On my walk into the IRH I have been listening to old episodes of the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs. This is one of BBC radio’s longest-running shows (since 1942!), and the premise is simple: a guest discusses which records she/he/they would take with them if stranded on a desert island. Over the years there have been some very interesting guests, from the conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent to Richard E. Grant, from Alfred Hitchcock to Maya Angelou, and from Charlie Watts to Louis Armstrong. Nearly 2,500 episodes are available here.
–Simon Newman Solmsen Fellows (2019-2020); Honorary Fellow (2020-23)