Great Lives

The arrival of Lotus shook up motor sport in 1960s and 70s. In Formula One, Colin Chapman made his cars lighter and quicker than anyone else, often challenging the rules. But not everything he designed was safe. On the roads, Lotus sports cars are an icon of the era. To discuss this colourful and controversial life, Matthew Parris is joined by the entrepreneur Rohan Silva and the motor racing journalist, Maurice Hamilton. Producer: Chris Ledgard

Matthew Parris meets Suzanne O'Sullivan to discuss her medical and literary hero, Oliver Sacks. She first came across his work on a beach in Thailand, reading his famous collection of case studies, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Joining the discussion is Sacks' partner, the writer and photographer Bill Hayes. Together they discuss the career of a gifted medic and writer who also loved motorbikes and wild swimming. Sacks wrote another extraordinary book, Awakenings, which was made into a film starring Robin Williams and Robert de Niro. Suzanne O'Sullivan is an Irish neurologist and award winning author. The producer in Bristol is Chris Ledgard

Ghulam Mohammad, or the Great Gama Pehlwan as he was more commonly known, was a Muslim wrestler born into a Kashmir family in India in 1878. When writer Nikesh Shukla first came across him in a book at the airport, he thought must be a fictional character- the stories seemed so far-fetched. Gama reportedly drank 10 litres of milk and ate six chickens a day. He also grappled with 40 wrestlers a day and did 5000 squats, Surely this was an action hero figure and not a real man? But Gama was real with a career spanning over 50 years, unbeaten not only in India, but also in England and Europe. In 1910 he was dubbed the strongest man in the world. And the press feared his strength might inspire rebellion in India, then under British rule. Joining Nikesh to tell the story of the Great Gama is Dr Majid Sheikh. The presenter is Matthew Parris and the producer is Perminder Khatkar.

Author and Journalist Sathnam Sanghera nominates a Great Life; a man dismissed as a fantasist and a liar in his own lifetime. Alexander Gardner was a Scottish-American soldier, a traveller, an explorer and adventurer - a white man with a tartan turban, who ended up in India in a Maharaja's Sikh Army in the 19th Century, just before the British Raj took over. Possibly a plagiarist and touted as a scoundrel, yet Sathnam claims he's worthy of a bigger place in history. If just a tiny portion of what we think we know about him is true, he is a genuinely remarkable figure. Joining Sathnam is our expert witness to Gardner's life, the historian John Keay. The presenter is Matthew Parris, and the Producer is Perminder Khatkar.

Mark Steel makes the case for Charlie Chaplin being one of the most radical comedians of his time. He reckons it's sad that most see Chaplin as that bloke who wore a bowler hat, had a funny walk, waved a cane around and wasn’t even that funny. Mark argues that Charlie Chaplin’s silent films and his "Tramp" character make sense if you look at the upheavals in society that were occurring alongside his career. Mark is best known for the Mark Steel Lectures and Mark Steel's in Town. He says that while Chaplin was standing up for the working class, the irony was that he became the richest rebel. Also joining Mark Steel is Simon Louvish author of ‘Chaplin: The Tramps Odyssey’. The presenter is Matthew Parris and the producer is Perminder Khatkar.