Jerry Springer

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010

BBC

Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 1 November 2009

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kirsty Young's castaway is the talk show host Jerry Springer. His life has been split between serving the public and outraging them. His first career was in politics where, as a life-long Democrat, one of his early jobs was working with Bobby Kennedy. Then he found global fame with his controversial TV programme, The Jerry Springer Show. He says that in politics and in his TV show, he is always on the side of the powerless and disenfranchised. It's a philosophy, he says, he learned from his parents. They were among the last Jews to escape from Berlin in August 1939 and their memories and fears of that time shaped the entire family.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler Book: Photo album of family & friends Alternative to Bible: Torah Luxury: A cheeseburger machine.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, it's Nicola Cochlin. Young people have been making history for years, but we don't often hear about them. My brand new series on BBC Sounds sets out to put this right. In history's youngest heroes, I'll be revealing the fascinating stories of 12 young people who've played a major role in history and who've helped shape our world. Like Audrey Hepburn, Nelson Mandela, Louis Braille and Lady Jane Grey,
0:24.7	History's youngest heroes with me, Nicola Cochlin.
0:27.8	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:30.6	Hello, I'm Krista Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive.
0:35.5	For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.
0:38.7	The program was originally broadcast in 2009.
1:02.3	Music My castaway this week is the talk show host Jerry Springer.
1:06.9	His career has been split between serving the public and outraging them.
1:09.8	He started out as a civil rights campaigner.
1:12.4	Then he worked for Bobby Kennedy, and after standing for office himself, ended up Mayor of Cincinnati. But it seems the inner showman was
1:17.9	always itching to get out. He was still in office when he stepped into a circus ring to fight a bear,
1:23.7	live on TV. Since then, of course, the Jerry Springer show has made him famous around the world.
1:29.7	A huge success, it's been shown in 50 countries, but it has countless critics.
1:34.9	People who say it's exploitative, showcases aggression and appeals to the lowest common denominator.
1:40.6	I'm hired to do a show about dysfunction, he says.
1:43.7	Our show is about either outrageous people or outrageous situations.
1:48.1	But what is the difference between you and the people on my show?
1:51.6	You dress better, you're richer, you had a better education.
1:55.3	In the genetic lottery, you had better parents.
1:58.3	It was, he says, luck.
2:00.6	It's fascinating, Jerry Springer, that your life should part into these two apparently quite separate strands.
2:07.4	Does it sit comfortably with you? Are you surprised at your own journey?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.