Last Word

Julian Worricker on

The feminist writer bell hooks, credited with prompting new, radical thinking about race, gender and class.

Shirley McGreal, founder of the International Primate Protection League, whose work in conservation led to her opening a gibbon sanctuary in South Carolina.

The singer, dancer and actor, Lionel Blair, whose career began during World War II, and spanned eight decades...

And the pioneering film director, Melvin Van Peebles, who became known as the godfather of black cinema.

Producer: Emily Finch

Interviewed guest: Liza Goddard

Archive clips used: YouTube, Freedom Forum: Speaking Freely - bell hooks 29/03/2016; Sankofa Read Aloud YouTube Channel, Happy to Be Nappy by bell hooks 03/07/2017; YouTube, The Bill Collins Show - Shirley McGreal 13/04/2018; International Primate Protection League Facebook Page, Gibbons Singing and Swinging 16/4/2020; BBC1 TV, Nationwide: Shirley McGreal 01/07/1980; SOSorangutans YouTube page, Orangutan Longcall 11/10/2011; YouTube, Gibbon Sound 05/10/2016; THAMES TV, Give Us a Clue (Series 2) 1979; The Official Sammy Davis Jr Website, Sammy Davis Jr and Lionel Blair Tap Battle - 1961 Royal Variety Performance; BBC Radio 4, Today 17/02/2010.

Matthew Bannister on

The journalist and feminist Mary Maher. She edited the women’s page of the Irish Times and was a prime mover in campaigns for equal rights.

The bass player Robbie Shakespeare. With his partner Sly Dunbar he formed a powerful rhythm section in demand by artists from Peter Tosh and Black Uhuru to Grace Jones, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan.

Anwar Ditta, the British Asian mother who fought for five years to be allowed to bring her three children from Pakistan to the UK.

Anne Rice the best-selling author of the Vampire Chronicles series of books.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Rosita Sweetman

Archive clips used: RTE, Bowman - Tribute to Mary Maher 12/12/2021; GRANADA TV, World in Action: These Children Are Mine 16/03/1981; Oxford Television Production/BBC FOUR, Cover Stories - Anne Rice 25/06/2002; BBC Radio 4, Front Row - Tribute to Anne Rice 13/12/2021; Geffen Pictures, Interview With The Vampire (1994); Anne Rice YouTube Channel, Returning to Christianity 07/05/2010.

Matthew Bannister on

Sir Antony Sher, one of the finest actors of his generation, who was also a writer and a painter. We have a heartfelt personal tribute from his husband, the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Gregory Doran.

Roger Phillips, the colourful plant photographer who produced many authoritative books on wild flowers, trees and plants but was perhaps best known for his work on mushrooms.

Judy Totton, the music business publicist who worked with clients like Status Quo, Toyah Willcox and the Great Train robber Ronnie Biggs. Her friend Joan Armatrading pays tribute.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Gregory Doran

Archive clips used: Opus Arte, King Lear - Royal Shakespeare Company 2017; BBC Radio 3, Free Thinking - Antony Sher 06/05/2015; Illuminations Media, Macbeth - Royal Shakespeare Company 2003; Roger Phillips' YouTube Channel, Wild Food Forager: Foraging for Morel Mushrooms in the Forest 24/05/2019; YouTube: Happy Tibet, Tibetan Prayer Dechen Monlam 26/10/2017.

Matthew Bannister on

Stephen Sondheim, the acclaimed composer and lyricist who revolutionised the stage musical. We have a tribute from Imelda Staunton who gave award-winning performances in some of his finest roles.

Sir Frank Williams, the Formula One motor racing team owner who continued to enjoy great success after breaking his neck in a car crash that left him quadriplegic. His close friend and colleague Sir Patrick Head recalls their long working relationship.

Jo-Carroll Dennison, the oldest surviving winner of the Miss America beauty contest and one of the first to object to the swim suit round.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: David Benedict and to actor

Archive clips used: BBC TV, The Late Show: Face to Face - Stephen Sondheim 09/10/1995; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - Stephen Sondheim 31/12/2000; BBC Sound Archive, Frank Williams Interview 12/07/1980; BBC One, News 29/11/2021; BBC Radio 1Xtra, Newsbeat 29/11/2021; Watershed Pictures/Formula One Constructors Association, Mansell & Williams 1992; BBC 5Live, News 29/11/2021; BBC Radio 4, Sport On Four 20/09/1986; YouTube, Crash Aftermath - F1 1994 San Marino; BBC One, Six o' Clock News 29/10/1997; BBC Radio 4, Today programme 29/11/2021; Justin Johnson/YouTube Channel, Delta Blues on the Weissenborn Lap Slide Guitar 20/08/2021; British Pathé, Miss America 1940; Miss America Organization/Evan Mills, Jo-Carroll Dennison 100th Anniversary Gala Speech 07/09/2021; Kenco Productions/CBS Television Network, The Phil Silvers Show 1955; Columbia Pictures, Trailer for the Jolson Story 1946; Alliance Productions, Trailer for Prehistoric Women 1950; Television Corporation of America, Abbott and Costello Show S1 E24 The Actors' Home 1953.

Matthew Bannister on

Ian Wallace, one of the most influential figures in British ornithology. At one time he had seen a wider variety of species of birds than anyone else in Britain.

Rossana Banti, the Italian partisan who risked her life acting as a courier for the Resistance.

Ivy Nicholson, the model who was once a muse for Andy Warhol but fell on hard times and ended up sleeping on the streets.

Cedric Robinson MBE, who guided people across the treacherous sands of Morecambe Bay for more than 50 years.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Stephen Moss

Archive clips used: BBC Radio 4, 100 Years of British Birds 07/05/2007; The Sound Approach Podcast, Interview With Ian Wallace 2019; Progettazione Multimediale, Noi Partigiani - Interview With Rossana Banti 2021; Taryn Gould / Vimeo, As Is, As Was teaser 2014; Planet Group Entertainment, Factory People 2008; YouTube, Valarie Solanas on Shooting Andy Warhol 1968; BBC Radio 4, Midweek 09/12/2009; BBC Radio 4 Extra, Crossing the Bay 19/04/2019; BBC Radio 4, Saturday Live 16/07/2016.

Kirsty Lang on Aaron Beck the Eminent psychiatrist who developed cognitive behavioural therapy into the world’s most popular treatment for depression and anxiety.

Joan Carlyle the principal soprano at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for almost 20 years.

Etel Adnan one of the Arab world's most important writers, and author of one of the most important War Novels ever written and

Anne Bradford Compiler of the bestselling crossword solver’s dictionary who could complete the Times puzzle in six minutes.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Dr Judith Beck

Archive clips used: BBC Radio 4, All In The Mind 26/03/2003; BBC TWO, Living Hell: Depression 03/03/1999; BBC TWO, Music On Two: I Think It Should Go Like This 31/01/1973; Serpentine Galleries, Etel Adnan Reading From The Arab Apocalypse 07/10/2015; HENI Talks, Hans Ulrich Obrist Visits Etel Adnan 24/02/2020; BBC Radio 4, The Reference Library 21/11/2000.

Matthew Bannister on

Sir Archie Lamb who rose from Foreign Office filing clerk to become one of the UK’s most distinguished ambassadors.

John Boyden, the record producer who founded the Classics For Pleasure label to bring classical music to a wide audience at affordable prices.

Ida Nudel, whose campaigns on behalf of Jewish people refused permission to emigrate to Israel from the Soviet Union led to her being sent to Siberia.

Abolhassan Banisadr, the first President of Iran after the Islamic Revolution.

Produced by Neil George

Interviewed guest: Robin Lamb

Archive clips used: Churchill College Archives Centre - Cambridge, Interview with Sir Archie Lamb 21/06/2000; BBC Panorama 18/07/1977; AP Archive, Anti-Soviet Demonstration Over Jews' Treatment 04/10/1987; YouTube, Songs of Islamic Revolution in Iran 02/02/2020; AP Archive, Ayatollah Komeini Returns in Triumph to Iran 01/02/1974; ABC News, Iran Hostage Crisis 1979 11/11/1979; BBC Radio 4, The World Tonight 03/08/2009; AP Archive, Iran - Fall of President Bani-Sadr 26/06/1981.

Matthew Bannister on

Sir Michael Rutter who was known as the 'father of child psychiatry'. He pioneered research into many aspects of child development.

Christopher Wenner - also known as Max Stahl - who changed career from Blue Peter TV presenter to intrepid documentary film maker.

Sister Megan Rice, the American nun who campaigned against nuclear weapons. She was arrested and sent to prison for breaking into a uranium processing plant.

Jeanette Altwegg, the last British woman to win the individual Olympic Gold Medal for figure skating back in 1952.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Edmund Sonuga-Barke

Archive clips used: BBC Radio 4, The Life Scientific - Sir Michael Rutter 03/06/2014; BBC TV, Blue Peter 18/06/1979; JOURNEYMAN TV, REF 4701 Dili Massacre 12/07/1994; ABC Australia, British journalist and television presenter passes away 28/10/2021; MSNBC, Nun Prisoned For Anti-Nuclear Protest Released 21/05/2015; British Pathé, Atomic Tests in Nevada 1955; Washington Post, The Nun Who Broke Into a US Nuclear... 30/04/2013; War Register's International, Sister Megan Rice Talk In London 08/02/2016; British Pathé, British Amateur Figure Skating 1947; British Movietone, British Women in Winter Olympics 25/02/1952; BBC Sound Archive, Olympic Games Skating 02/02/1952; AP /Movietone, Jeannette Altwegg wins European Figure Skating 08/02/1951.

Matthew Bannister on

Bernard Haitink, one of the greatest orchestral conductors of his generation, known for his interpretations of Mahler, Bruckner and Wagner.

Victor Gregg, the British soldier who was caught up in the Dresden bombing raids, suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and later went undercover for MI6.

Ruthie Tompson, one of Walt Disney’s longest serving animators, she worked on classic films like 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' and 'Fantasia'.

Paddy Moloney, the Irish pipe player who founded and led the influential band the Chieftains.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Norman Lebretch

Archive clips used: BBC, Proms 2005/2008/2019; BBC Radio 3, Music Matters 20/11/2017; BBC Radio 2, Victor - Read by John Hurt 12/11/2011; MPTF YouTube channel, Spotlight on Ruthie Tompson 06/03/2012; King Features Syndicate, Popeye The Sailor Man ep52 1960; Walt Disney Productions, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937/Pinocchio 1940/Mary Poppins 1964; BBC, Omnibus 29/01/1976; BBC, Profile 15/11/1976; BBC FOUR, Legends - The Chieftains 15/03/2008; BBC, The Old Grey Whistle Test 06/04/1976.

Kirsty Lang on

Colin Powell, who rose from an impoverished childhood in Harlem to become US Secretary of State

A much loved Irish poet: Brendan Kennelly who learnt his storytelling skills growing up in his father’s pub in County Kerry

A ground-breaking female scientist Myriam Sarachik who had to contend with the deeply entrenched sexism

And the extraordinary story of John Clunies-Ross - former ruler of the Cocos Islands which he ran for many years as a private fiefdom

Produced by Neil George

Interviewed guest: Karen de Young

Archive clips used: AP, US President Biden on Colin Powell 18/10/2021; NBC, Colin Powell addresses UN Sec Council 2003; Aspen Ideas Festival, Colin Powell 26/09/2007; Bloodaxe Books, Driving to Work With Brendan Kennelly 19/09/2011; CUNY TV, Women to Women - Dr Myriam P. Sarachik 28/04/2005; David R.M. Irving - YouTube, The World of Cocos Malay Music and Dance 30/12/2020; ABC (Australian TV), Dynasties - The Clunies-Ross Family 2004; Movietone, Queen at Cocos Islands and Ceylon 22/04/1954.