Matthew Parris heads to the house where Benjamin Franklin lived for almost 17 years to meet banker and philanthropist John Studzinski.Franklin was born in Boston when it was still a part of the British empire, ran away to Philadelphia and lodged near Charing Cross at 36 Craven Street in London for over a decade. He was an agent for the Pennsylvania assembly, and also an ambassador to Paris where he helped persuade the French to join the breakaway American states in their war against the British. His nominator John Studzinski is chair of the board that runs the Benjamin Franklin House in London and says that he would have loved to have been the great man's apprentice. Joining the conversation is Professor Kathleen Burk who admires Franklin the enlightened writer but is less sure about his treatment of his wife. Kathleen Burk is author of Old World, New World: Great Britain and America from the Beginning.The producer for BBC Studios Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde
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26:59
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26:59
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 knew him well - DJ Taylor - who paints a picture of a man who hated London literary parties and knew how to have fun with anyone sent to interview him. A delightful episode that includes archive of Carr himself, plus Kenneth Branagh reading from his biography, God's Englishman by Byron Rogers. Carr's novel - A Month in the Country - was shortlisted for the Booker and turned into a film starring Kenneth Branagh, Colin Firth and Natasha Richardson in 1987.The producer for BBC Studios in Bristol is Miles Warde
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27:28
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27:28
Helen Castor on Richard II
Today's great life is possibly more famous as a Shakespearean character - King Richard II who was deposed by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke in 1399. He's been chosen by historian Helen Castor, author of The Eagle and the Hart, who shines a light on what really happened towards the end of his reign. Also helping is Professor Emma Smith who explains why the play was a hit two hundred years later under Elizabeth I.
With archive of John Hurt as Richard and David Suchet as his cousin and usurper, Henry Bolingbroke.The producer for BBC Studios Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde
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27:37
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27:37
DJ Deb Grant on John Prine
DJ Deb Grant picks US mailman turned country-folk singer John Prine, whose beautiful songs captured the world in which he lived.
Bob Harris, who first met him on the Old Grey Whistle Test, adds to the conversation."I came to know him through him speaking about his own music - it's his character, his personality and his attitude that I fell for," says Deb Grant. "When he died I was absolutely inconsolable."Programme includes archive of John and his wife, talking after her husband died of complications arising from covid. There's also a reading of the lyrics from Sam Stone, his tale of a Vietnam vet returning from the war. "There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes," he sings.This is series 67 of Great Lives and future guests include Miles Jupp, Stewart Lee and Elizabeth Day.The producer for BBC Studios Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde
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26:51
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26:51
Sir Seretse Khama, first president of Botswana
Seretse Khama was born in 1921 in Bechuanaland when it was still a British Protectorate. In 1966 he became Botswana's first president. In between he married a white Londoner, Ruth Williamson, was exiled by the British, and made to renounce his interest in succeeding as head of the Bangwato. It's an extraordinary and notable life, and he's been nominated by Professor Mike Bode, an astrophysicist and visiting professor to Botswana. As well as archive of Seretse Khama, the programme includes contributions from Bishop Trevor Mwamba and Susan Williams, author of Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation.The producer for BBC Studios Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde
UK