Desert Island Discs (incl. Adam Kay)
Desert Island Discs was, apparently, first broadcast in 1942. I should listen to some of the anniversary editions again — I remember Field Marshal Montgomery as one of the early snippets — as they really offer a history of how the world (primarily the Anglo-Saxon world in this case) has changed, including at the level of how people speak and interact.
Any given episode can be hit-or-miss, depending on how the interviewee’s story comes across, and whether their musical selections strike a chord. (It’s a pity that the playback episodes now curtail the length of each musical interlude, for copyright reasons.)
The most annoying episode I can recall was Caitlin Moran, the commentator & writer — she’s vastly over-rated, and lacking in insight. I also remember James Dyson sounding very shifty and in denial, when probed about whether his vacuum cleaner designs were really copied off Hoover.
Most recently, I listened to the episode featuring Adam Kay. I haven’t read his autobiographical This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, but have seen a few episodes of the series featuring Benedict Cumberbatch. It was an interesting one in the sense that he didn’t seem particularly polished (for a media figure) — a bit awkward or difficult, and unstable or still traumatized or moved by events in his life.
Of course, Kirsty Young was the best interviewer, or has the most alluring voice.
