Contains strong language.
Evil Genius with Russell Kane
Florence Nightingale
July 9, 2025
32 minutes
Available for over a year
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Was Florence Nightingale a nursing pioneer, or a terror with a spreadsheet? Could the mother of modern nursing really have been a glorified doctor's receptionist from hell? Did her colonial attitudes towards race, and her perpetuation of the idea of 'women's jobs' hold us back as much as her healthcare revolution took us forward? Richard Herring, Ola Labib and Pierre Novellie join Russell Kane as they head to the frontline and find out.
Additional Material: Eve Delaney
Researcher: Miriam O’Byrne
Sound Editor: Kate Mac
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
The Producer was Gwyn Rhys Davies. Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Sounds.