Great Lives Folgen

Eugene Victor Debs, born 1855 in Indiana USA, was a railway worker, a trade unionist and a five time candidate for the presidency. He was imprisoned during the First World War for sedition. He'd urged resistance to the draft; President Woodrow Wilson called him a traitor to the nation, but Debs still ran for the presidency in 1920. His sentence was commuted the following year.Reginald D Hunter is an American stand up based in the UK. His many credits include Have I Got News For You and Reginald D Hunter's Songs of the South. Last year at Edinburgh his show Fluffy Fluffy Beavers briefly became headline news. In studio with Reginald and presenter Matthew Parris is Professor Clive Webb, author of Vietdamned. The producer for BBC Studios in Bristol is Miles Warde

"Make the boy interested in natural history," wrote Captain Scott from his tent in the Antarctic. He was talking about his son, three year old Peter Scott, whom he never saw again and who went on to found the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust and campaign against the hunting of whales. The son also designed the panda logo for the Wold Wide Fund for Nature and was its first chairman. David Attenborough called Scott the patron saint of conservation and he appears in this programme. Nominating him in studio is the adventurer Pen Hadow, whose father knew Scott and with whom he shared a nanny. The programme also features two of Scott's children, Dafila and Falcon, as well as some rarely heard archive. From his early years as an arctic adventurer, Pen Hadow has developed into an ardent conservationist with the 90 North Foundation. He describes this programme as an enormous responsibility and wonders why Sir Peter Scott, the founder of Slimbridge, is not better known today.The producer for BBC Audios Studio in Bristol is Miles Warde

Margot Fonteyn was an icon: a ballerina who helped build and indeed embodied the traditional image of a dancer, just as the artform was finding its feet on the British cultural scene. From humble beginnings she became an international star, enjoying a dazzling career with the Royal Ballet, a glamorous social life as a diplomat’s wife, and an electric dancing partnership with Rudolf Nureyev. But it was also a life infused with disappointment, controversy and heartbreak; much of which seems to have been hidden behind Margot's smiling public facade. Dedicated listeners might remember that Margot Fonteyn has been the subject of a previous episode and although we rarely revisit past greats, when we do it’s an opportunity to look afresh and see more. So today, with the assistance of nominating guest Lauren Cuthbertson - herself a dancer who has been with the Royal Ballet for more than 20 years - we take a closer look at the highs and lows of Margot's life. Joining Matthew and Lauren to share their expert perspectives are Rosie Gerhard, a Lecturer in Dance Studies at the Royal Academy of Dance and creator of the blog 'British Ballet Now & Then'; and the film director and author Tony Palmer, who directed the 2005 film ‘Margot’.Presented by Matthew Parris and produced for BBC Studios Audio by Lucy Taylor.