SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER 2025

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m002ks6r)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin (m002ks57)
Episode 5

In October 1929, the world watched in shock as the US stock market went into freefall, wiping out major fortunes and small-town savings, and igniting a depression that would re-shape a generation.

Best-selling author and journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin charts the inside story of the greatest financial crash in history, as the rollercoaster that gripped Wall Street in that year of chaos accelerated. Through dizzying highs and brutal lows, he follows the players at the heart of America’s financial markets - the bankers, investors, traders and speculators who disregarded increasingly loud alarm bells as they risked everything to save themselves and the institutions that had brought them wealth, fame and power.

This is a story about money, but it’s also about power, influence and illusion. In this account of the most pivotal market collapse of all time, Sorkin offers an electrifying insight into the cycles of speculation, the forces that drive financial upheavals and the warning signs that precede them. The lessons are as urgent as ever.

Andrew Ross Sorkin is the author of Too Big to Fail, about the 2008 financial crisis. He is a long-time journalist at The New York Times and the co-creator of the television drama Billions.

Reader: Demetri Goritsas
Abridger: Libby Spurrier
Sound engineer: Matt Bainbridge
Programme Co-ordinators: Nina Semple, Henry Tydeman, Dawn Williams
Producer: Sara Davies
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ks6t)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ks6w)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:30 News Summary (m002ks6y)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ks70)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002ks72)
A Prayer for When You Don’t Know What to Ask For

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Saarah Hamayun

My first proposal was one I’ll never forget. I was in my early twenties when my three-year-old cousin got down on one knee, clutching a bouquet of plastic flowers, and declared his undying love for me. Naturally, I accepted. He proceeded to make me an imaginary cup of tea, which seemed like a logical start to married life, then we spun around the garden hand in hand.

Our whirlwind romance ended rather abruptly when, without warning, he shouted, “You have to do the housework!” and pointed to the broom…

But of course, I adore him still and today, he’s an incredibly bright and mischievous seven-year-old. The day he was born, however, was a different story, he was born very prematurely, and my uncle will never forget that moment, when the doctor listed the terrifying risks for my cousin and his mother.

He recalls the numbness he felt, the helplessness and the uncertainty as he wandered through the hospital corridors until he found himself drawn to the prayer room; he remembers saying these words:

You know me in my heart of hearts, so only give me that burden which you know I can bear and whatever you give me, I will trust that I have the strength to carry it.

My uncle’s prayer always stayed with me. It’s more beautiful than asking God for everything to work out how you want it to. God already knows what we desire, but sometimes what is more honourable, is recognising that life isn’t about having every wish granted– it’s about cherishing what you have and hoping you have the strength to get through the difficult times.

I pray for patience to endure in times of hardship, and that we may emerge with the strength to continue forward. May we learn to face life’s challenges not with fear, but with quiet trust, knowing that grace can carry us through.

Amen


SAT 05:45 Untaxing (m0029jjz)
4. The Porn Star Tax Lawyer

A football club in ruins. Thousands of people facing financial devastation. And one man at the centre of it all - a tax lawyer turned porn mogul.

But how did he get away with it? And why did HMRC struggle to stop him?

Producer: Tom Pooley
A Tempo+Talker production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m002l1yj)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m002kq3h)
Walk for Wendy - Chater Valley

Clare explores a six-mile loop of the Chater Valley in this week’s Ramblings. Her companion is Will Hetherington who wrote to the programme inviting Clare to join him. He wanted to share his story of sudden bereavement, and the positivity that ultimately emerged from it.

Tragically, in 2017, Will’s first wife, Wendy, took her own life. It was an enormous shock, bringing with it what Will describes as “complicated grief.” However, a remark at her funeral about a long walk Will and Wendy had once done together led to the suggestion that he organise a group walk in her name. Sixty people turned up for that first hike, and it’s now grown into a regular event known as Walk for Wendy.

Will says walking has been a wonderful way for him to process his emotions, and for others to step away from the daily grind and open up about the things that affect them. His passion for the outdoors has even led him to publish a series of books about walking in the local area.

Clare and Will met in North Luffenham, continued onto Pilton, Wing, Lyndon and then completed their circuit by returning to North Luffenham. This is Clare's second consecutive walk in Rutland... check out last week's episode where she ambled around the Hambleton Peninsula with the comedian, Mark Steel.

Map: OS Explorer 234 - Rutland Water (approaching the southern edge of the map)
Map Ref: SK 935 033 for Church Street where they started - and ended - the walk

If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m002l1yl)
18/10/25 Farming Today This Week: No U-turn on farm inheritance tax, environmental scheme extension "too late", farming in Gaza

There will be no U-turn on the Government’s plans for inheritance tax for farmers, according to the Farming Minister. Dame Angela Eagle says planned changes will go ahead in next month’s budget, in spite of press reports to the contrary.

"Too little too late", that’s what we’re hearing from some farmers who’ve already ploughed up and planted fields that were being farmed for nature. They say this is because the Government took too long to come up with an extension to their environmental funding.

Red Tractor, the UK’s largest farm assurance scheme, has had a TV advert banned by the Advertising Standards Authority. The watchdog says the advert exaggerated the environmental credentials of the scheme and misled customers.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m002l1yn)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m002l1yq)
Today (Saturday)


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m002l1ys)
Peter James, Hedgelaying, Prosthetics and Philippa Gregory's Inheritance Tracks

Peter James joins Adrian Chiles for extraordinary stories from remarkable people.


SAT 10:00 Curious Cases (m002l1yv)
Series 24

Just My Luck

Are you a lucky person? Do the cards just fall well for you? Whether it's always find a parking spot when you need one or chance encounters that change your life's trajectory for the better, some people seem to have more luck than others. Hannah and Dara explore the world of probability and psychology to figure out if some people are luckier than others, and if there's anything we can do to turn things around.

You can send your everyday mysteries for the team to investigate to: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

Contributors
David Spiegelhalter - Emeritus Professor of Statistics in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge
Richard Wiseman - Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology University of Hertfordshire
Maia Young - Professor of Organization and Management at UC Irvine, California US
Edward Oldfield

Producer: Emily Bird
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem
A BBC Studios Production


SAT 10:30 Legend (m002l1yx)
The Bruce Springsteen Story

2. Born to Run

How did Bruce become The Boss, and what did it cost him to get there? Laura Barton explores the extraordinary life story of Bruce Springsteen, taking a front-row seat at five important gigs to reveal the life behind the legend.

Bruce’s story continues in Asbury Park, New Jersey, where he's living above a beauty parlour, broke, writing songs amongst the hairdryers. It's here he writes his first album, Greetings From Asbury Park. And in 1975, when New York is in turmoil and America in crisis, Springsteen releases his landmark album, Born To Run. This launches him to stardom.

London Hammersmith, 1975. Bruce's wildest dreams come true when the opportunity comes to perform in the home country of his greatest musical heros. But what follows is far from the Springsteen shows of exuberant legend. And this newfound fame soon comes to replace Freehold, New Jersey, as the town he wants to flee.

~~~

“I'm here tonight to provide proof of life to that ever elusive, never completely believable, particularly these days, us. That's my magic trick.”

In Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story, we uncover the magic trick to discover how a scrawny, long-haired introvert from small-town New Jersey became the iconic, muscular, and oft-misunderstood rock star of the 1980s, to the eloquent elder statesmen he is now. What can his story tell us about America today?

In each episode, Laura takes us to the front row of a live performance that reveals a different side of The Boss, and hears him across the decades in his own words from the archive. We'll also hear from fellow worshippers in the Church of Springsteen and disciples from the E Street Band, including drummer Max Weinberg, tributes from those influenced by Bruce, such as Bryce Dessner from The National, as well as Freehold town historian Kevin Coyne and music critics and biographers such as Richard Williams, Eric Alterman, Steven Hyden, Warren Zanes and Diane H. Winston.

The Bruce Springsteen Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning Joni Mitchell Story, and the podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producer: Eliza Lomas
Series Developer: Mair Bosworth
Production Coordinator: Stuart Laws
Research: Sarah Goodman
Series Editor: Emma Harding
Sound Design and Original Music: Hannis Brown
Commissioning Editors: Daniel Clarke and Matthew Dodd


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m002l1yz)
Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002l1z1)
Trump's Middle East victory lap

Kate Adie presents stories from Israel and Egypt, Haiti, Italy and Ireland.

President Trump received a hero’s welcome when he landed in Israel this week, following his central role in brokering the Gaza ceasefire and hostage exchange deal. He also flew into the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he declared ‘an historical turning point’ to the gathered world leaders. Tom Bateman travelled with the president on Air Force One.

Mr Trump was short on detail when it came to how peace will proceed over the coming weeks, months - and years. That leaves the question: what happens next? Jeremy Bowen reflects on this moment in the region's long history – and wonders if there will ever be reconciliation.

In Haiti, armed criminal gangs still have a firm grip on the capital's impoverished neighbourhoods. On a recent visit, Jasmin Dyer saw the ruined communities the gangs have left in their wake, and met some of the young victims of their brutality.

Last month, a London-born boy became the first millennial saint. Carlo Acutis died of leukaemia aged 15, but in his short life he built websites documenting miracles as a means of spreading Catholic teaching – and became known as 'God’s influencer'. Isabella Redmayne met pilgrims in the hilltop town of Assisi.

And it’s perhaps a bit of a cliché when travelling to the US for locals to boast of their ancestry – part English, part German, part Scots and, more often than not, part Irish. On a recent visit to Ireland’s south coast, James Helm bumped into some trans-Atlantic travellers and learned more about the country’s enduring international appeal.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Production Coordinator: Rosie Strawbridge
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m002l1z3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m002l1z5)
Unauthorised Recurring Card Payments and Overpaying Mortgages

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute is warning people to keep a close eye on their bank and credit card accounts after thousands of unsuspecting shoppers have said they're having money taken without their knowledge. Individual payments are usually quite low, but if not spotted, they can quickly start to add up. Trading Standards say it's "outrageous" these payments are being taken without explicit consent. How can you spot and stop these payments?

Two thirds of first time buyers are overpaying their mortgage and one in six hope to be mortgage free by the time they're 40 according to a report from TSB. Is it the same for other mortgage holders and what should you think about if you're considering overpaying on your mortgage?

More than half of adults in the UK do not have a will. So if they die they will have no say in how their money, property, and possessions are distributed. WillAid, where solicitors all over the UK make free wills and suggest a donation to charity in exchange. How does it all work and what happens if someone dies without a will?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner
Producers: Robert Cave
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson

(First broadcast at 12pm on Saturday 18th October 2025)


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m002ks64)
Series 118

7. Forecast for Inflation and Flooding

In a week of budget talks, IMF forecasts of Inflation on the British horizon, flood risk reports and approval of solar farms, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Adam Kay, Zoe Lyons, Ria Lina and Stephen Bush to break down this week's news.

Written by Andy Zaltzman.

With additional material by: Daman Bamrah, Ruth Husko, Christina Riggs and Peter Tellouche.
Producer: Rajiv Karia
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.


SAT 12:57 Weather (m002l1z7)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m002l1z9)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m002ks6b)
Ann Davies MP, Tom Giffard MS, Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Gawain Towler

Ben Wright presents political debate from the Vale of Rheidol Railway in Aberystwyth, with Plaid Cymru MP Ann Davies; Conservative Senedd member Tom Giffard; the deputy first minister of Wales, Labour's Huw Irranca-Davies; and Reform UK board member Gawain Towler.

Producer: Paul Martin
Lead broadcast engineer: Owain Williams


SAT 14:05 Any Answers? (m002l1zc)
Listeners respond to the issues raised in the preceding edition of Any Questions?

Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Lowri Morgan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley


SAT 14:45 The Archers (m002ks66)
WRITER: Shaun McKenna
DIRECTOR: Marina Caldarone and David Payne
EDITOR: Jeremy Howe

12-17th October

David Archer.... Timothy Bentinck
Jolene Archer.... Buffy Davis
Ruth Archer.... Felicity Finch
Lilian Bellamy.... Sunny Ormonde
Leonard Berry.... Paul Copley 
Clarrie Grundy.... Heather Bell
Eddie Grundy.... Trevor Harrison
George Grundy.... Angus Stobie
Brad Horrobin.... Taylor Uttley
Tracy Horrobin.... Susie Riddell 
Akram Malik.... Asif Khan
Khalil Malik.... Krish Bassi
Zainab Malik.... Priyasasha Kumari
Fallon Rogers.... Joanna Van Kampen
Oliver Sterling.... Michael Cochrane
Esme Mulligan.... Ellie Pawsey


SAT 15:00 Drama on 4 (m000rmck)
Star of the Sea

Episode Two

It is 1847 and American journalist Grantley Dixon is investigating a murder on board the Star of the Sea of bankrupt landowner, husband and father Lord David Merridith. The ship is bound for New York and full of fleeing refugees escaping from Ireland and the Potato Famine that has torn the country they have left apart.
The ship is full of characters, all of whom may have a reason as to why they would want to kill Lord Merridith, but who is the actual murderer. Someone on board this ship is hungry for vengeance and and has a need to see justice executed…
Could it be Laura his wife, or their maidservant Mary or the pitiful Pius Mulvey who drags his maimed leg behind him as he stalks the deck at night….
There are many characters for Grantley to choose from.

Few novels have been written about the Irish Potato famine by the great writers but Joseph O’Connor shows us in glorious technicolor just what effect this famine had on Ireland and its people.

Cast
Grantley Dixon ... Kyle Soller
Lord David Merridith ... Johnny Flynn
Laura ... Georgina Beedle
Pius ... Rory Keenan
Mary ... Charlene McKenna
Captain ... Daniel Flynn
Leeson ... Carl Prekopp
David's father ... Stephen Critchlow
Doctor Mangan ... Niall Buggy
Nicholas Mulvey ... Kwaku Fortune
Jonathan ... Ronan Casey
Robert ... Alfie Hurley
Young Mary ... Joni Martin
Young David ... Hugo Mallon
Mary's mother ... Tallulah Bond

Writer, Joseph O'Connor
Dramatized by Claire McGowan
Director, Celia de Wolff
BBC Northern Ireland Production


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m002l1zf)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Tilda Swinton, Dads at work, Karen Carney, Living with Tourette Syndrome, Bobbi Brown

Half of working dads feel nervous asking for time off to care for their children, more than 20% have been asked ‘where’s your wife/partner?’ when requesting flexibility and 44% say employers treat mothers more favourably in terms of flexible working. These are the findings of a new study ‘Barriers to Equal Parenting’ by the charity Working Families. Nuala McGovern is joined by Elliott Rae founder of Parenting Out Loud and Penny East, chief executive of the Fawcett Society.

Tilda Swinton is one of the UK’s most singular and celebrated performers. Over four decades she has delivered unforgettable and varied screen performances, notably Orlando, The Chronicles of Narnia, Michael Clayton and Asteroid City and collaborated with artists and filmmakers. She joins Anita Rani to talk about a new exhibition in Amsterdam celebrating her work and the enduring relationships that have inspired her.

There is a new film out now in cinemas called I Swear. It is inspired by the life and experiences of John Davidson, and charts his journey from a misunderstood teenager in 1980s Britain to a present-day advocate for greater understanding of Tourette syndrome. John was also featured in a BBC documentary back in 1989 called John's Not Mad. There is more recognition of the syndrome now, singers Lewis Capaldi and Billie Eilish have both openly talked about living with Tourette's and it's estimated over 300,000 children and adults in the UK have it. The key features are tics which cause people to make sudden, involuntary sounds and movements. To hear more about the condition and how it impacts women and girls Nuala talks to Wilamena Dyer, musician and Tourette syndrome advocate and Dr Tara Murphy, Consultant psychologist in the NHS, and Trustee of the support and research charity Tourettes Action.

Karen Carney is one of the most capped female footballers for England. The former Lioness joins Anita to talk about how she is using Strictly to help her 'rebuild confidence' after being 'crushed' by the sexist abuse she faced as a football pundit and her vision to improve women’s sport.

Bobbi Brown is a make-up artist turned entrepreneur who created her now famous eponymous line in 1990. Her fresh-faced approach went against 80s and 90s trends at the time for bright colour and contouring and instead aimed to celebrate and enhance women’s natural beauty. She made millions selling her brand to Estée Lauder and has gone on to create a new multimillion brand. On the release of her memoir, she joins Nuala to talk about her life and work.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Simon Richardson


SAT 17:00 PM (m002l1zh)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m002l1zk)
Net Zero has become a religion: Claire Coutinho on climate, identity and cooking

The Shadow Energy Minister has transformed her party's approach to climate policy.

In this extended conversation, Claire Coutinho sets out what changed her mind on net zero, a shift that has brought her into fierce debates with her opposite number, Ed Miliband.

She also shares her feelings about what she calls a rising "ethno-nationalism" on the right of British politics, as well as her reaction to her colleague Robert Jenrick's comments about Birmingham.

Nick asks how she ended up being sacked by Nigella Lawson, and sets up a future dinner party with Miliband.

Producer: Daniel Kraemer
Research: Chloe Desave
Sound: Jed Sudlow and Andy Mills
Editor: Jonathan Brunert


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002l1zm)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m002l1zp)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002l1zr)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m002l1zt)
Brian Bilston, Chris Smither, Teresa Livingstone, Jolene O'Hara, Stick in the Wheel, AOIBHA

Clive kicks off in Belfast's Black Box as the Belfast International Arts Festival begins to light up venues around the city. Poet Brian Bilston is in town after putting some of his poetry to music with the help of The Catenary Wires. US folk and blues musician Chris Smither tells all about his musical journey spanning over six decades. Someone else who knows a lot about blues as of recent is opera singer Jolene O'Hara, who has taken on the role of County Down musician and 'godmother of British blues' Ottilie Patterson in the one-woman show, Ottilie. Plus, Teresa Livingstone has plenty of embarrassing stories from former jobs and her own work in stand-up, so she's channelling it all into gathering the same from other comedians in her podcast Scundered.

Belfast's AOIBHA reflects on her year of her first debut EP Peace in Insignificance, and folk-duo Stick in the Wheel chat about their current tour as they bring a bit of Tudor-era satire with their track The Cramp.

Presenter: Clive Anderson
Producer: Anthony McKee

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m002l1zw)
Luke Littler

Luke Littler, the 18-year-old darts star, is already one of the most famous people in British sport. This week he won yet another title, the World Grand Prix.

Born in Warrington, he started throwing arrows while he was still wearing nappies. By the time he was 10, Littler was competing in under-21 competitions and would win his first senior title at 14.

He shot to national fame in early 2024 when he reached the world championship final aged 16. Despite losing the match, he sparked ‘Littlermania’, drawing huge crowds and introducing a whole new generation to the sport. Earlier this year, he managed to do one better and became the youngest ever World Darts Champion.

Stephen Smith traces his meteoric rise.

Production
Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producers: Ben Crighton, Mhairi MacKenzie and Alex Loftus
Editor: Justine Lang
Sound Editor: Neil Churchill


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m002kq2v)
Rose Tremain

Dame Rose Tremain is one of Britain’s most prolific and popular writers, having written 17 novels and five collections of short stories over the last 50 years. She was one of only six women on Granta magazine inaugural 1982 list of the best young British novelists, alongside Martin Amis, Ian McEwan Salman Rushdie and others. Her fifth novel Restoration was nominated for the Booker Prize in 1989, she won the Whitbread Prize for Music And Silence in 1999, and was awarded the 2008 Orange Prize - the precursor to the Women’s Prize for Fiction - for her novel The Road Home. Having already been made a CBE in 2007, she became Dame Rose Tremain in 2020 for services to writing. Her most recent work is a short story called The Toy Car.

Rose Tremain tells John Wilson how her father, a largely unsuccessful playwright called Keith Thomson, inspired her childhood interest in storytelling, although he never encouraged her to write. She recalls how she first starting writing fiction to help her cope with loneliness in a household where there was little parental affection.
Rose recalls how it was a teacher at her boarding school first recognised her ability and encouraged her to apply for an Oxbridge university place, only to be dissuaded by her mother, who sent her to a finishing school in the France instead. She credits the novelist Angus Wilson, one of her English Literature tutors at the University Of East Anglia, for giving her the confidence to write her first novel. She also chooses The Diary Of Samuel Pepys as a major inspiration on her 1989 Booker-shortlisted novel Restoration, which was later turned into a Hollywood film starring Robert Downey Jnr. and Meg Ryan.

Producer: Edwina Pitman


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m002l1zy)
A People's History of Gaza

The back-story of Gaza, from the 1940s to the 2010s, told mainly through the personal experiences of a wide variety of ordinary people - a teacher, a smuggler, a bird-watcher, musicians, doctors and others. Tim Whewell finds out how the tiny territory was created, how it first filled with refugees, how people lived, worked and died, how they survived invasions, wars and blockade, how hopes for peace rose and fell - under the rule of Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas.
How did refugees arrive in Gaza in 1948? Why is the Strip so important to Palestinian identity - and the wider Palestinian-Israeli conflict? How did living conditions gradually improve? How did the 1967 Six Day War change people's lives? Why did the two intifadas of 1987 and 2000 break out? When were the best times for Gazans in recent history? What changed for them after Hamas took control in 2007? Tim asks these and many other questions in this journey through the recent history of a sliver of land that has often dominated world news.

(Image: Palestinian refugee Ayish Younis with his grandmother Khadija Khalima (left) and his mother, also Khadija Khalima, 1955 Credit: family archive)


SAT 21:00 The History Podcast (m002l200)
The Fort. Omnibus 2

A Taliban ambush has forced Zulu Company to withdraw from Jugroom Fort.
But Lance Corporal Mathew Ford is missing back at the enemy stronghold - and a daring plan from pilot Tom O'Malley has seen Three Royal Marines and a Royal engineer volunteer to head straight back into danger to get him back - by perching on the stub wings of two Apache attack helicopters.
The volunteers are in a desperate race to find their comrade.
After the operation, a reckoning takes place - but some sacrifices can't be measured.

Charlotte Madison spoke to Woman's Hour in 2010.
The Fort is told solely by current and serving members of the Armed Forces.

Produced by Kev Core


SAT 22:00 News (m002l202)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m002ks53)
Feeding Britain: Can Our Best Food Producers Deliver?

Sheila Dillon and this year’s head judge of the BBC Food and Farming Awards, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, hit the road to meet the finalists in the Best Food Producer category. From sourdough pioneers Aidan Monks and Catherine Connor at Lovingly Artisan in Kendal, and regenerative grower Calixta Killander at Flourish Produce in Cambridgeshire, to cheese champions Andy and Kathy Swinscoe at The Courtyard Dairy in North Yorkshire — they explore how these exceptional producers might hold clues to a more resilient food future. Inspired by Professor Tim Lang’s recent report, Just in Case: narrowing the UK civil food resilience gap, the episode asks: could these small but significant businesses be part of the solution to Britain’s food security crisis?

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan


SAT 23:00 Mark Steel's in Town (m002krhw)
Series 14

2. Wrexham

Second stop of the new series is Wrexham in North Wales.

Wrexham has gone from industrial workhorse to global celebrity, thanks to two Hollywood actors who bought the local football club.
It’s a place where five of the Seven Wonders of Wales are apparently within walking distance of a Screwfix, where children learn “risk management” on playgrounds made from drainpipes salvaged at the council tip, and where an underground tunnel network may or may not have been built for priests sneaking to the pub... or for inmates tunnelling into prison for a game of pool.

This is the 14th series of Mark's award-winning show where he travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience. As well as Wrexham, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Oakham, Cambridge, Lewisham and, Lerwick and Unst in Shetland.

There will also be extended versions of each episode available on BBC sounds.

Written and performed by Mark Steel

Additional material by Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator Caroline Barlow and Katie Baum
Sound Manager Jerry Peal
Producer Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios production for Radio 4


SAT 23:30 The 3rd Degree (m002krbz)
Series 15

5. Manchester Metropolitan University

This episode coming from Manchester Metropolitan University, The 3rd Degree is a funny, upbeat and brainy quiz show.

The specialist subjects this week are Mental Health Nursing, Law and Digital Marketing, so there’ll be questions on the serious topic of Epigenetic Development Theory, the very serious topic of what legal form you need to ask about your drains, and the incredibly serious topic of what McDonalds tweeted back to Kanye West. And just what is going on with Blackpool’s postcode?

The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in this fresh take on an academic quiz. The General Knowledge rounds include a quickfire bell-and-buzzer finale and the Highbrow & Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students’ knowledge of history, art, literature and politics, but also their Professors’ awareness of TV, music and sport. Meanwhile there are the three Specialist Subject rounds, in which students take on their Professors in their own subjects, and where we find out whether the students have actually been awake during lectures.

In this series, universities include Bristol, Queen Mary University of London, Kent, Worcester College Oxford, and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Producer: David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4

SUNDAY 19 OCTOBER 2025

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m002l204)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 00:15 Take Four Books (m002krbx)
John Banville

Booker Prize winning Irish author John Banville speaks about his new novel Venetian Vespers and together with presenter James Crawford they explore its connections to three other works of literary art.

Set in the year 1899, Venetian Vespers is told from the perspective of the unfortunate Evelyn Dolman, a self-confessed hack-writer who marries Laura Rensselaer, the daughter of a wealthy American plutocrat, but in the midst of a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, Evelyn’s plans of a substantial inheritance are thrown into doubt.

For his three influences John chose: the Daphne Du Maurier short story, Don’t Look Now, from 1971, which is also the inspiration for director Nicolas Roeg’s classic film of the same name; The Aspern Papers by Henry James from 1888; and Death In Venice by Thomas Mann, from 1912.

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002l206)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002l208)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:30 News Summary (m002l20b)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002l20d)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m002l20g)
The Church of St Mary Magdalene, Richmond in Greater London

Bells on Sunday comes from the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Richmond in Greater London. The earliest reference to the church is in 1100 from the records of nearby Merton Abbey. The church was rebuilt in the 15th century and the tower is the only remaining part of that Tudor church. There are eight bells dating from the late 17th and mid-18th centuries. The tenor bell weighs eighteen and half hundredweight and is tuned to the note of F. We now hear them ringing Plain Bob Major.


SUN 05:45 In Touch (m002krj4)
Sir Stephen Timms on Access to Work

Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms provides In Touch with updates on the Access to Work scheme. AtW is the government programme that provides disabled people with support in the workplace; be that funding for support workers or things like specialist equipment. Throughout the course of this year, In Touch has been hearing many rumours about potential cuts to the scheme, which caused fear and anxiety amongst the scheme's recipients. Sir Stephen Timms addresses these concerns and provides updates on his recent consultations which were based on what the future of the scheme may look like.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Pete Liggins
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m002l21y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Beyond Belief (m002krhk)
Consciousness

Giles Fraser explores Dr. Iain McGilchrist’s brain hemisphere theory, which argues that the left and right hemispheres of the brain perceive the world in radically different ways—and that modern society has become dangerously dominated by the left hemisphere’s analytical, fragmented, and controlling mode of thought. He describes how the two hemispheres of the brain perceive reality in fundamentally different ways. The left hemisphere, he argues, sees a fragmented, abstract world—focused on control and acquisition—while the right hemisphere perceives a flowing, interconnected reality, rich in context, meaning, and mystery.

We unpack this theory with our panel of experts: Dr. Philip Goff, philosopher and professor at Durham University. Philip is known for his work in panpsychism, a philosophical view which proposes that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the universe—not just something that emerges from complex brains, but something that may be present even at the level of basic matter. His research focuses on the philosophy of mind and the nature of consciousness.

Canon Dr. Joanna Collicutt, psychologist and theologian from the University of Oxford. Joanna brings a unique perspective that bridges psychology, spirituality, and pastoral care—exploring how religious experience shapes and is shaped by the human mind.

And Professor Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist and a leading figure in the emerging field of neurotheology—which explores the relationship between brain function and religious or spiritual experience. Andrew is Professor in the Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences and Director of Research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in the United States.

Also on the programme, The Sacred podcaster Elizabeth Oldfield, shares a powerful spiritual experience—one that defied easy explanation and left a lasting imprint on her spiritual life.

Beyond Belief is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4.

Presenter: Giles Fraser
Producer: Bara'atu Ibrahim
Assistant Producer: Jay Behrouzi & Linda Walker
Editor: Tim Pemberton


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m002l220)
The Hebridean Tree Project

Laura McEwan is a self-confessed dendrophile: a tree lover. She can talk for hours about her favourite - the aspen - and other varieties including the alder, willow, hazel and downy birch which are being planted in a mosaic of small woodlands on underused crofts across the Outer Hebrides.

Nearly a quarter of a million trees have been planted so far in the Western Isles Croft Woodland Project. It is largely funded by the Point and Sandwick Trust which owns a community wind farm on the Isle of Lewis.

Kathleen Carragher visits a couple of participating crofts with Laura including a small planting project started by retired minister, Murdo Smith. Murdo's saplings are being grazed by deer, a common problem on Lewis. Laura has been advising him on the use of a spray deterrent made from sheep fat, which seems to be having some success in keeping them at bay.

Presented by Kathleen Carragher and produced by John Deering.


SUN 06:57 Weather (m002l222)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m002l224)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m002l226)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m002l228)
The PSP Association

Trustee Jon Garrard makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of The PSP Association. Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), is a rare and incurable neurological condition and the charity provides support for families from across the UK who are affected in some way by the disease.

The Radio 4 Appeal features a new charity every week.
Each appeal then runs on Radio 4 from Sunday 0754 for 7 days.

To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That’s the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope ‘The PSP Association’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘The PSP Association’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
- Please ensure you are donating to the correct charity by checking the name of the charity on the donate page.

Registered Charity Number: 1037087. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://www.pspassociation.org.uk/
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites

Producer: Katy Takatsuki


SUN 07:57 Weather (m002l22b)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m002l22d)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m002l22g)
Lost and Found: The Parables

Swarzy Shire from BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra hosts a series across Sunday Worship and Daily Service exploring some of Jesus’s best stories - The Parables - with musicians from different genres. As Swarzy says 'Jesus is a master storyteller - using imagery and word pictures to help us understand heavenly truths - and so I thought I’d chat with some super talented people in the music who write and compose and sing and bless us with great stories too.'

Swarzy sits down with Keisha Buchanan from The Sugababes and David Melodee from The Compozers to unpack their favourite parables and finds out how Jesus’ teachings help them navigate their faith so authentically in the music industry, from influencing lifestyle choices, to what they write or sing about. David picks The Parable of the Talents and Keisha picks The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, and they choose a gospel track each that means something to them.

Music:
Guide me o thou great jehovah - Rachel John
Amazing Grace - Melodees from Heaven
Your world - Jonathan McReynolds
I give myself away - William McDowell
Yet - Maverick City
Jesus I do - Mariah Carey and The Clark Sisters


SUN 08:48 Witness History (w3ct7461)
Lunch atop a Skyscraper

In 1932, a photo was taken showing 11 New York ironworkers casually eating their lunch while sitting on a steel beam at the top of a skyscraper.

No safety harnesses, no helmets. Their legs dangled freely over the death-defying drop. 'Lunch atop a Skyscraper' is now one of the most famous pictures in the world but it's an image surrounded in mystery.

For years, the identity of its photographer and the 11 men have been unknown. Christine Roussel, archivist at the Rockefeller Center, tells Vicky Farncombe about her mission to uncover the photo’s secrets.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past.

We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Lunch atop a Skyscraper. Credit: Getty Images)


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m002l22j)
Roland Arnison on the Leach's Petrel

In 2024 and 2025 expedition leader and film-maker Roland Arnison kayaked along the west coast and isles of Scotland to find and record the sounds of seabird species. His quest took him 40 miles out into the Atlantic to St Kilda in search of the Leach's petrel, one of Britain's rarest birds that only nests on a handful of offshore rocky islands. We join Roland scrambling up a cliff at midnight to hear the extraordinary call of this nocturnal bird.

Presented by Roland Arnison and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol

This programme features audio recorded on St Kilda by Roland Arnison.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m002l22l)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m002l22n)
Mary Greenwell, makeup artist

Mary Greenwell is a makeup artist who has worked with some of the most famous faces in the world including Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, David Bowie and Cate Blanchett. Her less-is-more approach has won her plaudits in the beauty industry and she became Princess Diana’s makeup artist of choice.

Mary was born in Sussex and left school at 16. By the mid-1970s she was living in Los Angeles where she started out on the door at the legendary Joe Allen restaurant, escorting the likes of Paul Newman and Jack Lemmon to their tables. She received her one and only makeup lesson from the award-winning Ilana Harkavi and shortly afterwards created a look for 12-year-old actor Brooke Shields.

Mary’s big break came when she moved to Paris in 1984 and began working with the original supermodels; Christy Turlingon, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Tatiana Patitz. In 1990 she met Princess Diana on a Vogue photo shoot and became her go-to makeup artist and friend.

In 2025 Mary was appointed an MBE for services to the beauty and fashion industries and her charity work.

Mary lives in London.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley

There are more than 2000 programmes in our archive available for you to listen to. We’ve cast away other hair and beauty experts including the makeup artist Pat McGrath, and hairdressers Vidal Sassoon and Trevor Sorbie. Cate Blanchett, one of Mary’s clients, is in our archive too. You can find their episodes on BBC Sounds or on our Desert Island Discs website.


SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m002l22q)
WRITER: Shaun McKenna
DIRECTOR: Marina Caldarone and David Payne
EDITOR: Jeremy Howe

12-17th October

David Archer.... Timothy Bentinck
Jolene Archer.... Buffy Davis
Ruth Archer.... Felicity Finch
Lilian Bellamy.... Sunny Ormonde
Leonard Berry.... Paul Copley 
Clarrie Grundy.... Heather Bell
Eddie Grundy.... Trevor Harrison
George Grundy.... Angus Stobie
Brad Horrobin.... Taylor Uttley
Tracy Horrobin.... Susie Riddell 
Akram Malik.... Asif Khan
Khalil Malik.... Krish Bassi
Zainab Malik.... Priyasasha Kumari
Fallon Rogers.... Joanna Van Kampen
Oliver Sterling.... Michael Cochrane
Esme Mulligan.... Ellie Pawsey


SUN 12:15 Profile (m002l1zw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 12:30 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (m002krlw)
Series 4

Walking In A Sinha Sunderland

Paul Sinha tests his audience in Sunderland on their knowledge of white suits, local football heroes and literary icons in a splendiferous half-hour of edutainment.

Written and performed by Paul Sinha
Additional material: Oliver Levy
Additional questions: The Audience

Original music: Tim Sutton

Recording engineers: Sean Kerwin & Hamish Campbell
Mixed by Rich Evans
Producer: Ed Morrish

A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 12:57 Weather (m002l22s)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m002l22v)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world.


SUN 13:30 Currently (m002kfjl)
The Split

David Baker’s Jewish identity and faith have always been central to who he is - and so is his affiliation with Israel. But he has been re-evaluating that relationship since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza.

For many decades after the founding of Israel, most British Jews were unequivocal in their support. And that is still the case for many Jews in Britain. But there is evidence that those ties are weakening for a younger generation and some older Jews, too, are criticising the actions of Israel’s current right-wing government and the devastation of Gaza.

In a search for answers, David talks to other British Jews who are responding in different ways. Some are taking political action, some are deepening their bonds with Israel and others are re-examining their connection with the Jewish state.

Presenter: David Baker
Producer: Jo Glanville
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002ks5t)
Postbag Edition: RHS Wisley Greening Skills Garden

Peter Gibbs and the Gardeners Question Time panel visit the RHS Wisley Greening Skills Garden in Woking, an exciting new project designed to inspire and equip the next generation of horticulturists. No postbag edition is complete without your questions, so the panel dip into the GQT inbox to answer your gardening conundrums.

Joining Peter are head gardeners and garden designers Pippa Greenwood, Matthew Pottage and Matthew Biggs.

Senior Producer: Dan Cocker
Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 One to One (m001q67d)
Aleighcia Scott's Reggae Heroes: Benji Webbe

Benji Webbe's memories of Reggae began with his parents' record collection and the 'blues' parties his brother held when their Dad was away, when the furniture in the front room was replaced with huge wardrobe speakers and curried goat would be cooking in the kitchen. After several attempts to forge a career in Reggae, Benji started writing rock songs with a friend in what became the band Dub War, and the blend of heavy metal riffs with Benji's roots in Reggae and dance hall started opening doors. It's an ethos that's continued with the band Skindred and Benji maintains it's about spreading those same positive messages of peace, love and unity.

Aleighcia and Benji talk about the culture of Reggae in South Wales, and how coachloads of people used to come to Cardiff and Newport to listen to the music and see live bands. They talk about Benji's relationship with the genre and how it has come full-circle again with the band Skindred, and why when they go further afield some people are surprised to find out there is any Reggae music (and black people) in Wales.

Presenter: Aleighcia Scott
Produced by Toby Field for BBC Audio Bristol


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m002l22z)
Stormy Applause

Episode 2

Stormy Applause, adapted from Rostislav Dubinsky’s memoir, tells how the Borodin Quartet rose from idealistic students in Moscow to cultural ambassadors of the Soviet Union, their music shaped as much by politics as by artistry. In America, they are dazzled by the abundance and openness of the West, but success abroad brings new strains at home. Tempers flare, loyalties fray, and the bond that once held them together is pushed to breaking point, as each must decide whether to bend to the state, betray a friend, or gamble everything on escape.

Cast:

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
James Corrigan
Danny Ashok
Django Bevan
Eric Meyers
Ronan Summers
Maggie Service
Aoife Moss
Sasha McCabe

Musicians:

Andrew O’Reilly
Isabell Karlsson
Vivek Dinesh
Yixuan Ren

Sound design: Peter Ringrose.

Adapted by Nick Perry.

Produced & directed by Sasha Yevtushenko and Luke MacGregor.

A BBC Studios production.


SUN 16:00 Take Four Books (m002l231)
Philippa Gregory

Celebrated historical novelist Phillipa Gregory speaks to James Crawford about her latest novel Boleyn Traitor and explores its connections to three other works of literature.

Philippa’s intimate portrayals of the machinations of the Tudor court have made her a bestseller and a household name. In her latest dive in to 16th Century England, she returns to the world of King Henry VIII, seen through the eyes of Jane Boleyn, confidante to five of Henry’s six wives – but was she a loyal friend, or a duplicitous spy?

For her three influences Phillipa chose: The Golden Bowl by Henry James (1904), A Room With A View by EM Forster (1908), and The Country and the City by Raymond Williams (1973).

Producer: Caitlin Sneddon
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This is a BBC Audio Scotland production.


SUN 16:30 The 3rd Degree (m002l233)
Series 15

6. University of Edinburgh

The 3rd Degree is a funny, upbeat and brainy quiz show.

With this episode coming from the University of Edinburgh, the Specialist Subjects are Theology, Jewellery & Silversmithing and Medicine - so naturally we’ll be learning the true meaning of univocity, the proper method of sintering, the correct usage of fluoroisotopes and the best way to eat Dubai Chocolate. Oh, and how to pronounce Kirkcudbrightshire. More or less.

The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors. The General Knowledge rounds include a quickfire bell-and-buzzer finale and the Highbrow & Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students’ knowledge of history, art, literature and politics, but also their Professors’ awareness of TV, music and sport. Meanwhile there are the three Specialist Subject rounds, in which students take on their Professors in their own subjects, and where we find out whether the students have actually been awake during lectures.

In this series, the universities include Bristol, Queen Mary University of London, Kent, Worcester College Oxford, Manchester Metropolitan University and Edinburgh

Producer: David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct74jk)
Brazil’s biggest bank heist

In August 2005, a gang of theives tunnelled their way into a Brazilian bank vault in a heist straight out of the movies.

Three months before, the thieves had set up a landscaping business, Grama Sintetica - or Synthetic Grass, from a house close to the Banco Central in Fortaleza. But it was a plot to disguise their real activity.

Working in shifts, they dug an 80 metre tunnel from the house, under a neighbouring street and into the vault before escaping with more than 160million reais, then the equivalent of $70m.

Antonio Celso Dos Santos, then a federal police chief, was one of the detectives who tracked down the gang. He spoke to Jane Wilkinson about the investigation.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: Police and journalists examine the Banco Central tunnel, 2005. Credit: AP Photo/Tuno de Vieira, Diario do Nordeste)


SUN 17:10 The Verb (m002l236)
Poetry by Tony Harrison, US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze, Sinéad Morrissey, David Morley, and Daniel Sluman

Ian McMillan celebrates an iconic poem that inspired a generation of poets and readers - Tony Harrison's 'Them and Uz'
His guests include the new US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze, the former Poet Laureate of Belfast Sinéad Morrissey who brings us an autumnal 'Neon Line', zoologist and poet David Morley on his new book 'Passion', and Daniel Sluman on a landmark anthology 'Versus Versus - 100 Poems by Deaf, Disabled & Neurodivergent Poets'


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002l238)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m002l23b)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002l23d)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m002l23g)
Guvna B

There’s a theme of writing this week, as Radio 1’s Richie Brave covers the sometimes controversial world of spoken word poetry on 1Xtra Talks. Dame Rose Tremain is on This Cultural Life, discussing how writing helped her process a difficult childhood, and Illuminated brings us the enduring appeal (and life span) of the simple message in a bottle. Plus, one very special young photographer who is capturing hearts as well as photos on PM.

Presenter: Guvna B
Producer: Emily Esson
Production Coordinators: Caroline Peddle and Caoilfhinn McFadden

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m002l23j)
It's clash of the titans at The Bull, and Josh makes a friend.


SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m002l23l)
The Findhorn Garden

This is a story about a community on the north east coast of Scotland that talked to plants with miraculous results.

Established in 1962, the Findhorn community gained international recognition for 40lb cabbages, 8-foot delphiniums, and roses that bloomed in snow.

With seemingly no gardening experience, community founders Peter and Eileen Caddy and their friend Dorothy Maclean transformed the barren sand dunes surrounding the 30-foot caravan they were living in, into a modern-day garden of Eden.

The public wanted to know how this was possible. What was the source of this horticultural miracle?

People flocked to Findhorn from around the world to witness this incredible transformation first-hand.

An extraordinary story began to emerge. Peter, Eileen and Dorothy - along with Scottish writer and supernatural enthusiast Robert Ogilvie Crombie (ROC) - attributed their success to one thing: collaboration with the ‘intelligence of nature’.

They claimed they had pierced the veil of the nature spirit realm, and were regularly receiving guidance from fairies, floral spirits and angelic forms Dorothy called 'Devas' - the ‘architects’ of the natural world. Moreover, they had been called upon by these entities to transform the Findhorn Garden into a centre of spiritual light.

What started with a single family in a caravan quickly grew into a thriving international village of hundreds of people united by shared social, spiritual and ecological values.

Inspired by the media's enduring fascination with Findhorn's supernatural origins, sound designer Jonathan Webb travels to Findhorn in search of transmissions from the nature spirit realm.

Trawling through the archives, in conversation with community elders, and in pursuit of sonic traces of higher elemental worlds, Jonathan brings into focus the echoes and reverberations of Findhorn’s strange and magical past.

Produced, Edited & Sound Designed by Jonathan Webb
Executive Producer: Carys Wall

A Bespoken Media Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

Additional field recordings by Brenda Hutchinson.

With grateful thanks to Jonathan Caddy, Judy McAllister and Karl Jay-Lewin, whose kindness and generosity made this programme possible.

Thank you to the Findhorn Foundation for providing access and permission to use recordings from the Findhorn Foundation archive.

The Findhorn Garden includes excerpts from ‘The River’ by Lark Batteau and ‘Love One Another’ by David Spangler and Milenko Matanovic, performing as The New Troubadours (Findhorn community band, 1970-1973)

Jonathan Webb makes no claim to authorship or ownership over any of the quotations or repurposed recordings used in the production of this work, and for practical and artistic reasons it has not been possible to reference and cite them individually. Jonathan Webb’s authorship is in the overall conception, arrangement, treatment and presentation of this audio artwork in its context.


SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m00187ws)
Read

In this episode, Michael enters the world of creative fiction to discover how simply reading a story for half an hour a day can bring big benefits to your body and brain - from reducing stress and helping stave off depression, to strengthening your social skills and even helping you live longer! With the help of Professor Raymond Mar from York University in Toronto, Canada, Michael discovers why reading for pleasure could have such a significant impact on overall health and longevity, and delves into research revealing the unique benefits of reading narrative fiction.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m002kq3m)
Politics Editor Chris Mason. Interview of the Year. Desert Island Discs with Ronnie Wood

With a summer of political turmoil over, and party conference season near an end, Andrea Catherwood talks to Chris Mason about how BBC audio coverage has reflected the key political players. The Feedback inbox has been receiving messages that question the amount of coverage given to Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. Chris responds to your questions and weighs in on what he says is a change in UK politics we haven't seen in decades.

And our search for BBC audio's best interview of 2025 continues. One listener has nominated an interview conducted by presenter Evan Davies in a recent episode of PM. He spoke to an unnamed asylum seeker from Somalia, currently waiting on an asylum application in the Bell Hotel in Epping. What they discussed revealed a different side of a story that has seized the attention of the nation this year.

Finally, we've heard from a listener who has thoughts about a recent episode of Desert Island Discs - in which Rolling Stone's guitarist Ronnie Wood seemed to request an endless array of luxury items for his island getaway.

Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Pauline Moore
Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m002ks5y)
Peter Gurney, Diane Keaton, Peter Hall, Angela Bond

Matthew Bannister on

Peter Gurney, the George Medal winning bomb disposal expert who regularly risked his life to defuse explosive devices, including the mortars that were fired at 10 Downing Street by the IRA in 1991.

Diane Keaton, the actor best known for her collaboration with Woody Allen in Annie Hall and Manhattan.

Peter Hall, the pioneering English winemaker from Sussex who turned his Breaky Bottom grapes into acclaimed sparkling wines.

Angela Bond, who saved the much-loved Bush Theatre in West London from closure. The director Josie Rourke and the writer Jack Thorne pay tribute.

Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive used:
BBC News, BBC, 07/02/1991; Newsnight, BBC, 26/10/1981; It’s My Story: The Long Walk, BBC Radio 4, 26/03/2012; The Food Programme: A Vintage Year for Homegrown Wine, BBC Radio 4, 22/11/2018; Food and Drink, BBC, 10/08/1982; Annie Hall, MGM, 1977; Cast: Diane Keaton; Director: Woody Allen; Producers: Fred T. Gallo, Robert Greenhut, Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe; Screenwriters: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 15/11/2011; Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 19/06/2017; Diane Keaton – Seems Like Old Times, Columbia Pictures, 1980


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m002l1z5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m002l228)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002l1z1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:30 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m002l23n)
Ben Wright hosts lively political chat

Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.


SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m00139nw)
Thomas Hardy's Poetry

After 27 years, Melvyn Bragg has decided to step down from the In Our Time presenter’s chair. With over a thousand episodes to choose from, he has selected just six that capture the huge range and depth of the subjects he and his experts have tackled. In this second of his choices, we hear Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss one of his favourite poets.

Their topic is Thomas Hardy (1840 -1928) and his commitment to poetry, which he prized far above his novels. In the 1890s, once he had earned enough from his fiction, Hardy stopped writing novels altogether and returned to the poetry he had largely put aside since his twenties. He hoped that he might be ranked one day alongside Shelley and Byron, worthy of inclusion in a collection such as Palgrave's Golden Treasury which had inspired him. Hardy kept writing poems for the rest of his life, in different styles and metres, and he explored genres from nature, to war, to epic. Among his best known are what he called his Poems of 1912 to 13, responding to his grief at the death of his first wife, Emma (1840 -1912), who he credited as the one who had made it possible for him to leave his work as an architect's clerk and to write the novels that made him famous.

With

Mark Ford
Poet, and Professor of English and American Literature, University College London.

Jane Thomas
Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Hull and Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leeds

And

Tim Armstrong
Professor of Modern English and American Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world


SUN 23:45 Short Works (m002ks5w)
The Cottage

A new short work from award-winning writer Callum McSorley.

Labouring for your dad in the summer holidays is grim enough without factoring in a ruined cottage where normal rules don't apply.
Read by Scott Miller
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie

Callum McSorley is a writer based in Glasgow.
His short stories have appeared in Gutter Magazine, New Writing Scotland, Typehouse Literary Magazine, The Glasgow Review of Books, Monstrous Regiment, and many more. His debut novel, SQUEAKY CLEAN, featuring DCI Alison McCoist, won The McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2023. Its sequel, PAPERBOY, was published this year and is shortlisted for the same award.

"The Cottage" is a BBC Scotland Audio Production for BBC Radio 4.

MONDAY 20 OCTOBER 2025

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m002l23q)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 00:15 Soul Music (m0029ygx)
Ae Fond Kiss by Robert Burns

Burns began a correspondence with Agnes McElhose, also known as Clarinda and Nancy, a married woman he was besotted with. When she left Scotland to reunite with her husband he wrote Ae Fond Kiss as a heartfelt farewell. It was later set to music and is one of his most famous 'songs' along with Auld Lang Syne and My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose.

Karen Matheson the singer with Capercaillie talks about its meaning to her and how performing it at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 was a very special moment.

Joan Donaldson from Michigan grew up with Scottish music and has called her latest historical novel Ae Fond Kiss. She says she channelled her grief into the characters as a way of dealing with a devastating loss.

Sir Geoff Palmer discovered the song when he arrived in Edinburgh in the 1960s. He has traced Burns' and the song's connection to his home country of Jamaica and feels proud of the links he discovered.

For film maker Karen Guthrie from Ayrshire - Burns' birthplace - coping with and caring for her estranged parents meant long drives home through the countryside he inhabited. It was a journey of rediscovering Scotland's national poet and relating her family's story to Ae Fond Kiss.

Musician Seonaid Aitken plays both versions of the song on the violin and explains how the music conveys the feelings of longing after an unresolved love affair.

Producer: Maggie Ayre


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m002l20g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002l23s)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002l23v)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.


MON 05:00 News Summary (m002l23x)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002l23z)
Susan Hulme looks back on 80 years of our sister programme, Today in Parliament.


MON 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002l241)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002l243)
Peppered with Glimmers

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Saarah Hamayun

I work in a children’s hospice, and I’ve listened to the stories of many bereaved parents. The strength of these parents is inspiring, but one thing that really moves me is the legacy of love these little souls leave. By teaching their parents the true essence of love, light and strength can enter a parent’s heart once again.

Even in our bereavement groups, laughter often finds its way in. As parents share stories of mischievous moments and the unique quirks that made their children who they were, the room fills with warmth. Their little ones may be gone, but their light still ripples through every memory.

These parents carry the weight of love, loss, and memories every day, and yet every single day they make the decision to rise again, to carry on like everything is normal, even to begin to laugh once more, and enjoy time with friends and family. The world carries on around them, people are busy and distracted with the demands of life but for a bereaved parent, not a day passes by without the beautiful memory of their child coming to mind. It is near impossible to find the words to describe the depth of that love, or the ache of their absence and the hole that it leaves in life.

I pray that the memory of those we have lost is kept alive because in remembrance, in speaking of them, that’s where their life is honoured. Not defined by their illness or their passing, but by the joy, the light, and the love they brought into our world, no matter how long or short their time here was. And I pray for all parents, who carry that love forward every single day.

As one mum said, sometimes even grief can be “peppered with glimmers” and that’s not wrong. It’s love, still alive.

Amen


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m002l245)
20/10/25 Planning reform, beer and growing hops.

The Government’s bill to ‘get Britain building’ returns to the House of Lords for its report stage. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill gained more than sixty Government amendments earlier this month to streamline the process and give ministers more power to grant permission for big planning projects. However conservation campaigners are not happy about the developments, and the Government's rhetoric.

All this week we’re taking a look at the beer and cider industry, and the UK growers who make it possible. There are around 45 hop growers across the country, around half of them in the West Midlands. We speak to a farmer in Herefordshire as he harvests his crop and ask the Campaign for Real Ale about the market for home-grown hops.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


MON 05:57 Weather (m002l247)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for farmers


MON 06:00 Today (m002l36h)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m002l36k)
Maps – lost, secret and revealing

The Library of Lost Maps by James Cheshire, Professor of Geographic Information and Cartography, tells the story of the discovery of a treasure-trove at the heart of University College London. In a long-forgotten room James found thousands of maps and atlases. This abandoned archive reveals how maps have traced the contours of the world, inspiring some of the greatest scientific discoveries, as well as leading to terrible atrocities and power grabs.

But maps have not always been used to navigate or reveal the world, according to a new exhibition at the British Library on Secret Maps (from 24 October 2025 to 18 January 2026). Jerry Brotton, Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary University of London, and author of Four Points of the Compass, explains how mysterious maps throughout history have been used to hide, shape and control knowledge.

The biographer Jenny Uglow celebrates a different kind of mapping in her new book, A Year with Gilbert White: The First Great Nature Writer. In 1781 the country curate Gilbert White charted the world around him – from close observation of the weather, to the migration of birds to the sex lives of snails and the coming harvest – revealing a natural map of his Hampshire village.

Producer: Katy Hickman
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez


MON 09:45 Café Hope (m002l36m)
A refuge for everyone

Susan Mansaray, founder of Purple Rose, tells Rachel Burden how the community interest company supports refugees and their families, alongside Stockton residents. Purple Rose provides a space for socialisation and integration, where people can make new friends whilst enjoying a hot meal cooked by volunteers.

Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell us what they’re doing to make things better in big and small ways. Think of us as sitting in your local café, cooking up plans, hearing the gossip, and celebrating the people making the world a better place.

We’re all about trying to make change. It might be a transformational project that helps an entire community, or it might be about trying to make one life a little bit easier. And the key here is in the trying. This is real life. Not everything works, and there are struggles along the way. But it’s always worth a go.

You can contact us on cafehope@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rachel Burden
Series Producer: Uma Doraiswamy
Sound Design: Nicky Edwards
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Editor: Clare Fordham


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002l36p)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.


MON 10:55 A Carnival of Animals (m002ktsm)
The Chicken

In this episode, Katherine Rundell looks at the chicken - the most numerous bird on Earth, with 23 billion alive today and 60 billion consumed each year. Their bones may be one of the most enduring traces of human civilisation. Since the Second World War, chickens have been bred to grow faster and larger, making today’s broiler chickens biologically distinct from their ancestors.

Chickens were first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and have played many roles in human culture - from sacred animals believed to predict the future, to pets and food. There are over 500 breeds, and despite their reputation, chickens are intelligent animals. They can solve problems, play games, and even adjust their behaviour depending on who’s watching.

With their long history and surprising abilities, this episode asks us to reconsider the chicken not just as a food source, but as a remarkable and complex animal.

Written and presented by Katherine Rundell
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan


MON 11:00 The Tax Conundrum (m002l36r)
Episode 1: The Problem

On 26th November Rachel Reeves will present her second budget and the overwhelming expectation is that she will be reluctantly forced to raise taxes once again to stick to her borrowing rules. Expect anger and accusations that the Chancellor has betrayed promises. Yet, perhaps worse, our tax system is a complex mess, with apparently zero appetite from politicians of any party to reform it. So expect more complexity, more economic damage and even greater national frustration over tax later this autumn. Why do we find it so hard to have a grown-up national conversation about tax? Why are we seemingly so stuck? That’s what the economics journalist Ben Chu will be asking in the Tax Conundrum, a major new three part series for BBC Radio 4.

In the first episode Ben will hear from an impressive range of senior voices on the reasons the UK tax system has become such a mess and why we should all care. Former chancellor Philip Hammond talks frankly about his own failed battle to reform the system. Mervyn King, the former Bank of England governor - and author of a seminal textbook on the British tax system - explains the damage being done and critiques the popular idea that middle earners are currently overtaxed. Along the way, Ben meets a tax barrister who makes a bizarre living arguing in court over whether or not mega marshmallows are eaten with the fingers. He also takes a trip to an Essex care home, to see for himself why loading ever greater tax costs onto employers - in order to spare workers - is no free lunch.

Presenter: Ben Chu
Producer: Caroline Bayley
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Richard Vadon


MON 11:45 Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry (m002l36v)
1. Sugared doughnuts and circus tricks

"Now I understand there are no ordinary lives – that every death is the end of a single event in time’s history: an event so improbable as to be miraculous, and irreplaceable in every particular."

Booker Prize-longlisted author Sarah Perry's father-in-law, David, died at home nine days after a cancer diagnosis having previously been in good health. The speed of his illness outstripped that of the NHS and social care, so the majority of nursing fell to Sarah and her husband. They witnessed what happens to the body and spirit, hour by hour, as it approaches death.

Death of an Ordinary Man is an unstinting account of death by cancer, a reportage into the experience of caring, an exploration of the structural conditions of dying in the UK, and most importantly a testament to David’s life, that of an ordinary man.

Unflinching and profoundly moving, Sarah Perry confronts the taboo surrounding death and how the saddest thing she has ever seen is also the best thing she's ever done.

Episode One
A day of sugared doughnuts and circus tricks glimmers with joy, yet already carries the shadow of David's final summer, as daughter-in-law Sarah Perry recalls the small treasures that define a life.

Reader: Louise Brealey
Abridged and produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


MON 12:00 News Summary (m002l36x)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m002l36z)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


MON 12:57 Weather (m002l371)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m002l373)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4


MON 13:45 The History Podcast (m002l461)
The House at Number 48

Made in Britain

When Antony Easton’s enigmatic father passes away, he goes through his Dad's suitcase, filled with cryptic clues: neatly stacked German money, a family tree he doesn’t recognise, and books filled with sprawling notes. He also finds his father’s birth certificate, but bearing a different name. Confronting his dad’s double identity, Antony begins a ten-year quest to uncover the truth. Piece-by-piece he comes to understand his family’s dark history as he attempts to reclaim his grandfather’s property and art empire, and expose the historic robbery and murder of his relatives.

Antony is determined to find the descendants of those who looted his family’s assets, and continue to live off their wealth today. He wants to meet them face to face.

The House at Number 48 is presented by Charlie Northcott.
The series producer is Jim Frank.
Sound design and mixing by Tom Brignell.
The Editor is Matt Willis.


MON 14:00 The Archers (m002l23j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Alone (m000bg44)
Series 2

Friday Nights, Saturday Mornings

Will’s new girlfriend Hannah has a problem with Mitch being around all the time and, to Ellie’s dismay, Will finds himself having to make a difficult decision. Meanwhile, Louisa is convinced her acting career is collapsing and she is determined to get her retaliation in first.

Sitcom about five single, middle-aged neighbours living in flats in a converted house in North London.

Mitch is a widower and part-time therapist, looking to put his life back together now that he is single and living with Will, his younger, more volatile and unhappily divorced half-brother.

Elsewhere in the building is schoolteacher Ellie who is shy, nervous and holds a secret candle for Mitch. Overly honest, frustrated actress Louisa, and socially inept IT nerd Morris complete the line-up of mis-matched neighbours.

Mitch ................................... Angus Deayton
Will ....................................... Pearce Quigley
Ellie ...................................... Abigail Cruttenden
Hannah and Rebecca......Carrie Quinlan
Louisa ................................. Kate Isitt
Morris ................................. Bennett Arron

Written and created by Moray Hunter

Producer: Gordon Kennedy

Based on an original idea developed in association with Dandy Productions

An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2019.


MON 14:45 Mrs Bridge by Evan S Connell (m0019rsp)
Episode 10

Evan S. Connell's Mrs Bridge is an extraordinary tragicomic portrayal of suburban life and one of the classic American novels of the twentieth century. Mrs Bridge, a conservative housewife in Missouri, has three children and a kindly lawyer husband. Her married life begins in the early 1930s – and soon after she and her young family move to a wealthy country club suburb of Kansas City. she spends her time shopping, going to bridge parties and bringing up her children to be pleasant, clean and have nice manners. The qualities that she values above all else. And yet she finds modern life increasingly baffling, her children aren't growing up into the people she expected, and sometimes she has the vague disquieting sensation that all is not well in her life. In a series of comic, telling vignettes, Evan S. Connell illuminates the narrow morality, confusion, futility and even terror at the heart of a life of plenty.

First published in 1959 it was perhaps overshadowed by the critical attention paid to contemporaries like Philip Roth and John Updike. Although Mrs Bridge was a finalist for the National Book Award in that year. Ten years later Connell published Mr Bridge which follows that same events largely from the point of view of Walter Bridge. In 1990 James Ivory directed the film Mr and Mrs Bridge based on both novels and starring Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward. Fans of the book today include the novelist David Nicholls and Tracey Thorne, author and singer.

Mrs Bridge by Evan S. Connell
Read by Fenella Woolgar
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Jill Waters
The Waters Company for BBC Radio 4


MON 15:00 A Good Read (m002l375)
Chris Tarrant and Mike Gayle

OPEN by Andre Agassi
SONIC YOUTH SLEPT ON MY FLOOR by Dave Haslam
THE SECRET HOURS by Mick Herron

Television and radio broadcaster Chris Tarrant nominates the autobiography of tennis legend Andre Agassi, and novelist Mike Gayle has gone for Dave Haslam’s memoir of his time spent DJing at Manchester’s famous Hacienda. Harriett is hoping the two of them will enjoy an espionage novel by Slow Horses author Mick Herron.

Producer for BBC Audio Bristol: Sally Heaven

Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc


MON 15:30 Curious Cases (m002l1yv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]


MON 16:00 Currently (m002kfjl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:30 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Legend (m002l1yx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


MON 17:00 PM (m002l377)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002l379)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 18:30 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (m002l37c)
Series 4

Episode IV: A New Pope

Paul Sinha tests his audience in Ayr on their knowledge of universities, Popes and islands. In return, they get to quiz him about notable Scottish footballing achievements and the Scottish Grand National.

Written and performed by Paul Sinha
Additional material: Oliver Levy
Additional questions: The Audience

Original music: Tim Sutton

Recording engineer: Hamish Campbell
Mixed by Rich Evans
Producer: Ed Morrish

A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4


MON 19:00 The Archers (m002l350)
There's confusion for the Aldridges, and Oliver makes a surprising decision.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m002l37f)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.


MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m002kq3q)
Is the UK in a data crisis?

As Rachel Reeves approaches a tricky budget, her job has got that much harder. Some of our most fundamental economic data, statistics that policymakers are used to accepting at face value, suddenly have major question marks over their accuracy.

The UK’s top stats agency, the Office for National Statistics, finds itself under considerable pressure as falling response rates to its surveys leave politicians flying blind.
David Aaronovitch asks what this means for government decisions and how the ONS can rebuild confidence in its most vital statistics.

Guests:
Georgina Sturge, research affiliate at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford
Professor Denise Lievesley, former Principal of Green Templeton College, Oxford
Chris Giles, economics commentator at the Financial Times.
Peter Lynn, Professor of Survey Methodology at the University of Essex

Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Producers: Nathan Gower, Kirsteen Knight, Cordelia Hemming
Studio engineer: Duncan Hannant
Editor: Richard Vadon


MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m002kq3t)
Why do we love to play games?

Inside Science explores the science and maths of games: why we play them, how to win them and the rise of gamification in our lives - with a particular focus on The Traitors - in a special programme with a live audience at Green Man Festival in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park.

Presenter Victoria Gill looks into whether humans are innately programmed to play games with Gilly Forrester, professor of evolutionary and developmental psychology at the University of Sussex, and investigates how maths can help us strategise and win games with mathematician and maths communicator Dr Katie Steckles.

We encounter the Prisoner’s Dilemma with broadcaster Jaz Singh of The Traitors series 2 fame – will he share or steal? Jaz also dives into the immersive world of The Traitors discussing his gameplay, the stakes and what makes an effective Faithful!

To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producers: Jonathan Blackwell and Clare Salisbury
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


MON 21:00 Start the Week (m002l36k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:45 Café Hope (m002l36m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m002l37h)
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.


MON 22:45 North Woods by Daniel Mason (m002l37k)
Episode 1

Daniel Mason's North Woods is a time-spanning novel chronicling four centuries of human and natural history centred on a yellow house and its surrounding woods in Massachusetts, New England.

Through varied narrative styles, the book follows a diverse cast of fascinating inhabitants, from Puritan lovers to a lovelorn painter, a fraudulent mystic, a farmer, a slave hunter, a detectorist, twin sisters, a crime reporter. It even includes the stories of panthers and beetles, whilst exploring themes of memory, fate, and the interconnectedness of life with the environment.

The novel also incorporates historical documents and diverse literary formats to create a genre-defying tapestry of stories and music within the same location.

Read by
Hannah Traylen &
Daniel Weyman

Abridged by Lucy Ellis

Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:00 Limelight (m0025dvx)
Aldrich Kemp and The Rose of Pamir

3. American Cryptography

Aldrich Kemp and the gang are back with some new faces as the race for the mysterious and elusive Rose of Pamir moves from London to Paris, New York to Amsterdam and the Maldives to Tajikistan.

Chapter Three: American Cryptography

Clara Page and Aldrich Kemp travel to New York and call in a favour, but who else is lurking in Manhattan? Meanwhile, Mrs Bartholomew and Mrs Boone are facing challenges of their own back in Blighty.

Clara Page - Phoebe Fox
Aldrich Kemp – Ferdinand Kingsley
Mrs Boone – Nicola Walker
Nakesha – Karla Crome
Sebastian Harcourt – Kyle Soller
Aunt Lily – Susan Jameson
The Underwood Sisters & Forsaken McTeague – Jana Carpenter
Mrs Bartholomew – Kate Isitt
Lionel – Steven Mackintosh
Selina – Catherine Kanter
Vartan - Ben Crowe

Written and directed by Julian Simpson
Music composed by Tim Elsenburg.

Sound Design: David Thomas
Producer: Sarah Tombling
Production Assistant: Ethan Elsenburg
Executive Producer: Karen Rose

New episodes available on Fridays. Listen first on BBC Sounds

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002l37m)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament