Great Lives Folgen

Althea Gibson made sporting history in 1957 - the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon title. She also won the US Open and the French Open. Raised on the streets of Harlem, her story is remarkable. And yet she is relatively unknown. Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at Edinburgh University, champions Althea's life.With writer Sally H Jacobs, who is writing a new biography of the tennis star.Presenter: Matthew ParrisProduced at BBC Audio in Bristol by Chris Ledgard. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2021.

Yehudi Menuhin was the original child prodigy. He was born in America in 1916, and was soon playing in concert halls round the world. He also played to the survivors of the German concentration camps, and waded into the fight against apartheid in South Africa too. Tasmin Little was a pupil at the Yehudi Menuhin school in Surrey, England, and knew her choice well. Not only was he a brilliant performer, she says, he was a crossover star who played with Ravi Shankar, Stephane Grappelli and Morecambe and Wise. You'll also hear from his biographer, Humphrey Burton, and from Yehudi Menuhin too.Presented by Matthew ParrisProduced for BBC audio in Bristol by Miles Warde

Hans Christian Andersen was 'a very strange orchid,' says Michael Booth. He was born in 1806 in Denmark, and today is still famous for so many stories that every child knows, 156 in total. His own life is almost as odd as the tales he told. A neurotic hypochondriac, he escaped a terrible childhood and travelled to Copenhagen to make his name. Helping to tell the story of his life is Michael Rosen, the author of many books for children including 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. Michael Booth is the author of The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia. And Hans Christian Andersen is the author of The Little Mermaid and The Emperor's New ClothesThe presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer for BBC Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde