Category: Radio
4; World Service
Date: 10.06.2005
Printable version
Senator John McCain is to give the
Alistair Cooke Memorial Lecture
on Monday 4 July.
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The lecture will be broadcast live on 91Èȱ¬ Radio 4 at
8.00pm on 4 July, and on 91Èȱ¬ World Service at 10.30pm (BST) on 4
July and 11.30am (BST) on 5 July.
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The lecture, which is mounted by Radio 4 and the World
Service, is a tribute to the much-loved broadcaster who died last year.
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Alistair Cooke is best known as the voice of Letter
From America, his weekly radio dispatch, which for more than
40 years explained America and Americans to the wider world.
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The lecture is a joint initiative between the 91Èȱ¬ and
friends and colleagues of Alistair Cooke, led by Richard Price, the
former Chairman of Bafta and Fellow of the Royal Television Society.
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John McCain was once described by Alistair Cooke as
a "hero with a gift for believable indignation".
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The title of his lecture is An American Patriot Today,
in which he maintains that "to be an American patriot is to support
a moral mission at home and abroad."
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Maria Balinska, the editor of the broadcast, said:
"The goal of the Alistair Cooke Memorial Lecture is both to commemorate
Alistair Cooke and to provide an opportunity to a leading American public
figure to do what Alistair did so well: explain America to the rest
of the world.
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"Senator John McCain is one of the most popular
politicians in America today. Known for his straight talking, Senator
McCain's exploration of what it means to be an American patriot today
on July 4, the country's Independence Day and the eve of the G8 summit,
could not be of greater relevance for our listeners."
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Maria Balinska was also the editor of Letter From America
and worked with Alistair Cooke for many years.
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John McCain said: "I'll be honoured to deliver the Alistair
Cooke Memorial Lecture. He not only gave us a sense of our relationship
with the British, but also a good dose of British culture and history.
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"In this lecture I'll be talking about the unique
relationship that exists between the United States and the British,
and the challenges that lie ahead."
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The lecture is to be given at the English Speaking Union,
Dartmouth House, London, and will be chaired by Nick Clarke,
Alistair Cooke's biographer and the presenter of Radio 4's The World
At One.
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Senator McCain has enjoyed an illustrious career both
in and out of politics.
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The son and grandson of admirals, he served in the Vietnam
War. In 1967 he was shot down and he was held as a prisoner-of-war in
Hanoi for five-and-a-half years.
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He was finally released from captivity in 1973, having
survived the injuries he received when he was shot down; the beatings
from an angry crowd and his captors; a year of torture; and two years
of solitary confinement.
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He was decorated many times. Years later he forgave
his captors for his treatment.
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He was elected to Congress in 1982, representing Arizona,
and became a Senator for that state in 1986.
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He was a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination
in 2000.
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He is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
and serves on the Armed Forces, Commerce, Science and Transportation
committees.
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Though critical of some aspects of President Bush's
administration, he is a firm supporter of the war in Iraq.
