Great Lives Folgen

Sir Edward Coke was born in Norfolk in 1552. He's best known as a judge and Parliamentarian, the link says Jesse Norman between Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights. He was also, the programme claims, an occasionally appalling human being who used his own daughter in a marriage deal to buy himself favour with the King. Joining Jesse Norman, and presenter Ian Hislop, in the studio, and often backing up his claims for Coke's greatness, is Dr Alexandra Gajda of Oxford University.Jesse Norman is a government minister, former paymaster general and one time financial secretary to the Treasury. Producer: Miles WardeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2023.

In 1997 Kofi Annan became the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations. The nineties were a turbulent period for the organisation and it had received criticism for a lack of action in both Rwanda and Bosnia leading to thousands of deaths. Kofi was born in Ghana and after a brief spell in the USA slowly worked his way up through the organisation and his appointment was seen by many as a return to a consensus and multi-lateral approach to diplomacy.Choosing Kofi is the writer, biologist and presenter Gillian Burke. Gillian's Mum worked for the UN and Gillian describes herself as a "Child of the UN". For both Gillian and her Mum, Kofi Annan was a symbol of hope and an embodiment of the core principles of the UN, and she is keen to learn what qualities Kofi had that made him a good diplomat. To help answer that is former ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock. Sir Jeremy praises Kofi's ability to listen to all sides but says his eyes would harden when he disagreed with what was being said. Together with Matthew Parris, they chew over the successes and failures of Kofi Annan's career, the role of the UN, and what impact he might be having today if he were still alive.Presenter: Matthew Parris Guests: Gillian Burke and Sir Jeremy GreenstockProduced for BBC Audio, Bristol by Toby Field

"The most important thing to do in your life is not to interfere with somebody else's life." Frank Zappa was born December 1940 in Baltimore, USA. Comedian John Robins - who is obsessed - reckons that it was his subsequently itinerant childhood that had much to do with what happened next. Frank's musical output was prodigious and varied, but John laughs out loud when pushed on whether he had any hits. That wasn't the point of Frank Zappa - the music was everything, creating it and performing it.Joining the award winning comedian and broadcaster in studio is Deb Grant, who provides a steadying balance to John Robins' fan boy approval of all things Zappa. Programme includes multiple clips of Frank himself, including his most famous quote: "Most rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, for people who can't read."The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde