Notes of Late

North Passage Studios

Notes of Late is a reflective podcast of essays, conversation, and quiet observation. Each episode explores lives, memories, and the stories people leave behind, with a focus on human detail, thoughtful listening, and the moments that continue to echo. Literary in tone and contemporary in style, it is a space for reflection, remembrance, and carefully told stories.

Episodes

  1. MAR 27

    Notes of Late - 1 - Dame Jenni Murray

    The Resonance of a Voice: The Life and Legacy of Dame Jenni Murray In this episode of the Notes of Late podcast, we examine the life, legacy, and profound cultural influence of Dame Jenni Murray, who died on 12 March 2026 at the age of seventy-five. For over three decades as the defining presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Murray was not just a familiar daily comfort; she was a central pillar in the architecture of modern womanhood in the UK, transforming a programme originally dedicated to domestic tips into a formidable platform for sexual politics and social inquiry. We explore her working-class origins in Barnsley, the intense, complicated ambitions of her mother, and the childhood elocution lessons that ultimately forged her powerful broadcasting voice. The episode delves into her fearless, "hypnotic" interviewing style—a unique blend of empathy and rigorous forensic questioning that famously disarmed global figures, from Margaret Thatcher and Hillary Clinton to Hollywood icon Bette Davis. Going beyond her professional milestones, we look sympathetically at the totality of her human experience. We discuss her lifelong, painful battle with obesity and her advocacy against fat-shaming, her candidness regarding her breast cancer diagnosis, and her campaigns for the right to an assisted death following her mother's severe decline from Parkinson's disease. Finally, we address the ideological collisions of her later career, including her controversial stance on transgender issues that led to her feeling "cancelled" by the BBC, and her triumphant final act writing and broadcasting for Saga Magazine. Join us for a deliberate, nuanced reflection on a pioneering journalist who forced a nation to pause, to listen, and to confront the unvarnished realities of a life fully and courageously lived.

    42 min

About

Notes of Late is a reflective podcast of essays, conversation, and quiet observation. Each episode explores lives, memories, and the stories people leave behind, with a focus on human detail, thoughtful listening, and the moments that continue to echo. Literary in tone and contemporary in style, it is a space for reflection, remembrance, and carefully told stories.