Simon Watt, Cal Flyn, Martin Gurdon, Baba Israel

06/01/16 • 41 min

Libby Purves meets biologist and stand-up Simon Watt; motoring journalist Martin Gurdon; hip-hop artist Baba Israel and journalist Cal Flyn.

Martin Gurdon is a motoring journalist. In his book, An Estate Car Named Desire, he recounts tales of his car-obsessed childhood in the 1960s - a lost world of Ford Anglias, Triumph Heralds and Morris Minors. During his dysfunctional years at boarding school cars were both his salvation and his undoing. An Estate Car Named Desire - A Life on the Road is published by Duckworth Overlook.

Baba Israel is a hip-hop artist. He will be performing The Spinning Wheel at the Roundhouse, as part of The Last Word Festival. The multi-media production explores the life of his father Steve Ben Israel, a New York-based poet, jazz musician, activist, stand-up comedian and member of the Sixties performance collective The Living Theatre. The Spinning Wheel is at The Roundhouse, London NW1.

Cal Flyn is a journalist whose book, Thicker than Water, tells the story of her great-great-great uncle, Angus McMillan. Mythologized as a dashing explorer and pioneer who left his native Scotland for Australia during the time of the Highland Clearances, he in fact led a number of gruesome massacres of indigenous people. As she traces his footsteps across Australia, Cal asks how a man could commit such terrible acts and considers the concept of intergenerational guilt. Thicker Than Water - History, Secrets and Guilt is published by William Collins.

Simon Watt is a biologist, stand-up, writer and broadcaster. His new comedy science podcast, Level Up Human, explores various ways to improve the human condition. Featuring guests from the worlds of comedy and science, the podcast asks whether we will soon be able to edit the human genome with so-called molecular scissors and examines the case for driverless transport and companion robots. Level Up Human launches at the Cheltenham Science Festival.

Libby Purves meets biologist and stand-up Simon Watt; motoring journalist Martin Gurdon; hip-hop artist Baba Israel and journalist Cal Flyn.

Previous Episode

Frieda Hughes, Christopher Gunning, Jim Buttress, Ronnie Le Drew

Libby Purves meets poet and artist Frieda Hughes; composer Christopher Gunning; puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew and horticulturalist and gardening judge Jim Buttress.

Ronnie Le Drew is a puppeteer. Over his long career he has operated Muffin the Mule, Sweep and Zippy from the children's television series Rainbow. He discovered puppetry as a small boy, performing glove puppet shows for his friends on the south London council estate where he grew up. His biography Zippy and Me, written with Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi, will be published by Unbound. Ronnie is performing the Snitchity Titch Show at the Little Angel Theatre, London.

Christopher Gunning is an award-winning composer, best known for his theme music to Agatha Christie's Poirot as well as Porterhouse Blue and La Vie en Rose. He started out writing music for commercials and early on in his career he worked as assistant to the late Dudley Moore, who became a regular pianist on a variety of Christopher's jingles and documentary scores. Christopher's latest work is a violin and cello concerto, inspired by his love of Wales. Violin Concerto/Cello Concerto/Birdflight is released on Discovery Records.

Frieda Hughes is a poet and artist. The daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, Her book, Alternative Values, is the story of her life told through a series of abstract paintings which accompany her poetry. Frieda wrote and painted from an early age and for many years has been a children's writer. She is talking about her life and work at the Salisbury International Arts Festival. Alternative Values is published by Bloodaxe Books.

Jim Buttress is a gardener, horticulturalist and RHS judge, known for his trademark bowler hat and clipboard. He has presided over flower shows including Chelsea and Hampton Court and the Britain in Bloom competition for over 25 years. In his memoir, The People's Gardener, he recounts his garden memories including his ten years as superintendent of the Central Royal Parks - on one occasion looking after some elephants which had taken up residence in Hyde Park. His memoir, The People's Gardener, is published by Sidgwick And Jackson.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Next Episode

Chris Boardman, Bella Merlin, Rex Pickett, Natalie Nicole James.

Libby Purves meets Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman; writer Rex Pickett; writer and academic Bella Merlin and performer Natalie James.

Bella Merlin is an actor, writer, and professor of acting and directing at the University of California, Riverside. In her book, Facing the Fear, she draws on her own and other actors' personal experiences to address the issue of stage fright and how the complex relationship between the actor and the audience affects the condition. Drawing on neurological research, she also offers practical tips from physical wellbeing to performance strategies. Facing the Fear An Actor's Guide to Overcoming Stage Fright is published by Nick Hern Books.

Natalie Nicole James is dancer and circus performer. She plays Mowgli in Metta Theatre's new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. The story of a child raised by wolves has been transposed to a contemporary urban jungle featuring street dancing monkeys, a beat-boxing bin man Baloo and graffiti artist Bagheera. The Jungle Book is at Cork's Midsummer Festival and at London Wonderground Festival, Southbank.

Chris Boardman MBE won an Olympic gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics β the first British cyclist to win for 75 years. He went on to become the first British rider since Tommy Simpson in 1967 to wear the race leader's yellow jersey in the Tour de France. Now a commentator and presenter, his endeavours both on and off the bike have made him the founding father of the current gold generation of British cyclists. His memoir, Triumphs and Turbulence My Autobiography, is published by Ebury Press.

Rex Pickett is a writer and the author of the novel Sideways which became an award-winning film directed by Alexander Payne. Now a play, adapted by the author, Sideways is the story of Miles and Jack, best friends facing their own personal crises who head off to Santa Barbara for a week of wine tastings. Sideways is at the St James Theatre, London.

Producer: Paula McGinley.