Last Rites | Podcast on RSS.com

Last Rites

by Georgia Heneage and Sam C. Wells

Season 1

The Afghan Cosmonaut

In August 1988, as Soviet troops were withdrawing from Afghanistan after nearly a decade of war, Abdul Ahad Momand became the first Afghan to travel into space. An air-force pilot chosen for the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos programme, Momand spent nine days aboard the Mir space station, conducting experiments, photographing Afghanistan and broadcasting a message of peace to the country below. His mission was an extraordinary personal achievement—but it was also an act of Cold War theatre. Moscow presented the flight as proof of friendship and scientific cooperation between the Soviet and Afghan peoples, even as its military occupation was ending and the Soviet-backed government in Kabul faced an uncertain future. In this episode, we tell the remarkable story of the Afghan cosmonaut: from his childhood to his journey beyond Earth, his transformation into a symbol of national pride and Soviet propaganda, and the political collapse that eventually forced him into exile.

Britain's Rudest Pub Landlord

This week, we explore the life of Norman Balon, the self-proclaimed “rudest landlord in Britain”, who presided over the Coach and Horses in Soho for more than fifty years. Balon turned insults, arguments and the occasional eviction into an art form, becoming as much an attraction as the pub itself. Along the way, we ask why the British are so fond of formidable pub landlords and revisit the raffish Soho of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The Coach and Horses attracted everyone from Francis Bacon, Peter O’Toole and Jeffrey Bernard to journalists, writers, gamblers and criminals. Through Balon and his unruly clientele, we tell the story of a vanished Soho—and of the landlord who ruled one of its most celebrated drinking dens.

The Day the Queen Died

What was it like to be in the newsroom on the day the Queen died? This week we explore the life of Elizabeth II. Georgia interviews The Times Obituaries Editor Nigel Farndale, who takes us behind the scenes as news of the Queen’s death filtered through the newsroom, revealing what it was like to write the obituary of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

The Man Who Revolutionised Jazz

Where does creative genius come from? And what are the costs? This episode of Last Rites digs into one of the most culturally explosive moments of the 20th century - the jazz renaissance of the 1950s - through Sonny Rollins, the maestro who helped define it. Rollins had his demons: he was an obsessive who never rested on his laurels and disappeared from the spotlight again and again, who kicked a heroin habit and went to jail for armed robbery. He was also a genius who helped revolutionise jazz with contemporaries such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, known for his extraordinary improvisational technique and mastery of the saxophone.

The Woman Who Lived Among the Orangutans

This week we look at Birutė Galdikas, a primatologist who went into the rainforests of Borneo in 1971 to study one of the world’s least understood great apes: the orangutan. One of Louis Leakey’s famed “Trimates,” alongside Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Galdikas spent more than five decades documenting orangutan lives and fighting to protect their habitat against loggers and the exotic pet trade.

Bonus Episode: How I Wrote Matthew Perry's Obituary

This week we discuss how Georgia wrote Matthew Perry's obituary before he died, and what this can tell us about the craft of obituary writing more generally.

The Man Who Invented the News

Ted Turner turned a small Atlanta television station into a media empire, then changed the rhythm of the world by launching CNN in 1980: the first 24-hour cable news network. Brash, restless, and often outrageous, Turner helped invent the modern news cycle, with effects that continue to shape democratic politics today.

Britain's Most Prolific Art Forger

This week we take a look at Billy "the Brush" Mumford, an affable East Ender who fooled the art world to become one of Britain's most prolific art forgers.

Canada's Quintuplet Celebrity

In our first episode, we reflect on the life of Annette Dionne, the last surviving member of the famed Dionne quintuplets. Born in Canada during the Great Depression, the sisters became a global sensation almost overnight. But behind the headlines lay a story of exploitation, loss, and resilience.

Dr Death: The Man Who Displayed the Dead

This week on Last Rites, we explore the life of Gunther von Hagens: anatomist, inventor of plastination and creator of the hugely successful BODY WORLDS exhibitions. We trace his unusual journey from East Germany to international fame and consider the scientific, ethical and legal controversies surrounding his work. Along the way, we explore the wider history of anatomy and dissection—from Renaissance anatomy theatres and nineteenth-century body snatchers to Nazi medicine and modern debates about consent. Was von Hagens an innovative educator, a provocative showman—or both?