Michael's last interview, How to Live a Good Life, is with psychologist Paul Bloom and was recorded in the BBC tent at the Hay Festival on 25 May, 2024. Paul is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Yale and Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and he shares with Michael his top five tips for living a good life. And we hear Michael at his best - full of warmth, insight and enjoying his time with the audience and sharing some of his reflections on his life, career and the importance of family. Presenter: Michael Mosley with Chris Van Tulleken Producer: Nija Dalal-Small Series Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald Production Manager: Maria Simons Executive Producers: Helen Thomas and Sasha Feachem Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Studio Engineer: Richard Ward
BBC sounds music radio podcasts.
Hello, I'm Chris van Telikan, and what you're about to hear was recorded just a few minutes before I met up with Michael at the Hay festival.
And what I didn't know was that it would be the last time I ever saw him, because two weeks later, he died on holiday with his wife in Greece.
As you're listening to Michael, I want you to reflect on his style.
Dryly witty, modest, humble, this style disguises that he is one of the most important broadcasters of recent decades.
Before Michael doctors in white coats told you how to live from their ivory towers, Michael's genius was to make himself the patient and the guinea pig in a way that's utterly relatable.
We'll never forget him infecting himself with a tape worm or having a camera put up his back passage, all for our benefit.
And he is the reason that so many programs on radio and television have adopted this style.
He's the reason that I've adopted this style off camera and off Mike.
He was the same humble, kind and above all, generous.
And that generosity set the tone in the BBC science unit in a way that meant everyone who worked there became friends and collaborators rather than competitors.
For me, these friendships have endured for well over a decade.
Michael's death has moved so many of us.
So really, I'm speaking for lots of television and audio presenters and producers.
His legacy is going to live on in our memories every time we brush our teeth.
Standing on one leg, we fast a little longer between meals.
We build up our strength with squats or do any one of the other hundreds of tricks that he taught us to.
Ill miss him as a friend and as a mentor, but perhaps most of all, ill miss him as a broadcaster.
So I hope you enjoy this.
His final interview.