Great Lives Folgen

Dr Tom Shakespeare is a lecturer at the Medical School in the University of East Anglia and prominent campaigner for the rights of the disabled.He explains to Matthew Parris why the life and work of the Italian left-wing revolutionary Antonio Gramsci means a great deal to him personally. They're joined in the studio by Professor Anne Sassoon. Producer: Christine HalFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2014.l

The life of Erwin Rommel, for a time Hitler's favourite general is nominated by Ray Mears. Matthew Parris hears why this German soldier was a "great life". They are also joined by Dr Niall Barr, Reader in Military History, Defence Studies Department at Kings College, London. Producer: Perminder Khatkar.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.

Matthew Parris leads a discussion on Ida B. Wells the African American civil rights and women's rights activist who was a political trailblazer. She is the great life chosen by Baroness Oona King. Throughout her life, Wells was militant in her demands for equality and justice for black Americans and she encouraged the African American community to fight for positive change through their own efforts. She was an investigative journalist who highlighted the practice of lynching in the United States, showing how it was used as a way to control or punish blacks , often under the guise of trumped up rape charges. Ida was also active in women's rights and the women's suffrage movement, establishing several notable women's organizations. She was a skilled and inspiring rhetorician, and travelled internationally on lecture tours. With Madge Dresser.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.