Monica Ali chooses Richard Francis Burton

Poly Styrene was born Marie Joan Elliot-Said in 1957 and went on to become front woman of X-Ray Spex. When Pauline Black first saw her on Top of the Pops, Poly was wearing a red military jacket and cap. Her attitude, says the lead singer of ska band The Selecter, was captivating. ...  Show more

Laurence Olivier, Baron Olivier of Brighton, was born in Dorking in 1907. He's best known these days for roles in films ranging from Wuthering Heights to Spartacus to the ageing Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman in The Boys from Brazil. He received twelve Oscar nominations but was in hi ...  Show more

The poet Lord Byron is well known as a passionate revolutionary and a brooding hero who harbors dark secrets. But what about his playful sense of humor? In this episode, Jacke talks to Byron biographer David Ellis (Byron) about the Romantic poet's flamboyant life and work. PLUS A ...  Show more

Jerry Brotton listens for the voices and tells the stories of the ‘other Tudors’: ten men and women from across the world that lived, worked, worshipped and died in Tudor England.The popular fascination with the Tudors tends to concentrate on the lives of white, elite, English-bo ...  Show more

Richard Osman talks in depth to Michael Rosen about his life in language: from growing up loving TV and sports, to working on Pointless and then writing The Thursday Murder Club. And you can download the longer Word of Mouth podcast version to hear their conversation in full. Dow ...  Show more

Jerry Brotton listens for the voices and tells the stories of the ‘other Tudors’: ten men and women from across the world that lived, worked, worshipped and died in Tudor England.The popular fascination with the Tudors tends to concentrate on the lives of white, elite, English-bo ...  Show more