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Primary sourceSpeech27 December 1938

Sigmund Freud's Voice (BBC Broadcast Recording, 1938)

Sigmund Freud · 27 December 1938

The only known recording of Freud's own voice, made in London in December 1938, summarising his career and the resistance he faced.

The only surviving recording of Freud's own voice, made shortly before his death, recounting his life's work.

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Sigmund Freud, home recording broadcast by the BBC as part of "Celebrities on Radio," 27 December 1938.

About this source

What it is

This audio recording captures Sigmund Freud speaking in English, made as a home recording in December 1938 and later broadcast by the BBC as part of a programme on celebrities. Freud was gravely ill with throat cancer at the time, which affected his speech.

Why it matters

This is the only known recording of Freud's voice. In it he briefly summarises his career: starting as a neurologist, discovering ideas about the unconscious, founding psychoanalysis, and facing strong resistance before gaining followers and building the International Psycho-Analytic Association. He died less than a year after making it, having fled Vienna for London after Nazi persecution.

Look closer

  • Why might Freud have chosen to summarise his life's work in this short recording?
  • How does hearing someone's actual voice change how we understand them, compared to reading their writing?
  • What does his mention of 'resistance' tell us about how his ideas were received?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sigmund Freud on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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