Profile

The seminal rapper and billionaire fashion mogul Kanye West's new album Donda is named after his late mother, who was an influential figure in his life. It's gone straight to number one in many countries, it's the most successful album of the year already, clocking up over 180 million streams in just 24 hours.

Some consider Kanye West - who also calls himself Ye - a creative genius. Others have been put off by controversial behaviour. President Obama called him a "jackass", after Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for a video music award to say Beyoncé "had one of the best videos of all time", implying she should have won instead. He apologised later.

The hip hop artist doesn't lack self-belief. He has called himself a "God", and compared himself to the likes of Picasso and Shakespeare. But could he have a point?

And then there is fashion - his designs of popular trainers and clothes have made him a billionaire.

So what drives the controversial yet highly successful artist? Mark Coles dives into Kanye West's life and work to find out.

Producer: Arlene Gregorius

Following a sometimes ugly campaign, Britain's second largest trade union, Unite, has elected its first woman leader, Sharon Graham. But who exactly is she?

Producer Simon Coates

With the fall of Kabul and the Taliban back in power in Afghanistan, this week Mark Coles profiles the man who’s become the public face of the strict Islamist movement - its political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

Baradar was one of those who founded the Taliban almost thirty years ago. Now, after spending eight years in a Pakistani jail, many are tipping him to be Afghanistan’s next President.

Mark Coles speaks to some of the world’s leading experts on the Taliban to try to find out more about Mullah Baradar’s background, his upbringing and what he really believes in.

Producer Smita Patel

By the end of July this year, more than 80 million vaccinations had been administered in the UK.

Mark Coles takes a look at the talented and determined scientist leading the Oxford University vaccine team, Professor Sarah Gilbert.

Producers: Ben Crighton and Soila Apparicio.

George Mpanga, better known as George the Poet, is a British spoken word poet, podcaster and advocate for social change. Born in north London after his parents fled Uganda in the 1980s, he’s become an increasingly significant voice in the debate on race and class in the UK.

His innovative style mixes music and poetry. It has won him critical acclaim both as a recording artist and a social commentator, playing to a wide range of audiences, from the Cheltenham Literature Festival to 1Xtra. His award-winning podcast ‘Have You Heard George’s Podcast?’ blends fiction, news and music to depict inner city life.

Mark Coles speaks to friends, family, and colleagues to find out more.

Presenter: Mark Coles

Last October, British sprint cyclist, Mark Cavendish, broke down on TV, fearing he’d cycled the last race of his career. Now the 36 year-old is making sporting history, against the odds. After illness and injury, the man dubbed the Manx Missile has now equalled the record – set by cycling legend Eddie Merckx - for the most Tour de France stage wins. And, if things go well for him on this last weekend of the Tour, he could even top that tally of 34. And yet, Cavendish only secured a place in the team at the absolute last minute. Few expected him to take part, never mind secure win after win.

Mark Coles talks to friends and family of the sportsman who says he’s addicted to winning.

Presenter: Mark Coles

For almost a decade Raheem Sterling has been one of English football’s most talked about players. Born in Jamacia and raised in the shadow of the Wembley arch, he burst onto the scene as a precocious 17 year old talent at Liverpool.

Edward Stourton gets behind the headlines and speaks to those that know him best to find out how the quiet young boy from Brent become one of English football’s most talismanic figures.

Producers: Beth Sagar-Fenton & Matt Murphy

He's 23, with 16 Grand Slam titles to his name and focused on winning his first Wimbledon singles title. Yet British wheelchair tennis champion, Alfie Hewett, is facing the end of his career because of a change in rules. The elite sportsman, from Norwich, Norfolk, is currently ineligible to compete beyond 2021 after being told by the International Tennis Federation that his disability is not severe enough.

Mark Coles talks to friends, family and career professionals to find out how the sports-loving six year-old was suddenly forced to adapt from running around a football pitch to being in a wheelchair. And how this life-changing event has shaped him into the player he is today.

Presenter: Mark Coles

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of Nigeria’s foremost literary voices. Her writing is noted for its touching examination of homeland, identity and feminism. For more than a decade she has been coaching and mentoring promising young authors through her yearly workshops in Lagos, bringing a new generation of African writers to mainstream attention.

On the subject of transgender people and feminism, Chimamanda Adichie has been criticised by some on social media for comments she made in a 2017 TV interview, in which she said "my feeling is trans women are trans women". She was branded transphobic and there were calls for her to be banned from book events.

This past week, she has hit back, writing a furious online essay slamming some of her critics and arguing that social media platforms have become too toxic.

Mark Coles talks to friends and family about the award-winning writer whose outspoken nature has seen her drawn into a social media firestorm.

Presenter: Mark Coles

The military commando turned self-made tech millionaire who’s now Prime Minister of Israel.

The right-wing, nationalist, supporter of Jewish settlement in the West Bank has formed an unlikely alliance of left and right, secular and religious, Jewish and Arab. Once the chief of staff to Benjamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett brought an end to his old boss’s 12 years in power.

Presenter: Mark Coles

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