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

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

From Last Word by BBC Radio 4

April 24, 2026 · 28 min

About this episode

Matthew Bannister discusses influential figures in music, history, psychiatry, and zoology.

Matthew Bannister on Andy Kershaw, the radio DJ who championed world music, traversing the globe to bring new and eclectic sounds to a mainstream audience. For a time he was roadie to Billy Bragg who recalls their life on the road together. Dame Averil Cameron, the leading historian who re-shaped our understanding of the Byzantine empire. Her friend, Professor Mary Beard, pays tribute. Dr Judith Rapoport, the child psychiatrist who challenged received wisdom about obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. And the zoologist, author, artist and TV presenter Desmond Morris, best known for his provocative 1967 bestselling book The Naked Ape. Producer: Catherine Powell Assisstant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy Archive Michael Parkinson, BBC 1, 06/10/69; Michael Parkinson, BBC 1, 07/11/81; The Evolution of The Naked Ape: Archive on 4, BBC Radio 4 18/04/2026; The Likely Lads, BBC 2; The Time of Your Life, BBC 1, 06/08/85; Timewatch: Verdict on the Shroud, BBC 2, 27/07/88; Andy Kershaw Show, BBC Radio 1, 11/05/90; Andy Kershaw Show, BBC Radio 1, 24/09/95; Andy Kershaw Show, BBC Radio 1, 16/03/98; The Hermit Kingdom (North Korea), BBC Radio 3…

People in this episode

Host: Matthew Bannister

Guests: Andy Kershaw, Dame Averil Cameron, Dr Judith Rapoport, Desmond Morris

Topics covered

  • world music
  • Byzantine empire
  • OCD
  • zoology
  • cultural history

Keywords

  • Andy Kershaw
  • Dame Averil Cameron
  • Dr Judith Rapoport
  • Desmond Morris
  • Byzantine empire
  • OCD
  • world music
  • The Naked Ape

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Naked Ape

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