Private Passions

Ranking history

About the show

Latest episodes

• Francis Fukuyama, political scientist

  October 4, 2026 · 52 min

  The American political scientist Francis Fukuyama loves big ideas, and his 1992 book The End of History and the Last Man was an international best-seller. It argued that – after the collapse of the Soviet Union - Western liberal democracy…

• Louisa Young, writer

  September 27, 2026 · 54 min

  Family is at the heart of the work of the writer Louisa Young. Her first book was about her grandmother, Kathleen, a sculptor who was also the widow of the Antarctic explorer Captain Scott. She’s written five books for younger readers with…

• Sylvester McCoy, actor

  September 20, 2026 · 51 min

  The actor Sylvester McCoy was a familiar face to millions of TV viewers when he played the Seventh Doctor in Doctor Who in the 1980s. On the big screen, he has played the eccentric wizard Radagast the Brown in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit…

• Lyse Doucet, journalist

  September 13, 2026 · 58 min

  When Lyse Doucet was a child growing up in a small town in eastern Canada, she borrowed a library book called How to Become a Journalist. It clearly made an impact. She is now the BBC’s chief international correspondent and has reported…

• Carlos Acosta, dancer

  July 12, 2026 · 53 min

  In the world of dance, Carlos Acosta is a superstar. He grew up in a poor part of Havana, where he was the 11th child in his family, and began his training at the National Ballet School of Cuba. At the age of just 18, he became the…

• Leslie Cavendish, former Beatles hairdresser

  July 5, 2026 · 54 min

  Leslie Cavendish left school at the age of 15 years, without any artistic qualifications, and decided to become a hairdresser. Within three years, his clients included Terence Stamp, Keith Moon, the Bee Gees, Jane Asher – and the Beatles…

• John Nichol, writer, former RAF Navigator

  June 28, 2026 · 53 min

  Thirty-five years ago, during the Gulf War, the face of the RAF navigator John Nichol appeared on news bulletins around the world. His Tornado jet had been shot down over Iraq, and he was captured, tortured and paraded on Iraqi…

• Ruth Ozeki, writer

  June 21, 2026 · 54 min

  Ruth Ozeki won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2022 with her novel The Book of Form and Emptiness. The judges called it a ’complete joy to read.’ She’s also a film-maker and a Zen Buddhist priest, and her books draw on her…