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Oleg Gordievsky, Renee Goddard, Professor Richard Fortey, Sofia Gubaidulina

Matthew Bannister on spy Oleg Gordievsky, TV commissioner Renee Goddard, palaeontologist Professor Richard Fortey, composer Sofia Gubaidulina.

Matthew Bannister on Oleg Gordievsky, the KGB agent who defected to Britain and became a valued source of secret intelligence during the 1970s and 80s.

Renee Goddard, the actress and TV commissioner who fled Nazi persecution only to be interned in Britain.

Professor Richard Fortey, the palaeontologist who used his expertise in trilobites to tell stories about the origins of life on earth. Bill Bryson pays tribute.

Sofia Gubaidulina, the composer whose large scale religious works attracted criticism from the Soviet authorities.

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Archive: Friendly Enemy Aliens, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4, 1980; Kaleidoscope: Simon’s War, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4, 1984; Year of the Great Betrayal, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4, 1977; Reni and the Brownshirts, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4, 2002; Lisel, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4, 1955; Desert Island Discs : Oleg Gordievsky, Radio 4, 10/02/2008; In the Psychiatrist's Chair : Oleg Gordievsky, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4, 26/07/2015; ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ News, 15/12/1984; ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ News, 15/10/1990;

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28 minutes

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  • Fri 28 Mar 2025 16:00
  • Sun 30 Mar 2025 20:30

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