Sir Richard Francis Burton was an explorer, adventurer, soldier, author, poet, sexologist and translator. He brought us the Kama Sutra and spoke 29 languages. The author Monica Ali champions this racy character and tells Matthew Parris why this 19th-century explorer is a Great Life. They are also joined by historian and broadcaster Matthew Ward.
Producer: P ... Show More
Oct 6
Jock Stein, first British football manager to win the European Cup
Jock Stein, first British football manager to win the European Cup, picked by composer Sir James MacMillan and aided by Jock Stein’s biographer, Archie MacPherson. Jock Stein was manager of Celtic FC when they won the European Cup in Lisbon in 1967. He later died while managing S ... Show More
27m 41s
Sep 22
Miles Jupp on JL Carr, author of A Month in the Country
"I find his novels extraordinarily beautiful .. and they're an excellent length."Miles Jupp picks an author he loves, but knows little about. JL Carr was born in Yorkshire and was a teacher, mapmaker, and an eccentric. Joining the comedian in studio to discuss Carr is a man who k ... Show More
27m 28s
Mar 2024
Ray Winstone, K Patrick, Ferris & Sylvester
Ray Winstone, star of Sexy Beast and Nil By Mouth, talks about new Netflix series The Gentlemen brought to television screens by director Guy Ritchie.K Patrick’s in the studio to read from their first collection of poetry Three Births, which explores nature, contemporary queer ex ... Show More
42m 24s
Dec 2021
Richard Osman, writer and broadcaster
Richard Osman is a broadcaster, TV producer and writer who co-presents the quiz show Pointless on BBC One. His first novel, The Thursday Murder Club, was a publishing phenomenon, selling more than a million copies, and the follow-up became one of the fastest-selling titles since ... Show More
35 m
May 2020
Little Richard, Dr Janet Carr OBE, Professor John Horton Conway, Florian Schneider
Matthew Bannister on
The rock 'n' roll pioneer Little Richard, whose flamboyant performances and powerful vocal style influenced many who came after him.
Janet Carr, the psychologist whose long-running study changed attitudes to people with Down’s Syndrome.
John Horton Conway, th ... Show More
28m 5s
Oct 2016
McFly singer and author Tom Fletcher
Tom Fletcher of McFly, Silent Film pianist Neil Brand, Bookshop frequenter Erica Jones and extreme engineer Jimmy de Ville join Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir.
Tom Fletcher is best known as singer and songwriter of McFly, he's also written for Busted and One Direction, clocking up ... Show More
1h 25m
Jun 2021
Eric Carle (pictured), Helen Murray Free, Michael Parsons, Evelyn McNicol
Matthew Bannister on
The children’s author and illustrator Eric Carle, best known for creating The Very Hungry Caterpillar which has sold fifty-five million copies.
Helen Murray Free, the American chemist who developed revolutionary simple tests for diabetes and other serious con ... Show More
28m 5s
Dec 2017
Stephen Fry and Friends on the Life, Loves and Hates of Christopher Hitchens
In this historic event, Stephen Fry and other friends of Christopher Hitchens came together to celebrate the life and work of this great writer, iconoclast and debater. Fry was joined on stage by Richard Dawkins and the two discussed Hitch’s unflinching commitment to the truth. H ... Show More
47m 59s