BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.

Hello, Emily, how are you?

I'm so well, I'm back on my beanbag again.

Okay, now everyone is talking about that discussion you had on news night the other night there about touch which is just something I haven't thought of

I think coronavirus keeps throwing up all these sort of new elements lockdown keeps on throwing out all these new elements that you sort of new elements that you sort of

come to for the first time and they are so sort of quietly profound and one of the

questions we were asking is if you're isolating alone as

opposed to with your family, are you missing human touch? Are you missing that

sensory feel of just somebody in your arms or somebody touching your

your hand or anything that is really quite sort of visceral and we talked to Terry Waite who was a hostage tied to a radiator made to sleep on the

floor for five years in Beirut in the 80s and he had this extraordinary response which was when I asked if he found

touch hard to lose during those times he said at first one actually every time

somebody touched me it was normally a beating,

so I was quite relieved when they didn't touch me.

But then when he went to another prison and he was suffering really badly with his breathing.

He said it was another prisoner who in the dark without saying a word

just put his hand on top of Terry Waite's hand and the power that that did sort of physically and

mentally was extraordinary and we understand that touch has a real effect on the

immune system you know you think of it as being an

emotional response you think of it as psychological but it actually boosts your immunity as well and

we found that fascinating to delve into.

Well Emily, I'm going to ruin that very meaningful chat you just had with a terrible pun by saying

...