Wild Bond

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Wild Bond: The Henchmen

The Henchmen

BBC Radio 4 - Wild Bond, The Henchmen

Emily Knight celebrates 60 years of Bond henchmen, with some help from the animal kingdom.

Emily Knight celebrates 60 years of James Bond on the big screen, with an alternative cast of Bond characters... from the animal kingdom. This time it's the Henchmen.

The name's Bond. James Bond. Everyone's favourite spy has been serving up the guns, the glamour, the girls and the gadgets on the silver screen for 60 years, and we're celebrating... In a slightly unusual way. Emily Knight is taking the iconic characters from the Bond world and re-casting them, from the animal kingdom. Which of our animal cousins would make the best 007? Who do we cast as the Bond Girl? In nature, who comes equipped with the best gadgets? Who are villains, bent on world domination, and who are the henchmen, just following orders?

In this episode, its the turn of those boiler-suited nobodies, the loyal drones staffing the evil lairs, who die by the hundred every time Bond rappels his way on the scene. The villain's seemingly endless supply of henchmen, ready and willing to die for the cause, however convoluted that cause may be. In the animal world, self-sacrifice is most common in the insect domain, where colony-dwelling creatures like wasps, bees and ants happily die for the greater good. Some in a more spectacular manner than others. Meanwhile in the mammal world, our altruism is a little more calculating. We don't like to give, unless there's some taking on the cards as well. But for chimpanzees, the safety and security of the troop is top priority, and they go to extraordinary lengths to make sure they're on the winning side. Often at their own expense.

With Bond expert Ian Kinane from the University of Roehampton, Professor of Apiculture at the University of Sussex Francis Ratnieks, and evolutionary biologist Kevin Langergraber from Arizona State University.

Presented and Produced in Bristol by Emily Knight.

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Factual: Pets & Animals

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Celebrate 60 years of Bond movies with a cast of characters from the animal kingdom.

Celebrate 60 years of James Bond on the big screen in the company of an alternative cast of Bond characters - from the animal kingdom.

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