Great Lives
Hosted by Matthew Parris · BBC Radio 4
4.3from 522 ratings
- 412
- Episodes
- 60
- Transcribed
- 522
- Ratings
- Daily
- Cadence
- 2010
- First episode
About Great Lives
Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.
- Publisher
- BBC Radio 4
- Category
- history · society & culture
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 7 Sept 2010
- Latest episode
- 21 Sept 2026
Latest episodes
60 of 412 episodes have a transcript.
21 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT
Eric Ashby, Silent Watcher of the New Forest
15 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT
Pauline Black of The Selecter on Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex
14 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT
Actor Laurence Olivier with Derek Jacobi and Tim Walker
Inside a recent episode
Eric Ashby, Silent Watcher of the New Forest
Published 21 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And of course, in retrospect, what he was actually documenting was a period of extreme transition in the new forest. A lot of the badgers, which he could only film during daylight hours, would come out to forage in daylight hours because there was no human disturbance and the impact of much more people coming and all the rest of it. You know, that's the world we live in now. Britain's a busy place. Badgers and foxes are thought to be creatures you could only ever see at night. A world in which they're coming out during the day has passed. It has passed. I think I just caught, if I may, can I just show you a photograph, actually? […]
Read the full transcript with a Pod Engine plan.
See plansWho has been a guest on Great Lives
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
- James Aldred
- Chris Packham
- Pauline Black
- Celeste Bell
- Zoe Howe
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
- Apple Podcasts (US)
- 4.2 / 5
- 466 ratings
- Spotify
- 4.8 / 5
- 56 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 62 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
- Quality
- 85
- Social presence
- 0
- YouTube
- 0
- Engagement
- 98
Pitching Great Lives
- Guest appearances
- Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting pitches.
Shows with a similar audience
Questions about Great Lives
Who hosts Great Lives?
Matthew Parris host the show. Published by BBC Radio 4.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes daily, based on its RSS feed.
Does Great Lives take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
Where can I read transcripts?
60 of 412 episodes have a transcript on Pod Engine. Full transcripts are available with a Pod Engine plan.
Host of Great Lives?
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