麻豆社

Samantha Roddick has an imagined conversation with her late mother, businesswoman Anita Roddick, and realises that the founder of The Body Shop had even more influence on her than she thought.

The conversation covers Anita Roddick's fear of death that spurred her on in life, her outrage at injustice, her vision that big business "should fly the flag of social change", her desire for a belief system that goes beyond materialism and, poignantly, her hopes for her funeral - which Samantha assures her were met in full.

For both mother and daughter there is an enduring faith that goodness will prevail and future generations will find ethical ways to live and do business, to the benefit of the earth, and for us all.

In 1991, Natalie Cole sang a duet with her long dead father, Nat King Cole. The result was Unforgettable. This is the radio equivalent. In each edition of the series, a different guest is invited to interact with someone, now dead, with whom they have or have wanted to have a connection. The guest has no advance knowledge of the excerpts, and the conversation can take unexpected turns, occasionally leading to some emotionally charged exchanges, as living voices engage with those preserved in the archive.

Other pairings in the series include Victoria Wood in conversation with TV director Geoff Posner who directed her in classic comedies such as Dinner Ladies, psychiatrist RD Laing with his son Adrian Laing, Doris Lessing with her current biographer Patrick French, and Professor Stuart Hall with filmmaker and artist Isaac Julien.

Assistant Producer: Philippa Geering
Producer: Adam Fowler
An Overtone production for 麻豆社 Radio 4.