Great Lives Podcast
Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.
Episodes to download
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The surgeon Henry Marsh picks 'the saviour of mothers' Dr Semmelweis
Mon 2 Sep 2024
Biography show where famous guests pick someone from history they admire or love.
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The Roman Emperor Nero
Mon 26 Aug 2024
Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.
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Film director Julien Temple on Elizabethan bad boy Christopher Marlowe
Mon 19 Aug 2024
Biographical show in which famous guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.
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Zing Tsjeng on Swedish painter Hilma af Klint
Mon 12 Aug 2024
Biography series in which famous guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.
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Miriam Margolyes on Charles Dickens
Mon 5 Aug 2024
The great Miriam Margolyes chooses her hero, Charles Dickens
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Mary Portas on Anita Roddick
Mon 27 May 2024
Mary Portas chooses the founder of The Body Shop Dame Anita Roddick as her Great Life.
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Lady Rachel MacRobert, chosen by Hayaatun Sillem
Mon 13 May 2024
Dr Hayaatun Sillem chooses the extraordinary life of Lady Rachel MacRobert.
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James Dyson on Frank Whittle
Mon 29 Apr 2024
James Dyson chooses the inventor of the jet engine, Frank Whittle.
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Katherine Rundell on E Nesbit
Mon 22 Apr 2024
Writer Katherine Rundell nominates fellow children's author E Nesbit.
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Sir Bruce Forsyth
Mon 8 Apr 2024
Sir Bruce Forsyth, nominated by the political writer and broadcaster Steve Richards
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Harry Enfield on Gerard Hoffnung
Mon 1 Apr 2024
Comedian Harry Enfield chooses the cartoonist, musician and raconteur Gerard Hoffnung.
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Alan Freeman picked by Simon Mayo
Tue 23 Jan 2024
Simon Mayo picks his broadcasting hero, Pick of the Pops's Alan 'Fluff' Freeman.
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Actor Niamh Cusack on the life of poet Mary Oliver
Tue 16 Jan 2024
Actor Niamh Cusack chooses the American poet Mary Oliver.
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Mr Motivator picks Harry Belafonte
Tue 9 Jan 2024
Mr Motivator chooses the King of Calypso, whose hits include Day-O and Jump in the Line.
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Jimmy Wales on Thomas Jefferson
Tue 2 Jan 2024
The founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, picks the third president of the United States.
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Eartha Kitt proposed by Faye Tozer
Boxing Day 2023
Faye Tozer from Steps nominates a singer and dancer with a trademark growl.
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John Gray on JG Ballard
Tue 19 Dec 2023
Philosopher John Gray chooses the iconic futuristic writer JG Ballard.
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Iszi Lawrence on Diana Barnato Walker
Tue 12 Dec 2023
Iszi Lawrence chooses record-breaking aviator Diana Barnato Walker.
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Mohammad Mossadegh, PM of Iran ousted in a coup
Tue 5 Dec 2023
Mohammad Mossadegh was toppled in a coup in Iran in 1953.
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Chi-chi Nwanoku on Jessye Norman
Tue 19 Sep 2023
Chi-chi Nwanoku picks the American singer Jessye Norman who became a global star of opera.
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Lady Eve Balfour
Tue 12 Sep 2023
Lady Eve Balfour was a pioneering organic farmer and founder of the Soil Association.
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Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore and London Zoo
Tue 8 Aug 2023
The head of ZSL, Matthew Gould, picks the founder of London Zoo
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Susie Dent on Thomas Mann
Tue 1 Aug 2023
Susie Dent chooses the German writer Thomas Mann, who wrote Death in Venice.
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Great Rock and Roll Lives
Stories of inspiration from great musicians from Bowie to Billie Holliday
Download this programme
Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.
