Main content

David King

Sue Lawley's castaway is Chief Scientific Adviser Sir David King.

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser Prof Sir David King. He's had a testing four and a half years in the job - his tenure has coincided with an epidemic of foot and mouth disease, as well as a series of ongoing public health controversies played out in the media, such as the safety of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and concerns over genetically-modified crops.

He was born in South Africa and brought up in a middle-class suburb of Johannesburg. As a teenager he was taken by his school to visit a township to see how black South Africans lived. He says it was an eye-opening experience and, while he pursued his scientific studies, he also took a stance against the political regime and wrote letters denouncing apartheid. His activism brought him to the attention of South Africa's secret police - he was questioned and left with little option but to leave the country. He came to Britain and continued his studies here. He pursued an academic career - he was made the 1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry at Cambridge University in 1988, a post he still holds, and has recently been confirmed for a second term as the Government's chief scientist.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Don't Know Why by Norah Jones
Book: Wild Reckoning, An Anthology Provoked by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring by John Burnside
Luxury: Bunch of canvases with oils and brushes

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 27 May 2005 09:00
成人论坛 Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

Imelda Staunton

Next

Satish Kumar

See all episodes from Desert Island Discs

Music Played

  • Miriam Makeba

    Hapo Zamani

    • Welela.
    • Philips.

  • Paul Simon

    Homeless

    Artist: Ladysmith Black Mambazo

    • Graceland.
    • Warner.

  • B茅la Bart贸k

    Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta - 2nd movement

    Orchestra: Chamber Orchestra of Europe Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt

    • Bartok: Orchestral Works.
    • RCA.

  • The Beatles

    Yesterday

    • The Beatles.1962-1966.
    • Apple.

  • Bob Dylan

    Just Like a Woman

    • Blonde on Blonde.
    • Columbia.

  • John Coltrane

    Resolution

    • A Love Supreme.
    • Impulse.

  • Tom Waits

    Table Top Joe

    • Alice.
    • Anti.

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Norah Jones

      Don't Know Why

      • Come Away with Me.
      • Parlophone.

  • Book Choice

    • Wild Reckoning, An Anthology Provoked by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring - John Burnside

  • Luxury Choice

    • Bunch of canvases with oils and brushes

Credits

Presenter Sue Lawley
Interviewed Guest David King

Broadcasts

  • Sun 22 May 2005 11:15
    成人论坛 Radio 4
  • Fri 27 May 2005 09:00
    成人论坛 Radio 4

Featured in...

The Desert Island Discs podcast

The Desert Island Discs podcast

Subscribe or download individual episodes.

Listen to over 2,000 programmes

Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.

Articles

Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.

Podcast