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Desert Island Discs Revisited

Factual: Life Stories

Selected castaway gems from the BBC Desert Island Discs archive.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: Absent Friends: Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking

Absent Friends

Desert Island Discs

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Desert Island Discs Revisited, Absent Friends, Stephen Hawking

Professor Stephen Hawking tells Sue Lawley about his life and work.

4 Extra Debut. World-renowned physicist, Professor Stephen Hawking, tells Sue Lawley about his life and work. Extended edition from Christmas Day 1992.

The world renowned physicist Professor Stephen Hawking tells Sue Lawley about his life and work.

Stephen remembers growing up in St Albans, a "ridiculously easy" physics course at Oxford University, where he didn't fully apply himself, and his dark and apocalyptic mood when motor neurone disease was diagnosed in 1963.

The prospect of an early death made Stephen realise that life was worth living and he threw himself into his work, which includes the discovery of Hawking radiation and the best-selling A Brief History Of Time.

His music selections range from Mozart's Requiem in D Minor (his favourite) to Edith Piaf's Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, a song which sums up his life.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Day 1992.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: Absent Friends

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Remembering some castaways from Desert Island Discs who passed away in 2020.

Remembering the  castaways who passed away in 2020. From the Desert Island Discs archive.

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