Big Lives

Little Richard: The Architect of Rock and Roll

He screamed, shimmered and rewrote popular music and then disappeared from the throne he built. This episode reveals Little Richard’s unstoppable rise, painful erasure, and lifelong battle between the divine and the profane. A vivid, funny and heartbreaking meditation on race, queerness, faith and why rock and roll history still gets its origin story wrong. Additional archive: Tutti Frutti by Little Richard, Speciality, 1957 Connect with the team!  * Follow our hosts Kai Wright [https://www.instagram.com/kai_wright/] and Emmanuel Dzotsi [https://www.instagram.com/newsmanual_/reels/] * Follow Pushkin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all] or X [https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en]  * Follow BBC Podcasts on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@bbcpodcasts] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bbcpodcasts/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Muhammad Ali: Boxing, Fame and The Trap

What happens when a black icon refuses to make white audiences comfortable? This episode traces Muhammad Ali’s BBC interviews—full of swagger and wit, fury and fallout—to reveal how he reshaped media, protest and public speech. Along the way: Vietnam, the Nation of Islam, Joe Frazier, and a blueprint every outspoken Black celebrity still wrestles with today. Additional archive: When We Were Kings, PolyGram Film Productions, 1996  Connect with the team!  * Follow our hosts Kai Wright [https://www.instagram.com/kai_wright/] and Emmanuel Dzotsi [https://www.instagram.com/newsmanual_/reels/] * Follow Pushkin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all] or X [https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en]  * Follow BBC Podcasts on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@bbcpodcasts] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bbcpodcasts/]  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Liza Minnelli: Surviving the Spotlight

Born into a spotlight she never asked for, Liza Minnelli didn’t only survive her inheritance—she made it into her own art. Using BBC archive, iconic performances, and her complicated bond with her mother Judy Garland, we reveal why her vulnerability is her superpower. From Broadway to Hollywood, nepo baby discourse to Cabaret breakout, we explore her raw emotional magnetism, impossible childhood, legendary resilience, and that indefinable spark you can’t look away from. Additional archive: New York, New York (Original Motion Picture Score), United Artists Records, 1977  Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, Live At The London Palladium, Capitol Records, 1965  Connect with the team!  * Follow our hosts Kai Wright [https://www.instagram.com/kai_wright/] and Emmanuel Dzotsi [https://www.instagram.com/newsmanual_/reels/] * Follow Pushkin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all] or X [https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en]  * Follow BBC Podcasts on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@bbcpodcasts] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bbcpodcasts/]  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Sir David Attenborough: The Voice of the Natural World Turns 100

Sir David Attenborough turns 100 this year—and no one has done more to shape how humanity sees our planet. But for years, there was one issue he didn’t talk about. Emmanuel & Kai chart the story of how one nerdy rock-collecting kid became one of TV’s biggest stars, and took on the most important mission of his life. Additional archive: Our Planet II, Netflix 2023 Connect with the team!  * Follow our hosts Kai Wright [https://www.instagram.com/kai_wright/] and Emmanuel Dzotsi [https://www.instagram.com/newsmanual_/reels/] * Follow Pushkin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all] or X [https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en]  * Follow BBC Podcasts on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@bbcpodcasts] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bbcpodcasts/]  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

LL Cool J: The Corny King of Hip Hop

LL Cool J didn’t conquer hip‑hop by being the toughest or the slickest, he did it by being unabashedly himself. Kai & Emmanuel break down the charisma, contradictions, and carefully crafted showmanship that turned a Queens teenager into a global cultural force. Through BBC archive gems and Kai’s own teenage misadventures, revisit the chaotic early days of Def Jam Records and the Soft Boy anthem that shook hip‑hop. Connect with the team!  * Follow our hosts Kai Wright [https://www.instagram.com/kai_wright/] and Emmanuel Dzotsi [https://www.instagram.com/newsmanual_/reels/] * Follow Pushkin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all] or X [https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en]  * Follow BBC Podcasts on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@bbcpodcasts] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bbcpodcasts/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.