Understand – Seven Ages of Man, with Michael Rosen – 1. Michael Palin is in his 80s

Available for over a year

Michael Palin no longer feels like a “man” in his 80s. But what does this mean and does it bring a new freedom? In conversation with Michael Rosen – who recently turned 80 himself – Palin reflects on the disappearance of the competitive instincts that motivated him as a young star of Monty Python. And how in his later years he learned to embrace a very ‘unmanly’ world view. The two Michaels discuss how, as we age, the things that feel so important to many young men are put into stark perspective through grief. Just as he entered his 80s, Palin lost Helen, his wife of 60 years. Together they consider how to hold on to the sense of who we are in the face of such world-shattering blows. Presenter: Michael Rosen Producer: Rich Power Executive Producer: Dave Anderson Sound Mixer: Dan King Editor: Kirsten Lass Production Manager: Emily Duffy Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke A Loftus Media Production for BBC Radio 4

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