The BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs invites guests to choose eight pieces of music which they would take with them to a hypothetical desert island. They are also invited to select a book of their choosing (in addition to the Bible or a comparable religious text for the guest, and the complete works of William Shakespeare), and one luxury item (provided it is inanimate and would not help them escape the island). The following is a list of episodes that have been broadcast since 2021, detailing the guest on each episode, their chosen book, and their luxury item.
2021 DateCastawayBookLuxuryThe Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell: An Age Like This, 1920–40Acoustic guitarThe Irish Times Book of Favourite Irish Poems by Colm TóibínA guitarAn atlasA telescopeThe Complete Works of Oscar WildeScuba diving gearA History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregorHot sauceComplete Works of PlatoLip balmLetters from a Young Father by Edoardo PontiA pizza ovenA book by Dick FrancisA piano and sheet musicMagnum Streetwise: The Ultimate Collection of Street PhotographyA wind up radioThe collected works of Jane AustenA supply of wineSelected Stories by Alice MunroNational Museum of Ireland - ArchaeologyA Teach Yourself Russian bookA Viennese caféThe Cost of Living by Deborah LevyHer children's art workPhilosophical Explanations by Robert NozickA solar powered particle colliderThe Sword of Honour Trilogy by Evelyn WaughA Chinese BroadswordWho Moved My Cheese? by Spencer JohnsonQuality Street chocolatesInspector Morse Mystery Series Collection by Colin DexterA solar-powered iPadEncyclopaedia BritannicaA Swiss Army knifeThe poetry of Robert BurnsA subscription to The Guardian newspaperReturn to My Native Land by Aimé CésaireAn endless supply of Ghanaian chocolateReynard the Fox by Anne Louise AveryA painting kit Oscar Wilde: Essays and Letters, Plays and Poems, StoriesA guitar The Wonders of Life by Professor Brian CoxA photo albumCollected works of Gerard Manley HopkinsA chilli plantTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeA guitarLong Walk to Freedom by Nelson MandelaA footballA Desert Island survival manualA solar-powered computer with sudoku puzzles and a writing applicationThe Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue TownsendNutsThe Wormwood Trilogy by Tade ThompsonA solar-powered puzzle generator, designed by TomThe Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela CarterA grand piano with a tuning kitA History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregorA sketch book and pencilThe Collected Dialogues of PlatoBinocularsThe Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)His guitarThe Collected Works of Victor HugoHer own shedThe Boardman Tasker Omnibus by Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker A charpoi (traditional Indian rope bed)The Centenary Book of Sark: a history and description of the artist William A Toplis by Chris Andrews, Fiona Kelly and Amy McKee His own pillowThe Book of the New Sun by Gene WolfeA Victorian accounts ledger, a fountain pen and an unlimited supply of inkThe Karla Trilogy by John le CarréLuxury beddingMiller Plays: 1 by Arthur MillerTV with Channel 4 archive onlyUlysses by James JoyceWriting materialsHercule Poirot: the Complete Short Stories by Agatha ChristieA pad of paper, a pen and dice
2022 DateCastawayBookLuxuryMoonshine for Beginners and Experts by Damian BrownBird seedThe Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C. G. Jung) A silk sheetA Desert Island survival manualSunblockA Persian language bookEssential oilsUltimate Survival Handbook by Bear GryllsAn unlimited supply of printed Killer SudokuThe Sixth Sense of Animals by Maurice BurtonA cutlassThe Golden Apples by Eudora Welty A supply of pet foodThe Complete Works of Charles Dickens His adapted Segway, with a built-in espresso machineWill by Will SmithA photo of her and her GrandmaThe Earliest English Poems, translated by Michael AlexanderA basket containing photos of homing pigeonsDesert Gardening for Beginners: How to grow vegetables, flowers, and herbs in an Arid Climate by Cathy Cromell, Linda A. Guy, Lucy K. BradleyMarijuana seedsThe Second Sex by Simone De BeauvoirA basket weaving needleAlice in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollCrystallised gingerThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasA set of golf clubs and ballsThe Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne CollinsA diary and penThe Sandman by Neil GaimanA disco dancefloorA Magnum photography bookLegal medical marijuanaHistory by Elsa MoranteA painting set with edible paintsBrewer's Dictionary of Phrase and FableA photograph albumUlysses by James JoyceA Spanish guitarThe Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi KaurA self-inflating mattressAndrew RamroopInfinite Jest by David Foster WallaceA tenor steel pan drumThe Complete Novels of Jane AustenAn asthma inhalerThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry A cashmere blanketThe Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien A chef's knifeThe Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber & David Wengrow A pianoAll In by Billie Jean King New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wineThe Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X A reclining massage chairThe Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Bryan Mealer and William KamkwambaPen and paperThe Edge: The Guide to Fulfilling Dreams, Maximizing Success and Enjoying a Lifetime of Achievement by Howard E. FergusonA self-propelled treadmillOne Moonlit Night by Caradog PrichardA solar-powered epilatorThe Red Book by Carl JungTarot cardsA collection of works by Robert HarrisA church organ and sheet musicAlice in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollA pianoThe Oxford Book of Twentieth-century English VerseA mobility power chairThe Old Man and the Sea by Ernest HemingwayA fishing rod and rocking chairWar and Peace by Leo TolstoyA silk eye maskCaste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel WilkersonA pair of embroidered slippersHope in the Dark by Rebecca SolnitTimeThe Grapes of Wrath by John SteinbeckH-8 Bolex cameraThe Most of Nora Ephron by Nora EphronA cinema and film archive
2023 DateCastawayBookLuxuryRobinson Crusoe by Daniel DefoeA cast iron cooking potEvery Ruddy Word by Alan PartridgeA pianoUlysses by James JoyceDark chocolateWorld Atlas of the Oceans by Dave Monahan A mask and snorkelA Botanical EncyclopediaA bed with linen, duvet and pillowsA German dictionaryPencils and paperThe Complete Novels of Jane AustenA celloCharlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald DahlChampagneCultural Amnesia by Clive JamesTop hat and tailsLittle Women by Louisa May AlcottA photo albumThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExupéryA pair of ruby slippersThe Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard FeynmanAstrophotography equipmentPoetry in the Making by Ted HughesA fountain pen, ink and paperThe Wasp Factory by Iain BanksA coffee makerThe Oxford Textbook of MedicineA projector and photosRunning with the Kenyans by Adharanand FinnA painting setThe Complete Novels of George OrwellA manual typewriterAs I Lay Dying by William FaulknerA solar powered television, playing tennis matchesYork Notes for the Complete Works of ShakespeareA diary and penFour Quartets by T.S. EliotA jukeboxWestward Ha! by S.J. PerelmanArt suppliesA scrapbookA cutlassThe Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue TownsendA notebook and pensFootball in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo GaleanoA razor bladeThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasDiving fins and a maskA collection of Brodie detective novels by Kate AtkinsonA solar powered fridge filled with Italian ice cream and two lipsticksWaiting for Godot by Samuel BeckettA tab of acidEquine Sports Medicine and Surgery by Andris J. Kaneps, Kenneth William Hinchcliff, and Raymond J. Geor A camper vanThe Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel SchefflerA hat and skincare setGreg JacksonThe Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operation by Frank O'BrienA pinball machineLove in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García MárquezTarot cardsGreen Woodwork: Working with Wood the Natural Way by Mike AbbottA complete set of woodworking toolsThe Works of George EliotMarmite on toastThe Complete Far Side by Gary LarsonTypewriterThe 1962 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' AlmanackPear dropsA Fine Balance by Rohinton MistryChilli saucePale Blue Dot by Carl SaganLegoIn Search of the Miraculous by Peter D. OuspenskyA cashmere blanketUnleash the Power Within by Tony RobbinsCotton knickersThe Complete Poems: Emily DickinsonA writing setSister Wendy’s 100 Best-loved Paintings by Wendy BeckettThe Desert Island Discs archive
2024 DateCastawayBookLuxuryThe Island at the Center of the World by Russell ShortoA sleeping bagThe Book of KingsPhoto albumsThe Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard FeynmanA cello and stringsWhere The Wild Things Are by Maurice SendakA golf club and ballsThe Collective Works of Langston HughesNail scissorsSamuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic WorksAn acoustic guitar and stringsThe Vivisector by Patrick WhiteA seismometerJosef Koudelka: Gypsies A lemon treeThe Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, its Regions and their Peoples by David GilmourA solar powered carA Brief History of Time by Stephen HawkingA keg of Single Malt Scotch WhiskyJenny SealeyThe Complete Works of Armistead MaupinA photography kitMiddlemarch by George EliotA kayakA Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensA fermenting setTBC: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck/The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue TownsendSausagesThe Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve PetersA snorkel and maskThe Waste Land by T. S. EliotA cinema screen showing The Devil Wears PradaCharlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald DahlA bath tub and bath saltsThe QuranA photo frameThe Metropolitan Museum of Art catalogueHot pepper sauceA Bear Grylls survival bookA punchbagChildren's Encyclopedia Volume Set by Arthur MeeA cooking potThe Collected Works of Alice MunroA pianoA collection of Bach sheet musicWigmore HallAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyA piano and sheet musicThe Flowers of Crete by John Fielding & Nicholas TurlandAn ever-cleaning linen sheet bed with a hot (and cold) water bottleThe Blue Flower by Penelope FitzgeraldA guitarThe Greek Myths by Robert GravesA solar powered laptopWisden Cricketers' AlmanackA pianoThe Alchemist by Paulo CoelhoA drum kitThe Saracen Blade by Frank YerbyA eyelash curlerThe Chimp Paradox by Dr Steve PetersCoffeeThe Collected Works of Jorge Luis BorgesA cashmere blanket
2025