Michael Howard on Elizabeth I
Matthew Parris meets the former leader of the Conservative Party Michael Howard to discuss the life of Elizabeth I of England. They're joined by Professor Paulina Kewes of Jesus College Oxford. Pr...
19 Aug 201527min
Vicky Pryce on Melina Mercouri
Matthew Parris's guest is Vicky Pryce, the Greek born economist, who attracted media headlines on her conviction over speeding points incurred by her former husband, Chris Huhne. Vicky has chosen...
11 Aug 201527min
Ian McKellen on Edmund Hillary
On May 29 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest. Both men immediately became famous worldwide. Actor Sir Ian McKellen, then a young teenager in Burnley, was clearly str...
4 Aug 201527min
Val McDermid on PD James
Val McDermid thinks crime writing is most definitely a suitable job for a woman. She believes women are good at observing the minutiae of life and incorporating them into clue development. Despite wri...
2 Juni 201527min
David Blunkett on Louis Braille
Matthew Parris hears why David Blunkett has chosen Louis Braille, the 18th century French boy who blinded himself in his father's workshop, as his great life - with the help of guest expert the RNIB's...
28 Maj 201527min
US Ambassador Matthew Barzun on JG Winant
Matthew Parris meets the American Ambassador Matthew Barzun whose choice of great life is his wartime predecessor, John Gil Winant - the man widely held to have helped seal the special relationship be...
19 Maj 201525min
Antonia Quirke on Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando - greatest actor of the 20th century? Film critic Antonia Quirke definitely thinks he is. But the star of the Godfather, On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire divides opinion in...
12 Maj 201527min
Wendy Cope on John Clare
"John Clare, I cried last night for you" wrote Wendy Cope in a poem dedicated to the earlier poet, who overcame monumental setbacks such as a poverty-stricken upbringing and a long struggle with menta...
5 Maj 201527min
