
Every legend has a twist. From pop culture icons to music and comedy greats, award-winning journalists Kai Wright and Emmanuel Dzotsi dig into the BBC archive to unpick the story behind the icons who shape our culture.
Each week on Big Lives, Kai and Emmanuel take an iconic figure — from musical trailblazers like David Bowie, Amy Winehouse and Tina Turner to stars of the screen like Richard Pryor... more
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 25 | Founded | 7 months ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | Society & CultureArts | |||

On Big Lives, we're interested not just in the story of the icons we cover, but also on the impact they have on the world around them. And when it comes to George Harrison, his legacy has continued to evolve. So we're sharing an episode today from Hi... more
Where have you been, what did you find, and who did it make you? We're sharing an episode from a new podcast, Traveling Through. Host David Prior, travel writer and founder of immersive travel company PRIOR, invites culture makers like Jenna Lyons, D... more
Why is Madonna one of the most controversial pop stars of all time? Before cancel culture and social media outrage, Madonna was already at the centre of America's biggest culture wars. Hosts Kai and Emmanuel sit down with writer and Scamfluencers hos... more
Who was the real James Baldwin, beyond the famous speeches and viral quotes? Hosts Kai and Emmanuel are joined by biographer Nicholas Boggs to explore the life and legacy of one of America's greatest writers. From his friendships and romances to his ... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





Tried to get through the Lauren Hill episode and couldn’t. The Madonna episode was the last straw. Why on earth you would invite a writer who was admittedly a child when Madonna hit the scene, and give any credence to the claim that they really didn’t get why religious folks made such a big deal about like a prayer… massive eye roll. At least try to have hosts and guests that understands the context of the times. The podcast is such a great idea. The hosts not so much. It’s like they’ve grown ... more
Fascinating stories and great coversations from the hosts and guests. I was familiar with all of the icons, but learned so much more from these episodes. The BBC clips were like a time capsule. Looking forward to new eps!
LOVE THIS SHOW!!! Love Emanuel and Kai’s relationship! It’s so fun to hear the influence of their different upbringings in the US/ UK and their different generations. I am entertained, laughing, and learning as I listen. Also just love hearing hot takes from fabulous gay black men!
I accidentally came upon this podcast and was delighted! The podcast hosts have interesting perspectives. The BBC archives are so fun to hear. Listening to actual interviews of the people that they are talking about throughout. the ages is really eye-opening. Fun, entertaining, and pushes you to see things a bit different differently. Have fun and listen!
The show was recommended by a friend who enjoyed traveling in the way back machine for LL. Since then I’ve listened to the entire season. Great snapshot of people when know well from a different angle. Looking forward to more.
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #190 | |
Apple Podcasts | #193 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
Big Lives offers thoughtful, archive-driven portraits of cultural icons, spanning music, film, and comedy. Two hosts use BBC archival material to unpack a subject's life, work, and the broader social context, weaving in personal anecdotes and critical reflection to reveal nuance beyond headlines. Recent episodes showcase how fame intersects with race, sexuality, politics, and identity, with a steady emphasis on context, nuance, and the human stories behind public personas. The show tends to blend intimate storytelling with documentary-style analysis, often spotlighting archival clips to illuminate a subject's impact on culture and contemporary conversations. Noteworthy traits include its collaborative host dynamic, use of rare archival mate... more
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Big Lives. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Big Lives and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Big Lives, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Big Lives, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers Big Lives has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with Big Lives:
1. Revisionist History: The Staten Island Problem
2. Decoder Ring
3. This American Life
4. The Secret World of Roald Dahl
5. Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
Big Lives launched 7 months ago and published 25 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Big Lives from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Big Lives. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on Big Lives include:
1. Chris Molanphy
2. David Remnick
3. Saachi Koul
4. Nicholas Boggs
5. Emily Hauser
6. Kiell Smith-Bynoe
7. BA Parker
8. David Blight
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.