PODCAST

Profile

BBC Radio 4

An insight into the character of an influential figure making news headlines

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

13:19

Tom Daley

Profile ·

2013/12/07

He was one of the poster boys for London 2012 - a contributor to Team GB's medal haul, admired for his perfect mid-flight somersaults and skimpy swimwear.British Olympic diver Tom Daley has lived his life in the public eye since first attracting attention aged ten, when he became Britain's youngest diver to win the national championships.Tom Daley is in the media spotlight more than ever this week after announcing on YouTube that he is dating a man, provoking much discussion not only of the

13:58

Nicola Sturgeon

Profile ·

2013/11/30

With the SNP announcing its plans for an independent Scotland this week, Lesley Curwen profiles Nicola Sturgeon - a figure who may be key to the party's chances of success.She's deputy to Alex Salmond but is central to the party's campaign, and she's playing a major but perhaps under-reported role in negotiating with London too. How did she achieve such a rapid rise to political prominence? And why is she so obsessed with the TV drama Borgen?Presenter: Lesley Curwen Producer: Chris Bowlby.

13:57

Bill de Blasio

Profile ·

2013/11/23

Bill de Blasio, sometime supporter of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, will soon take over as mayor of New York. He's overcome the suicide of his war veteran father, created the most famous multiracial family in the US and now has to persuade Wall Street to fund his radical plans to overcome inequality in the Big Apple. Ed Miliband is said to be watching carefully. Mark Coles profiles a politician attracting global attention.Producers: Ben Crighton, Chris Bowlby Editor: Richard Knight.

14:03

Sachin Tendulkar

Profile ·

2013/11/16

India means Sachin and Sachin means India. So how did a shy 16-year-old cricketer come to embody a nation and its hopes and dreams? Sachin Tendulkar's career spanned a period of remarkable change in what is now one of the world's biggest developing economies. As he plays his 200th and final test match, Tim Franks looks at how Sachin's progress mirrored and even inspired India's over a quarter of a century.

13:56

Alison Saunders

Profile ·

2013/11/09

She's been described as the UK's most experienced criminal prosecutor, responsible for bringing some of the most infamous criminals to justice. But she also has a passion for cooking and entertaining. Becky Milligan profiles Alison Saunders, who this week became the new Director of Public Prosecutions.Producer: Ben Crighton.

13:54

Jim Ratcliffe

Profile ·

2013/11/02

He is one of a small number of people who has made it to both the North Pole and the South Pole. He runs ultramarathons. He climbs mountains. Oh, and he is a billionaire, one of the country's richest men, who has reluctantly been making the headlines. Jim Ratcliffe, who recently threatened to close the huge Grangemouth petrochemical plant in Scotland - which he owns through his company Ineos - is often described as 'reclusive'. Certainly he doesn't seek publicity. In Profile this week, Jo Fidgen

13:39

Andrew Mitchell

Profile ·

2013/10/26

Last year, long-standing Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell was forced to resign his new job as Chief Whip after being accused of calling police officers guarding the Downing Street gates "plebs." The so-called 'Plebgate' saga has hit the headlines once again this week after a committee of MPs summoned three senior police officers to explain their inquiry into the incident. While last year Andrew Mitchell was the focus of controversy, the Rugby and Cambridge-educated disciplinarian is now eliciting

13:56

Rufus Norris

Profile ·

2013/10/19

It's 40 years since the National Theatre was led by someone who wasn't a Cambridge graduate, but this week it was announced that Rufus Norris - who spent his late teens as a painter and decorator - would succeed Sir Nicholas Hytner as the theatre's director. So why is Norris such a popular choice for British theatre's top job? Mary Ann Sieghart looks at the making of a director whose work includes collaborations with Damon Albarn and the London Community Gospel Choir and a musical about a real-life

14:12

Maajid Nawaz

Profile ·

2013/10/12

This week saw the surprising exit from the English Defence League of its leaders Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll. Instrumental in their decision to leave was Essex-born Maajid Nawaz, a former activist for the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir. Arrested in 2001 for attempting to revive the group in Egypt, he served four years in a Cairo jail. Today, he has renounced his old beliefs and now runs the Quilliam Foundation, a 'counter extremism' think tank run by former activists. He has also been

13:44

Paul Dacre

Profile ·

2013/10/05

A gifted journalist with his finger on the pulse of Middle England? Or 'the most dangerous man in Britain' as the Guardian newspaper has described him? Mark Coles profiles the powerful and influential Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre.Producers: Ben Crighton and Simon Maybin.

14:06

Hassan Rouhani

Profile ·

2013/09/28

Iran's new president Hassan Rouhani has been centre of attention at the UN this week. He's promising a new approach to talks with the West over his country's nuclear programme.He is certainly a change from his abrasive anti-Western predecessor. Rouhani studied in Britain, loves Bogart films and Thomas Hardy novels and is fond of designer clerical robes.So, Mary Ann Sieghart asks, is all that merely a matter of presentation? Or is he a completely new kind of Iranian leader?Producer: Heba

13:36

Billy Connolly

Profile ·

2013/09/21

Comedian Billy Connolly has announced new film and touring plans despite facing ill health. Mark Coles explores how Connolly has long used humour to defy serious adversity. Childhood abuse and alcoholism have been countered by a rich musical, comedy and acting career.In this profile of the Glasgow welder who became a global star, Connolly's own performances and voice are mixed with the thoughts of those who know him well - including singer Barbara Dickson and producer John Lloyd.Producers: Heba

14:11

Sergei Lavrov

Profile ·

2013/09/14

Mark Coles profiles Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a key figure in the Syria crisis. Has this chain-smoking, vodka-loving diplomat managed to restore Russian power?Those who've dealt with him tell us just why he's such a formidable opponent, and how he survived the collapse of the Soviet Union to put Russian diplomacy back at the centre of world affairs.Producers: Chris Bowlby and Smita Patel.

14:12

Angela Merkel

Profile ·

2013/09/07

Chris Bowlby profiles German Chancellor Angela Merkel - always underestimated, physicist and ruthless politician, the woman at the centre of the eurozone crisis. What has shaped a figure who grew up under East German communism, came to dominate united German politics and proclaims her love of football and opera? And as her friendship with David Cameron deepens, might she be key to Britain's EU future?Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Richard Knight.

14:02

John Kerry

Profile ·

2013/09/02

Mark Coles explores the life of US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who is taking a global leadership role over Syria.As President Obama said when he nominated him for Secretary of State, "Kerry's entire life prepared him for this role."One of his childhood friends tells us that Secretary Kerry has kept the same principles he held as a young man at Yale. But others see him as a man of contradictions: a Vietnam veteran who lead the anti-war movement, then voted for war in Iraq.What are his guiding

14:09

General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi

Profile ·

2013/08/24

Edward Stourton profiles the Commander of Egypt's Armed Forces, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, now the most powerful man in Egypt. General al-Sisi was appointed Defence Minister and Head of the Army by President Morsi in August 2012, and he was thought by many to be sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.But he was instrumental in Morsi's downfall in July and oversaw the subsequent violent suppression of Muslim Brotherhood supporters.His former teacher from the US Army War College is among those who

14:02

Mo Farah

Profile ·

2013/08/17

Jane Deith profiles Mo Farah.This week he became the first British man - and only second man ever - to hold the Olympic and World 10,000m and 5,000m titles.He was born in Somalia and moved to Britain as a young boy, where his athletic journey began. But it was an unusual one for such a successful athlete - he needed cajoling, ran the wrong way in cross-country races and enjoyed playing to the crowd.Mo Farah was born to run. But he wasn't destined to win. Producer: Helena Merriman.

13:59

Mark Carney

Profile ·

2013/08/10

Chris Bowlby profiles the new governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, who unveiled his economic strategy this week.Heralded as 'the outstanding central banker of his generation' by George Osborne, Mr Carney now faces the task of guiding the UK's economy towards full recovery. Since arriving in London he has caused a stir by arriving to work on his first day by tube and unveiling Jane Austen as the face on the new £10 notes.He has come a long way from his roots in the remoteness of Canada's

14:01

Haifaa Al-Mansour

Profile ·

2013/08/03

Mary Ann Sieghart profiles Haifaa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia's first female film director.Haifaa Al-Mansour directed the recently-released Wadjda, the first film entirely shot in Saudi Arabia. The film follows the dreams of an 11-year-old girl who is desperate to own a bike, and was partly inspired by Al-Mansour's early years, growing up in a small town near Riyadh.After working for an oil company, Haifaa al-Mansour decided to become a film-maker, using some of her 11 willing siblings to help her with

14:04

Andre Geim

Profile ·

2013/07/27

Helen Grady profiles Professor Sir Andre Geim who is one of the most unusual scientists working in Britain - perhaps the world - today.This week he was awarded the Royal Society's Copley Medal, believed to be the world's oldest science prize, for his ground-breaking experiments using graphene - thought by many to be the miracle material of the 21st century.He is also a winner of both the Ig Nobel Prize for improbable research and the real Nobel Prize in Physics. "What we should be doing with is

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