Last Word BBC Radio 4

Matthew Bannister on Nora Cortiñas, a founding member of Argentina’s “Mothers of the Disappeared” campaign group. Her son Gustavo was 24 when he was arrested by the country’s right-wing dictatorship. He was never seen again.
Belinda Bellville, the fashion designer who dressed every female member of the royal family apart from Queen Elizabeth. Her business partner David Sassoon shares his memories.
The poet John Burnside whose acclaimed work reflected his troubled childhood in Cowdenbeath and Corby.
Roger Corman, the American film director and producer known for his prolific output of low budget pictures.
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
Exhibition of Belinda Bellville dresses at Holkham Hall, BBC Norfolk, 17/04/2013; Princess Goes To Washington (1965). Pathe News, 21/11/1965; Wild Music, Radio 4, 29/12/2019; Belief: John Burnside, BBC Radio 3; 04/04/2012; The Little Shop Of Horrors (1960) Official Trailer; Masque Of The Red Death (1964) Trailer; Attack of the Crab Monsters Official Trailer; Viking Women and the Sea Serpent (1957) Trailer; It Conquered the World (1956) Theatrical Trailer; Horror Café, BBC 2, 15/09/1990; The Film Programme, BBC Radio 4, 30/05/2008;

Matthew Bannister on
Richard M Sherman who teamed up with his brother Robert to write some of Disney’s best loved songs.
Professor Wendy James CBE, the anthropologist who studied the Uduk tribes of Sudan.
June Mendoza OBE, the portrait painter whose subjects included members of the Royal Family, Prime Ministers and celebrities.
Morgan Spurlock, the film maker best known for his Oscar nominated documentary about the fast food industry “Supersize Me”.
Interviewee: Brian Sibley
Interviewee: Dr Douglas Johnson
Interviewee: Anna Smith
Interviewee: Kim Mackrell
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Archive used:
Richard Sherman, Outlook, BBC Radio 4, 29 Aug 2016; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Trailer, Dir: Ken Hughes, MGM, 1968; Mary Poppins trailer, Director: Robert Stevenson, Disney, 1964; Julie Andrews, Feed The Birds, Composer Sherman; Richard Sherman, The Film Programme, BBC Radio 4, 30 May 2008; Richard Sherman, Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 26 Oct 2007; Richard Sherman, Soul Music, BBC Radio 4, 03 May 2016; It's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, Walt Disney; Richard Sherman interview, Empire Magazine, YouTube, uploaded 12 Aug 2013; Interview with Professor Wendy James, Apollo, University of Cambridge Repository, Dir: Alan Macfarlane, Edit: Sarah Harrison, dspace.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/223956, 15 May 2009; Super Size Me, 2004, Writer/Director: Morgan Spurlock, Samuel Goldwyn Film, You Tube, uploaded 17 May 2024; Super Size Me, Official Movie Trailer, Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2004;
Super Size Me 2, Official Trailer, Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2019; Morgan Spurlock interview, ABC News, YouTube uploaded, 19 Sept 2019; June Mendoza, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 08 Sept 1979; June Mendoza, Midweek, BBC Radio 4, 25 May 1988;

Matthew Bannister on
The Irish rugby star and businessman Sir Tony O’Reilly. He made billions but ended up bankrupt.
The hardline President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi.
Penny Simkin, who championed the role of birth doulas to help mothers during and after labour.
Professor Alasdair Geddes, the infectious diseases expert who diagnosed the world’s last ever case of smallpox – in Birmingham.
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
Penny Simkin, YouTube upload, PSfromPenny, 27/10/2009; Penny Simkin, YouTube upload, PSfromPenny, 22/03/2011; Today Programme, Radio 4, BBC, 20/05/2024; Newshour, BBC World Service, 20/05/2024; News report by Philip Hayton, Sound Archive, BBC Radio 4, 11/02/1979; Ebrahim Raisi interviewed by Lesley Stahl, CBS Interactive Inc., YouTube upload, 60 Minutes, 19/05/2024; BBC profile on Tony O’Reilly, 24/01/1975; Conversation Piece, Radio 4, 02/12/1985; People in profile, Radio Ulster, 06/09/1980; The Last Case of Smallpox in the UK, BBC News, 31/08/2016

Matthew Bannister on
Dame Shirley Conran, the journalist and author best known for her books “Superwoman” and “Lace”.
Baroness Doreen Massey, the educator and former director of the Family Planning Association
Beverly LaHaye the founder of Concerned Women of America who campaigned to stop the Equal Rights Amendment.
Steve Albini, the controversial musician who worked many influential albums including Nirvava’s “In Utero”.
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
National Women’s Coalition for Life, National Cable Satellite Corporation, C-Span, 03/04/1992; Former President Trump Speaks at Concerned Women for America Summit, National Cable Satellite Corporation, C-Span, 15/09/2023; Beverly LaHaye, Concernedwomen.org, 23/02/2017; President Reagan's Remarks at Convention of Concerned Women for America, Reagan Library, YouTube upload, 28/11/2017; The PTL Club, The PTL Club – Heritage USA, YouTube upload, 12/08/2022; Woman's Hour, 07/11/2014; Woman's Hour, 02/08/2012; Graham Norton, BBC Radio 2, 14/07/2012; The Stephen McCauley Show, BBC Radio Ulster, 29/08/2022; House of Lords, parliament.tv, 24/04/2019; Baroness Massey Stories of Democracy, House of Lords, YouTube upload, 22/11/2012

Matthew Bannister on Anne Dagg, the Canadian biologist known as The Woman Who Loves Giraffes for her lifelong study of the animals.
Professor Ross Anderson, the computer scientist who was a leading expert on data protection and online security.
Reverend Cecil Murray, the pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles who played a pivotal role during the riots of 1992.
Kris Hellenga, who was diagnosed with breast cancer aged 23 and set up the charity Coppafeel to encourage other young women to check their breasts.
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
Archive of Anne Dagg, The Woman who loves Giraffes, Pursuing Giraffe Adventures Inc, 2018; Newsnight, BBC Two, 01/07/1992; Newsnight, BBC Two, 11/02/2010; Ross Anderson Interviewed by Elisabetta Mori, Archives of IT, YouTube Upload, 20/03/2024; Digitalize in Stockholm ’22, DigitalFuturesHub, YouTube Upload, 28/10/22; USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, YouTube Upload 22/02/2021; BBC Radio Cornwall, 12/10/2021;

Matthew Bannister on an author, a campaigner, an Olympic medallist, a conductor