Richard Wagner
Evil Genius with Russell Kane
BBC
4.2 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 31 December 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Undoubtedly a pioneer in his field, Wagner made music that continues to inspire composers today. But his personal views make it difficult to separate the art from the artist. Unfortunately for our panellists - Peter Rethinasamy, Laura Smyth and Rachel Fairburn - they have no choice but to decide: evil or genius.
Additional material: Eve Delaney and Christina Riggs Researcher: Miriam O’Byrne Sound Editor: Kate Mac Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Executive Producer: Paul Smith
The producer was Sasha Bobak. Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Sounds.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.5 | It's like going into an ice path with your hands as the ice. |
| 0:10.8 | In 2025, we were here for the entertainment. |
| 0:13.8 | Ellis and John. |
| 0:14.9 | Have you not considered just coffee, which is what I do? |
| 0:17.6 | Sightracked with Annie and Nick. |
| 0:19.4 | Stevie Wonder, welcome. I'm pleasure. Loyal Carnar is with us. Want to hear all about Glastonbury. And Celebrity Traitors Uncloaked. Welcome to Uncloaked, Ireland. Oh, thanks for having me, Ed. The winner. I know, still hasn't sunk in. Get the best of 2025 with podcasts on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:40.6 | Warning, this episode contains strong language. |
| 0:45.2 | Genius! Genius! |
| 0:46.0 | Genius! |
| 0:48.1 | Welcome to Evil Genius. |
| 0:50.6 | The show that unbuttons history's velvet waistcoat finds an opium pipe and a hate pamphlet |
| 0:57.6 | in the pocket and thinks, God, this will be lively. Oh, and I'm Russell Kane. The sound you get |
| 1:02.5 | when a GCSE music student tries ketamine and philosophy on the same night. Let me tell you how it |
| 1:07.9 | works, listeners, just a quick reminder. I'll introduce a subject and my panel must by the end vote evil or genius. |
| 1:14.6 | Today's subject, a musical genius who revolutionised Western music. If you've seen the famous helicopter scene in Apocalypse Now or sung along to Here Comes the Bride, you've heard his music. But his standing as a creative colossus is solid by his anti-Semitism |
| 1:32.5 | and the ardor of his most famous fan, Adolf Hitler. |
| 1:36.8 | He's a Marmite figure of classical music, and he remains controversial to this day. |
| 1:42.4 | Woody Allen once said, I can't listen to that much, you know, I start to get the urge to |
| 1:47.2 | conquer Poland. |
| 1:48.4 | I'm talking, of course, if you haven't guessed, about Richard Wagner, the operatic overlord |
| 1:53.6 | whose music still echoes through concert halls, film scores and fascist nostalgia forums, |
... |
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