Last Word
BBC Radio 4
Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently
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Top 10 Last Word Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Last Word episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Last Word for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Last Word episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
05/31/19 • 27 min
Pictured: Nan Winton
Matthew Bannister on
Murray Gell-Mann, the American physicist who won the Nobel Prize for his work on the theory of elementary particles. He coined the name "quarks" for the fundamental building blocks of matter.
Nan Winton, the first woman to read the TV news on the BBC. She faced discrimination in the male-dominated BBC newsroom.
James McCord, the CIA agent who was involved in the Bay of Pigs and the Watergate break in.
Gregory Gray, the Irish singer who went from boy band to cult musician.
Interviewed guest: Professor Geoffrey West Interviewed guest: Graham Farmelo Interviewed guest: Tina Ellen Lee Interviewed guest: Maggie Brown Interviewed guest: Michael Carlson Interviewed guest: Tom Robinson Interviewed guest: Noel McLaughlin
Producer: Neil George
Archive clips from: The Key To The Universe: The Search For The Laws Of Creation, BBC Two 27/01/1977; Horizon, BBC Two 25/07/1964; Panorama, BBC One 21/09/1959; Panorama, BBC One 09/03/1959; Arena, BBC Two 15/03/1997; U.S. Senate Select Committee On The Watergate Affair, BBC Sound Archive 18/05/1973; Watergate: Inside The Scandal That Took Down A Presidency, ABC News 17/06/2017.
1 Listener
04/22/16 • 28 min
Matthew Bannister on
Rock superstar Prince - we recall his intimate gig for a handful of people here in Broadcasting House.
Ray Fitzwalter the Editor of ITV's World In Action who championed investigative journalism.
Victoria Wood - we have a tribute in song from the young comedian she inspired.
The nurse June Jolly who transformed the treatment of children in hospital - she once brought a baby elephant and a lion on to the ward to entertain her patients.
And - Mind The Gap - the voice of hundreds of station announcements Phil Sayer.
Interviewed guest: Fergus Dudley Interviewed guest: Paul Gambaccini Interviewed guest: Roger Corke Interviewed guest: Vikki Stone Interviewed guest: Margaretta Jolly Interviewed guest: Sue Burr Interviewed guest: Elinor Hamilton.
1 Listener
12/08/17 • 28 min
(Photo: Christine Keeler)
Matthew Bannister on
King Michael of Romania who ruled his country during the second world war and was forced to abdicate by the Soviet Union. .
Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor who starred in more than a hundred Hindi films as well as English language titles like Shakespeare Wallah and Heat and Dust.
Christine Keeler, the model who was at the centre of the Profumo Affair in the 1960s.
Jenny MacGregor who rescued thousands of ponies and horses from neglectful or abusive owners.
And Johnny Hallyday, France's best known rock star.
06/17/22 • 28 min
Matthew Bannister on
Dame Paula Rego, the acclaimed Portuguese-born artist who later made her home in the UK and was renowned for making vivid and disturbing work focussing on the subjugation of women. We talk to her son Nick Willing.
Bruce Kent, the Catholic priest who became a leader of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Hilary Devey CBE, who founded a multi-million pound freight distribution business and was one of the Dragons on the TV show Dragons Den.
Producer: Neil George
Interviewed guest: Nick Willing Interviewed guest: Jacky Klein Interviewed guest: Kate Hudson
Archive clips used: BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - Dame Paula Rego 07/12/1997; Kismet Film Company/ BBC, Paula Rego - Secrets and Stories 25/03/2017; Eric Minh Swenson Art Films, Samella Lewis - Pioneering Visual Artist and Educator 19/12/2016; BBC Radio Ulster, Bruce Kent documentary 13/03/1988; British Movietone, Aldermaston March - Natural Sound 12/04/1963; British Movietone, The March to Aldermaston in Trafalgar Square 10/04/1958; BBC Radio 4, PM - Cardinal Basil Hume interview 27/04/1983; BBC News, Troops Erect Fence Around RAF Molesworth Base 06/02/1985; CND - YouTube Channel, Bruce Kent - Why I joined CND 18/02/2018; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - Hilary Devey 02/11/2012; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour - Hilary Devey interview 24/05/2012; BBC One, Dragons' Den (Season 10) 2012; ITV Studios - YouTube Channel, Loose Women - Hilary Devey interview 03/06/2015.
12/02/16 • 28 min
Matthew Bannister on
Andrew Sachs, the actor who was so much more than Manuel in Fawlty Towers. We hear about his acclaimed radio career.
Also the Cuban leader Fidel Castro - brutal dictator or benevolent champion of his people?
The jazz and blues singer Mose Allison, whose songs were covered by the Who, the Clash, Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison.
And The Honourable Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's cousin, who became a celebrity after writing her memoirs of life in the royal household.
Producer: Neil George.
10/18/24 • 27 min
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 Interviewee: Michael Posner Interviewee: Sameer Hashmi Interviewee: Deryn Rhys-Jones Interviewee: Neil Astley Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Archive used:
Alex Salmond, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 21/01/2011; Alex Salmond, BBC TV Promo, A Rebel's Journey, BBC One Scotland, 19/11/2014; Alex Salmond speech, SNP Conference, BBC News, 1990; Alex Salmond speech, Scotland Independence Referendum, BBC News, 2014; Ethel Kennedy campaign speech, Ethel, HBO Docs, 2012, Director: Rory Kennedy; JFK Assassination: Cronkite informs a shocked nation, CBS News, 22/11/1963; News actuality, WBZ Archives: The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, CBS Boston YouTube channel uploaded 05/06/2018; Ethel Kennedy interview, NBC Nightly News,1988; Ethel Kennedy interview, Ethel, HBO Docs, 2012, Director: Rory Kennedy; Ratan Tata interview, The Documentary: The Gospel of Wealth, BBC World Service, 16/10/2019; Ratan Tata interview, Tata in the Global Market, BBC News India, 1997; Jaguar-Land Rover buyout, BBC News, 26/03/2008; Fleur Adcock reads: ‘Things’, ‘For a Five-Year-Old’, Snails, Courtesy BloodAxe Books, Uploaded, Bloodaxebooks.com on 01/10/2008; Fleur Adcock interview, Private Passions, BBC Radio 3, 17/05/2009;
09/16/16 • 27 min
Matthew Bannister on
Barry Myers who directed some of the best known commercials of the 1970s and 80s, including ads for Hovis, Olympus Cameras and Cadbury's Flake.
Eileen Younghusband, who worked as a filter officer during the Second World War, spotting the approaching aircraft and V2 rockets launched against Britain by the Nazis.
The Edinburgh based artist Robin Spark, who had a troubled relationship with his mother, the writer Muriel Spark.
Keith MacDougall, the Norfolk countryman who balanced a passion for shooting with a commitment to conservation.
And Prince Buster the Jamaican musician who was one of the pioneers of Ska.
Produced by Neil George.
02/10/17 • 27 min
Matthew Bannister on
The comedy writer Alan Simpson. With his partner Ray Galton, he created classic sitcoms including Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son.
Brunhilde Pomsel who was the secretary to the Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels.
Sir Ken Morrison, the Yorkshireman who built up the family grocery firm to become Britain's fourth largest supermarket chain.
And the Nigerian born novelist Buchi Emecheta who overcame prejudice to follow her passion for writing.
02/24/23 • 28 min
Kirsty Lang on Dorothy Pitman Hughes who brought black women into the 70s Feminist movement and inspired Gloria Steinem.
Raquel Welch (pictured), the Hollywood actor who became a Sixties sex symbol after playing a cavewoman in the film 'One Million Years BC'.
The aeronautical engineer Ralph Hooper OBE who designed the revolutionary Harrier jump jet.
And Dickie Davies, the sports presenter best known for anchoring ITV Saturday afternoons in the 70s and 80s.
Producer: Neil George
Interviewed guest: Laura L Lovett Interviewed guest: Professor John Fielding Interviewed guest: Sir Colin Chandler Interviewed guest: Jim Rosenthal
Archive clips used: ITV Sport, World of Sport 1985/1973/1981; CBS Mornings/ YouTube Channel, Life and Legacy of Activist and Feminist Leader Dorothy Pitman Hughes uploaded on 24/07/2021; Artemis Rising Foundation/ Saks Picture Company/ The Glorias, The Glorias – movie clip (2020); Associated British Pathé/ Hammer Films/ Seven Arts Productions, One Million Years BC – trailer (1966); BBC Radio 2, Gloria Hunniford Show 01/01/1989; BBC One, Parkinson 11/11/1972; Twentieth Century Fox, Myra Breckinridge – movie clip (1970); HIT Entertainment/ Henson Associates (HA)/ Incorporated Television Company (ITC), The Muppet Show S03E11 17/11/1978; Film at Lincoln Center/ YouTube Channel, Q&A with Raquel Welch uploaded on 23/02/2012; BBC Two, Designing the ‘60s 15/03/2003; British Pathé, Harrier Plane (1968); BBC One, Red Arrows Flyover Centenary of RAF 10/07/2018; Thames Television, The Benny Hill Show 18/02/1976; ITV Studios, The Best of ITV Wrestling (DVD) 2006.
07/10/20 • 28 min
Pictured: Ennio Morricone
Matthew Bannister on:
Ennio Morricone, the Italian composer best known for his scores for films like The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and The Mission, but keen to be remembered also for his avant garde classical works.
Sir Everton Weekes, the outstanding batsman who played a key role in West Indian cricket’s success in the 1940s and 50s.
Baroness Maddock, the Liberal Democrat politician who won a stunning victory in the Christchurch by-election in 1993.
Earl Cameron, the Bermuda-born actor whose long career included roles in many hit TV series as well as films like Pool of London, Thunderball and Guns at Batasi.
Interviewed guest: David Willey Interviewed guest: David Temple Interviewed guest: Donna Symmonds Interviewed guest: BC Pires Interviewed guest: Lord Alan Beith Interviewed guest: Baroness Jenny Randerson
Producer: Neil George
Archive clips from: Outlook, World Service 07/01/2015; Everton Weekes in his own words, Sky Sports January 2019; England v West Windies 1950 Test Match, Pathe News; England v West Indies at Lords 1950, BBC News; British Politics, Radio 4 30/07/1993; Black on Screen, Radio 4 08/01/2001; Front Row, Radio 4 14/10/2016; Pool of London, directed by Basil Dearden, Ealing Studios 1951; The Heart Within, directed by David Eady, Penington Eady Productions 1957; Guns at Batasi, directed by John Guillermin, Twentieth Century Fox 1964; Thunderball, directed by Terence Young, Eon Productions 1965.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Last Word have?
Last Word currently has 513 episodes available.
What topics does Last Word cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Personal Journals, Documentary and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on Last Word?
The episode title 'Professor Murray Gell-Mann, Nan Winton, James McCord, Gregory Gray' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Last Word?
The average episode length on Last Word is 28 minutes.
How often are episodes of Last Word released?
Episodes of Last Word are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Last Word?
The first episode of Last Word was released on Jun 5, 2015.
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