Desmond Morris

Desmond Morris

Author: BBC Radio 4 October 3, 2004 Duration: 34:40

Sue's Lawley's castaway this week is the zoologist turned author and broadcaster Desmond Morris. He made his name with The Naked Ape first published in 1967 in which he persuasively argued the case for viewing man as a 'risen ape' rather than a 'fallen angel'. To him, humans should be observed like any other beast in the animal kingdom. The book has sold more than 12 million copies and has been translated into 23 languages. Dozens more books have followed including The Human Zoo, which compared the social problems of humans living in cities to the behaviour of stressed animals in a zoo.

He's also a successful artist - once holding the directorship of the Institute of Contemporary Arts - and he's exhibited his work at galleries around the world.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Imagine by Alex Parks Book: Tales from Arabia: One Thousand and One Nights by Richard Burton Luxury: Snorkel


The Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005 podcast opens a unique window into a pivotal era, drawing from the BBC Radio 4 archives. This isn't just a collection of interviews about music; it's a deeply personal exploration of life, ambition, and memory through the voices of the early 21st century. Each episode presents a guest from this period-be they an artist, a politician, a scientist, or an activist-facing the program's enduring and revealing premise: selecting the eight pieces of music they would take if stranded alone. The conversation that unfolds around these choices is where the magic happens. The host gently guides them from their selections into stories of childhood influences, career-defining moments, personal triumphs, and profound losses. You'll hear the crackle of a vinyl record lead into a confession, or a symphony cue a tale of resilience. Listening to this podcast feels like uncovering a time capsule of cultural and emotional history, where a pop song can explain a political stance and a classical adagio can frame a love story. It’s an intimate study of character and a testament to how the soundtrack of our lives shapes our identity. These archived conversations, preserved in this podcast, remain compelling because they bypass the superficial, using music as the key to unlock genuine human experience.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005
Podcast Episodes
George Foreman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Rowan Williams [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Sinead Cusack [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Sinead Cusack was born in Ireland into a acting dynasty. Her first ambition, whilst at convent school, was to be a saint. But her behaviour didn't match her early aspiration: as a teenager she was nearly expelled from sc…
Linton Kwesi Johnson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Sue Lawley's castaway is dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson. Linton Kwesi Johnson was born in 1950s rural Jamaica. He lived in a farming community and looked after the animals, helping with the sugar harvest and fetching fire…
John Malkovich [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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John Malkovich makes his film directorial debut this year with The Dancer Upstairs. He's best known for his laconic sophistication in films such as Dangerous Liaisons, In the Line of Fire and The Man in the Iron Mask. He…
Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:17
Described by Lord Tebbit as "a remarkably normal family man with children", Iain has just completed twelve months as Leader of the Conservative Party - he was the first Leader to be elected by a ballot of the Party's mem…
Christopher Ondaatje [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:12
Christopher Ondaatje was born in the British colony of Ceylon and educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon. He moved to Canada and in 1964 was a member of the Canadian Olympic Bobsled team. He is a retired busine…
Marguerite Wolff [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:12
Marguerite Wolff has dedicated her life to performing all around the world. Sir Arthur Bliss composed for her and she studied under Louis Kentner. Marguerite was born into a musical family in London in the 1920s. Her mot…
Rt Hon Robin Cook MP [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:31
Robin Cook was born in Larnarkshire, east of Glasgow; an only child whose father was a science teacher. In his teens the family moved to Edinburgh so that his father could take up a headmaster job and Robin attended the…