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Emma O'Reilly, Joshua Sofaer, Ruary Mackenzie Dodds, Danny Braverman

Libby Purves meets Emma O'Reilly, the woman who blew the whistle on Lance Armstrong; performer Danny Braverman and dragonfly expert Ruary Mackenzie Dodds.

Libby Purves meets Emma O'Reilly, the woman who blew the whistle on Lance Armstrong; artist Joshua Sofaer; writer and performer Danny Braverman and dragonfly expert Ruary Mackenzie Dodds.

Artist Joshua Sofaer is the man behind The Rubbish Collection, an exhibition at the Science Museum. Part of the museum's Climate Changing programme - a series of events and exhibitions that support its Atmosphere gallery - the exhibition takes a month's worth of the museum's rubbish and looks at the value and volume of what's discarded. The Rubbish Collection is at the Science Museum.

Emma O'Reilly worked as a soigneur for the US Postal professional cycling team from the mid-1990s. Confronted by a doping culture she despised, she resigned in 2000 and began to speak out about what was happening in the sport. After breaking cycling's code of silence, she was shunned by the sport and endured a decade of personal attacks, broken relationships and the threat of bankruptcy. Her book, The Race to Truth - Blowing the whistle on Lance Armstrong and cycling's doping culture - is published by Bantam Press.

Writer and performer Danny Braverman inherited a shoebox stuffed with thousands of scraps of paper which provided a unique record of 20th century London and Jewish life. From the 1920s to the 1980s Danny's great uncle, Ab Solomons, drew comical and heartfelt pictures on his weekly wage packets before giving them to his wife, Celie. Danny's show, Wot? No Fish!!, invites the audience to discover the history and inner workings of the Solomons family. Wot? No Fish!! is at the Battersea Arts Centre.

Ruary Mackenzie Dodds is a writer and dragonfly expert. In 1985 a dragonfly landed on his shirt which became the catalyst for a lifelong obsession with protecting them. In his book, The Dragonfly Diaries, he shares his fascination for these striking creatures and the ups and downs of establishing Britain's first public dragonfly sanctuary. The Dragonfly Diaries is published by Saraband.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Available now

43 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Libby Purves
Interviewed Guest Emma O'Reilly
Interviewed Guest Joshua Sofaer
Interviewed Guest Ruary Mackenzie Dodds
Interviewed Guest Danny Braverman
Producer Paula McGinley

Broadcasts

  • Wed 2 Jul 2014 09:00
  • Wed 2 Jul 2014 21:30

Podcast