Last Word

Kirsty Lang on Jacques Delors, the politician and architect of the modern EU. Nancy Pearce, the founder of a charity to help people with eating disorders. Elinor Otto, the American factory worker who was one of the original 'Rosie the Riveters'. Tony Allen, one of the pioneers of the alternative comedy scene. Producer: Ed Prendeville

Matthew Bannister onMaureen Sweeney, the postmistress from the west of Ireland whose weather forecast postponed D-Day by 24 hours.Sir Tim Brighouse, the educationalist credited with transforming the performance of London’s schools.Shirley Anne Field, the actor who appeared in classic 1960s films like The Entertainer, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Alfie.Juanita Castro, younger sister of the Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who became a CIA informer.Interviewee: Fergus Sweeney Interviewee: Harry Brighouse Interviewee: Lord Blunkett Interviewee: Brian Latell Interviewee: Nicola Gill Interviewee: Anita Harris Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used:D-Day Greatest Combined Operation In World's History (1944), British Pathe News, British Pathe News YouTube channel, uploaded 13/04/2014; Maureen Sweeney interview, RTE News, 2005; Maureen (née Flavin) Sweeney interview, Blacksod Lighthouse, Facebook, uploaded 17/12/2023; Tim Brighouse talks to Estelle Morris about his 45-year career in education, Alexander Street Video, uploaded 2006; Tim Brighouse on purpose of education, RM Education, YouTube uploaded 19/12/2023; Tim Brighouse news report, BBC News; Juanita Castro press conference, ABC News, 1964; Juanita Castro interview, AP Archive, 21/07/2015; Juanita Castro speaks out, New York Times, 28/11/2016; Castro Announces Take Over Of Us Owned Property (1960), British Pathe News, YouTube, uploaded 13/04/2014; Shirley Anne Field, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 29/07/1994; Scene extract from the film The Entertainer, 1960; Scene extract from the film Saturday Night Sunday Morning, 1960;

Matthew Bannister on The dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah who overcame childhood trauma to become an acclaimed performer and writer.Laura Lean, who volunteered for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, helping to support distressed families after The Grenfell Tower fire and greeting Afghan evacuees.Stacy Marking, one of the first women directors in documentary television whose work focused on social issues.Eric Freeman, the Gloucestershire farmer who played a key role in saving the county’s rare breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs.Interviewee: Qian Zephaniah Interviewee: Neil Astley Interviewee: Dot Newman Interviewee: Adam Henson Interviewee: Clifford Freeman Interviewee: Havana MarkingProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive Used:Benjamin Zephaniah performance of Dis Poetry, BBC Radio 1, 05/06/1984; Benjamin Zephaniah, To Do Wild Me (trailer), Blood Axe Books, director: Pamela Robertson-Pearce, Uploaded 17/02/2013; Benjamin Zephaniah interview, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 13/06/1997; Benjamin Zephaniah, I Luv Me Mudder, Benjamin Zephaniah Orchard Enterprises, YouTube uploaded 08/11/2014; Benjamin Zephaniah - What has Stephen Lawrence Taught Us?, AKL Concepts, YouTube, Uploaded 16/02/2012; Laura Lean interview, First Aid Nursing Yeomanry; fany.org.uk; 2022; Princess Alice inspects First Aid Nursing Yoemanry Unit and donated ambulances (1940), British Pathe, British Pathe YouTube channel, uploaded 11/11/2020; Eric Freeman interviews courtesy of Vernon Harwood, Eric Freeman, Auction Memories. Farming Today, BBC Radio 4, 17/04/2017; Eric Freeman Future of Rare Breeds. On Your Farm, BBC Radio 4 03/03/2013; Gloucester Cattle. Country Matters, BBC Radio Gloucestershire 19/05/2013; Wassail. Country Matters, BBC Radio Gloucestershire 14/01/2007;

Matthew Bannister onShane MacGowan the lead singer of The Pogues who was famous for his song writing but also his abuse of drugs and alcohol. His sister joins us to discuss the roots of his talent and his excesses. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed to the US Supreme Court.Lord Darling, the Labour politician who was Chancellor during the financial crash of 2008.Joan Jara, whose husband, the singer Victor Jara was killed by the Pinochet regime in Chile. She campaigned for justice on behalf of thousands whose relatives died or disappeared.Interviewee: Siobhan MacGowan Interviewee: James Fearnley Interviewee: Justice Ruth McGregor Interviewee: Alan Day Interviewee: Catherine MacLeod Interviewee: Almudena BernabeuProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used: Shane MacGowan interview, BBC Two, Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan, BBC iPlayer, First broadcast 16/03/2021; Sandra Day O’Connor , 60 Minutes, YouTube uploaded, 01/12/2023; Sandra Day O'Connor nomination to the Supreme Court by President Reagan, CBS, 19/08/1981; Sandra Day O’Connor interview, PBS Newshour, 04/04/2013. Supreme Court Ruling Bush v Gore, BBC Newsnight, 08/12/2000; Alistair Darling interview ,10 Years After the Financial Crash with Alistair Darling, RBS Events, YouTube uploaded, 25/09/2017; Chile News report. The World at One, BBC Radio 4, 19/09/1973; Joan Jara interview, Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 04/09/1988; Joan Jara interview, Weekend Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 20/09/2003; Sandra Day O'Connor Retires, BBC News, BBC Radio 4, 01/07/2005;

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

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;

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;

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;

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;

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