The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Professor George Steiner. One of the most prominent intellectuals of our time, he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how the English academic establishment has taken decades to accept him despite his early popularity as a Cambridge lecturer, and about the problem of reconciling the love of beauty with great acts of evil.
He'll also be describing how his family left Austria for France in the 1920s and how he was one of only two boys to survive in his class in the largely Jewish lycee he attended in Paris. When asked to select just one record to take to the island, Professor George said that for him, it was all or nothing.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Book: 500 year ahead calendar and appointment book
Luxury: Computer
Lauren shares handpicked gems from the Desert Island Discs back-catalogue with Radio 1 presenter Vick Hope, including Bob Mortimer, Maya Angelou, Joe Wicks, Sophia Loren, Tom Hanks, Dame Pat McGrath a...
Derren Brown, illusionist and mentalist, chooses the eight tracks, book and luxury he want to take with him if cast away to a desert island. BOOK CHOICE: Collected works of Carl Jung
LUXURY: Leica Cam...
75 Years of Desert Island Discs - Kirsty Young ends the programme's anniversary year with some gems from the archive, including the creator of the format, Roy Plomley, actress Bebe Daniels, broadcaste...
Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster and writer Clive James.Favourite track: Baby Love by Diana Ross and The Supremes
Book: Book about how to build a plane out of palm fronds and coconut fibre by Wil...
Kirsty Young interviews the composer Debbie Wiseman.Her work is wide ranging, but her talents are most often employed in crafting lyrical, melodic scores for film and TV. Her credits include Land Girl...