BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, David King (original) (raw)
David King
Sue Lawley's castaway is Chief Scientific Adviser Sir David King.
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Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser Prof Sir David King. He's had a testing four and a half years in the job - his tenure has coincided with an epidemic of foot and mouth disease, as well as a series of ongoing public health controversies played out in the media, such as the safety of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and concerns over genetically-modified crops.
He was born in South Africa and brought up in a middle-class suburb of Johannesburg. As a teenager he was taken by his school to visit a township to see how black South Africans lived. He says it was an eye-opening experience and, while he pursued his scientific studies, he also took a stance against the political regime and wrote letters denouncing apartheid. His activism brought him to the attention of South Africa's secret police - he was questioned and left with little option but to leave the country. He came to Britain and continued his studies here. He pursued an academic career - he was made the 1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry at Cambridge University in 1988, a post he still holds, and has recently been confirmed for a second term as the Government's chief scientist.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Don't Know Why by Norah Jones
Book: Wild Reckoning, An Anthology Provoked by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring by John Burnside
Luxury: Bunch of canvases with oils and brushes
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Music Played
Miriam Makeba
Hapo Zamani
- Welela.
- Philips.
Paul Simon
Homeless
Artist: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
- Graceland.
- Warner.
Béla Bartók
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta - 2nd movement
Orchestra: Chamber Orchestra of Europe Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt
- Bartok: Orchestral Works.
- RCA.
The Beatles
Yesterday
- The Beatles.1962-1966.
- Apple.
Bob Dylan
Just Like a Woman
- Blonde on Blonde.
- Columbia.
John Coltrane
Resolution
- A Love Supreme.
- Impulse.
Tom Waits
Table Top Joe
- Alice.
- Anti.
Castaway's Favourite
Norah Jones
Don't Know Why
* Come Away with Me.
* Parlophone.Book Choice
Wild Reckoning, An Anthology Provoked by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring - John Burnside
Luxury Choice
Bunch of canvases with oils and brushes
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Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Sue Lawley |
Interviewed Guest | David King |
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Archive 2005-2010—Desert Island Discs
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