Nan Goldin is a cultural icon and pioneer of art photography celebrated for her provocative and intimate photos of drag queens, drug addicts and sex. But recently she has been generating headlines not for her art but for her activism. The photographer has been fighting the US opioid epidemic after battling her own addiction to prescription painkillers. CORRECTION: In this edition of Profile we said Nan Goldin has protested on the steps of the Museum of Modern Art. In fact she has protested on th...
Mar 09, 2019•14 min
CRISPR Cas9 has been described as the greatest biological breakthrough in decades. The hopes resting on this gene editing technology are immense - this week a Swiss drug company announced it is beginning a landmark clinical trial using CRISPR on a patient with a dangerous blood disease. Mark Coles profiles one of the creators of the technology, the American biochemist Jennifer Doudna. Clarification: In 2018 a federal court confirmed that the patents granted by the United States Patent and Tradem...
Mar 02, 2019•14 min
MP Luciana Berger resigned from the Labour Party this week to join the newly-formed Independent Group. For years she has been the target of sustained anti-Semitic abuse, and has criticised the Labour Party's handling of the issue. One of the reasons she gave for leaving the party is that she has come to view it as "institutionally anti-Semitic”. Her resignation comes within days of her facing a vote of no-confidence in her Liverpool Wavertree constituency, which was withdrawn after a bitter row....
Feb 23, 2019•14 min
The transport secretary's critics call him “failing Grayling" - an unkind nickname, perhaps, but one made more likely to stick by his infamous decision to award a valuable contract to a Brexit ferry company with no ferries. He cancelled the contract this week amid much derision in Parliament. Presenter: Mark Coles Producer; Sally Abrahams
Feb 16, 2019•14 min
We’re talking buildings and monuments on Profile this week – looking at the life and career of Sir David Adjaye. The 52-year-old British-Ghanaian architect shot to fame in the US for his 2016 Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. An exhibition featuring his work has just opened in London. Producer: Sally Abrahams Presenter: Mark Coles
Feb 09, 2019•14 min
Juan Guaidó - who recently declared himself Venezuela’s president - was elected to the National Assembly in 2011 and won the seat of his home state in 2016. But he only really came to prominence more recently when he was picked to head Venezuela's parliament, the National Assembly. US President Donald Trump has recognised Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader - as has Canada, Brazil, Australia and the European parliament - but, for now, Nicolás Maduro is showing no signs of giving way. In th...
Feb 02, 2019•14 min
Conservative MP Nick Boles has hatched a plan with Labour's Yvette Cooper to reduce the chances of a 'no deal' Brexit. Their amendment - with cross party support - will be put to the Commons next week. Becky Milligan profiles a rebel who has survived cancer twice and has spent a surprising amount of time throwing shapes on Ibiza dance floors. Researcher: Darin Graham Producer: Smita Patel Editor: Richard Knight
Jan 26, 2019•14 min
There’s only one story this week. People up and down the country are bitterly divided. Yes, it’s the vegan sausage roll. The latest PR-friendly innovation from bakery-turned-fast food chain Greggs. But the success of this faux meat pastry product is just the latest chapter in what is one of the retail turnaround stories of the past decade. Down in the doldrums five years ago these days Greggs is on a – ahem – roll. And it’s largely down to one man, apparently: Roger Whiteside, our subject this w...
Jan 19, 2019•14 min
On Profile this week, Mark Coles looks at the most powerful woman in American politics – the veteran Democratic congresswoman and new Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. It’s a remarkable comeback for her…it puts her third in line to the Presidency itself. Having first done the job back in 2007 when George W Bush was Commander in Chief – now 78, many thought Pelosi was too old this time round. But only a week into the role, she’s already engaged in a bitter war o...
Jan 12, 2019•14 min
Grime music's biggest star, Stormzy, says he's from a place "where success doesn't happen". But he's had a remarkable rise to fame. Six years ago Stormzy, real name Michael Omari, was working at an oil refinery in Southampton. Now, he's a millionaire. His success began with his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer, the first grime record to reach number one. It's not just his music that has made him a household name in the UK. During the 2017 General Election, he lent his support to Jeremy Corbyn...
Jan 05, 2019•14 min
Melania Trump is the second foreign-born First Lady and Donald Trump’s third wife; an ex-model, 24 years his junior, who once posed pregnant in a gold bikini on the steps of her husband’s jet. It was modelling that took Melania from small-town Slovenia to New York and her fateful encounter with the future President. But despite being one of the most recognisable woman in the world she remains something an enigma. So who is Melania Trump? What does she believe? And what might she do on the global...
Dec 29, 2018•14 min
The founder of Netflix, the streaming service that’s turned us all into binge watchers. It's Christmas and for many that means settling in to watch seasonal TV. But traditional broadcasters have a big rival: Netflix. With 125 million subscribers worldwide it's changed television. So who is Reed Hastings, the man behind the seismic shift in broadcasting, and how did he do it? Thanks to CBS/60 Minutes for audio of Reed Hastings. Presenter: Mark Coles Producer: Phoebe Keane...
Dec 22, 2018•14 min
Gail Bradbrook is one of the founders of a radical and rapidly-growing environmental protest group called Extinction Rebellion. Its aim: using non-violent direct action to force governments to tackle climate change. It’s energised a lot of people who’re fed up with what they see as the slow pace of change. And it’s won support from the great and good of the environmental world. One hundred leading academics, authors, politicians and religious leaders have endorsed it. But critics have likened th...
Dec 15, 2018•14 min
He's the Attorney General who this week told MPs to 'grow up' and 'get real.' Becky Milligan profiles Geoffrey Cox QC, whose rousing Parliamentary performance lost the argument but won admirers. Becky meets a former teacher who recollects a young poet, colleagues who recall flamboyant courtroom appearances and a clerk whose mission was to deliver forbidden treats. Producers: Phoebe Keane and Diane Richardson Editor: Richard Knight
Dec 08, 2018•13 min
It's almost crunch time for Theresa May as she prepares for the Commons vote on her Brexit withdrawal agreement. The numbers do not appear to be on her side. It's thought as many 100 Conservative MPs are planning to vote against it. The government's chief whip is Julian Smith. It's his rather daunting job to persuade rebel Tory MPs to vote with the PM. Can he do it? We look for clues in his life story so far. Producer: Oliver Jones Presenter: Mark Coles
Dec 01, 2018•13 min
The new chair of the Parole Board, the body that decides when and if the most serious prisoners can be released into the community. The Parole Board was thrust into the spotlight when it ruled that John Worboys, the "black cab rapist," could be released from jail. Worboys' victims launched a legal challenge and The High Court ruled in their favour, forcing the parole board to perform a u-turn. The head stepped down and the new chair of the Parole Board is Caroline Corby. She'll have to oversee m...
Nov 24, 2018•14 min
There were extraordinary scenes in New York this week when the Brooklyn Bridge was closed to all traffic apart from a motorcade of heavily-armored cars. They were taking Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán to court. For the US authorities, this moment was a long time coming. And they had every reason to expect trouble. El Chapo - the infamous Mexican drug lord - is one of the most brutal, feared and powerful men in the world. He has slipped through the fingers of justice several times before. Becky Millig...
Nov 17, 2018•14 min
The story of the youngest woman ever elected to the US congress. Five months ago, nobody knew who Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was. Now she’s been dubbed the future of the Democratic Party. When she dared to challenge a long standing Democratic congressman in June’s primaries, she had no money and no experience. But against all odds she won by a staggering 15 points. She was catapulted into the spotlight and in this week's mid term elections she won a place in the House of Representatives, breaking ...
Nov 10, 2018•14 min
Brazil's new President-elect has a reputation for speaking his mind regardless of who he offends, earning him the nickname 'Trump of the Tropics'. He's suggested gay neighbours would decrease the value of his home, told a female politician "I would never rape you, because you don't deserve it" and declared his support for torture. Jair Bolsonaro grew up in a poor village in Sao Paolo and came of age during Brazil's long military dictatorship. He paid his way through school by selling fish he cau...
Nov 03, 2018•14 min
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, is at the centre of a storm over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This week the Crown Prince broke his silence and denounced the killing. But with Donald Trump calling it “the worst cover up ever” and Western leaders threatening sanctions, will his path to the Saudi throne be blocked? Helen Grady finds out how the young prince – now aged 33 – came to power so quickly. A Washington-based analyst tells us why he’d argue the Crown Pr...
Oct 27, 2018•14 min
Government minister Esther McVey has become a lightening rod for anger about benefit cuts and welfare reform. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions knows all about financial struggle, starting out in life as a foster child. Mark Coles finds out how the former presenter has gone from a breakfast TV sofa to the front benches of the House of Commons. In a rare interview, Esther’s father Jim tells us why he decided to put his daughter into care, and how he helped kick-start her on-screen care...
Oct 20, 2018•14 min
British blogger Eliot Higgins and his investigative website Bellingcat have been making headlines around the world this week with claims that they’ve uncovered the true identities of two Russian men suspected of carrying out a nerve agent attack in Salisbury. Not tourists as the Kremlin maintains – but highly decorated members of Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU. Higgins – isn’t your typical journalist. A former video gamer, in the past he’s worked for a bank, an oil rig company e...
Oct 13, 2018•14 min
As the new series of Dr Who launches, Mark Coles profiles the life of new Dr Who script writer and distinguished children's author Malorie Blackman. The former Children's Laureate has been called a “phenomenal author and a childhood hero” by rapper Stormzy and name checked on Tiny Tempah's hit Written In The Stars. She has written over 60 books for children and young adults, plays the drums, speaks several languages and apparently Klingon. Producers: Diane Richardson, Smita Patel and Jade Thomps...
Oct 06, 2018•14 min
“One of the greatest comebacks in sporting history”. That’s how US journalists reacted to golfer Tiger Woods winning the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta last weekend. Having struggled with injury and the fall-out from marital infidelity, Woods hadn’t won for five years. Many thought he was finished. This weekend, as the comeback kid joins the US Ryder Cup team in Paris, Mark Coles looks back on Tiger Woods’ life and career. We hear from former friends and associates, his first ever golf coach a...
Sep 29, 2018•14 min
BBC TV’s ‘Killing Eve’ is all the rage this week - a new drama about an MI5 officer trying to catch a Russian assassin which has earned near unanimous rave reviews . On Profile, Mark Coles examines the life of the show’s creator – the actor and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge. From childhood poetry about frogs to mooning on stage and ‘Fleabag’ - her award winning TV show about a sex obsessed singleton, we find out why Waller-Bridge seems determined to shock her audience. We hear from her close frien...
Sep 22, 2018•14 min
America is bitterly divided. Should conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh be given a seat on the US Supreme Court ? Opponents fear his appointment - if confirmed later this month - will shift the country's most powerful legislative body further right and turn the clock back on decades of civil and human rights reforms. Others argue he's only been nominated by President Trump to ensure he can't be prosecuted for any perceived wrongdoing in the Russia collusion investigation. Nonsense, say his suppor...
Sep 15, 2018•14 min
As political rebrands go, it's an unlikely one - say his critics. The shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell - former hard man of the left this week playing peacemaker in a row between Jewish groups and Labour over the party's stance on anti-Semitism. On Profile this week, Mark Coles goes in search of the real John McDonnell. A journey which takes us from his working class Liverpudlian roots, his time fighting Thatcher at the GLC and into parliament where his hard left politics reviled New Labour and...
Sep 08, 2018•14 min
It's been a long time coming. A sticker on the cover of Jamaican born writer Victor Headley's 1992 novel 'Yardie' said "soon to be made into a major movie". A quarter of a century on, it finally has. Directed by British actor Idris Elba, the film - about violent Jamaican drug gangs operating in London in the 1980s - opens this weekend. On Profile this week, Mark Coles finds out more about the man who wrote the original story. Described by a friend, as an 'enigma wrapped in a mystery'. We hear fr...
Sep 01, 2018•14 min
In 2014, one of the oldest financial institutions in the City of London, Lloyd's, appointed its first ever female chief executive, Inga Beale. Next year, she will step down from the role. A champion for diversity in the workplace, Beale has overseen big cultural and technological changes at the insurance market - some controversial. A drinking ban for Lloyd's employees during working hours made the headlines in 2017, as did a loosening of the famously conservative dress code. She has faced other...
Jul 28, 2018•14 min
The vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and YouTube star Jacob Collier has some very famous fans. Music industry titan Quincy Jones described him as an absolute genius and asked to work with him. But Jacob declined his invitation and suggested instead if they could just be friends. He wanted to make his first album on his own terms. The gamble paid off as he went on to win two Grammy awards. And now, at just 23 years old, he is performing his own Prom at the Royal Albert Hall. Presenter: Mark Coles ...
Jul 21, 2018•14 min
