Great Lives

Actress Patricia Greene (Jill Archer in BBC Radio 4's The Archers) makes the case for Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, or Bess of Hardwick as she's more commonly known. Like her heroine, Patricia was born in Derby and was aware of the nearby grand stately home Hardwick Hall. 'More glass than wall' was the local saying; as the key feature of this 1590s house was the exuberant use of this rare material. Only recently did she discover that the initials 'ES', which are blatantly carved on the turrets, stood for a woman - Elizabeth Shrewsbury.And so began Patricia Greene's admiration and obsession. Who was this woman born in Tudor times, when women had few if any rights at all? Bess ended up becoming the richest woman in the land after Queen Elizabeth I, but she was portrayed by some as a 'cold-hearted shrew' who only became rich by marrying four husbands, Patricia's job is to defend her hero. The expert witness is Dr Nigel Wright, the House & Collections Manager with the National Trust at Hardwick Estate. Presenter: Matthew Parris Producer: Perminder Khatkar First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2018.

Towards the end of his comic rant about the descent of man, Simon Evans does something very dangerous. He starts to read out to his audience an extract of John Stuart Mill. Potential comedy death? He tells Matthew Parris why the famous Victorian philosopher with the squirly hair is his idea of genius. As well as On Liberty, Mill wrote The Subjection of Women and was the first member of Parliament to call for women's right to vote.The expert witness is Professor Anne Phillips of the London School of Economics.Producer: Miles WardeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2018.

"We are ready to take the Pole in any kind of weather on offer," wrote the Norwegian Roald Amundsen in December 1911. Born in 1872, Amundsen is part of a group of men - including the playwright Henrik Ibsen and the explorer Fridjtof Nansen - who gave shape to Norwegian identity just as the country broke free from Sweden and achieved independence. He is also remembered as the man who beat the British explorer Scott to the South Pole. The different cultures of their two countries come under scrutiny in this episode. The nominator is Erica Wagner, former literary editor of The Times and a writer who knows Norway well. Joining Erica and presenter Matthew Parris are two experts: * Pieter van der Merwe from the National Maritime Museum; * Roland Huntford, whose book on Scott and Amundsen caused an angry fuss when first published in 1979.Produced at BBC Bristol by Miles WardeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2018.

"Suddenly this light comes into your life" - says Hanif Kureishi, referring to his hero, his great life, David Bowie. Hanif, an author, screenwriter and film maker, went on to become friends with Bowie in the 1990's after they worked together when Bowie wrote the soundtrack to Kureishi's TV adaptation 'The Buddha of Suburbia'. For Hanif it was also Bowie who inspired him to become an author and filmmaker - he says for a "mixed race Pakistani kid living in a crummy terrace bored out of my mind, I wanted to get out - I wanted to explore, I wanted to express myself, I wanted to be free".Hanif gives his personal insight into the life of David Bowie.The expert witness is Dylan Jones - author of 'David Bowie A Life' and 'When Ziggy Played Guitar'. Presenter: Matthew Parris Producer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2018.

Catherine the Great assumed power in a St Petersburg coup, extended the empire into Crimea, Ukraine and Alaska. is Russia's longest lasting female ruler, and wasn't even Russian herself. All of this intrigues Dame Barbara Stocking, former head of Oxfam, who admires Catherine's leadership style. Biographer Virginia Rounding provides the details of her background and her lovers, and Matthew Parris presents. The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.

Hedy Lamarr was described by her studio as the most beautiful woman in the world. A recent film, called Bombshell, argued that she was a brilliant inventor as well. But what was going on behind that wonderful face? Suzy Klein, host of the BBC Proms, tells Matthew Parris that this was an intriguing woman who continually reinvented herself. She left her native Austria before the Second World War but, despite a successful Hollywood career, what she really wanted was to be known for being clever. Recent newspaper headlines - including 'Sex Symbol by Day, Scientific Trailblazer by Night' - suggest her wishes may have finally come true. But Professor Hans-Joachim Braun isn't so sure. Film critic Antonia Quirke joins Matthew Parris in the studio to discuss a truly extraordinary life.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.

For soul singer Mica Paris, when she first dreamt of becoming a singer it was Josephine Baker who inspired her most. Baker was a young black American dancer who became an overnight sensation in Paris in 1925 after performing wild, uninhibited routines in the skimpiest of costumes.So can Mica Paris make the case for Baker who wore a string of bananas and little else while performing the 'banana dance? Joining presenter Matthew Parris to help tell the story of Josephine Baker is author Andrea Stuart.Producer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 May 2018.

Actor Simon Callow nominates one of the giants of the golden age of Hollywood, Orson Welles. He once said of himself he 'started at the top and worked his way down' never managing to recreate the film success he had aged 26 with Citizen Kane, which he wrote, directed and starred in. Welles's friend and collaborator Henry Jaglom talks about knowing him for the last years of his life when the movie industry had turned its back on him and he was strapped for cash and looking for work.Presented by Matthew Parris. Producer: Maggie AyreFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2018.

Stand up comedian and political commentator Ayesha Hazarika's hero is Jayaben Desai.Jayaben led a two year strike at Grunwick Film processing factory in North London. The majority of the workers were migrant women and they became known as the 'strikers in sarees'. Matthew Parris remembers the strike in 1976 as he was working in Margaret Thatcher's office at the time, but only recalls the violence at the picket line and the fact that the strike failed.Can Ayesha convince Matthew Parris that Jayaben Desai deserves the accolade of a great life?With Dr Sundari Anitha, co- author of 'Striking Women'. Producer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2018.

Richard Feynman was a physicist who helped design the atomic bomb and won the Nobel Prize. He is the great life choice of businessman Tej Lalvani CEO of his family business Vitabiotics and the newest Dragon on the BBC show Dragon's Den. Feynman was also regarded as something of an eccentric and a free spirit who had a passion for playing the bongos. Helping to make the case for this great life Tej is joined by the expert witness David Berman, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Queen Mary University of London. Presenter: Matthew Parris Producer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.