Matthew Sweet

This week we’re all about soft power - between the Bangaranga-goings on of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the Polish underground press and the influence of international radio, there’s lots to pick from geopolitically. Gary O’Donoghue relives the unexpected call he received from the Oval Office, and we reflect on the life of the English soprano Dame Felicity Lott, who has died at the age of 79.

Presenter: Matthew Sweet
Producer: Anthony McKee
Editor: Steven Hobson
Production Coordinators: Finlay McMaster and Sylvie Conway

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.

Programmes featured in this episode include:

Radio 2 Loves Eurovision!: Eurovision Grand Final
Archive on 4: The Sound of Soft Power
Witness History: Poland’s underground newspaper
Desert Island Discs: Gary O'Donoghue
The History Podcast: Sixty Years of Hurt - England v Mavericks
Artworks: Mother: 100 years of Martha Graham Dance
Front Row, 18/05: David Benedict on Felicity Lott
This Cultural Life: Felicity Lott
In the Studio: Thomas Keneally: What’s next for the Schindler’s List author?
Sunday, 17/05: Professor Mary Fulbrook on the Holocaust
Gardeners' Question Time: Serge Hill Project
Through the Night, 24/05: Bulgarian Culture and Cyrillic Day