Joy Division

desert is.landest. 1942

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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
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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

Joy Division — Artist · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

Artist

9 episodes

Chosen over the decades

Total castaways

2000s

Peak decade

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Frances O'Grady
Ian Rankin
Jane Horrocks
Jarvis Cocker
Jesse Armstrong
Joe Simpson
Kathy Burke
Lee Mack
Simon Armitage

Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong on pitching Succession as Feston meets Dallas
Castaway · 11 January 2026Lauren Laverne
Frances O'Grady
How a teacher grabbed Frances O'Grady by the scruff of the neck
Castaway · 12 June 2022Lauren Laverne

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

Simon Armitage

How Simon Armitage celebrated his Poet Laureate appointment by bouncing on a trampoline

Castaway · 10 May 2020Lauren Laverne

Lee Mack

00°13′S 068°19′W

Lee Mack

Lee Mack on doing Bobby Ball impressions to fit in at a new school

Castaway · 29 September 2013Kirsty Young

Kathy Burke

14°04′S 067°49′W

Kathy Burke

Kathy Burke on pretending to miss her mother to get a Mars bar

Castaway · 15 August 2010Kirsty Young

Jane Horrocks

12°28′S 050°02′W

Jane Horrocks

Jane Horrocks on discovering her talent for impersonation

Castaway · 8 October 2006Kirsty Young

Ian Rankin

09°39′S 133°38′W

Ian Rankin

How climbing into the attic helped Ian Rankin write an angry novel

Castaway · 16 July 2006Sue Lawley

Jarvis Cocker

06°30′S 148°55′W

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker on wiggling his bum at the Brit Awards

Castaway · 24 April 2005Sue Lawley

Joe Simpson

16°20′S 095°33′W

Joe Simpson

Joe Simpson on why he chose to descend into the crevasse

Castaway · 19 September 2004Sue Lawley