Tottenham MP David Lammy has been leading the parliamentary charge for the Windrush generation as they fight for their residency rights. Mark Coles charts the life and career of one of parliament's most formidable campaigners. Born in North London to Guyanese parents, Lammy grew up in Tottenham but moved to Peterborough aged 11 after winning a council scholarship to the city's cathedral boarding school. He went on to study law in London and at Harvard. Then, after a brief spell as a barrister, he became MP for his home borough of Tottenham at the age of just 27. His political career soon took off, with Tony Blair making him a minister in the New Labour government and Lammy was quickly hailed as 'the Black Blair' or 'Britain's Obama'. But not everything went smoothly for the junior minister. Since Labour went into opposition, Lammy has spent his time on the back benches. There, he's found his political voice and passion as a defender of those he feels have been failed by the system - from the Grenfell fire victims, to working-class young people struggling to get into top universities, and now the Windrush immigrants. Alastair Campbell calls him "a good old-fashioned class warrior, in the best possible sense". Mark Coles meets some of the people who know Lammy best - from childhood friends, former teachers and his beloved 'Aunty May' who firmly believes that, one day, her godson will be Britain's first black Prime Minister. Presenter: Mark Coles.
Producers: Diane Richardson and Arlene Gregorius
Editor: Helen Grady.
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Folge vom 28.04.2018David Lammy
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Folge vom 21.04.2018Kendrick LamarMark Coles profiles Pulitzer Prize winning rapper Kendrick Lamar, whose concepts and ideas are changing hip-hop culture. Lamar won the award for his latest album Damn, which also collected five Grammy awards in January and is praised for lyrics which reveal the complexity of modern African-American life.Growing up in the deprived city of Compton, California, Lamar credits his father with keeping him on the right path and providing the balance that some of his peers were missing. His album good kid, m.A.A.d city tells the stories of young black men trying to escape the negative influences surrounding them. Lamar's lyrical journey explores violence, depression, religion and also the limits of fame and fortune, he's the rapper who says that helping the next generation find positivity and God is where it's at.Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Arlene Gregorius and Diane Richardson Editor: Emma Rippon.
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Folge vom 14.04.2018Karen PierceKaren Pierce is the UK's new Permanent Representative at the UN in New York, Britain's most senior ambassadorial post. She only started in the role three weeks ago and has been thrown in at the deep end with the chemical weapons attack in Syria. Friends and colleagues alike are struck by her glamorous and colourful sense of style. This includes high heels, to the dismay of her security detail in places like Afghanistan, who fear her footwear could impede a swift exit. We hear how she tackles meetings fearlessly, and has been known to reduce a roomful of shouting men to silence, without raising her voice. Becky Milligan looks at the life of an unusual diplomat, who may now be facing her biggest challenge yet. Producers: Arlene Gregorius and Ros Jones.
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Folge vom 07.04.2018Daniel EkDaniel Ek, co-founder and CEO of music streaming service Spotify. Mark Coles tracks the life of the shy Swede transforming the music industry.This week 35-year-old Daniel Ek became very, very rich when his company Spotify floated on the New York Stock Exchange - with an initial value of more than $26 billion. It's a long way from his home in a working-class suburb of Stockholm where Daniel's interest in both music and computers was piqued at an early age. He started his first businesses while a teenager, in between starring in school musicals, and earned his first fortune in his early 20s. He launched Spotify in 2006 with business partner Martin Lorentzon, with a goal to 'save the music industry' at a time when illegal downloads were eating into profits. Today Spotify has revolutionised the way we listen to music and last year Daniel Ek was named the most-powerful person in the music industry by Billboard magazine - but what does the future hold in store for the tech industry's latest billionaire?CONTRIBUTORSTony Kinberg, Daniel Ek's former music teacherKina Zeidler, journalist and author of Det Svenska Techundret (The Swedish Tech Miracle)Jonas Nordlander, co-founder & CEO of Avito and founder and former owner of Tradera. Pelle Lidell, founder of EKKO Music Rights Europe and former executive at Universal MusicD.A. Wallach - musician, tech investor and former artists services lead at SpotifyDiego Planas, former Spotify employee.