4 Extra Debut. Gerry Anderson chooses a circus performer who became a Hollywood legend, Burt Lancaster. With Humphrey Carpenter. From 2004. Show more
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Great Lives
David Blunkett on Louis Braille
30 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Former Home Secretary, David Blunkett, who was born blind, tells Matthew Parris about the life of Louis Braille. From 2015. Show more
Great Lives
Episode 1: Dylan Thomas
30 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Welsh poet Owen Sheers nominates Dylan Thomas. With Matthew Parris and Damian Walford-Davies. From 2012. Show more
Great Lives
Rick Stein on Jim Morrison
27 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
4 Extra Debut. Chef Rick Stein chooses the lead singer of The Doors, Jim Morrison. With Matthew Parris and Paul Gambaccini. From 2020. Show more
Great Lives
Mohammad Mossadegh, PM of Iran ousted in a coup
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Walter Murch picks Mohammad Mossadegh, prime minister of Iran. Murch became fascinated by his life while working on the film Jarhead. Show more
Great Lives
Iain Lee on Andy Kaufman
26 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Broadcaster Iain Lee chooses performance artist, wrestler and star of TV’s Taxi, Andy Kaufman. With Matthew Parris. From 2017. Show more
Great Lives
Matthew Flinders
30 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Businessman Sir Stuart Rose chooses cartographer Matthew Flinders who mapped Australia. With Matthew Parris. From 2010. Show more
Great Lives
Marvin Gaye
30 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 ExtraLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Innovative soul singer Marvin Gaye is the choice of historian and broadcaster Tim Marlow. With Humphrey Carpenter. From 2004. Show more
Great Lives
Comedian Chris McCausland on Kurt Cobain
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
4 Extra Debut. Comedian, actor and writer Chris McCausland chooses Nirvana's lead singer, Kurt Cobain. With Matthew Parris. From 2023. Show more
Great Lives
Harry Enfield on Gerard Hoffnung
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Gerard Hoffnung might have been best-known as a cartoonist, but Harry Enfield tells Matthew Parris it's Hoffnung's comic timing and delivery that impressed him most. Show more
Great Lives
Bernard Manning nominates Mother Teresa
30 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Comedian Bernard Manning chooses Mother Theresa of Calcutta. With Humphrey Carpenter. From 2002. Show more
Great Lives
Len Goodman on Lionel Bart
30 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Dancer Len Goodman chooses composer Lionel Bart, the creator of the musical Oliver! With Matthew Parris. From 2017. Show more
Great Lives
Sara Pascoe on Virginia Woolf
30 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Comedian Sara Pascoe chooses the author of ‘Mrs Dalloway’, Virginia Woolf. With Matthew Parris. From 2016. Show more
Great Lives
Marcus du Sautoy on Jorge Luis Borges
30 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Mathematician Marcus de Sautoy chooses the blind Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges. With Matthew Parris. From 2014. Show more
Great Lives
Katherine Rundell on E Nesbit
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Writer Katherine Rundell chooses fellow children's author E Nesbit. With Matthew Parris. Show more
Great Lives
Mae West
30 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Available for over a year
Writer Kathy Lette chooses Hollywood's 'queen of the quip', Mae West. With Francine Stock and Simon Louvish. From 2005. Show more
Great Lives
Sir Bruce Forsyth
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Sir Bruce Forsyth, the TV presenter, singer, dancer and all-round entertainer, is nominated by political writer and broadcaster Steve Richards Show more
Great Lives
Antoni Gaudi
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Antoni Gaudi, the architect whose work came to define Barcelona, is nominated by the former pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann. Show more
Great Lives
Queen Emma
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Emma of Normandy is the link between the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans who conquered England in 1066. Alice Roberts is joined by Nina Ramirez to find out more about her amazing life Show more
Great Lives
Harriet Harman on Maria Callas
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Maria Callas was known to her fans as La Divina (the Divine One), and Harriet Harman tells Matthew Parris why she fully deserved that title. Show more