Great Lives Folgen

Olympic rower Helen Glover champions the life of mountaineer Alison Hargreaves. Alison's short life was defined by her love of the mountains. She became interested in climbing as a teenager and devoted her life to pursuing ever greater challenges. She was the first woman to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and unsupported - before losing her life on the infamous K2 mountain in Pakistan in 1995. Presented by Matthew Parris - with the help of Alison's biographer, Ed Douglas. Producer: Maggie AyreFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2018.

"Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, this is an interesting world I find myself in - fits me rather neatly, don't you think?"Douglas Noel Adams wasn't even 50 when he died in 2001, but his imagination had already roamed far. He created The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Meaning of Liff and several episodes of Doctor Who, plus the Dirk Gently character and Last Chance to See.Nominating him is his co-writer on Last Chance to See, the zoologist Mark Carwardine. Mark's role, Adams said later, was to be the one who knew what he was talking about. "My role was to be an extremely ignorant non-zoologist to whom everything that happened would come as a complete surprise."Joining Mark and Matthew Parris in the bar where this was recorded, is Douglas Adam's biographer, Jem Roberts. With archive of Stephen Fry, John Lloyd, Naomi Alderman, Griff Rhys Jones and Geoffrey Perkins.Producer: Miles WardeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2018.

For Cherie Blair, leading barrister and QC, picking her great life was simple – her role model is Rose Heilbron, England's first woman judge. When Cherie was growing up in Liverpool, Rose Heilbron was always the name that excited her grandmother the most. Rose was a barrister and when she was arguing a case before a jury in her home city, Cherie Blair's grandmother would follow her cases avidly, sometimes from the public gallery. Then she would come back and tell young Cherie all about what had gone on. And so Heilbron became a great example of what a Liverpool girl could achieve in the law. And she had a remarkable career - first woman in silk, first to lead in a murder case, first woman treasurer of Gray's Inn.Cherie is joined in the studio by Hilary Heilbron QC, daughter and author of the biography: 'Rose Heilbron, Legal Pioneer of the 20th century'; plus Dr John Tribe – senior lecturer in law from the University of Liverpool.Presenter: Matthew Parris Producer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2018.