Great Lives

To his followers Lenny Bruce was a genius and a free speech hero. To his detractors he was labelled sick and dirty. Bruce shocked his audiences intentionally. In his uncompromisingly frank humour he t...

21 Apr 201627min

Nancy Dell'Olio champions Lucrezia Borgia, a Renaissance woman who was much maligned.Lucrezia Borgia was the Pope's daughter and, over the centuries, her name has been a byword for poison, incest and ...

21 Apr 201627min

Anthony Horowitz regards Alfred Hitchcock as a genius who changed the language of cinema and made some of the most memorable films of the 20th century.However, the film director is also seen as a trou...

7 Apr 201627min

Former director of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, tells Matthew Parris why she regards Abraham Lincoln as a great life. But will her hero stand up to intensive scrutiny and merit the description of hav...

26 Jan 201627min

Musician and performer Nitin Sawhney champions the life of Jeff Buckley who he regards as a genius singer, songwriter. The expert is Steve Abbott who was a friend of Buckley's and released his debut r...

20 Jan 201627min

Biographical series in which guests select someone who has inspired their lives.Comedian Susan Calman chooses the Scottish actress Molly Weir.Molly began her long career on BBC radio before moving int...

13 Jan 201627min

In this episode, you might not know the name of the Great Life but you have probably walked past his work. At London's Hyde Park Corner - the 'Royal Artillery Memorial' stands – a huge stone monument....

5 Jan 201627min

Matthew Parris's guest this week is the epidemiologst Precious Lunga, who nominates for Great Life status that of the Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Muta Maathai. In the course of her life, Pro...

4 Jan 201627min