Bessie Smith — Artist · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

Find a castaway Most requested Browse the archive About Report a fault

Tuning in…

desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

Find a castaway
Most requested
Browse the archive
About

Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
Report a fault

Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

Bessie Smith — Artist · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

Find a castaway Most requested Browse the archive About Report a fault

Artist

Bessie Smith

17 episodes

Chosen over the decades

17

Total castaways

1990s

Peak decade

6

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Anna Pavord
Christopher Ondaatje
David Olusoga
Elia Kazan
Eve Arnold
Frederic Raphael
Jackie Kay
John Huston
Keith Floyd
Mike Leigh OBE
Paula Rego
Philip Larkin
Rabbi Lionel Blue
Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP
Sir Torquil Norman
Sue Townsend
Susannah York

David Olusoga
David Olusoga on the teacher who assaulted him on a camping trip
Castaway · 10 January 2021Lauren Laverne
Anna Pavord
How Anna Pavord crawled out of hospital to feel grass after cancer treatment
Castaway · 17 November 2017Kirsty Young
Jackie Kay

desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

Find a castaway
Most requested
Browse the archive
About

Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
Report a fault

Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

Jackie Kay on her birth father singing and dancing around her

Castaway · 23 October 2016Kirsty Young

Sir Torquil Norman

01°02′S 052°28′W

Sir Torquil Norman

Torquil Norman on being given only one bullet to shoot rabbits

Castaway · 12 December 2010Kirsty Young

Frederic Raphael

09°02′S 157°07′W

Frederic Raphael

Frederic Raphael on his father's secret lover

Castaway · 19 February 2006Sue Lawley

Christopher Ondaatje

04°13′S 158°28′W

Christopher Ondaatje

How chasing leopards in Tanzania made Christopher Ondaatje quit business

Castaway · 17 November 2002Sue Lawley

17°24′S 110°47′W

Paula Rego

Paula Rego on being alarmed by the smell of naked flesh in the life room

Castaway · 7 December 1997Sue Lawley

12°57′S 018°04′W

Mike Leigh OBE

How a pulled TV play gave Mike Leigh his biggest hit

Castaway · 21 September 1997Sue Lawley

02°55′S 123°10′W

Eve Arnold

Eve Arnold on Marilyn Monroe asking her 'Where do I go from here?'

Castaway · 4 February 1996Sue Lawley

Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP

09°31′S 140°24′W

Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP

How rude remarks made Kenneth Clarke wear suede shoes defiantly

Castaway · 20 February 1994Sue Lawley

00°56′S 108°47′W

Sue Townsend

Sue Townsend on learning to read at eight with William books

Castaway · 8 December 1991Sue Lawley

04°24′S 099°19′W

Keith Floyd

How a diner half asleep in lobsters got Keith Floyd on television

Castaway · 30 December 1990Sue Lawley

Rabbi Lionel Blue

08°04′S 086°03′W

Rabbi Lionel Blue

Lionel Blue on discovering humour in a Quaker meeting

Castaway · 29 May 1988Michael Parkinson

05°14′S 057°32′W

Susannah York

Susannah York on getting her first laugh in a school play aged nine

Castaway · 1 March 1980Roy Plomley

10°53′S 127°58′W

Elia Kazan

How seeing Eisenstein's films gave Elia Kazan his first goal

Castaway · 20 January 1979Roy Plomley

01°39′S 058°29′W

Philip Larkin

Philip Larkin on spending months in the Bodleian Library stacks

Castaway · 17 July 1976Roy Plomley

17°40′S 013°01′W

John Huston

How John Huston sang cowboy songs and slept on London's Embankment

Castaway · 12 May 1973Roy Plomley