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Why Do We Need Diaries?

They keep our secrets safe and preserve our memories, but many have been hidden or destroyed. Why do we write diaries?

We trust them with our deepest secrets, and use them to preserve our memories. They’ve been hidden, destroyed, and read without permission. Mike Williams talks to people who write diaries, and the historians on a mission to "rescue" the diaries of normal people.

Produced by Hannah Moore

(Photo: A handwritten page from a diary. Credit: Mike Williams)

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12 minutes

Last on

Tue 10 Nov 2015 12:04GMT
BBC Radio 4

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Broadcasts

  • Fri 14 Aug 2015 18:32GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
  • Fri 14 Aug 2015 19:32GMT
    BBC World Service West and Central Africa & East and Southern Africa only
  • Fri 14 Aug 2015 23:32GMT
    BBC World Service
  • Sun 16 Aug 2015 21:32GMT
    BBC World Service
  • Mon 17 Aug 2015 02:32GMT
    BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East & Australasia only
  • Mon 17 Aug 2015 04:32GMT
    BBC World Service Online, South Asia, Americas and the Caribbean & UK DAB/Freeview only
  • Mon 17 Aug 2015 05:32GMT
    BBC World Service East Asia
  • Mon 17 Aug 2015 06:32GMT
    BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East
  • Mon 17 Aug 2015 12:32GMT
    BBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean & Australasia
  • Mon 17 Aug 2015 13:32GMT
    BBC World Service Australasia
  • Tue 10 Nov 2015 12:04GMT
    BBC Radio 4

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  • The Why Factor

    The extraordinary and hidden histories behind everyday objects and actions