B4

RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/

SATURDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2016

SAT 19:00 How Earth Made Us (b00qs5l2)
Fire

Professor Iain Stewart continues his epic exploration of how the planet has shaped human history.

Iain explores man's relationship with fire. He begins by embarking on an extraordinary encounter with this terrifying force of nature - a walk right through the heart of a raging fire.

Fire has long been our main source of energy, and Iain shows how this meant that the planet played a crucial role in Britain's industrial revolution, whilst holding China's development back.

Along the way he dives in a mysterious lake in Oregon, climbs a glacier of salt, crawls through an extraordinary cave in Iran and takes a therapeutic bath in crude oil.

SAT 20:00 The Inca: Masters of the Clouds (b04xdpjy)
Foundations

Dr Jago Cooper reassesses the achievements of the Inca Empire. He begins in Peru, where evidence is still being uncovered that challenges preconceptions about its origins and significance. Venturing from the coast to the clouds, he reveals how the Inca transformed one of the most challenging landscapes in the world to ward off the worst effects of the climate, and created sophisticated systems of communication. He shows how one of many independent societies became a commanding empire - not through force, but by using subtle methods of persuasion.

SAT 21:00 Trapped (b070nyk6)
Series 1

Episode 3

The town is still cut off from all help by snowstorms and pack ice, and the local police have somehow managed to lose both the victim's body and the only suspect. Unable to prove his suspicions about the captain of the ferry, Andri finally gets a new lead when people start sharing photos of the corpse online.

In Icelandic and English with English subtitles.

SAT 21:50 Trapped (b070nyk8)
Series 1

Episode 4

With the murderer still at large, unrest is beginning to grow among the still-trapped townspeople and tourists. The police's list of potential suspects is becoming larger, but with discontent growing and the looming threat of an avalanche above the town, they face a race against time to unravel the mystery.

In Icelandic and English with English subtitles.

SAT 22:40 Radio 2 Live (b06pf5dw)
Hyde Park Headliners

Rod Stewart Live at Hyde Park

On a sunny day in September 2015, Rod Stewart took to the stage in London's Hyde Park to bring to a close BBC Radio 2's annual Festival in a Day. In front of 50,000 people, Rod delivered not his usual stadium set but a bespoke selection of hits from his back catalogue spanning his career, including Gasoline Alley, Angel, In a Broken Dream and The Killing of Georgie (Part 1 & 2), plus Faces classics such as Ooh La La and the blues standard Rollin' and Tumblin', a number that Rod used to perform with Long John Baldry back in the day. To close the set, Rod brought on his old pal guitarist Jim Cregan to help him perform his 1978 hit I Was Only Joking.

All in all, a memorable and unique concert that is unlikely to be repeated anytime soon.

SAT 23:40 imagine... (b036yl2v)
Summer 2013

Rod Stewart: Can't Stop Me Now

From beatnik to mod, from folkie to disco tart, from glam rocker to, most recently, crooner of American standards, Rod Stewart has had a remarkable musical journey. Alan Yentob visits Rod at his homes in Beverly Hills and Essex and talks to his friends and family, including all eight children aged from two years old to 50.

Featuring rare archival footage of Rod when he was barely out of his teens and living above his parents' north London sweetshop, Imagine examines an entertaining career across five musical decades.

SAT 01:05 The Joy of Easy Listening (b011g614)
In-depth documentary investigation into the story of a popular music genre that is often said to be made to be heard but not listened to. The film looks at easy listening's architects and practitioners, its dangers and delights, and the mark it has left on modern life.

From its emergence in the 50s to its heyday in the 60s, through its survival in the 70s and 80s and its revival in the 90s and beyond, the film traces the hidden history of a music that has reflected society every bit as much as pop and rock - just in a more relaxed way.

Invented at the dawn of rock 'n' roll, easy listening has shadowed pop music and the emerging teenage market since the mid-50s. It is a genre that equally soundtracks our modern age, but perhaps for a rather more 'mature' generation and therefore with its own distinct purpose and aesthetic.

Contributors include Richard Carpenter, Herb Alpert, Richard Clayderman, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jimmy Webb, Mike Flowers, James Last and others.

SAT 02:35 Top of the Pops (b071796z)
Simon Bates introduces the pop programme, featuring Stiff Little Fingers, Liquid Gold, Light of the World, Children of Tansley School, Sugar Minott, Lena Zavaroni, Spandau Ballet, Shakin' Stevens, Stevie Wonder, The Nolans and Bucks Fizz, and a dance performance from Legs & Co.

SAT 03:15 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074snw)
Episode 7

A new generation of guitar-based bands are showcased on this episode of the pop archive show. A stellar line-up features Michael Stipe of REM when he had angelic hair, plus The Smiths, The Cure, The Bangles, Pixies, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Jesus & Mary Chain and Lone Justice.

SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2016

SUN 19:00 Jigs and Wigs: The Extreme World of Irish Dancing (b06w05v8)
Series 2

Fusion Orchestra

With the craze of Irish dance videos plastered across social media channels, master-tapper Chris Naish has a week to pull together a dance crew to shoot a video for his new project.

SUN 19:30 Jigs and Wigs: The Extreme World of Irish Dancing (b06wrkng)
Series 2

Our Lord of the Dance

Led by Irish dance teacher Deborah Anderson, the Zephaniah Dance Ministry come together in Portadown to spread the good news of the Gospel through Irish dance.

SUN 20:00 Andre Previn at the BBC (b06gxxxh)
Charismatic conductor and composer Andre Previn looks back at some of his greatest television moments, from thrilling performances of orchestral favourites by Mozart and Berlioz to his classic comedy encounter with Morecambe and Wise.

SUN 21:00 Storyville (b071gr5h)
The Black Panthers

The first feature-length documentary to explore the Black Panther party, its culture and political awakening for black people. Master documentarian Stanley Nelson weaves a treasure of rare archival footage with the voices of the people who were there - police, FBI informants, journalists, white supporters and detractors, and Black Panthers who remained loyal to the party and those who left it. An essential history, it is a vibrant chronicle of this pivotal movement that birthed a new revolutionary culture in America.

Change was coming to America and the faultlines were no longer ignorable - cities were burning, Vietnam was exploding and disputes raged over equality and civil rights. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense would, for a short time, put itself at the vanguard of a revolutionary culture that sought to drastically transform the system. This fascinating documentary tracks its rise and the painful lessons wrought when a movement derails.

SUN 22:45 Easy Money III: Life Deluxe (b03n1swv)
JW now lives in exile and is still on the search for his missing sister. Meanwhile Jorge is planning his last robbery - the largest robbery in Swedish history.

In Swedish with English subtitles.

SUN 00:45 Troubadours: The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter (b012cr37)
Morgan Neville's full-length documentary is James Taylor and Carole King's first-hand account of the genesis and blossoming of the 1970s singer-songwriter culture in LA, focusing on the backgrounds and emerging collaboration between Taylor, King and the Troubadour, the famed West Hollywood club that nurtured a community of gifted young artists and singer-songwriters.

Taylor and King first performed together at the Troubadour in November 1970, and the film explores their coming together and the growth of a new, personal voice in songwriting pioneered by a small group of fledgling artists around the club. Contributors include Taylor, King, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, JD Souther, Peter Asher, Cheech & Chong, Steve Martin and Elton John.

SUN 02:10 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074snw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 03:15 on Saturday]

SUN 02:40 Singer-Songwriters at the BBC (b00v4kdy)
Series 1

Episode 2

Compilation which unlocks the BBC vaults to explore the burgeoning singer-songwriter genre that exploded at the dawn of the 1970s and became one of the defining styles of that decade.

Featuring Peter Sarstedt, Carole King, Jim Croce, Bridget St John, Cat Stevens, Judy Collins, Randy Newman, John Sebastian, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Al Stewart, Kevin Coyne, Billy Joel, Tim Hardin and Paul Simon.

Programme sources include the Old Grey Whistle Test, In Concert, Top of the Pops, Sounds for Saturday, the Bobbie Gentry Show and One in Ten.

MONDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2016

MON 19:00 World News Today (b071ggym)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

MON 19:30 Grand Tours of Scotland (b01mzggc)
Series 3

A Bed for the Night

The search for a comfortable bed for the night is a challenge that has faced tourists coming to Scotland for two centuries. Some early traveller accounts are very complimentary about the hospitality they received while others are not quite so favourable, and the same could probably be said by tourists today.

In this episode, Paul Murton travels from the shores of the Firth of Forth into the depths of rural Perthshire, and his trip requires him to bed down in everything from a hippy yurt to the exclusive Lochnagar suite at the Gleneagles Hotel.

MON 20:00 Natural World (b03799xd)
2013-2014

The Mating Game

David Attenborough narrates the charming and fascinating story of some real-life animal romantics. There are show-offs and singers, dancers and fighters, stories of undercover affairs and heart-warming devotion. A male polar bear plays hard to get, a lemur's odour bags him a mate, and a lizard proves tender and faithful to the very end. It reveals that animals can be loving, complex, funny and inventive - it's all part of the Mating Game.

MON 21:00 The Renaissance Unchained (b071gsdv)
Whips, Deaths and Madonnas

Waldemar Januszczak returns to Italy to trace the Italian Renaissance from its perceived origins with Giotto and takes a look at the importance of religious narrative in Italian art. While there were certainly a few aesthetic influences from classical art, the majority of Italian painting and sculpture in the 14th and 15th centuries was created to inspire devotion, especially in the work of Piero della Francesca, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and Fra Angelico.

MON 22:00 Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? (b00l7qdh)
Episode 1

King Henry VIII had a fascinating and enlightening relationship with art. He came to the throne as the Renaissance swept across Europe, yet England's new king never lost sight of the medieval chivalry of his forefathers. In the first of a two-part documentary, architectural historian Jonathan Foyle looks at the palaces, tapestries, music and paintings created in Henry's name and questions whether the art he commissioned compensates for the religious treasures he would come to destroy.

MON 23:00 The Great War (b0074p9w)
When Must the End Be?

This episode looks at the first Allied counter attack against the German onslaught on 17 July, 1918. By 5 August, the Germans had once again been driven back to the River Aisne. This was the turning point of the war. Six days later, the Kaiser said to his generals, 'The war must be ended.'.

MON 23:40 The Great War (b0074p9z)
Allah Made Mesopotamia and Added Flies

This episode examines the war in the Middle East. With the Western Front dominating the minds of generals and statesmen, they sought a back door to victory. The Dardanelles expedition of 1915 had been one attempt to find such a solution. The campaigns in the Middle East - in Egypt, Palestine, and Mesopotamia - were another. By October 1918 the Allies had captured Aleppo and Baghdad at a cost of 164,000 casualties, but were still far from Turkey's heartland.

MON 00:20 Timeshift (b01nj3xx)
Series 12

The British Army of the Rhine

The affectionate story of British servicemen and their families who had to make Germany a home from home in the decades after the Second World War. For nearly 70 years, generations would grow up on bases with special schools, shops, housing and even their own radio station, as parts of the Rhineland became little bubbles of Britishness.

Featuring a nostalgic soundtrack of German language versions of period pop hits and contributions from military historians such as Max Hastings and former BBC sports commentator Barry Davies - himself a former British Army of the Rhine soldier - as well as those of military wives and children.

Once the front line in the Cold War, the BAOR is now being called home as the Ministry of Defence begins preparations to finally pull British forces out.

MON 01:20 Fabric of Britain (b03bm1rg)
The Story of Wallpaper

Paul Martin presents the surprisingly compelling story of wallpaper. From its origins in the 16th century to the present day, wallpaper has always had something to say about us and our tastes and aspirations. It's a journey that takes Paul from the grandest of stately homes to the poorest of two-up-two-downs, the height of luxury to industrial grime and infestation. There are some fascinating tales along the way; wallpaper may seem insignificant, but governments have tried to control it, and it's even threatened to poison us.

The programme also reveals the art and craft of wallpaper. Paul learns how to make flock wallpaper, very much a deluxe item in the 18th century, helps to uncover a rare antique piece of wallpapering from a building site, and prints the designs of Marthe Armitage. Along the way, he meets contemporary designers and makers, and tells the stories of such historical wallpaper luminaries as Pugin and William Morris.

MON 02:20 The Renaissance Unchained (b071gsdv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

MON 03:20 Botticelli's Venus: The Making of an Icon (b070sqb0)
Sam Roddick explores the enduring appeal of Botticelli's masterpiece The Birth of Venus, one of the most celebrated paintings in western art and a joyous celebration of female sexuality. Its journey to worldwide fame was far from straightforward and it lay in obscurity for centuries. Artist and entrepreneur Sam explains why Botticelli's nude was so revolutionary and explores its impact on contemporary culture with artists such as Terry Gilliam, who memorably reinvented Venus for his Monty Python's Flying Circus animations.

TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2016

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b071ggzg)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

TUE 19:30 Grand Tours of Scotland (b01n4ds9)
Series 3

From Burns to Butlins

Paul Murton visits the places connected to the life of one of the first global superstars - Robert Burns - the man who made Ayrshire famous. Paul's 'grand tour' takes him from Alloway, following the Burns Trail to Mauchline, before heading for the coast and discovering the delights of Butlins, bathing and betting.

TUE 20:00 Italy Unpacked (b01q9rgn)
Series 1

Land of Many Treasures

The final leg of Andrew Graham-Dixon and Giorgio Locatelli's journey moves north to Piedmont, a land of luxuriant forests and tall mountains. They visit an abbey along the Via Francigena, an ancient road running from Rome to Canterbury, to reflect with the monks who live there, and to admire the fresco in their chapel.

Giorgio and Andrew go truffle hunting with Sandrino and his dog, and have a succulent breakfast with one of the precious nuggets, straight from the soil. There are many more gastronomic treasures to discover in this region, from the famous rice fields of Vercelli, to the Gianduiotti in Turin, the region's capital. Giorgio chats to the founder of slow food, Carlo Petrini.

Andrew explores the baroque architecture all over Turin. Stupinigi, a former hunting lodge made for the Savoia dynasty, and the Castle of Rivoli, now a captivating museum and home to the artists of the Arte Povera, are highlights.

Finally, another incredible pilgrimage site - Sacro Monte, Holy Mountains, in Varallo. A series of gruesome chapels on top of a mountain full of waxworks enacting scenes like the Massacre of the Innocents.

TUE 21:00 Royal Cousins at War (p01pw8ds)
Into the Abyss

This episode looks at the realignment of the European powers and the emergence of the alliance system in the years following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. It examines the key role played by royalty in smoothing the path to the Anglo-Russian entente of 1907 and the part played by the kaiser's erratic, unstable personality in the growing isolation of Germany in the years leading up to 1914.

It explores the role played by each of the three monarchs in the frantic, desperate days of July and August 1914. And it tells the tragic story of King George's refusal to grant his cousin and close friend Tsar Nicholas asylum in England following the Russian Revolution of 1917 - a refusal that would lead directly to the brutal murder of the tsar and his family by the Bolsheviks in the summer of 1918.

TUE 22:00 Timeshift (b00nf0nl)
Series 9

The Golden Age of Liners

Paul Atterbury embarks on an alluring journey into the golden age of ocean liners, finding out how these great ships made such a mark on the popular imagination and why they continue to enchant to this day.

Paul's voyage takes him around Britain and reveals a story of design, politics, propaganda, Hollywood glamour and tragedy. Along the way, he uncovers some amazing survivals from the liners of the past - a cinema in Scotland built from the interiors of the SS Homeric, a house in Poole in which cabins from the Mauretania are lovingly preserved - as well as the design inspiration behind the first great liners.

TUE 23:00 Jet! When Britain Ruled the Skies (b01m9vjl)
The Shape of Things to Come

In the heady years following World War II, Britain was a nation in love with aviation. Having developed the jet engine in wartime, British engineers were now harnessing its power to propel the world's first passenger jets. By 1960 the UK's passenger airline industry was the largest in the world, with routes stretching to the furthest-flung remnants of Empire.

And the aircraft carrying these New Elizabethans around the globe were also British - the Vickers Viscount, the Bristol Britannia and the world's first pure jet-liner, the sleek, silver De Havilland Comet, which could fly twice as high and twice as fast as its American competitors. It seemed the entire nation was reaching for the skies to create the shape of things to come for air travel worldwide. But would their reach exceed their grasp?

TUE 00:00 How Earth Made Us (b00r390p)
Human Planet

Professor Iain Stewart explores the most recently established force - humans. It's easy to think of the human impact on the planet as a negative one, but as Iain discovers, this isn't always the case. It is clear that humans have unprecedented control over many of the planet's geological cycles. The question is, how will the human race use this power?

TUE 01:00 Natural World (b03799xd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]

TUE 02:00 Italy Unpacked (b01q9rgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUE 03:00 Timeshift (b00nf0nl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2016

WED 19:00 World News Today (b071ggzm)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

WED 19:30 Grand Tours of Scotland (b01n8v0c)
Series 3

It's Just Like Switzerland

By the end of the Victorian era, Scotland had become a favourite summer holiday destination. But what happened when the chill winds of winter began to blow and the tourists packed their bags and headed for home? In this final episode, Paul Murton travels from the icy shores of the Lake of Menteith to the summit of Britain's highest and most wintry mountain, Ben Nevis, to discover how Scotland was first promoted as a winter holiday destination - after all, 'it's just like Switzerland' - isn't it?

WED 20:00 Could We Survive a Mega-Tsunami? (b01s0zqv)
Starting off a kilometre high, travelling at the speed of a jet aircraft, and heading for us. It doesn't make for a good outcome. Hollywood-style graphics and real-life archive bring home an imagined near-future scenario, all based on cutting-edge science.

WED 21:00 The Prosecutors (b071gvs3)
Real Crime and Punishment

The Charge

The Crown Prosecution Service is often under scrutiny for its decision-making. Now for the first time the CPS has allowed cameras in. Filmed over 18 months with prosecutors in Merseyside, Cheshire and the South East, including the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, this groundbreaking series goes behind the scenes to reveal how our criminal justice system really works and what it takes to secure a conviction. Each episode focuses on a different part of the process, following prosecutions and those involved in the case from start to finish.

In the first episode the prosecutors must decide how to charge a driver after a child is killed in a collision, with no evidence that he was drunk or speeding or on his phone. Nicky, the mother of the child killed, cannot understand why the driver is not admitting his guilt since his car was on her side of the road. Her reaction as the prosecution develops is unexpected and humbling.

In every serious criminal case, the CPS must decide who to charge and what to charge them with. These crucial decisions lie at the heart of our criminal justice system. A charge must not be unfair to the defendant, but must reflect the gravity of the offence for the victim. If at the end of the process someone is convicted of an offence, the judge sentences within guidelines set according to the charge made by the CPS.

After a series of attacks on banks where an organised criminal gang has been blowing up cash machines to steal money, the prosecutors face the challenge of selecting the right charge for a new type of crime. A more conventional bank robbery might be charged as 'burglary commercial premises', but that only carries a ten-year maximum term of imprisonment and the prosecutors feel it does not reflect how the gang is endangering the public.

At a scrutiny panel with the director of public prosecutions, community members challenge a CPS charging decision in a hate crime where a man had posted abusive messages on an extremist website. He was arrested under Section 19 of the Public Order Act, but the CPS charged him with a lesser offence of displaying threatening, abusive or insulting writing, provoking criticism from the panel.

WED 22:00 The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse (b00x9b7w)
The extraordinary story of comedian Bob Monkhouse's life and career, told through the vast private archive of films, TV shows, letters and memorabilia that he left behind.

WED 23:30 Timeshift (b00nf0nl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Tuesday]

WED 00:30 Could We Survive a Mega-Tsunami? (b01s0zqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

WED 01:30 The Real Tom Thumb: History's Smallest Superstar (b04sms8d)
Michael Grade reveals the extraordinary and utterly unique story of General Tom Thumb, the world's first global show business celebrity. Just 31 inches tall, he went from humble beginnings in America to international superstardom, eventually performing on stage before over 50 million people, including President Lincoln and a devoted Queen Victoria. Yet Tom Thumb didn't choose his own career and his selling point was his disability. Is this story one of success or exploitation? And why do we remain just as fascinated by performers with unusual bodies?

As an impresario and lifelong entertainment devotee, Michael sets out to follow the remarkable life of Tom Thumb (real name Charles Stratton) from his discovery aged four by the legendary showman PT Barnum to his setting out on the first ever show business world tour. The journey takes him to New York and across snowy New England, then back to the UK to discover how adored Stratton was by the British public. It features exquisite handmade suits, tiny bespoke carriages and the first ever visit by a film crew to Stratton's specially designed home, complete with miniature staircase.

Looking to our own times, Michael meets contemporary entertainers to find out what it's like to be a little person or disabled actor today, and asks whether it's ever right for us to be entertained by people with unusual bodies. Expecting a tale of exploitation, in Stratton Michael eventually discovers the story of man who made the very most of his situation and had a truly unforgettable life. And in the process, there is a discovery that rewrites the history of Charles Stratton, suggesting he may have had a long-forgotten baby.

WED 03:00 The Prosecutors (b071gvs3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THURSDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2016

THU 19:00 World News Today (b071gh03)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b071gx24)
Mike Read introduces the pop programme, featuring Keith Marshall, Bucks Fizz, Public Image, Eddy Grant, Linx, Saxon, Graham Bonnet, Gillan, The Whispers and Shakin' Stevens, and a dance performance from Legs & Co.

THU 20:00 Bombay Railway (b007t367)
Dreams

India is undergoing unprecedented growth and Bombay is its financial powerhouse. The city promotes itself as a positive vision of the future, a place where dreams can come true. Like an extended family, the Bombay railway provides an unfailing lifeline to the city. This series follows the hope and dreams of some the people who work for the railway.

Hans Dev Sharma is a senior operations clerk. He works in the timetabling department, which schedules over 2,000 trains a day - under its cultural quota, Hans was talent-spotted as an exceptional actor and dancer and the railways offered him a job. Hans is living the Bollywood dream, with Bombay Railways as his life and his stage. But will he get his big break?

Jagdish Paul Raj was born in Bombay and is as ambitious as the city he lives in. The son of a railway catering officer, Jagdish, like his father, always had an interest in food but none in the railway. He graduated in politics and economics and became a fully qualified chef. Now 31, he is running a successful catering business on the train to Goa. He is tendered for more trains, but will he be successful?

Mumtaz Kazi is Indian Railways' first fully qualified female train driver and has driven trains all over India. Mumtaz was brought up in a traditional Muslim family - a railway family. Now her father has retired and her immediate family live in Canada - Mumtaz is the only member left in Bombay. It will be Mumtaz's responsibility to find a wife for her brother, to get him married and back to Canada in just eight weeks. Can she do it and still drive the train?

THU 21:00 A Timewatch Guide (b071gx2c)
Series 2

World War Two

Professor Saul David uses the BBC archive to chart the history of the world's most destructive war, by chronicling how the story of the battle has changed. As new information has come to light, and forgotten stories are remembered, the history of World War Two evolves. The BBC has followed that evolution, and this programme examines the most important stories, and how our understanding of them has been re-defined since the war ended over 70 years ago.

THU 22:00 The Brain with David Eagleman (b071gx2k)
Who Will We Be?

Series in which Dr David Eagleman takes viewers on an extraordinary journey that explores how the brain, locked in silence and darkness without direct access to the world, conjures up the rich and beautiful world we all take for granted.

In this episode, Dr Eagleman journeys into the future, and asks what's next for the human brain and for our species. Mother Nature has evolved a brain that is able to rewire itself according to its environment. We meet Cameron Mott, who had half her brain removed at the age of four, but was able to develop normally as her brain rewired itself to take over the functions of the missing half. This extraordinary plasticity of the brain opens up all sorts of possibilities for enhancing our reality with new technology.

Dr Eagleman shows us ways in which we'll be able to plug new sensory inputs into our brains and demonstrates his lab's new invention - a vibratory vest which turns sound into patterns of vibration that the brain can learn to interpret. Technology can also allow the brain to control new outputs such as artificial limbs. We meet a disabled patient who can't move her body from the neck down. Electrodes eavesdropping on her motor cortex pick up on electrical signals there and transmit them to an arm across the room.

We may have evolved two arms and two legs, but there is nothing to stop us from extending - and enhancing - our physical selves in the future. These kinds of technological advances are poised to change us - as individuals and as a society - but the biggest game changer as a species would be if we found a way to upload our brains into digital space. Dr Eagleman explores what it would take to do so. We would need powerful computers, and a complete map of the brain's connections, as well as the activity that runs on top.

Dr Eagleman visits the Blue Brain Projects in Lausanne, where scientists are attempting to model a simulation of a working human brain. The chance of success is still many years away, but the possibility leads us to the biggest question in neuroscience - could a simulation of a human brain ever be conscious? Could 'you' exist digitally? And if so, how do we know we are not already living in a simulation?

THU 22:55 The Horizon Guide to Pandemic (b00m3z7w)
In the wake of the swine flu outbreak, virologist Dr Mike Leahy uses over 50 years of BBC archive to explore the history of pandemics - infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites.

Inspired by the Horizon back catalogue, he tells the extraordinary story of smallpox, one of the most violent killers in history, as well as the success of mass vaccination and the global politics of malaria. Through the lens of television the programme charts our scientific progress from the early steps in understanding AIDS to the code-cracking of SARS and deadly predictions of bird flu.

Each pandemic episode tells us something about the world and our place within it. In his journey through the ages Dr Leahy charts science's ongoing battle with nature and questions which one is winning.

THU 23:55 Top of the Pops (b071gx24)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

THU 00:35 Radio 2 Live (b06pf5dw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:40 on Saturday]

THU 01:35 The Joy of Easy Listening (b011g614)
[Repeat of broadcast at 01:05 on Saturday]

THU 03:00 The Brain with David Eagleman (b071gx2k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

FRIDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2016

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b071gh0j)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

FRI 19:30 Eurovision Song Contest (b071gy19)
2016

You Decide

Hosted live from the O2 Forum Kentish Town by self-confessed Eurovision fan Mel Giedroyc, this is the culmination of the UK's biggest ever national song search for the Eurovision Song Contest. It features special performances from 2015's Swedish victor Mans Zelmerlow with his winning song Heroes, while performing Love Shine a Light is the 1997 UK winner Katrina.

The selection show sees six shortlisted acts take to the stage in a bid to impress the viewers at home, as they compete for the honour of representing the United Kingdom at Eurovision 2016. An expert panel is on hand to offer their thoughts on how the songs could be made to look and sound on the stage in Stockholm. However, it is the public who will choose the winning act and song in a telephone and online vote.

The spotlight's on and the stage is set, the countdown to find our next UK act has started - but who will win? You decide!

FRI 21:00 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
Between 1974 and 1982 ABBA plundered the Anglo-Saxon charts but divided critical opinion. This documentary explores how they raised the bar for pop music as a form and made us fall in love with the sound of Swedish melancholy. A saga about the soul of pop.

FRI 22:00 Lulu: Something to Shout About (b0169l59)
Lulu arrived on Top Of The Pops in 1964 with her raucous, belting rendition of Shout when she was just 15 years old. She is the only female artist who has had a UK Top 20 hit in every one of the last five decades.

It's been over 50 years since her first public performance as a schoolgirl in Scotland, named Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie. Since then, she's notched up 66 singles and 21 albums. She's enjoyed No.1 hits on both sides of the Atlantic, and also won a Eurovision Song Contest.

Here, Lulu opens the doors to her life - looking back across five decades at her remarkable career. This is also very much the story of Lulu now - following her into the studio with Jools Holland; rehearsing for shows; choreographing new dance routines; and exclusive access as Lulu prepares and performs for a huge concert on the banks of the River Clyde in her old home town of Glasgow.

This fascinating story of an unparalleled life in show business features contributions from Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Cliff Richard, Robin Gibb, Barry Manilow, Bobby Womack and Jools Holland, along with family members, such as Lulu's brother and sister.

FRI 23:30 Blondie's New York... and the Making of Parallel Lines (b04fmgkb)
Blondie's album Parallel Lines captured the spirit of 1970s New York at a time of poverty, crime and an exploding artistic life, selling 16 million copies. This is the story of that album, that time and that city, told primarily by the seven individuals who wrote, produced and performed it. It was a calculated and painstaking endeavour to produce sure-fire hits - whatever it took.

The film follows Debbie Harry and the rest of the Blondie crew as they head into the studio to record their game-changing album with producer Mike Chapman. It also features commentary from Harry herself about writing music, the media's focus on her appearance and lyrically inspirational ex-boyfriends.

In 1978 the New York band Blondie had two punk albums behind them and were establishing a name for themselves at the club CBGBs on New York's Lower East Side. Then Chrysalis Records exec Terry Ellis saw them and spent a massive $1m buying out their recording contract. He had to ensure that their next album was a hit - there was no room for error. To do this he brought in maverick Australian record producer Mike Chapman, who already had a string of hits under his belt. Mike's job was to turn this crew of New York punks into world stars - but did they have the popular songs which would appeal to a wider non-punk audience?

At a time when rich creativity, grinding poverty and drug abuse were hand in hand on the sidewalks of the Lower East Side, the music and lyrics of Parallel Lines celebrated and captured this vibrant and edgy chemistry, shooting the band to international stardom.

FRI 00:20 Lulu: Something to Shout About (b0169l59)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

FRI 01:50 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

FRI 02:50 The Joy of the Single (b01nzchs)
Do you remember buying your first single? Where you bought it? What it was? The thrill of playing it for the first time? What it sounded like? How it maybe changed your life? Lots of us do. Lots of us still have that single somewhere in a dusty box in the attic, along with other treasured memorabilia of an adolescence lost in music and romance. The attic of our youth.

The Joy of the Single is a documentary packed with startling memories, vivid images and penetrating insights into the power of pop and rock's first and most abiding artefact - the seven-inch, vinyl 45-rpm record, a small, perfectly formed object that seems to miraculously contain the hopes, fears, sounds and experiences of our different generations - all within the spiralling groove etched on its shiny black surface, labelled and gift-wrapped by an industry also in its thrall.

In the confident hands of a star-studded cast, the film spins a tale of obsession, addiction, dedication and desire. The viewer is invited on a journey of celebration from the 1950s rock 'n' roll generation to the download kids of today, taking in classic singles from all manner of artists in each decade - from the smell of vinyl to the delights of the record label, from the importance of the record shop to the bittersweet brevity of the song itself, from stacking singles on a Dansette spindle to dropping the needle and thrilling to the intro.

Featuring contributions from Noddy Holder, Jack White, Richard Hawley, Suzi Quatro, Holly Johnson, Jimmy Webb, Pete Waterman, Norah Jones, Mike Batt, Graham Gouldman, Miranda Sawyer, Norman Cook, Trevor Horn, Neil Sedaka, Paul Morley, Rob Davies, Lavinia Greenlaw, Brian Wilson and Mike Love.

LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

A Timewatch Guide 21:00 THU (b071gx2c)

Andre Previn at the BBC 20:00 SUN (b06gxxxh)

Blondie's New York... and the Making of Parallel Lines 23:30 FRI (b04fmgkb)

Bombay Railway 20:00 THU (b007t367)

Botticelli's Venus: The Making of an Icon 03:20 MON (b070sqb0)

Could We Survive a Mega-Tsunami? 20:00 WED (b01s0zqv)

Could We Survive a Mega-Tsunami? 00:30 WED (b01s0zqv)

Easy Money III: Life Deluxe 22:45 SUN (b03n1swv)

Eurovision Song Contest 19:30 FRI (b071gy19)

Fabric of Britain 01:20 MON (b03bm1rg)

Grand Tours of Scotland 19:30 MON (b01mzggc)

Grand Tours of Scotland 19:30 TUE (b01n4ds9)

Grand Tours of Scotland 19:30 WED (b01n8v0c)

Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? 22:00 MON (b00l7qdh)

How Earth Made Us 19:00 SAT (b00qs5l2)

How Earth Made Us 00:00 TUE (b00r390p)

Italy Unpacked 20:00 TUE (b01q9rgn)

Italy Unpacked 02:00 TUE (b01q9rgn)

Jet! When Britain Ruled the Skies 23:00 TUE (b01m9vjl)

Jigs and Wigs: The Extreme World of Irish Dancing 19:00 SUN (b06w05v8)

Jigs and Wigs: The Extreme World of Irish Dancing 19:30 SUN (b06wrkng)

Lulu: Something to Shout About 22:00 FRI (b0169l59)

Lulu: Something to Shout About 00:20 FRI (b0169l59)

Natural World 20:00 MON (b03799xd)

Natural World 01:00 TUE (b03799xd)

Radio 2 Live 22:40 SAT (b06pf5dw)

Radio 2 Live 00:35 THU (b06pf5dw)

Royal Cousins at War 21:00 TUE (p01pw8ds)

Singer-Songwriters at the BBC 02:40 SUN (b00v4kdy)

Sounds of the Eighties 03:15 SAT (b0074snw)

Sounds of the Eighties 02:10 SUN (b0074snw)

Storyville 21:00 SUN (b071gr5h)

The Brain with David Eagleman 22:00 THU (b071gx2k)

The Brain with David Eagleman 03:00 THU (b071gx2k)

The Great War 23:00 MON (b0074p9w)

The Great War 23:40 MON (b0074p9z)

The Horizon Guide to Pandemic 22:55 THU (b00m3z7w)

The Inca: Masters of the Clouds 20:00 SAT (b04xdpjy)

The Joy of ABBA 21:00 FRI (b03lyzpp)

The Joy of ABBA 01:50 FRI (b03lyzpp)

The Joy of Easy Listening 01:05 SAT (b011g614)

The Joy of Easy Listening 01:35 THU (b011g614)

The Joy of the Single 02:50 FRI (b01nzchs)

The Prosecutors 21:00 WED (b071gvs3)

The Prosecutors 03:00 WED (b071gvs3)

The Real Tom Thumb: History's Smallest Superstar 01:30 WED (b04sms8d)

The Renaissance Unchained 21:00 MON (b071gsdv)

The Renaissance Unchained 02:20 MON (b071gsdv)

The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse 22:00 WED (b00x9b7w)

Timeshift 00:20 MON (b01nj3xx)

Timeshift 22:00 TUE (b00nf0nl)

Timeshift 03:00 TUE (b00nf0nl)

Timeshift 23:30 WED (b00nf0nl)

Top of the Pops 02:35 SAT (b071796z)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b071gx24)

Top of the Pops 23:55 THU (b071gx24)

Trapped 21:00 SAT (b070nyk6)

Trapped 21:50 SAT (b070nyk8)

Troubadours: The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter 00:45 SUN (b012cr37)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b071ggym)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b071ggzg)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b071ggzm)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b071gh03)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b071gh0j)

imagine... 23:40 SAT (b036yl2v)