

Profile
BBC Radio 4
An insight into the character of an influential figure making news headlines
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 5, 2019 • 14min
Rudolph Giuliani
This week's Profile is the tale of two Rudys: a divisive figure fighting for his - and Donald Trump’s - political life. And a man who united his nation in its darkest hours. Presenter: Becky Milligan
Producer: Neal Razzell

Sep 28, 2019 • 14min
Baroness Hale
Baroness Hale, President of the Supreme Court, was wearing a giant spider brooch as she delivered this week’s bombshell ruling that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament was unlawful. "Spiderwoman takes down the Hulk" was the headline in one newspaper. Mark Coles looks at the life of the first woman to lead the UK's highest court.Producers: Smita Patel and Jordan Dundar
Researcher: Darin Graham

Sep 21, 2019 • 14min
Gareth Thomas
The former Wales and British Lions captain, Gareth Thomas, has been headline news this week after announcing he’s living with HIV. In Wales, Thomas is a legend. In 2005, he led the national team to its first Six Nations grand slam title for 27 years…became the first Welsh player to be capped 100 times for his country. Mark Coles talks his friends and former colleagues. We hear about his early days as a postman, his success on the field and how he became one of the first sporting superstars to come out as gay. Producer Smita Patel
Researcher Darin Graham
Editor Penny Murphy

Sep 14, 2019 • 14min
John Bercow
The life story of Commons Speaker John Bercow. He has announced he will stand down at the end of October after ten highly controversial years in the job. In turbulent political times, he’s proved to be a polarizing figure. For some, he is the backbencher’s champion - the most modernising Speaker in parliament’s history. Others accuse him of bias, and deliberately trying to stop Brexit. Mark Coles talks to friends, colleagues and critics of Speaker Bercow - hearing about his long political journey which started on the far right - and how he wooed his now wife with feats of rhetoric. And with his thunderous shouts of ‘Order Order’ now mimicked and memed around the world, we hear how for some, he has become an unlikely social media superstar.Producer Smita Patel
Researcher Darin Graham

Sep 7, 2019 • 14min
David Gauke
This week David Gauke - MP for South West Hertfordshire - shook the government he served as a cabinet minister only a few weeks ago, voting to stop Boris Johnson taking the UK out of the EU without a deal. He's given the Tory rebels their label: the "Gaukeward Squad." Edward Stourton looks at the life of this unlikely rebel.Producers: Darin Graham and Smita Patel

Aug 31, 2019 • 14min
Peter Navarro
Peter Navarro is the economist and key White House advisor who’s egged President Trump on in his bitter trade war with China. It’s a conflict some fear threatens the stability of the global economy. Producer Smita Patel
Researcher Darin Graham

Jul 27, 2019 • 14min
Dominic Cummings
Arguably the most controversial appointment of new Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s reshuffle was that of 47-year-old Dominic Cummings as his head of Brexit strategy. After serving as Michael Gove’s special adviser in the Department for Education, his role as the mastermind behind Vote Leave changed the course of British history – and now he is back to finish what he started. How did a swotty schoolboy from Durham come to be hailed as a political genius, and the most feared – and revered – man in Whitehall?Presented by Becky Milligan
Produced by Jordan Dunbar
Researched by Kirsteen Knight and Eleanor Biggs

Jul 20, 2019 • 14min
Ilhan Omar
Ihlan Omar is the 37-year-old Somali-born US congresswoman - one of only two Muslim women ever elected to Congress - who's become a thorn in President Trump’s side and on the receiving end of his temper. Omar was one of four congresswomen Trump told to “go back” to where they came from. So who is Ilhan Omar, why has she got the President’s back up - and what's he really up to in targeting her? Mark Coles has been finding out.Thank you to Norah Shapiro for use of clips from her documentary 'Time for Ilhan'. Researchers: Khadidja Ndiaye and Kirsteen Knight
Producer: Phoebe Keane

Jul 13, 2019 • 14min
Ursula von der Leyen
German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen is likely to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission in November. Mark Coles tells her story so far.Producer Smita Patel

Jul 6, 2019 • 14min
Megan Rapinoe
The US women’s football team has made it to the World Cup final. One American newspaper has described the team's iconic player - Megan Rapinoe - as the most important athlete on the planet right now. But she isn't only a sensation on the pitch. She's a controversial figure off it. Presenter: Becky Milligan
Producer: Viv Jones