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Last Word Episodes

  1. 07/08/2026

    Radio 4's weekly obituary programme

  2. 31/07/2026

    Radio 4's weekly obituary programme

  3. 24/07/2026

    Radio 4's weekly obituary programme

  4. Listen live

    Sam Neill: the silent child with a stutter who became a movie star

    Matthew Bannister on two actors, a musician and a chef.

  5. Bonnie Tyler: How the "sweet soul singer" found her growl

    Matthew Bannister on an iconic singer, dissident bookseller, cosmonaut and a TV director.

  6. The Good Life of Dame Penelope Keith

    Matthew Bannister on an acting icon, crusading journalist, silent sister, ringmistress.

  7. "He became one of the most powerful men in the world” - the story of the man who shaped modern economics

    John Wilson on an economist, a visible difference campaigner, a sailor and a singer.

  8. A “bone marrow love for the Labour party” Lord Kinnock remembers Lord Hattersley

    Matthew Bannister on a politician, a speech therapist, a journalist and a musician.

  9. Founder of the ‘MOBOs’ and champion of black music – Kanya King

    Matthew Bannister on a black music champion, a spy, a Vietnam War nurse and an author.

  10. Larry King: The man behind Billie Jean King’s feminist tennis revolution

    Matthew Bannister on a sport disruptor, Cold War spy, media innovator and art provocateur.

  11. Clarence B Jones, Judith Chalmers, Dr Anna Ritchie, Professor Frank Land

    Matthew Bannister on a lawyer, a broadcaster, an archaeologist and a computer pioneer.

  12. Michael Pennington, Cynthia Shange, Scott Hastings, Beverley Martyn

    Kirsty Lang on an actor, an activist, a rugby player and a singer.

  13. Ruth Slenczynska, Dame Bridget Ogilvie, Tony Worthington, Russell Tyner KC

    Kirsty Lang on a virtuoso pianist, leading scientist, peace-seeking MP and legal pioneer.

  14. Dr Ittai Gradel, Dame Shirley Porter, Professor Nigel Dunnett, María Nieves Rego

    Matthew Bannister on an antiquities dealer, a politician, a horticulturalist and a dancer.

  15. Xia De-hong, Lord Hunt of Chesterton, Joan Burstein, Bill Leader

    Matthew Bannister on a mother, a meteorologist, a retail pioneer and a recording engineer.

  16. Andy Kershaw, Dame Averil Cameron, Dr Judith Rapoport, Desmond Morris

    Matthew Bannister on a DJ, a historian, a psychiatrist and a zoologist.

  17. Asha Bhosle, Sir Neil Cossons, Professor Harold Ellis, Daphne Selfe

    Matthew Bannister on a singer, a curator, a surgeon and a model.

  18. Sir Craig Reedie, Bronwen Naish, Geoff Yeadon, Margareta Magnusson

    Matthew Bannister on a sports administrator, a musician, a cave diver and an author.

  19. Robert Fox, Mary Rand MBE, Sir Tony Hoare, Biruté Galdikas

    John Wilson on theatre producer, an athlete, a computer scientist, a primatologist.

  20. Dame Jenni Murray, Len Deighton, Lynda Hale, Jurgen Habermas

    Matthew Bannister on a broadcaster, an author, a footballer and a philosopher.

  21. Yanar Mohammed, MP Phil Woolas, Professor Robin Weiss, Jane Lapotaire

    Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, a politician, a virologist and an actor.

  22. Paul Conroy, Kenith Trodd, Astrid Llewellyn, Jo Purvis

    Matthew Bannister on a photojournalist, a TV producer, a sailor, a DJ.

  23. Neil Sedaka, Drusilla Beyfus, Professor Dame Carole Jordan, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

    Matthew Bannister on Neil Sedaka, Drusilla Beyfus, Carole Jordan, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

  24. Martyn Butler, Allan Massie, Professor Nicola Fear, Willie Colón

    Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, an epidemiologist, an author and a trombonist.

  25. Reverend Jesse Jackson, Diane Munday, Philippe Gaulier, Lady Jean Wilson

    Kirsty Lang on a civil rights leader, a campaigner, a clown and a charity worker.

  26. Meredith Hooper, David Young, Dorothy Solomon, Derek Kelly

    Matthew Bannister on an author, a lawyer, an agent and a farmer.

  27. Sir Nicholas White, Lord Wallace, Professor Deborah Cameron, Sly Dunbar

    Matthew Bannister on a physician, a politician, a linguist and a drummer.

  28. Sir Mark Tully, Dame Gillian Wagner, Dr Gladys West, Richard Larn OBE

    Matthew Bannister on a journalist, a campaigner, a mathematician and a shipwreck expert.

  29. Molly Burkett, Sir James Munby, Edith Flanigen, Aldrich Ames

    Matthew Bannister on a conservationist, a judge, a chemist and a spy.

  30. Claudette Colvin, Ian Balding, Gerry Gable, Bob Weir, Juliet Robertson

    Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, a racehorse trainer, an activist and an educationalist.

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