Great Lives

Described by those who knew him as a 'Revolutionary Man of Peace' Gil Scott-Heron transformed the musical landscape of the 1970's. In 2021 he was posthumously inaugurated into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, honoured with an Early Influencer Award. Today, Garden Designer Joe Swift - who witnessed Gil's legendary concerts - shares his passion for the artist who 'spoke truth' and educated a generation through his music. Joe is joined by Malik Al Nasir who worked with Gil and became his protégé, developing a life long friendship following a chance encounter at a concert. Malik is author of 'Letters To Gil' a memoir of his own life and the time he spent with Gil Scott-Heron.Presented by Matthew Parris Produced by Nicola Humphries

Award-winning playwright and actor Lolita Chakrabarti celebrates the life of Ira Aldridge, an icon of theatre who rose to fame at the height of the movement to abolish slavery and brought Shakespeare to audiences across the world. He made his career on the London stage before touring Europe where, along with rapturous applause, he received top honours from heads of state. He is the only actor of African-American descent among the 33 actors of the English stage to be honoured with a Bronze Plaque at The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon and a Blue Plaque at Coventry's Belgrade Theatre - which he managed in 1828 - also celebrates his contribution to theatre. Lolita Chakrabarti shares her deep passion and knowledge of this fascinating actor alongside historian Stephen Bourne, author of 'Deep Are The Roots -Trailblazers Who Changed Black British Theatre'.Presented by Matthew Parris Produced by Nicola Humphries

Writer, broadcaster and Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis champions the life of Kaye Webb, who burst on to the children's publishing scene in 1961 and changed the industry forever. With no publishing experience whatsoever, Kaye persuaded renowned authors like Roald Dahl and Nina Bawden to publish their hardback bestsellers as pocket-sized paperbacks that children could buy themselves. Hundreds of thousands flocked to join her Puffin Club with its riotous exhibitions, trips and competitions. Janet shares her memories of growing up abroad with her "portable kingdom" of Puffin books, and explains why Puffin and Blue Peter have a lot in common. Janet is joined in the studio by Kaye's biographer, the writer Valerie Grove. They talk about Kaye's three marriages, especially the last, to cartoonist Ronald Searle, then one of the most famous men in the country. We also hear personal memories of Kaye from Clare Morpurgo, daughter of Penguin founder, Sir Allen Lane.With thanks to Puffin Club expert Sherief Hassan, Philippa Dickinson and Emma Thompson. Photo courtesy of Seven Stories - The National Centre for Children's Books in Newcastle upon Tyne.Presented by Matthew Parris. Produced by Sarah Goodman for BBC Audio Bristol.

What does it take to be a great news editor? Tom Hopkinson was sacked by the proprietor of Picture Post for trying to run a true story during the 1950 Korean War. Later he also sent a photographer - Ian Berry - to cover the Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa for Drum .... in time he fell out with the proprietor of that magazine as well. "To affect the world you've got to get into a position to affect it," he said, "and that means you've got to be very patient and fight your way in."Nominating Tom Hopkinson is Donald Macintyre, former correspondent in the Middle East and one of the very first students on the Cardiff journalism course Tom Hopkinson set up. Also in studio is his daughter, Professor Amanda Hopkinson.The presenter is Matthew Parris and the producer is Miles Warde

Actor Brian Cox chooses his one-time mentor and fellow Scot, Lindsay Anderson. "His effect is still on me to this day, and I can't throw him off. He taught me how to think. He triggered something off in me that nobody else had previously done."A critic, an outsider, a provocateur, Anderson founded the Free Cinema movement in the 1950s with fellow documentary makers Tony Richardson, Karel Reisz and Lorenza Mazzetti. His films include This Sporting Life and If… which won the Palm d’or in 1969 and helped launch the career of Malcolm MacDowell. Lindsay Anderson’s international reputation surpassed his fame in Britain, where his uncompromisingly anti-establishment stance failed to win him mainstream admirers, but he made several more provocative films and is remembered fondly by his friends and collaborators as an extremely funny, loyal and principled man. Brian Cox, star of Rushmore, The Bourne Identity and Succession, is joined by Karl Magee from the Lindsay Anderson Archive at the University of Stirling. Presented by Matthew Parris and produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Ellie Richold.Future programmes in this series include journalist Donald McIntyre on the editor of Picture Post, Tom Hopkinson; Janet Ellis on the founder of the Puffin Club, Kaye Webb; and Terry Christian on Mr Manchester, Tony Wilson, along with author Paul Morley who wrote From Manchester With Love.

Henry Normal thinks Spike Milligan changed his life, in particular with his 1973 poetry collection, Small Dreams of a Scorpion. Spike's other work - The Goon Show, the books about the war (Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall and Rommel? Gunner Who?) these were important, but it was the poetry that really made Henry Normal think again.Spike was born Terence Alan Milligan in India in 1918. His family moved to Catford in south east London in 1931. "It was the first time in life I was deprived of everything in vision ... except the sky," he says. There's a lot of Spike in this episode. "I think I'm a good comedy writer - I think I'm the best." He died in February 2002. His gravestone in Winchelsea - which Henry Normal has visited - reads 'Duirt me leat go raibh me breoite' which is Gaelic for I told you I was ill.Henry Normal was born in Nottingham, published his first book of poetry aged 19, and co-wrote The Mrs Merton Show and the first series of The Royle Family before setting up Baby Cow with Steve Coogan. The company's productions include Gavin and Stacey, Alan Partridge and the Mighty Boosh.Presenter: Matthew Parris Produced by Miles Warde for BBC Audio in Bristol First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2022.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was an Indian classical dancer specialising in Bharatanatyam and becoming the first woman to perform Kathakali. She was very successful and performed around the world, with one reviewer in Paris calling her the 'Hindu atomic bomb'. She married prominent scientist and industrialist Vikram Sarabhai and together they would rub shoulders with ambassadors and Presidents. Men would see her dance and fall in love with her. She performed for The Queen in India. Later on, she used dance as a means of addressing social issues such as the 'dowry deaths' where brides were being set-alight and killed, and as a result of her work the governmental order the first ever inquiry into the issue.The engineer and author Roma Agrawal is best-known for her work on The Shard in London. She trained in Indian classical dance and for her Mrinalini provides a continuous thread back to her own Indian heritage in Mumbai. She's joined by Indian classical dancer Santosh Nair, with contributions from Mrinalini's daughter Mallika Sarabhai.Presenter: Matthew Parris Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Toby Field.

Judge and former President of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, chooses to nominate the suffragette, businesswoman, and founder of Time and Tide magazine, Margaret Haig Thomas, also known as Lady Rhondda. Born in 1883, Lady Rhondda was brought up an only child, in South Wales, by her feminist parents. She survived the sinking of the Lusitania and sat on the board of 33 companies, becoming, in 1926, the first and to-date only female president of the Institute of Directors. In 1927, the New York Tribune called her ‘the foremost woman of business in the British Empire’. She was also one of the most prominent British feminists of the inter-war years, marching with the Pankhursts and setting fire to a letterbox, for which she was briefly sent to Usk prison. Lady Rhondda was also the founder and editor of the pioneering, hugely influential weekly paper Time and Tide, which featured women’s perspectives and essays by literary greats from Orwell to Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf. The Former President of the Supreme Court, Brenda Hale, believes Lady Rhondda's most important lesson is "that there are always new battles to be fought...You must never give up. You must always go on."With expert insight from Angela V. John, Honorary Professor of History. Produced by Ellie Richold for BBC Audio in Bristol

William Lever was a grocer's son who went on to make a fortune selling soap. Lifebuoy, Lux ... and eventually Unilever are just some of his creations. Picking him for Great Lives is Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland. Joining him is Adam Macqueen, author of The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned up the The World. The presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer for BBC audio in Bristol is Miles Warde.

Noor-Un-Nissa Inayat Khan was an Indian muslim princess who became an under-cover agent for the ‘SOE’ – Churchill’s Special Operational Executive. She’s one of only a handful of women in the second world war awarded The George Cross, the highest civilian decoration in the UK.Noor's story will take us from Moscow to London, then Paris. There will be Sufism interwoven with Indian classical music and tales of sultans and maharajas. Her life championed by actor, writer and director Priyanga Burford, known for roles in ‘Innocent’ and ‘Silent Witness’ and the comedy series ‘The Thick of It’. She’s also had a brush with espionage herself, appearing as a scientist in the James Bond blockbuster ‘No Time to Die’. Having discovered Noor whilst searching for inspiration for her own writing, Priyanga became fascinated by a woman who defied expectations and demonstrated immense courage and bravery. Discussion features guest expert Sufiya Ahmed, author of 'My Story: Noor-Un-Nissa Inayat Khan'.Presented by Matthew Parris Produced by Nicola Humphries