Lost Women of Science Conversations: Rosalind - The Opera
Podcast: Lost Women of SciencePublished On: Thu Nov 06 2025
Description: Composer Peter Hugh White and librettist Clare Heath join host Rosie Millard in front of a London audience to explore why the story of chemist and x-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin and the race to uncover the structure of DNA makes such a compelling subject for an opera.We hear excerpts that capture the contrasting personalities at the centre of this scientific drama — James Watson, the brash young researcher at the University of Cambridge; Francis Crick, his more measured collaborator; and Maurice Wilkins, an anxious biophysicist uneasy about being outshone by his brilliant colleague, Franklin.It’s a story of ambition, rivalry, and betrayal: Franklin’s departure from King’s College London and the subsequent publication of the double helix model by Watson and Crick, which was built on insights from her work — yet without giving her due recognition. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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