Profile

Characterised as both a benevolent philanthropist and as a meddling influence, George Soros has been present at some of the most defining moments in modern history.Soros was born into a Hungarian Jewish family, and later took on a false identity to survive the Nazi occupation in 1944. It was an experience that shaped his life and his outlook and he went on to escape to the West via his knowledge of the international language Esperanto.Beginning his career as a tobacco salesman, Soros went on to fund one of the most successful hedge funds in US history. Known for his high risk and brazen approach, he is infamous for his involvement in the devaluation of the British pound, known as Black Wednesday. But his career as a financial investor was not limited to the markets - he went on to use his money to promote non-violent democratisation in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. More recently he has proved a controversial figure, providing funding for the pro-Remain campaign in the UK Brexit debate and is now the subject of vilification by the leaders of his native Hungary. Presenter: Ed StourtonProducer: Clare Spencer and Serena Tarling.

The leader of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald has been a face of the campaign to scrap a ban on abortions. In a referendum, voters in the Republic of Ireland voted overwhelmingly to overturn the abortion ban.The campaign also increased the profile of Ms McDonald who took over as the leader of Sinn Féin in February.Her personal story is very different from other leading Sinn Féin politicians.Growing up in a middle class suburb of Dublin - a world away from the tough areas of Northern Ireland most Sinn Féin leaders knew during the years of the Troubles - insiders asked whether her untypical background would work for or against her. Presenter: Ed Stourton Producers: Estelle Doyle, Clare Spencer.

Few Italians had heard of Giuseppe Conte when they found out he would most probably become their new prime minister.President Sergio Mattarella approved his nomination as prime minister after a deadlock which had seen Italy without a government for 11 weeks.The surprise candidate is a law professor in Florence and has no political experience. Even people close to him said he had never mentioned politics.In the first few days of new-found fame he was accused of embellishing his CV, which he denied.But as PM he could now become a key player influencing the future of the European Union. Presenter: Mark ColesProducers: Estelle Doyle, Clare SpencerEditor: Emma Rippon.

You may know him as Childish Gambino, the creator of viral video hit 'This is America' or as the Emmy award winning actor and director of comedy drama Atlanta. Mark Coles profiles Donald Glover, the multi-talented American comedian, record producer, songwriter, rapper and DJ who is forcing the world to confront racism, violence and societies contradictions. Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Estelle Doyle and Diane Richardson Editor: Emma Rippon.

Donald Trump's choice for CIA director, Gina Haspel. Mark Coles profiles the controversial figure whose nomination has forced her out of the shadows to face difficult questions.Gina Haspel describes herself as a typical middle-class American but the testimony of former colleagues reveals a skilled intelligence operative with an empirical mind, a taste for adventure and a talent for infiltrating terrorist cells.At her confirmation hearing this week she was commended as an intelligence professional with unwavering honesty but was also grilled about the use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques, the waterboarding of terrorist suspects at a CIA base she ran and the subsequent destruction of evidence. The interrogation issue could block her confirmation by the Senate.Mark Coles talks to former colleagues and security experts about the agent who's spent 30 years trying not to be noticed but who now needs to convince US Senators that she's right for the top job.Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Estelle Doyle and Diane Richardson Editor: Helen Grady.

Born in Rochdale to Pakistani parents, the new Home Secretary Sajid Javid had a modest start in life. His father worked as a bus driver before moving to Bristol to open a women's clothes shop - the family of seven squeezing into a two-bed flat above it. Despite these humble beginnings, Javid quickly achieved success, wealth and power. After studying at Exeter University, where he gained a reputation as a committed Thatcherite, he became an investment banker and a multi-millionaire. Javid then moved into politics, becoming a Minister in just four years. His journey to the top of British politics has not always been smooth - as Business Secretary he was criticised for appearing to be caught unawares by Tata Steel's plans to close its Port Talbot plant at the cost of thousands of jobs. He now faces his biggest challenge yet as, in the wake of the Windrush controversy, he takes over a Home Office that has been accused of institutional racism. Mark Coles speaks to friends, colleagues and opponents to find out more about this driven high-flyer. Producers: Arlene Gregorius and Diane Richardson Editor: Helen Grady.

Tottenham MP David Lammy has been leading the parliamentary charge for the Windrush generation as they fight for their residency rights. Mark Coles charts the life and career of one of parliament's most formidable campaigners. Born in North London to Guyanese parents, Lammy grew up in Tottenham but moved to Peterborough aged 11 after winning a council scholarship to the city's cathedral boarding school. He went on to study law in London and at Harvard. Then, after a brief spell as a barrister, he became MP for his home borough of Tottenham at the age of just 27. His political career soon took off, with Tony Blair making him a minister in the New Labour government and Lammy was quickly hailed as 'the Black Blair' or 'Britain's Obama'. But not everything went smoothly for the junior minister. Since Labour went into opposition, Lammy has spent his time on the back benches. There, he's found his political voice and passion as a defender of those he feels have been failed by the system - from the Grenfell fire victims, to working-class young people struggling to get into top universities, and now the Windrush immigrants. Alastair Campbell calls him "a good old-fashioned class warrior, in the best possible sense". Mark Coles meets some of the people who know Lammy best - from childhood friends, former teachers and his beloved 'Aunty May' who firmly believes that, one day, her godson will be Britain's first black Prime Minister. Presenter: Mark Coles. Producers: Diane Richardson and Arlene Gregorius Editor: Helen Grady.

Mark Coles profiles Pulitzer Prize winning rapper Kendrick Lamar, whose concepts and ideas are changing hip-hop culture. Lamar won the award for his latest album Damn, which also collected five Grammy awards in January and is praised for lyrics which reveal the complexity of modern African-American life.Growing up in the deprived city of Compton, California, Lamar credits his father with keeping him on the right path and providing the balance that some of his peers were missing. His album good kid, m.A.A.d city tells the stories of young black men trying to escape the negative influences surrounding them. Lamar's lyrical journey explores violence, depression, religion and also the limits of fame and fortune, he's the rapper who says that helping the next generation find positivity and God is where it's at.Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Arlene Gregorius and Diane Richardson Editor: Emma Rippon.

Karen Pierce is the UK's new Permanent Representative at the UN in New York, Britain's most senior ambassadorial post. She only started in the role three weeks ago and has been thrown in at the deep end with the chemical weapons attack in Syria. Friends and colleagues alike are struck by her glamorous and colourful sense of style. This includes high heels, to the dismay of her security detail in places like Afghanistan, who fear her footwear could impede a swift exit. We hear how she tackles meetings fearlessly, and has been known to reduce a roomful of shouting men to silence, without raising her voice. Becky Milligan looks at the life of an unusual diplomat, who may now be facing her biggest challenge yet. Producers: Arlene Gregorius and Ros Jones.

Daniel Ek, co-founder and CEO of music streaming service Spotify. Mark Coles tracks the life of the shy Swede transforming the music industry.This week 35-year-old Daniel Ek became very, very rich when his company Spotify floated on the New York Stock Exchange - with an initial value of more than $26 billion. It's a long way from his home in a working-class suburb of Stockholm where Daniel's interest in both music and computers was piqued at an early age. He started his first businesses while a teenager, in between starring in school musicals, and earned his first fortune in his early 20s. He launched Spotify in 2006 with business partner Martin Lorentzon, with a goal to 'save the music industry' at a time when illegal downloads were eating into profits. Today Spotify has revolutionised the way we listen to music and last year Daniel Ek was named the most-powerful person in the music industry by Billboard magazine - but what does the future hold in store for the tech industry's latest billionaire?CONTRIBUTORSTony Kinberg, Daniel Ek's former music teacherKina Zeidler, journalist and author of Det Svenska Techundret (The Swedish Tech Miracle)Jonas Nordlander, co-founder & CEO of Avito and founder and former owner of Tradera. Pelle Lidell, founder of EKKO Music Rights Europe and former executive at Universal MusicD.A. Wallach - musician, tech investor and former artists services lead at SpotifyDiego Planas, former Spotify employee.