A deeply moving and inspiring episode of How Do We Manage? features Dr Stuart Farrimond in one of his final interviews before his death earlier this year.
Recorded with host Stephanie von Bismarck just months before he passed away peacefully in his sleep, the episode explores what it’s like to live with a life-limiting illness, what motivates people to keep going, and how best to support those with a diagnosis as well as their loved ones and carers.
The release has been made possible thanks to his wife, Grace, in a bid to continue his legacy.
Dr Farrimond was a doctor, scientist, broadcaster and best-selling author whose books, including The Science of Flavour, have sold over one million copies worldwide and been translated into 19 languages. A regular on BBC science programmes, his mission was to make science accessible to all.
In the interview, he recalls how an eating disorder in his mid-twenties led to an MRI scan, which revealed a brain tumour he lived with for nearly two decades.
Refusing to “accept his fate”, he overcame depression, transitioned into science communication, and found a career he described as making him “much happier” than before his diagnosis.
He shares practical advice for supporting people with health conditions, urging listeners to see them as individuals rather than their illness, and to check in on carers and families who may also be struggling.
“If little, old me can make the world a slightly better place in the time that I’m here, then that’s a good thing,” he says.
The episode of How Do We Manage? is available on all major podcast platforms from today, 12 August, with more about Dr Farrimond’s life at stuartfarrimond.com.