bannister onSir Bobby Charlton, who is hailed as England’s greatest ever footballer.Dr. Evelyn Fox Keller, who explored the effects of gender on the study of science.Julian Bahula, the South African musician and anti- apartheid activistAnd Haydn Gwynne, the versatile actor known for her roles in Billy Elliott and The Audience on stage and The Windsors and Drop the Dead Donkey on screen. Andy Hamilton pays tribute.Producer: Ed Prendeville
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Oct 20, 2023 • 28min

Charles ‘Chuck’ Feeney, Phyllis ‘Pippa’ Latour, Florence Fisher, Dr Nicholas Arnold

Kirsty Lang onCharles ‘Chuck’ Feeney, the secret billionaire who gave most of his money away to good causes. Phyllis ‘Pippa’ Latour, the fearless secret agent who was parachuted into Nazi occupied Normandy a month before D-Day. Florence Fisher, who was adopted as a child and later led a movement to help millions of others find their birth parents. Dr Nicholas Arnold, one of the world’s leading experts on reptiles. Interviewee: Conor O'Clery Interviewee: Clare Mulley Interviewee: Lorraine Dusky Interviewee: Andie Markoe-Byrne Interviewee: Chris Arnold Interviewee: Dr Colin McCarthy Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used:Secret Billionaire: The Chuck Feeney Story, RTE Factual, YouTube, Atlantic Phil, Uploaded 05/06/2010; Chuck Feeney, Founding Chairman of The Atlantic Philanthropies, on Empathy, YouTube, Atlantic Phil, Uploaded 13/04/2011; Discovery with Jill Neville, BBC World Service, 01/06/1988; Adoption – The Right To Know, interview with Florence Fisher, Harvard University, 01/06/1990; Adoption records unsealed, News 8, News report, Wish-TV Indiana, YouTube uploaded 05/07/2018;
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Oct 13, 2023 • 28min

Kirsty Smitten, Kat Anderson, Beverly Willis, Tony Wade

Kirsty Lang onThe talented young scientist Kirsty Smitten who did pioneering work developing a new generation of antibiotics. Singer Kat Anderson who made pop history with Motown’s first Number One hit: Please Mr Postman. The architect Beverly Willis who devoted much of her career to promoting her female peers. Tony Wade who helped built Britain’s first black owned multi-million-pound business selling hair and beauty products to Afro Caribbean women. Producer: Ed Prendeville
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Oct 6, 2023 • 28min

Michael Gambon, Pat Arrowsmith, Treleven Haysom, Dianne Feinstein

Matthew Bannister on the acclaimed actor Sir Michael Gambon. His son Fergus reveals his love of cars, antique firearms – and lying to journalists. The peace campaigner Pat Arrowsmith, who went to prison a number of times for direct action protests. Treleven Haysom, the stone mason who devoted his life to working, quarrying and telling the history of Purbeck stone.Dianne Feinstein, the US Senator who campaigned for women’s rights and gun control and revealed the CIA’s use of torture.Producer: Ed Prendeville
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Sep 29, 2023 • 28min

Gita Mehta, Matteo Messina Denaro, Irma Brenman Pick, John Stevenson

Matthew Bannister onGita Mehta, the author who set out to reveal the truth about India to the West. Her friend the theatre director Sir Richard Eyre pays tribute.Matteo Messina Denaro, the Italian mafia boss who boasted he could “fill a cemetery” with his murder victims.Irma Brenman Pick, the psychoanalyst who investigated the emotional reactions between patient and therapist.John Stevenson, who wrote some of the best loved episodes of Coronation Street. Sally Wainwright shares her memories of working with him.Interviewee: Sir Richard Eyre Interviewee: Barbie Latza Nadeau Interviewee: Daniel Pick Interviewee: Margaret Rustin Interviewee: Sally WainwrightProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used:Gita Mehta interview with Charlie Rose: The complexity and diversity of India, Charlie Rose website, 12/05/1997; Paperbacks: Gita Mehta interview about her book Karma Cola, BBC One, 29/04/1981; Gita Mehta documentary, Dateline Bangladesh, 18/12/2014; Gita Mehta interview, Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 02/07/1990; News report: Falcone killed in bomb explosion, BBC News, 23/05/1992; News report: Anti-Mafia Judge murdered, BBC News, 19/07/1992; Matteo Messina Denaro arrested, The World Tonight, Radio 4, 16/01/2023; Ken Barlow Finds Out About Deidre’s Affair, Coronation Street YouTube channel, uploaded 21/01/2015; Hilda Ogden unveils her new "muriel " , Coronation Street, 1976; Rovers Return scene, Coronation Street, 11/09/1978; Reg’s Waterbed Floods His Apartment, Coronation Street YouTube Channel, uploaded 30 May 2017; Brass opening scene, ITV, 21/02/1983; Ken gives Raquel French Lessons , Coronation Street Facebook page, uploaded 19/08/2020;

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