Great Lives

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in 1928. She was a mother, writer, dancer, director, performer, friend of presidents, and author of seven volumes of memoir. The very first - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - returned to the top of the best-seller lists when she died in 2014. So why were people fascinated by her life? Nominating her is Bristol University's recently appointed professor of slavery, Olivette Otele. "I l love her, I really do." She's joined by Patricia Cumper who has adapted many of Maya Angelou's books for radio. The presenter is Matthew Parris. The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

Ursula le Guin was born in California in 1929. Her books - including A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness - have been described as masterpieces but she battled prejudice all her life from the literary elite. Choosing her because she loves both Ursula's books and who she was is the British musician Kate Stables. She's speaking to Matthew Parris from Paris. On the line from San Francisco is Arwen Curry - she knew the author and made the film The Worlds of Ursula K Le Guin with the strapline, A Wizard's Work is Never Done.The producers in Bristol are Toby Field and Miles Warde

"One of the best things a children's writer can do is to implant sign posts in childhood to things that are good, and to the small pleasures that will get you through life" Frank Cottrell-Boyce Tove Jansson was born in Helsinki in 1914. An artist, illustrator and writer she became best known as the creator of The Moomins, the little white trolls who lived in Moominvalley with other fantastical creatures such as the Hattifatteners, Mymbles and Whompers. Acclaimed screenwriter and children's author Frank Cottrell-Boyce has described Tove Jansson as his 'Guardian Angel' having first discovered Moominvalley one Saturday morning in his local library in Liverpool. He encountered Comets, Great Floods and a little Midsummer Madness all of which were met with the warmth and wisdom of Moomin-Mamma, the gentle observance of Snufkin and the inventiveness of Little My. Fantastical in their adventures but rooted in reality and humanity, Frank Cottrell-Boyce champions the creator of Mooninvalley who poured her fascinating life into her books. Drawing inspiration from childhood disagreements about the philosopher Immanuel Kant, creative ways to survive a war and a forbidden - but wonderful - love story that lasted a life time. Producer in Bristol is Nicola Humphries Presented by Matthew Parris Guest Expert Boel Westin Author of 'Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words'(Pre-recorded earlier this year)

Chef , writer and presenter Rick Stein chooses the lead singer of The Doors, Jim Morrison.As a 21 year old man travelling the world, a young Rick Stein discovered The Doors and became fascinated by the band's lead singer, Jim Morrison. Over the subsequent 50 years, the life and legend of one of rock and roll's brightest stars had a lasting impact on the restauranteur. Joining Matthew Parris and Rick Stein to uncover the mysteries of Jim's life is the broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, who found The Doors when he was a student radio disc jockey at university. With contributions from Frank Lisciandro, filmmaker and friend of Jim, and Kirsten Norrie, poet and singer. Producer: Camellia SinclairFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2020.

When Andi Oliver first read Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye' she felt as though someone climbed inside her head. Morrison's books saved the chef and broadcaster's life - both emotionally and cerebrally. The author, editor and college professor Toni Morrison chronicled the lives of African-Americans in novels such as 'Beloved', 'Sula' and 'Song of Solomon'. She once said that what drove her to write was "the silence of so many stories untold and unexamined". Born in Ohio, she was granddaughter to a slave, and her work often drew on the legacies of slavery, how it's carried down the generations. Awarded both the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize for Literature, her work was internationally acclaimed. Joining Matthew Parris and Andi Oliver is Morrison's close friend Fran Lebowitz, and Howard University professor Dana Williams.Producer: Eliza LomasFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2020.

"I am a German American, a pure one, dating back to when German Americans were still marrying each other." Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis in 1922, but the most important event in his life happened in Dresden in 1945. He was a POW and underground in a meat locker during the firebombing. When he emerged he found the city totally destroyed. It took him another two decades to work out how to write his book, Slaughterhouse-Five.Nominating Vonnegut is the comedian Josie Long, who says that finding a writer you love is like finding a friend. Because no expert was available for this recording, Kurt Vonnegut will be taking on this role himself. Kurt died in April 2007.The presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.

From Kansas City to New York, young Charlie Parker conquered the world of jazz.. He was famous during his life, and even more famous after he died aged 34. He's nominated here by former health minister, home secretary and chancellor of the exchequer, Kenneth Clarke. Together with Richard Williams and Val Wilmer, Ken recounts what made Bird great, and why he died so very young. "If you look at the street scenes of Harlem in 1940, it was a squalid place. Club life in New York was probably a smart escape." Ken ClarkeThe programme also includes clips by Dizzy Gillespie and Annie Ross. and music such as Koko and Now's the Time. The presenter is Matthew Parris, and the producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.

Bill Bailey has not just travelled in naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace's footsteps, he's crazy about him too. "I love him, I really do." Wallace is best known for what used to be known as the Wallace-Darwin theory of evolution. When he died in 1913, the New York Times called him the last of the 'giants belonging to that wonderful group of intellectuals ... whose daring investigations revolutionised and evolutionised the thought of the century." Born in 1823, Wallace was a collector, a writer, a keen conservationist, and Bill has been to Borneo to see Wallace's famous flying frog. With Sandy Knapp of the Natural History Museum, and presented by Matthew Parris. The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.

Janice Turner recently wrote a sweet, sensitive article about packing up the contents of her parent’s house. “The experience was almost unbearable,” she began. Among the items passed down from the attic, “my entire childhood,” were a heavy sledge, Twinkle and Jackie annuals, “and a heavy trunk of 60 Enid Blytons.”60 Enid Blytons - imagine that! Janice Turner aka @victoriapeckham and winner of press interviewer of the year, is nominating Enid Blyton in a programme filled scandal, racism and lovely archive. Blyton was rejected in 2019 from a commemorative coin because of the controversy that continues to swirl around her work .... which include The Famous Five, the Secret Seven, and 24 books about Noddy. The programme includes the biographer Nadia Cohen, the presenter Matthew Parris, and the producer Miles Warde.

What makes a brilliant politician? What should motivate them? Does having a faith help? Broadcaster and writer Jeremy Paxman chooses the seventh earl of Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley-Cooper. a Victorian politician whose numerous and wide-ranging social reforms transformed working and living conditions for impoverished children, miners and chimney-sweeps alike. Joining Matthew Parris and Jeremy Paxman is Lord Shaftesbury's great-great-grandson, the twelfth earl, Nick Ashley-Cooper. The three discover more about the Ashley-Cooper dynasty, ponder what makes a good earl and explore how aristocratic life has changed between then and now. Producer: Camellia Sinclair