Matthew Bannister on

Newton Minow, who was just 35 when he was appointed chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission by President John F. Kennedy. He gave a famous speech describing TV as a “vast wasteland” and helped to set up the Public Broadcasting Service.

Vicky Neale, the mathematician who responded to her diagnosis with cancer by launching a podcast discussing the role of maths in cancer research.

Lois Keith, who campaigned for equal rights for disabled people.

Gerald Rose, the children’s book illustrator who won the Kate Greenaway Medal for his work on “Old Winkle and the Seagulls”

Interviewee: Nell Minow

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Archive used:

Newt Minow interview, Talk of the Nation, NPR, 06/09/2006; Newton Minow's interview, PBS News Hour, YouTube, uploaded 08/05/2021; Newton Minow on his 1961 "Vast Wasteland" speech, Emmy TV Legends, 04/05/2011; President Obama Awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom 2016, The Obama White House, YouTube, uploaded 22/11/2016; Vicky Neale, Maths+Cancer podcast, University of Oxford, date unknown - source: oxford.shorthandstories.com/maths-plus-cancer/ ; Vicky Neale appearance on The Infinity Monkey Cage, BBC Radio 4, 07/07/2014; Vicky Neale, Oxford Mathematics, YouTube uploaded 27/05/2022;