The writer Colum McCann isn’t afraid to take on big subjects – and his ambition has delivered a shelf full of awards, from both sides of the Atlantic. He grew up in Dublin but moved to the United States in the mid-1980s and now lives in New York. That city is the setting for his international bestseller Let the Great World Spin, in which Philippe Petit’s tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in 1974 plays a key role. He’s also written a novel about both sides of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people, from the perspectives of two fathers.He collaborated with Diane Foley, whose son James was executed by Islamic State militants, to create a memoir, American Mother, which was published last year. Most recently his novel Twist focuses on the vulnerability of the undersea cables carrying the world’s internet data. Colum's music includes Gorecki, Prokofiev, Brahms and Haydn.
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Romola Garai
Romola Garai won her first professional acting roles as a teenager, and since then, her career has taken her in a wide range of dramatic directions. Most recently, she won a 2025 Olivier Award for her role in The Years, a sometimes shocking play based on a novel by Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux – and she was competing against herself, with a nomination in the same category for her part in Giant, a play about Roald Dahl.Her previous stage work includes playing Cordelia opposite Ian McKellen’s King Lear, and her extensive screen credits include the title role in a BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. She also won acclaim for The Hour, a drama set behind the scenes of a TV current affairs programme in the 1950s. In 2020, she went behind the camera to write and direct a horror film called Amulet. Romola's music choices include John Taverner, Handel and Keith Jarrett.
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Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam is one of the world’s most imaginative and original directors. He first made his mark more than 50 years ago, with the animated opening sequence of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, when a giant foot stomped on the titles with a burst of flatulence. That spirit of mischief, fun and creative adventure has informed many of his films: they include Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, working with stars such as Matt Damon, Uma Thurman, Brad Pitt and Robin Williams. He’d be the first to admit that life as a film maker can be complicated: he’s faced natural disasters, budget overruns and clashes with studio executives. But he has no plans to retire: now in his 85th year he’s working on a new film called Carnival at the End of Days starring Johnny Depp as Satan and Jeff Bridges as God.Terry's list of musical passions includes Richard Strauss, Berlioz and Delius.
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Monica Feria-Tinta
The barrister Monica Feria-Tinta has been described as one of the “most daring, innovative and creative lawyers” in the UK for her work in defending our natural world. She was born in Peru and was the first Latin American lawyer to be called to the Bar of England and Wales. She began by representing indigenous peoples, from Latin America and the Pacific, setting ground-breaking legal precedents. More recently she has found herself pleading for rivers, oceans, cloud forests and endangered species. As she says: “I had become a barrister for the earth,” and she’s written a book about ten of her landmark cases, called A Barrister for the Earth: Ten Cases of Hope for Our Future. Monica's music choices include Sibelius, Monteverdi and Chopin.
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Boulez at 100: Gerard McBurney
As part of Radio 3's Boulez at 100 day celebrating the centenary of composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, Michael Berkeley's guest is someone who knew Boulez well - composer and musicologist Gerard McBurney.
McBurney is most closely associated with the music of Russian composers – particularly Shostakovich – as a result of having lived and studied in Russia in the 1980s. Notable Shostakovich scores he has rescued from oblivion with completions and orchestrations include the music-hall show Hypothetically Murdered and the opera Orango. He talks to Michael about life in Russia in the years immediately before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
His many other musical projects have included working on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s long-running dramatized discovery series Beyond the Score, on many of which he collaborated with Boulez - about whom McBurney has first-hand insightful stories to relate.Producer: Graham RogersTo listen to this programme on most smart speakers, say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Private Passions".
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