Great Lives

Pianist Kirill Gerstein chooses the conductor and composer Ferruccio Busoni. Matthew Parris presents.When Busoni died in Berlin in 1924, his pupil Kurt Weill said, "We did not lose a human being but a...

1 Mai 201927min

Matthew Parris meets the poet Ian McMillan to find out about the life of his literary hero Malcolm Lowry. Ian first discovered this 20th century writer's work as a young sixth former searching for lit...

23 Apr 201927min

Journalist Helen Lewis rehabilitates the reputation of the ‘Black Queen’ of France, Catherine de Medici. Helen and presenter Matthew Parris are joined by Dr Estelle Paranque, history lecturer at the N...

18 Apr 201927min

She's the most influential woman that English history forgot, says Tom Holland - Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, daughter of Alfred the Great. Living and ruling at a time when the Anglo-Saxons were...

16 Apr 201931min

Comedian and author Shappi Khorsandi has been desperate to tell the story of Emma, Lady Hamilton as she’s quite simply one of her greatest fans. Everyone knows Emma Hamilton as simply the seducer of A...

2 Apr 201928min

Matt Lucas champions Freddie Mercury of the band, Queen. To what extent can a troubled childhood contribute to an adult's need to perform? Farrokh Bulsara was born in Zanzibar, sent to school in India...

22 Jan 201930min

The arrival of Lotus shook up motor sport in 1960s and 70s. In Formula One, Colin Chapman made his cars lighter and quicker than anyone else, often challenging the rules. But not everything he desig...

15 Jan 201927min

Matthew Parris meets Suzanne O'Sullivan to discuss her medical and literary hero, Oliver Sacks. She first came across his work on a beach in Thailand, reading his famous collection of case studies, T...

8 Jan 201927min