Great Lives
Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.
Biographical malpractice by Suzy Klein
01/19/2022
I listened to the biography of the late, great Austrian actress, Hedy Lamarr, as told by Suzy Klein. I consider it biographical malpractice that she left out the very significant fact that Hedy was born Hedwig Kiesler, to a Jewish family! Her first husband was an arms merchant, Friedrich Mandl. He was half-Jewish through his father. In addition, Mandl actually did some arms business with Mussolini and Hitler! The reason these ethnic facts are so significant is because when she came into her own an as actress, the pre-war Nazi period was her milieu. Anyway, that was quite an omission.
Appaling Episode on Nero
Aug 26
The Great Life episode on Nero is one of the worst rewrites of history I’ve ever heard and is almost a parody of the BBC and its agenda-led output. Apparently his was a “great life” because he was an leading thespian and was bisexual. These are things the BBC love. But his sordid, mass execution of Christians (people the BBC hate) is quickly glossed over and even thrown into doubt. When Hermann Goering was caught fleeing Nazi Germany in 1945 it was noted that his nails were coated in red varnish. He was also a particular lover of the arts. So perhaps we’ll soon have another episode on the greatly misunderstood and demonised head of the Luftwaffe. This series needs a new production team and a new presenter without an agenda.
We thought they were great lives
08/25/2023
Mixed feelings about this podcast. I appreciate the breadth of subjects and the breezy tone of the show. But it seems the goal of each episode is to lessen our appreciation & respect for the subject as they are made 'more human' and seemingly more 'relatable'. Of course these historical figures were far from perfect; I just find it irritating that we end up hearing a conversation that deconstructs their 'greatness' in a very postmodern, self-congratulatory way. I find myself thinking "well I guess 'so & so' wasn't that great after all." :(
Catherine de Medici
07/24/2023
Learn how to pronounce her last name: it’s Médici, not Medìci. It’s not a matter of interpretation! One of your guests knows it and the other doesn’t.
About
Information
- CreatorBBC Radio 4
- Years Active2007 - 2024
- Episodes361
- RatingClean
- Copyright© (C) BBC 2024
- Show Website