Jon Snow may have Alzheimer’s – but he’s still changing the world

‘This is a film about your career and who you are now,’ director Laura Warner tells a hazy Jon Snow in the back of a black cab.

So, who is Jon Snow now?

Five years after retiring from Channel 4 News, Snow lives with his wife, Dr Precious Lunga, a neuroscientist, and three years ago was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, one of the most feared conditions that can befall someone. Yet the steely newsreader remains remarkably hopeful.

He’s sharing his experience of living with the disease in his final documentary, A Last Big Story, signing off his 32-year career with one of the most peculiar investigations yet – into himself.

But what begins as a film about a man whose mind is in decline, his memory transparently fading, becomes something else entirely: an extraordinary story about a journalist who uncovers one of the biggest stories of his life with the odds firmly stacked against him.

The feature-length documentary airs on Channel 4 tonight and is, by no exaggeration, an astonishing watch; a multi-faceted triumph with strands of joy, heartbreak and hope all threading together to celebrate a one-of-a-kind broadcaster who has served his country and the world far beyond what is possible to recognise.

Who Jon Snow is now is perhaps even far more impressive than Warner may have realised.

It’s during a safari trip to Victoria Falls that a devastating story falls into Snow’s lap.

Over a coffee, he’s told about a mining disaster allegedly covered up by officials, which has leaked gallons upon gallons of toxic waste into the Kafue River.

The pollution subsequently feeds into the Zambezi River and has poisoned millions of fish, plants and animals, while affecting a community of at least 1,000 people living on contaminated land.

Snow is still responsive and alert enough to know this requires investigating, and still confident enough to believe he can do it. Instantly, it’s clear what Snow’s motivation as a journalist has been all along: a duty to protect the world that has been his home for 78 years.

Prior to this moment, the film has been frank about the stage of his condition. We’re invited into one of his appointments, where doctors assess how his Alzheimer’s is progressing and, as expected, it’s getting worse.

When asked to remember three words – bus, door and rose – he can’t name a single one, even with significant prompting. He doesn’t know the month or day either.

When asked by the doctor whether she’s thought about what the future holds, his wife is hesitant to answer.
At least for now, their priority appears to be that, together, they will challenge the stigma surrounding Alzheimer’s.

‘At the beginning, I wanted to hide it. There’s so much prejudice. Any sort of hint of mental decay and you’re sort of dead. There are moments when it pops up, but it’s not an all-day, every-day condition, and that’s what I cling onto.’

Jon also says: ‘I’ve witnessed a great deal. I hope I’ve learned something – but I’ve still got a huge amount to learn. We all have. There’s still more to do.’

Alzheimer’s has been in my life since I was nine or 10 years old. My great-aunt Nen moved into our home when she could no longer look after herself and became an additional member of the family until she needed more professional care. My nan is currently living with it too, and now fails to recognise much of her family.

That is the Alzheimer’s I know, and, without a cure, is likely what life will look like for Snow one day – but not today. Today, he can still achieve extraordinary things; the instincts of a journalist are still running through his veins.

He returns to Africa dressed in safari gear and one of his signature ties, alongside his friend and former colleague Ben de Pear, and with the help of an inspiring team of Zambian campaigners, Snow uncovers one of the worst mining and ecological disasters of modern times and sets off on a mission to secure justice for the forgotten victims.

He meets locals who share the scale of the disaster. Snow is guided around a field that has been dead for weeks, everything in it wilted and lifeless. He asks the right questions: How many people will be impacted by this? How many people have died? Only, he asks them over and over again.

The team attends a compensation meeting, where devastated victims are determined to be fairly compensated for their livelihoods being ripped apart by a preventable disaster. One man claims he was told he’d receive $15,000 over his lifetime, but that feels worthless when his entire neighbourhood has been destroyed.

Armed police shut the meeting down. Tensions swiftly mount to the point where it becomes too dangerous to stay, and Snow and the team are forced to flee.

He later speaks to a campaigner, Sarah, whose father was killed by mining activity when she was a little girl. She’s devoted her life to fighting the corruption and injustices of an industry that shattered her world before she was old enough to understand the weight of grief.

Talking to Snow becomes too much, and she walks away in tears. Still, Snow understands the importance of the interview. There may come a time when there is little dignity in Alzheimer’s, but Snow still possesses so much grace. His alertness, kindness and sincerity remain so powerful that he convinces her to return to filming with remarkable ease.

Eventually, it becomes clear that the story is too important to wait for the documentary’s release. It’s moving rapidly and needs to be broken long before the film reaches audiences. Snow agrees to leak it to the press and, almost instantly, it becomes global news, sparking outrage around the world.

After three years of living with Alzheimer’s, Snow is still one of the most important journalistic minds we have, helping uncover one of Africa’s worst environmental disasters in more than 30 years.

Last Big Story is filmmaking at its very best: when one journey unexpectedly leads to another and the original plan is thrown out of the window in favour of an adventure so remarkable it couldn’t have been written.

Snow is universally recognised as one of the defining journalists of a generation, yet it is the rare insight into his kindness, humility and humanity that proves most affecting. If this film becomes his legacy, it captures everything worth celebrating about a broadcaster who has given his life to journalism and to making the world a better place.

Last Big Story airs tonight on Channel 4 at 8pm and will be available to stream on All 4.

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