Jonathan Dimbleby on Harry Hopkins
Great Lives
BBC
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2021
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On May 10 1940, the Germans invaded the Low Countries, Winston Churchill became prime minister, and Harry Hopkins moved in to the White House. This remarkable man was President Roosevelt's closest confidante until the end of the war. A principal architect of the New Deal, he was the president's first envoy to meet Churchill and was sent off to meet Stalin too. But what also impresses his nominator, Jonathan Dimbleby, is his courage - Harry Hopkins had stomach cancer and died in 1946. Features biographer David Roll, author of The Hopkins Touch, plus impressive archive of Hopkins on the BBC. Presented by Matthew Parris Produced in Bristol by Miles Warde
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself. |
| 0:03.7 | My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts. |
| 0:08.4 | I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced |
| 0:12.2 | pundits and the biggest sport stars. |
| 0:14.3 | Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players' |
| 0:18.5 | mouths. |
| 0:19.5 | But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport world. |
| 0:25.0 | What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to |
| 0:28.8 | dedicated sports fans across the UK. |
| 0:31.2 | So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more. |
| 0:41.2 | The date Friday May the 10th, 1940, the day Germany invaded the low countries and Winston Churchill |
| 0:48.8 | became Prime Minister. The phony war was over and Neville Chamberlain had just resigned. |
| 0:55.6 | In America at the White House, the conversation focused on events abroad. |
| 1:00.8 | The president was Franklin D. Roosevelt. |
| 1:04.2 | Dining with him that night, Harry Hopkins, the subject of today's great lives. |
| 1:10.4 | Harry Hopkins is not a famous name, but in common with so many off-stage heroes, |
| 1:16.6 | he was absolutely central to much of what happened next. |
| 1:20.9 | He stayed on in the White House with Roosevelt for most of the next three and a half years |
| 1:26.1 | and possibly borrowed a pair of presidential pyjamas that first night. |
| 1:31.6 | Nominating Harry Hopkins is a famous name in British broadcasting |
| 1:36.1 | and the author of three books on World War Two, Jonathan Dimbleby. |
| 1:40.8 | Jonathan, tell us who was this man? |
... |
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