The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
Readings specially written for Dora Bryan. In Roy Apps's story, a confrontation with a randy old rooster leads to an explosive climax.
Professional cynic and satirist Marcus Brigstocke is forced to meet some of his political targets and reassess his own prejudices about the character of politicians. Mandy Baker introduces him to the ways of Westminster - in the Commons chamber, at news conferences, in the corridors and, of course, at the bar.
How easy is it to make do with less? Mark Tully considers how we deal with enforced downsizing through financial necessity. Should we all consume less for the common good, as Gandhi did?
Lionel Kelleway visits Rostherne Mere in Cheshire in search of reed warblers. These diminutive travellers fly to Africa and back each year. Lionel joins warbler expert Malcolm Calvert as he catches and rings the adults and then searches for nests in the reed beds.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Sim Scavazza appeals on behalf of Mentor UK. Donations: Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
A service for Fathers' Day exploring how faith is influenced by images of God as a stern or tender parent. From Morningside Parish Church, Edinburgh, led by Rev Gillean Maclean. Preacher: Rev Laurence Twaddle. Dominic Peckham directs the Edinburgh Singers. Organist: Leslie Shankland.
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the veteran jazz musician and radio presenter Humphrey Lyttelton. To Radio 4 listeners, he's best known as Chairman Humph who has spent more than 30 years picking his bewildered way through the innuendo and mayhem of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
But his first love is jazz - as a child, he was always fascinated by music and when he was a teenager it was Louis Armstrong who inspired him to take up the trumpet. Fittingly, Armstrong went on to hail Humph as 'Britain's top trumpetman'. Now aged 85, Humph is still recording and touring with his band and says that he finds he's kept awake at night by new ideas for music they can play together.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Stephen Fry presents a special tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton, the sublime host of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, through the eyes of his close pals on the show and distinguished admirers from Dame Judi Dench to Radiohead. The programme features many highlights taken from his thirty-six years at the helm of Radio 4's perennial antidote to panel games.
The late Humphrey Lyttelton profiles Louis Prima, one of the most prolific and accomplished jazz musicians of the 20th century who is sadly now remembered mostly for his role as a cartoon monkey.
Bunny Guinness, Matthew Biggs and John Cushnie answer questions from members of Woburn Sands and District Garden Club, near Milton Keynes.
Bunny continues her series on the gardens of some of Britain's best known chefs. She meets James Martin.
Brett Westwood , Stephen Moss and wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson identify birds that live on conifers, such as the siskin, goldcrest, coal tit and crossbill.
Jack Linden is feeling the effects of unemployment and struggling to keep his family out of the workhouse. Meanwhile Easton, under pressure to provide for his family and keep his job, turns to drink. His wife Ruth is left at home with the baby and their new lodger, with shocking consequences.
Owen ...... Andrew Lincoln
Easton ...... Johnny Vegas
Crass ...... Timothy Spall
Hunter (Old Misery) ...... Paul Whitehouse
Ruth ...... Shirley Henderson
Rushton ...... Bill Bailey
Barrington/Rev Starr ...... Tom Goodman-Hill
Slyme/Rev Belcher ...... Kevin Eldon
Linden ...... Philip Jackson
Nora ...... Raquel Cassidy
Mrs Linden/Mrs Crass ...... Gwyneth Powell
Philpot ...... Tony Haygarth
Bundy ...... Tony Pitts
Bert ...... Des O'Malley
Mr Didlum ...... Rupert Degas
Frankie ...... Robert Madge
Mary ...... Emma Fryer
Elsie ...... Yasmin Garrad
Charlie ...... Jake Pratt
The Booker short-listed author Damon Galgut joins Mariella to discuss the state of his home nation, South Africa, and his new novel. The Impostor concerns two childhood friends reunited later in life, and deals with the wider themes of the social and racial tensions in modern South Africa.
Elizabeth Garner, who won the Betty Trask Award for her first novel Nightdancing, has been asked by her publisher to re-write her recent book, The Ingenious Edgar Jones, for the American market. To discuss the differing requirements of readers in the U.S. and Britain, Elizabeth Garner and Erica Wagner, literary editor of The Times, come into the studio.
Discerning readers may recognise the opening lines and structure of Adrian McKinty's new book. That's because his gangster thriller, set in Ireland and Peru, is inspired by the day-long action of James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses. Adrian McKinty and Irish writer Fintan O'Toole discuss Joyce, Bloomsday, and revisiting old classics.
This week’s programme includes an intriguing “English ghazal”, - the ghazal being a Middle-Eastern verse form not normally associated with English.
At Last The Secret is Out by W.H. Auden
Heraclitus by W.J. Cory
Dear Bryan Winter by W.S. Graham
Far in a western brookland by A.E. Housman
John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 40 years ago. Roy Jenkins warns the Lords not to oppose the Commons. John Arlott becomes president of the Cricketers' Association.
Julian O'Halloran reports on the calls for a new generation of coal-fired power stations by electricity generating companies. The demands are fuelled by concern over energy security and rocketing gas prices, but opposition is widespread.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.
Stewart Henderson presents a selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio.
Susan's concerned about George's tantrums. Jennifer puts them down to his age. Jennifer agrees to talk at the first Ambridge Swap Club meting about how people can participate via the village website and Jill agrees to talk about keeping hens
Lilian tells Jennifer that Matt's adopted. Jennifer thinks this explains why he's so proud of being a self-made man but can't see why he kept his adoption secret.. Lilian thinks he's hiding a lot of hurt and if she found out the truth he might be relieved.. Jennifer doesn't think Lilian should go behind his back.
Learning that Pip's invited her mum's close friends to tomorrow's surprise party, David's worried there won't be enough food. Pip assures him it'll be fine - Lynda and Caroline have already brought some food round. David points out they're hardly close friends but Pip's unconcerned.
Jill thinks it's lovely everyone wants to celebrate Ruth's birthday. But when David points out that Ruth just wanted a quiet night in Jill agrees that Pip might have been over-enthusiastic with her guest list. Jill's concern is heightened when she learns that Pip asked Susan to spread the word about the party, especially when Susan confirms that she's told everyone.
Children's magazine. Kirsten O'Brien and Beaver Towers author Nigel Hinton visit a beaver sanctuary in Kent.
Zoe's marriage has been haunted by Audrey, with whom her husband once had an affair, and also Grace. But Grace is now dead.
Matthew Bannister presents the obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.
Many of the clothes bearing some of the best-known labels in the high street are made by exploited workers in developing countries, according to campaigners. Some retailers stand accused of selling goods made with child labour, or by workers not paid a living wage. Peter Day investigates.
Reports from behind the scenes at Westminster. Including Fifty Years before the Masthead. Political journalist Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical journey.
Another chance to look back at the events making the news 40 years ago with John Tusa.
ETA carry out their first assassination. Martin Luther King's killer is caught at Heathrow. President Tito concedes to protesting students. General Westmoreland leaves Vietnam with a bleak prediction for the war's future. A drowned boy becomes a martyr for Paris students. Daniel Cohn-Bendit arrives in London. Dr Spock is tried for helping evade conscription.
MONDAY 16 JUNE 2008
MON 00:00 News and Weather (b00c0kzk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b00bz9zd)
Gentrification in Harlem
GENTRIFICATION IN HARLEM - A THINKING ALLOWED/OPEN UNIVERSITY SPECIAL
Harlem is transforming.
The ‘capital of black America’ has made it through the cultural ferment of the 1960s, the disinvestment and urban decay of the 1970s, the rampant crime and crack house era of the eighties only to find that its greatest threat could be the investment now pouring in to New York’s famous black neighbourhood.
Harlem is finally gentrifying: The brownstone apartment houses that line Marcus Garvey Park are being gutted, re-fitted and sold for upwards of $3 million – even during the Credit Crunch; Columbia University has hired the architect of the Pompidou Centre, Renzo Piano and has plans to spend an astonishing $7 billion to expand its campus there; and 125th Street, which used to be a no go area for whites, now holds the offices of the Bill Clinton, former President of the United States.
But what of the Harlem’s long term residents?
For years they had to put up with violent crime, burnt out buildings, rubbish strewn streets and very limited services – with rising rents can they afford to live in the new Harlem? ‘Fusion’ restaurants, delicatessens, wine bars and smart coffee shops have moved onto 125th Street – along with the white and black professionals who like use them. Starbucks café tables now line the street corner where Malcolm X used to preach.
Is the very culture of Harlem – radical centre of politics, music and religion now under threat?
In a special edition of Thinking Allowed produced in association with the Open University, Laurie Taylor travels to Harlem to explore the changes. He speaks to the outspoken minister Reverend James Manning, who has organised a black boycott of Harlem businesses to try and halt the area's economic revival. He meets the sociologist Lance Freeman who thinks gentrification is the key to Harlem’s salvation and meets some of the new black middle class who are tasting cheese and sipping Sauvignon in Harlem’s fist wine bar.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00c0f95)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00c0kzm)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00c0kzp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00c0kzr)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b00c0kzt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00c0kx9)
Daily prayer and reflection with Clair Jaquiss.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00c0kzw)
News and issues in rural Britain with Mark Holdstock.
MON 05:57 Weather (b00c0kzy)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 06:00 Today (b00c0l00)
Presented by Evan Davis and Sarah Montague.
US President George W Bush is at Downing Street for formal talks with Gordon Brown. He will also meet Tony Blair in his capacity as a Middle East envoy and later visit Northern Ireland. Mike Wooldridge explains what Bush will be discussing.
Frances Done, head of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, has urged magistrates and judges to impose fewer custodial terms on young offenders. She speaks to the BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw.
Rebecca Jones speaks to veteran actress Elaine Stritch about the revival of Noel Coward's last musical.
Can Europe afford to ignore vote in Ireland and press ahead with the Lisbon Treaty? And what happens if it does? Europe editor Mark Mardell speaks to Ireland's European Affairs Minister Dick Roche.
UK economic growth will slow to its lowest level since 1992 next year, the CBI has warned. CBI director general Richard Lambert outlines the economic forecast.
Thought for the Day: With the Reverend Dr Alan Billings.
A resident has complained about the bells at her local church. The Rev Nigel Hartley of St Peter and St Paul's Church at Aldeburgh discusses the implications of a petition to have the peal of bells reined in.
A museum dedicated to telling the Woodstock story has opened on the site of the original festival. Matt Wells reports.
A Scottish couple is facing up to the CS Lewis Company as it claims rights over the name Narnia. Gillian Fergusson explains why they are being asked to hand over the name.
Author Tim Lynch and Rosemary Hollis of the Olive Tree programme at City University discuss George W Bush's legacy.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (b00c0l02)
Andrew Marr sets the cultural agenda for the week. Guests include violinist Nigel Kennedy and James Cuno from the Art Institute of Chicago.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00c0lf7)
The Pain and the Privilege
Episode 1
Ffion Hague reads from her new book, abridged by Penny Leicester, which explores the role of women in David Lloyd George's life.
Lloyd George's youth consisted of hard work, chapel, and the need to charm Jenny, Kate, Lizzie and others.
Richard Elfyn reads the words of Lloyd George and Liz Sutherland the words of Frances Stevenson.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00c0lf9)
Big babies; Outdoor swimming
Why are more women having big babies? Plus the joys of swimming in the wild, policewomen in Gaza, and the myth of the 'vagina dentata'. With Jane Garvey.
MON 11:00 If You're Reading This (b00c0ltb)
Documentary looking at the letters soldiers write, to be read only in the event of their death in conflict.
Featuring letters from the American Civil War, Allied forces in both world wars, and Japanese kamikaze pilots. The programme also hears from veterans of the Falklands and Gulf wars, who wrote letters that never had to be sent or read.
Also focusing on the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and featuring letters and the last blogs and poems from British and American soldiers. Some have used their final words to criticise the wars, others to leave simple heartfelt messages of love for those left behind. The programme also hears from a family whose son was killed in Afghanistan, and how his last letters are their sole comfort.
MON 11:30 The Maltby Collection (b00xn9fp)
Series 2
Episode 3
Will the museum's first ever Sunday opening run smoothly? Stars Julian Rhind-Tutt and Geoffrey Palmer. From June 2008.
MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00c0nc8)
Presented by Winifred Robinson and Liz Barclay.
Two years ago Sayara Begg had three mortgages, no job and was £300,000 in debt. We catch up with her to see how she is faring during the credit crunch.
Lord Darzi is due to produce a report at the end of the month, which he promises will be a 'once in a lifetime' review of NHS services. Professor Allyson Pollock and the CBI's James Fothergill debate the future of the NHS.
The 'Eco mum' party has arrived. Across the States, thousands of mothers keen to go greener have joined forces in an effort to create a campaign for ecological good.
Wine critic Robert Joseph looks at the French idea of selling Bordeaux in small cartons for those who want to have wine on the go.
Chris Brockman, Research Manager for Food from Britain, looks at how food and drink exports from the UK have broken all records over the past year.
MON 12:57 Weather (b00c0ncb)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b00c0ncd)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.
MON 13:30 Counterpoint (b00c0ncg)
Series 22
2008 Final
Paul Gambaccini chairs the 2008 final of the much-loved music quiz.
Three contestants have fought through heats and semi-finals to reach this thrilling stage of the series. Paul's questions cover the whole gamut of musical knowledge - covering the classics, world music, show tunes, film scores, jazz, rock and pop.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b00c0fz9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b00c0ncj)
Dickens Confidential
The Man Who Robbed the Bank of England
Series of plays looking at how Charles Dickens, as the head of a daily paper, would have tackled bringing the news to the masses.
By Mike Walker.
Mourning the loss of Jack Marshall, Dickens and his investigative team are determined to find the connection between financier Iron Billy and a cunning plot aimed at the heart of the country's financial system.
Charles Dickens ...... Dan Stevens
Agnes Paxton ...... Eleanor Howell
Daniel Parker ...... Andrew Buchan
Joseph Paxton ...... John Dougall
Mickey's Jim ...... Gerard Murphy
Iron Billy ...... John Rowe
Bank manager ...... Stephen Critchlow
Vicar ...... Chris Pavlo
Butler ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Commissionaire ...... Dan Starkey
Directed by David Hunter.
MON 15:00 Money Box Live (b00c0ncl)
Paul Lewis and guests answer calls on financial issues.
MON 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00c0npx)
Unaccustomed Earth
Hell-Heaven
Nina Wadia reads Hell-Heaven from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's collection exploring the dark secrets of family life, all linked by the Bengali immigrant experience.
An India mother's lonely life in America is eased when she mees a charismatic young immigrant, who transports her back to a time before marriage. But before long, her secret infatuation comes close to devastating her family.
Hell-Heaven begins in America, but, like all the stories in this remarkable series, spills back over generations and past memories to India, following new lives forged in the wake of loss.
Reader: Nina Wadia
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
MON 15:45 Cosmic Quest (b00c0ny8)
Plumbing the Depths
Heather Couper presents a narrative history of astronomy.
The science of astrophysics has emerged over the past 300 years. It began with the first attempts to measure the distances of the stars but took off in late Victorian times with the invention of the spectroscope, a device to split starlight up into its component wavelengths. This led to an understanding of the composition of stars and the discovery of a new element on the Sun.
MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00771km)
Nigel Slater
Sheila Dillon and Nigel Slater cook the perfect meal from the ingredients produced by Food and Farming Award Best Producer finalists. Arbroath Smokies, venison, Single Gloucester cheese and traditional apples - authentic British ingredients for the perfect meal.
MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b00c0nz9)
Ernie Rea explores the place of faith in today's world, teasing out the hidden and often contradictory truths behind the experiences, values and traditions of our lives.
MON 16:56 1968 Day by Day (b00c0r3g)
16th June 1968
John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 40 years ago.
French police retake the Sorbonne from the students. Planes are grounded as a pilots' strike begins at Heathrow. Edward Kennedy speaks to the American nation.
MON 17:00 PM (b00c0r5m)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00c0r5p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.
MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b00c39xs)
Archive edition of the perennial antidote to panel games, broadcast in tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton, who died in April.
Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden take on Tim Brooke-Taylor and Willie Rushton, with Humph in the chair and Colin Sell on piano.
The show was recorded at the Theatre Royal in Windsor on April 17, 1993.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b00c0rsg)
The wedding plans are moving ahead. Amy's delighted to be Usha's bridesmaid and. Neil's flattered when Alan asks him to be best man. He has second thoughts when he learns about the Hindu ceremony, until Alan explains that he won't have to be best man at that one. Susan's still not sure she wants to go to either ceremony but Neil insists she must. It's some consolation that as the best man's wife she'll have to have a new outfit.
Ruth is stuck in traffic and is fed up about it. Brookfield is heaving - there are people David's never seen before. He's dreading Ruth's reaction to this but Usha's sure Ruth will see the funny side. To David's relief she's right, and Ruth turns out to be delighted with the party.
Pip tells David and Ruth that she and Jonathan are helping with the Young Farmers float for the Borsetshire show. The theme is countries of the world and they're going to build a windmill for their float.
The party continues in full swing and Ruth's overwhelmed. She feels very lucky and it's made her think the next forty years might not be so bad after all.
Episode written by Mary Cutler.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b00c0rsj)
Presented by Mark Lawson.
Mark meets Keira Knightley, who plays one of the two women in Dylan Thomas' life in the movie The Edge of Love. The actress also talks about her next role as a Duchess.
Anne Enright reports back from watching Leonard Cohen on his world tour, 15 years after last playing live. She reviews Cohen's gig at Dublin's Royal Hospital.
Amanda Ross also joins Mark to discuss the latest summer reads, the process of choosing books, and why there is one book she regrets featuring on her slot on the Richard and Judy show.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00c0rsl)
The Way we Live Right Now
Episode 1
Anthony Trollope's satirical novel about money, greed and dishonesty, updated by Jonathan Myerson.
Former British tennis star Felix 'Flex' Carbury once had a career. Now he has a problem.
Ghassan Mehmoud ...... Henry Goodman
Felix Carbury ...... Dexter Fletcher
Anthony Trollope ...... John Rowe
Paul Montague ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Rt Hon Jeremy Longstaff ...... David bamber
Georgiana Longstaff ...... Lucy Montgomery
Ruby Ruggles ...... Sheridan Smith
Marie Mehmoud ...... Chipo Chung
Roger Lloyd-Montague ...... Ben Crowe
Hetta Carbury ...... Emily Wachter
Tilly Carbury ...... Annette Badland
Helen Croll ...... Liz Sutherland
Nick Broune ...... Stephen Critchlow
Other parts played by Chris Pavlo, Beth Chalmers, Dan Starkey and Joan Walker.
Directed by Jonquil Panting.
MON 20:00 A Failure to Provide? (b00c0rsn)
Second and third generation British Asians are facing a new problem of how to care for their elderly parents now that the extended family has split up and become more Anglicised and less traditional. Yasmeen Khan travels around the UK to find out whether culturally specific care services are provided for elderly Asians, and asks whether there is a failure to provide for those whose language, nutritional and religious needs are varied and complex.
MON 20:30 The Learning Curve (b00c11gz)
Libby Purves presents a guide to the world of learning, with practical advice, features and listeners' views.
MON 21:00 Hitting the Buffers (b00c11h1)
Transport
Gareth Mitchell looks at our need for speed in different areas of modern life and asks what is stopping us from getting faster. Promises of quicker and more comfortable travel seem to have disappeared in the push towards greener transport. But does greener mean slower? And have faster speeds become elusive for both technological and financial reasons?
Gareth travels to El Mirage dry lake bed in the Californian desert, where 'hot rodding' was born, and to the Estorick Gallery in London which houses the UK's largest collection of Futurist art, the early-20th century movement that expressed a love of speed.
MON 21:30 Start the Week (b00c0l02)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b00c12yr)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00c12yt)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.
Including reports on Britain's troop deployment in Afghanistan, how a new US president could alter British foreign policy and who is paying most for more costly food.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00c12yw)
Things Fall Apart
Episode 6
Chuk Iwuji reads from Chinua Achebe's classic novel, abridged by Jane Marshall. Okonkwo joins his friend Obierika to celebrate his daughter's wedding.
MON 23:00 Happy Mondays (b00c11h3)
Spike's Lookalikes
To Del and Back
Sitcom by Mark Watson, set in a lookalike agency.
Del Boy impersonator Jimmy has had enough and is leaving to fulfil his ambition of becoming a dentist in Spain. Since he is almost Spike's only client who ever gets bookings, it seems like a good idea to talk him out of it.
Spike ...... Ardal O'Hanlon
Maggie ...... Doon McKichon.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00c12yy)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Susan Hulme.
TUESDAY 17 JUNE 2008
TUE 00:00 News and Weather (b00c0kxc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00c0lf7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00c0kxf)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00c0kxh)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00c0kxk)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00c0kxm)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00c0kxp)
Daily prayer and reflection with Clair Jaquiss.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00c0kxr)
News and issues in rural Britain with Anna Hill.
TUE 06:00 Today (b00c0kxt)
Presented by Sarah Montague and Evan Davis.
A panel of criminal justice experts is calling for the government to back the idea of a network of young offender academies. Lord Ramsbotham explains the idea.
Anthony Bartram reports on the striking drivers returning to work at a Shell depot in Warwickshire.
James Rodgers reports on the challenge the Kremlin faces in reforming the legal system.
Britain's decision on whether to ratify the Lisbon Treaty comes to the House of Lords. But should the Lords nod it through now that Ireland has said no? Lord Owen explains the kind of treaty he would like to see.
Are we losing the war against viruses, worms and spam? Professor Jonathan Zittrain believes the internet is under threat. Science correspondent Tom Feilden learns that the cure could be even worse than the disease.
General Sir Mike Jackson examines whether the government aim of improving security and reconstruction in Afghanistan can be achieved.
Former Chancellor Lord Lawson gives his views on the latest inflation rate figures.
Nicola Stanbridge reports from the deck of the oldest working boat in Europe, the Boadicea, as she turns 200.
TUE 09:00 The Reith Lectures (b00c197g)
Jonathan Spence: Chinese Vistas: 2008
American Dreams
Chinese Vistas: Jonathan Spence lectures about China.
Recorded at The Asia Society in New York.
Spence explores the two centuries in which the United States gradually moved from its position as a dominant beacon of freedom and democracy for China, to becoming a more demanding global rival during and since World War II. Is America right to be wary of the emerging superpower or can the two economic and military giants co-exist happily?
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00c0ld8)
The Pain and the Privilege
Episode 2
Ffion Hague reads from her new book, abridged by Penny Leicester, which explores the role of women in David Lloyd George's life.
Lloyd George marries Maggie Owen as his political career takes off. She loves Wales, but he is drawn to London.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00c0ldb)
Nigel Slater; Writer Eva Hoffman
Cook Nigel Slater on nostalgia food. Plus Eva Hoffman on the role of art in a violent world, and the merits of giving all new mothers a maternity nurse for eight days.
TUE 11:00 World On The Move: Great Animal Migrations (b00c197j)
Philippa Forrester and Brett Westwood present the series following the movement and migration of animals across the planet, from the European eel to the African white-eared kob antelope. A team of wildlife specialists are joined by zoologists and conservationists around the world to present regular reports.
TUE 11:30 Free Cinema (b00c197l)
Simon Hoggart recalls Free Cinema, a series of six short documentary films shown at the National Film Theatre between 1956 and 1959. Their informal style, energy and focus on the real lives of working-class people paved the way for the emergence of British New Wave cinema and the many great realist films that have followed.
TUE 12:00 Call You and Yours (b00c0mt3)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson and Liz Barclay.
With Lord Darzi putting forward his proposals to reform the NHS constitution, we get views on the future of the National Health Service.
With guests Wendy Savage, Keep the NHS campaign; Nigel Edwards, Director of Policy NHS Confederation; Chris Ham, Nuffield Trust and Anna Dixon, Director of Policy Kings Fund.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b00c0mt5)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b00c0mt7)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.
TUE 13:30 Music Feature (b00c197n)
Tuning Into the Enemy
A story of truth and reconciliation in post-Apartheid South Africa.
At the age of 18, Afrikaner Paul Erasmus went into the police force. Roger Lucey wrote protest songs and went to political meetings with his university friends. Paul systematically wrecked Roger's musical career, bugging his house, pressurising WEA records to drop him and personally seizing his records from stores. In 1995, he asked to meet Lucey in person and confessed all. They now consider themselves friends.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00c0rsg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b00c1d1r)
Nick Warburton - Foundling
By Nick Warburton.
A man famous for finding lost people arrives in a small town. Why will he not help a young woman find her lost child?
Laura ...... Emma Fielding
Roach ...... Peter Marinker
Gilbert ...... Ben Crowe
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
TUE 15:00 Making History (b00c197s)
The Breast Hole at Tean Hall Mill - Narbonne 1907
The Breast Hole at Tean Hall Mill
Former mill workers and members of the Tean and Checkley Historical Society contacted Making History to highlight the discovery of a remarkable architectural feature discovered during the re-development of an old weaving mill. Described as a 'breast hole' it was a crude device to allow women to feed their babies whilst still doing a days work in the mill.
Narbonne 1907
Bill Cronin was surprised by a plaque he saw whilst visiting Narbonne for a short break. It recalls a riot by wine-growers in May 1907 in which 5 people died. The suggestion is that the protest was about the importing of Algerian wine and it laid the foundations for the Appellation system found in France.
Making History consulted Billy Kay the co-author of Knee Deep in Claret and the author of The Scottish World. He explained that the disturbances in Narbonne came at the end of a period in which the French wine industry, particularly in the Languedoc, had grown considerably.
TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00c0npc)
Unaccustomed Earth
Unaccustomed Earth, part 1
Indira Varma reads the first part of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's story, Unaccustomed Earth, exploring the dark secrets of family life through the Bengali immigrant experience.
When Ruma's mother dies, she leaves a space neither she nor her father knows how to fill. Back in India, both know, things would have been very different. A visit from her father brings to the surface feelings of guilt, uncertainty and loss - but ultimately a kind of understanding.
Unaccustomed Earth begins in America, but, like all the stories in this series, spills back over memories and generations to India, following new lives forged in the wake of loss. Concludes tomorrow.
Reader: Indira Varma
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
TUE 15:45 Cosmic Quest (b00c3fnn)
The Milky Way
Heather Couper presents a narrative history of astronomy.
Galileo realised that the Milky Way was a glowing band of stars across the sky and philosopher Immanuel Kant recognised that our Sun was just one member of a vast star system. But for centuries, few recognised the true nature of our galaxy. In the late 19th century, William Herschel realised that the Milky Way was a giant body of stars, but still his discovery was ignored. It was not until early in the 20th century that Harlow Shapley began to estimate the distances of the stars and hence map out the Milky Way in three-dimensional detail. Radio astronomy finally yielded the ability to penetrate the dark clouds towards the galactic centre and see the true distribution of matter in the skies.
TUE 16:00 Law in Action (b00c197v)
Frightened Witnesses
Clive Coleman takes his weekly look at the legal issues in the news. He asks what the police and prosecutors can do to get frightened witnesses to give evidence in court.
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b00c197x)
Alistair Beaton and Valerie Grove
Sue MacGregor and her guests - satirist, Alistair Beaton and writer, Valerie Grove - discuss favourite paperbacks by Isabella Bird, Penelope Mortimer and Nikolai Gogol.
Adventures in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird
Publisher: Penguin Great Journeys
Daddy's Gone A-Hunting by Penelope Mortimer
Publisher: Persephone Books
The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol
Publisher: Granta
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
TUE 16:56 1968 Day by Day (b00c0r3j)
17th June 1968
John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 40 years ago.
Fred West, Britain's first heart transplant patient, is critical. Louis Armstrong begins a two-week residency in Yorkshire. The women machinists' strike at Ford's plant in Dagenham begins to spread.
TUE 17:00 PM (b00c0r3l)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00c0r3n)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.
TUE 18:30 Footlights at 125: A Retrospective (b00c197z)
Episode 1
A celebration of 125 years of comedy at Cambridge Footlights. Former alumni come together to recreate past gems in the club's history, sourced from the extensive archives and performed anew. Original material comes from Peter Cook, David Mitchell, Griff Rhys Jones, Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson and others. Performed by Mel Giedroyc, Lucy Montgomery, James Bachman, John Finnemore, Geoff McGivern and Simon Munnery.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00c0rm2)
It's Usha's birthday and although she's pleased with her present from Alan, she's sad not to receive a card from her parents. Then out of the blue she gets a visit from her dad - bearing gifts, and birthday wishes. Usha is very touched - especially when she finds out that both her parents will be coming to the weddings.
Emma tells Will that letting George have his own way all the time isn't good for the boy. Will can't see that George is misbehaving with everyone else and gets annoyed when Emma suggests that George has got Will under his thumb. Emma tells him to stop shouting and to think about what she's saying. But Will just won't see that there's a problem. Emma thinks he's changed since his split with Nic but Will insists that has nothing to do with anything. He refuses to hear any more and walks off.
Pat gets back from visiting a warehouse but it's too big, too expensive and too far out. Their only hope now is a spare shed on Home Farm.
Clarrie tells Pat how worried Emma is about George. Having failed to get through to William, Emma now wants Clarrie to have a go.
Episode written by Mary Cutler.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00c0rm4)
Presented by Mark Lawson.
As Tate Modern presents a major exhibition of works by Cy Twombly, painter and sculptor Maggi Hambling takes a look at his first solo retrospective in 15 years.
Joseph Fiennes, Ian Hart and Phyllis Logan head the cast in the world premiere of a new play by Anthony Weigh, called 2,000 Feet Away. Writer Dreda Say Mitchell gives her verdict on the play.
French film critic Muriel Zagha responds to a new film about immigration, called Couscous (La Graine et le Mulet).
Nicholas Tucker, writer of the Rough Guide to Children's Books, reflects on the political lessons to be learnt from literature for the young.
Joy Swift created the first Murder Mystery weekend in 1980, when working in the hotel industry. Now working on her 100th plot, Joy explains how she came up with the idea; the book and TV opportunities that have resulted and why sometimes it is hard for hotel staff to separate fact from fiction.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00c0rm6)
The Way we Live Right Now
Episode 2
Anthony Trollope's satirical novel about money, greed and dishonesty, updated by Jonathan Myerson.
International financier Ghassan Mehmoud has money but not the profile he craves.
Ghassan Mehmoud ...... Henry Goodman
Felix Carbury ...... Dexter Fletcher
Anthony Trollope ...... John Rowe
Paul Montague ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Rt Hon Jeremy Longstaff ...... David bamber
Georgiana Longstaff ...... Lucy Montgomery
Ruby Ruggles ...... Sheridan Smith
Marie Mehmoud ...... Chipo Chung
Roger Lloyd-Montague ...... Ben Crowe
Hetta Carbury ...... Emily Wachter
Tilly Carbury ...... Annette Badland
Helen Croll ...... Liz Sutherland
Nick Broune ...... Stephen Critchlow
Other parts played by Chris Pavlo, Beth Chalmers, Dan Starkey and Joan Walker.
Directed by Jonquil Panting.
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b00c1981)
Gerry Northam investigates claims that tens of thousands of elderly dementia sufferers are being given powerful psychiatric drugs which are not only unnecessary but also have potentially lethal side effects.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00c1983)
Peter White with news and information for the blind and partially sighted.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b00c1985)
Synaesthesia - ADHD - Guantanamo
SYNAESTHESIA
In Synaesthesia – where two or more senses are inter-connected, the letter A might be yellow, or the word fragile might taste of mint. It may sound strange, but most of us will know six or seven people with synaesthesia. It runs in families. Some see it as a disorder, others see it as a gift. The subject will be a familiar one for regular AITM listeners, but now new research has shown that synaesthesia exists in even more forms than we used to think. Claudia went to Sussex University to meet Dr Jamie Ward, who’s the author of The Frog Who Croaked Blue, and to try out some of his ground-breaking work for herself.
Read your responses to this item.
ADHD, KIDS AND DRUGS
Every year the number of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD goes up. The drug Ritalin is a common treatment, but new draft guidelines from NICE are making some radical suggestions about treatment. They’ll say the under fives shouldn’t have the drugs at all, and, older children, unless it’s very severe should be offered psychological support and their parents, training programmes, before drugs are even considered. Dr Ilina Singh is the Wellcome Trust Bioethics and Society lecturer at the London School of Economics and for the past decade, she’s been researching the attitudes and views of children and young people with ADHD: what they think about their illness and about the drugs they are given to treat it. All in the Mind talked to a group of children with ADHD about their views of taking Ritalin and to Dr Ilina Singh on her ongoing study about ADHD, children and medication in the UK and the USA.
ROW OVER PSYCHOLOGISTS WORKING AT GUANTANAMO BAY AND CIA "BLACK SITES"
In the United States doctors, nurses and psychiatrists are all banned by their professional organisations from taking part in interrogations, but this is not the case with psychologists . It is an issue which has deeply split The American Psychological Association. One of the latest protest resignations is Professor Beth Shinn, the former head of two APA divisions. She talks to Claudia.
TUE 21:30 Random Edition (b00c1987)
The News of the World, Sunday 26 June 1887
Peter Snow presents a history series in which the stories are provided by archive newspapers.
Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations saw a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey for a Service of Thanksgiving. How far did the whole event re-establish a link between Victoria and her people after the extended mourning for Prince Albert?
TUE 21:58 Weather (b00c12vp)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00c12vr)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah, including the release of Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, Abu Qatada, on bail; a rise in inflation as the cost of commodities soars; families who choose to rent rather than buy a house; and the agreement of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00c12vt)
Things Fall Apart
Episode 7
Chuk Iwuji reads from Chinua Achebe's classic novel, abridged by Jane Marshall. Forced into exile, Okonkwo returns to his mother's clan with his three wives and eleven children.
TUE 23:00 Political Animal (b00c1989)
Series 2
Episode 2
John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman present a show recorded in front of a live audience, featuring comedians performing exclusively political material.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00c12vw)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with David Wilby.
WEDNESDAY 18 JUNE 2008
WED 00:00 News and Weather (b00c0kxw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00c0ld8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00c0kxy)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00c0ky0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00c0ky2)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00c0ky4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00c0ky6)
Daily prayer and reflection with Clair Jaquiss.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00c0ky8)
News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith.
WED 06:00 Today (b00c0kyb)
Presented by James Naughtie and Evan Davis.
Zimbabwe is preparing for the run-off presidential election. Peter Biles reports from Johannesburg.
Technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Craig Braithwaite, who explains what kind of skills are needed to be a games engineer.
Why are lions and leopards being deliberately poisoned in Kenya? Adam Mynott reports from the Masai Mara game reserve.
The government has warned of the need for discipline in public and private sector pay to keep inflation under control. Reporter Martin Shankleman discusses whether unions will be demanding higher wages.
In a letter to the Times newspaper, 12 research scientists have urged the government to spend more on dementia research. Professor of Neuropathology Roy Weller explains why he signed the letter.
Chancellor Alistair Darling delivers his first Mansion House speech about the state of the economy. What can he do to convince his City audience - and the rest of us - that he is in control of the economy in this difficult time?
The first computer-generated music has been unearthed. Chris Burton, from the Computer Conservation Society, and the Daily Telegraph's rock critic Neil McCormick listen in.
Time magazine columnist Joe Klein analyses Hillary Clinton's chances of running for the US vice presidency.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b00c1d1h)
Lively and diverse conversation.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00c0ldd)
The Pain and the Privilege
Episode 3
Ffion Hague reads from her new book, abridged by Penny Leicester, which explores the role of women in David Lloyd George's life.
In 1911, Lloyd George makes a speech at the Welsh Baptist Chapel as an impressed Frances looks on.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00c0ldg)
Wangari Maathai; The life of Philippa Pearce
Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on her fight for human rights. Plus the life and work of children's writer Philippa Pearce.
WED 11:00 In Living Memory (b00c1d1k)
Series 8
The Little Red Schoolbook
Contemporary history series.
Jolyon Jenkins recalls the small paperback published in 1971 which advised children about sex, drugs and how to assert their rights at school. Although banned as an obscene publication, the book continued to be distributed by radical groups, becoming something of a cause celebre in the process.
WED 11:30 Hut 33 (b00wfwyl)
Series 2
Getting Heavy
Hut 33 has come bottom in the ranking at Bletchley Park, and the code breakers must do something to prove themselves.
James Cary's sitcom set at Bletchley Park - the top-secret home of the Second World War codebreakers.
Charles …. Robert Bathurst
Archie …. Tom Goodman-Hill
Minka …. Olivia Colman
Mrs Best …. Lill Roughley
Gordon …. Fergus Craig
Joshua … Alex McQueen
With Lisa Sutherland, Arnab Chanda and Ben Crowe.
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2008.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00c0mt9)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson and Sheila McClennon.
Many Primary Care Trusts are implementing a controversial 'schoolcard' system for rating GP surgeries. The results are published on Trust websites. However GPs say patients will have difficulty interpreting them and they don't give a realistic picture of performance.
Builder Nigel Gray has set up a website, RogueCustomer.com, which allows builders to report customers or contractors who fail to pay up for work they've signed up for. We hear from Nigel and also from Philip Cullum from the National Consumer Council.
Energy prices are rising faster in Britain than almost anywhere in Western Europe. We examine the reasons behind the rise in price and what the future holds.
A new Digital Forensic Unit at the Serious Fraud Office has been set up. So even when mobile phones are switched off, deleted and destroyed, they can be made to give up its secrets. Shari Vahl reports.
The trend has been recently for firms to relocate to places like India and Poland to save on labour costs. We hear from one woman who has moved her company production back to the UK from Poland and examine the reasons behind the return.
WED 12:57 Weather (b00c0mtc)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b00c0mtf)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.
WED 13:30 Quote... Unquote (b00c1d1p)
Nigel Rees exchanges quotations and anecdotes with guests Alison Baverstock, Clive Coleman, Gwyneth Lewis and Arabella Weir. The reader is Peter Jefferson.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b00c0rm2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b00c197q)
Listen to the Words
By Ed Hime.
Tim has a problem with empathy, and justifies tapping fellow student Sophie's phone as the only way to understand her. When it all goes wrong, he books the media room of the secure unit where he is being held and creates a broadcast for his college radio station.
Tim ...... Joe Dempsie
Sophie ...... Lizzie Watts
Damon ...... Sam Crane
Stella ...... Lisa Stevenson
Derek ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Dr Susan ...... Helen Longworth
Bill Keyes ...... Ben Crowe
Clive ...... John Rowe
Zoe ...... Liz Sutherland
Lecturer ...... Stephen Critchlow
Toby ...... Dan Starkey
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
WED 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00c0fb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Sunday]
WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00c0npf)
Unaccustomed Earth
Unaccustomed Earth, part 2
Indira Varma reads the second part of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's title story from her collection Unaccustomed Earth, exporing the dark secrets of family life through the Bengali immigrant experience.
When Ruma's mother dies, she leaves a space neither her daughter or her husband knows how to fill. Back in India, both know, things would have been very different. But when Ruma's father visits her in America, Ruma finally decides to invite him to live with her and her family. But his response is not what she had expected.
Unaccustomed Earth begins in America, but, like all the stories in this week's series, spills back over memories and generations to India, following new lives forged in the wake of loss.
Reader: Indira Varma
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
WED 15:45 Cosmic Quest (b00c3h3t)
Deep Space
Heather Couper presents a narrative history of astronomy.
In 1845 the third Earl of Rosse completed the biggest telescope in the world at his castle in the centre of Ireland. In spite of cloudy skies, this leviathan enabled him to see spectacular detail in the sky, including a spiral structure in certain fuzzy patches known as nebulae. Some of these seemed so big that astronomers thought they must be rotating clouds of gas out of which planetary systems are born.
Henrietta Swan Leavitt refuted this, studying variable stars and realising that a certain type of star varied at a rate that was linked to its brightness. These so-called Cepheid variables could be used to estimate the vast distances of space.
In 1919, the young Edwin Hubble used a new telescope in California to search for Leavitt's Cepheids in spiral nebulae. He discovered, to his astonishment, that the nearest, the Andromeda nebula, lay well outside our own galaxy and constituted an island universe in its own right.
Readers are Timothy West, Robin Sebastian, Julian Rhind-Tutt and John Palmer.
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00c1d1t)
Gentrification
GENTRIFICATION
Laurie Taylor is joined by Sophie Watson, Professor of Sociology at the Open University, Tim Butler, Head of the Department of Geography at King’s College in London, Dr Tom Slater who will soon be talking a post as Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh, and Lance Freeman, Assistant Professor in Urban Planning at Columbia University to discuss the driving forces and patterns of gentrification in the UK.
Does the gentrification process bring benefits to existing and new inhabitants of an area? How much does it involve the displacement of present residents?
WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b00c1985)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:56 1968 Day by Day (b00c0r3q)
18th June 1968
John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 40 years ago.
Three British protestors are released from a Moscow jail. France counts the cost of months of unrest. John Lennon's play In His Own Write opens at the National Theatre.
WED 17:00 PM (b00c0r3s)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00c0r3v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.
WED 18:30 Double Science (b00c1d1w)
Forresters FM
Comedy by Ben Willbond and Justin Edwards about Colin and Kenneth, two science teachers at a sixth form college that specialises in drama.
Danny is quick to exploit the college's temporary FM radio licence, staging his own radio plays where he plays Heathcliff to Alison's Cathy. Jealous Colin writes his own play, also featuring Alison with Kenneth doing all the sound effects. Unfortunately, Kenneth has a severe attack of the nerves during the broadcast and Colin's attempt to impress Alison backfires spectacularly.
Colin ...... Ben Willbond
Kenneth ...... Justin Edwards
Alison ...... Rebecca Front
Danny ...... Raza Jaffrey
Donna ...... Margaret Cabourn-Smith.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b00c0rm8)
With the tour finished, Fallon's pleased to be home but Ed doesn't share her excitement that the band has had an offer of management. She senses his distance and blames it on how she acted last time she came home. She promises things are different this time, and even suggests they move in together. Ed's in no rush to do that.
Lilian tries to get Matt to open up about his past but he's adamant he doesn't want to know about it. Matt thinks his contact might have found a way to facilitate a bigger anaerobic digester, and assures Lilian that this should shut up the protestors. Lilian can't wait to tell Pat but is taken aback when Pat points out that a bigger digester is hardly the solution - it just creates even more problems and further damages Ambridge's carbon footprint.
Will brings George to the Bull but he's hardly on his best behaviour and finally Will sees it for himself. Clarrie tries to stop George getting his own way again but it ends up with George grabbing her drink and throwing it in her face. Will's shocked to see it and sternly tells George to say sorry to granny, right now.
Episode written by Mary Cutler.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b00c0rmb)
Presented by Mark Lawson.
As the Hayward gallery approaches its 40th anniversary, Mark is joined by art critics Richard Cork and Louisa Buck, as well as the gallery's director Ralph Rugoff, to reflect on the Hayward's four decades.
Two television programmes - Tribal Wives and Britain's Lost World - look, in different ways, at 'lost' people or places. Dr Nick Middleton and Andre Singer discuss the affect that television has on these undiscovered people and places.
Mark reports on the ownership row about the Superlambanana, a 17ft high bright yellow sculpture - part lamb, part banana, which has become a Liverpool landmark.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00c0rmd)
The Way we Live Right Now
Episode 3
Anthony Trollope's satirical novel about money, greed and dishonesty, updated by Jonathan Myerson.
Organic farmer Roger Lloyd-Montague is devoted to Hetta Carbury. If only she were as devoted to him.
Ghassan Mehmoud ...... Henry Goodman
Felix Carbury ...... Dexter Fletcher
Anthony Trollope ...... John Rowe
Paul Montague ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Rt Hon Jeremy Longstaff ...... David bamber
Georgiana Longstaff ...... Lucy Montgomery
Ruby Ruggles ...... Sheridan Smith
Marie Mehmoud ...... Chipo Chung
Roger Lloyd-Montague ...... Ben Crowe
Hetta Carbury ...... Emily Wachter
Tilly Carbury ...... Annette Badland
Helen Croll ...... Liz Sutherland
Nick Broune ...... Stephen Critchlow
Other parts played by Chris Pavlo, Beth Chalmers, Dan Starkey and Joan Walker.
Directed by Jonquil Panting.
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b00c1d1y)
Michael Buerk chairs a debate on the moral questions behind the week's news. Melanie Phillips, Michael Portillo and Claire Fox cross-examine witnesses.
WED 20:45 Fifty Years before the Masthead (b00c1d20)
The Dreaming Spires
Political journalist Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical journey through fifty years in the newspaper industry.
At Oxford, Howard wrote what was probably the first profile of Michael Heseltine, who describes how they have remained friends despite their political differences. Then came national service. Michael Parkinson, then a captain in press relations, recalls an anonymous soldier sending despatches back home during the Suez crisis. It turned out to be Howard, who would later join Parkinson on The Guardian.
WED 21:00 World On The Move: Great Animal Migrations (b00c197j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Midweek (b00c1d1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b00c12vy)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00c12w0)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig.
Including coverage from Mansion House of the speech by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling. Plus reports on the case brought to the Hague by relatives of Srebrenica victims, and the city of Florence and Dante 700 years on.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00c12w2)
Things Fall Apart
Episode 8
Chuk Iwuji reads from Chinua Achebe's classic novel, abridged by Jane Marshall. Missionaries arrive in the village and ask for land on which to build a church.
WED 23:00 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00c1d22)
Series 2
Episode 4
'China Lion', pepping up your sex life and why it is not a good idea to tell lies on your CV.
Award-winning comedian Laura Solon's sketch and character comedy series
With Rosie Cavaliero, Ben Moor and Ben Willbond.
Written by Laura Solon.
With additional material by Ben Moor, Charlie Miller, Andy Marlot, Jon Walsh and Holly Walsh.
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2008.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00c12w4)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.
THURSDAY 19 JUNE 2008
THU 00:00 News and Weather (b00c0kyd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00c0ldd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00c0kyg)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00c0kyj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00c0kyl)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00c0kyn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00c0kyq)
Daily prayer and reflection with Clair Jaquiss.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00c0kys)
News and issues in rural Britain with Anna Hill.
THU 06:00 Today (b00c0kyv)
Presented by James Naughtie and John Humphrys
Including:
A ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, has begun. Aleem Maqbool reports from Gaza and Wyre Davies is in the Israeli town of Sderot. Yaakov Amidror, a retired Major General in the Israeli army, discusses whether it is a long term solution.
Transport correspondent Tom Symonds compares cycle schemes in Paris and Bristol.
There are concerns over the presidential election re-run in Zimbabwe. Rupert Colville speaks for the UN and discusses the issue with Foreign Office minister Mark Malloch Brown.
London's mayor Boris Johnson has maintained that Londoners would not have to pay more for the Olympic Games in 2012.
Scientists in American treated a man suffering from advanced melanoma by cloning some of his own blood cells. Dr Cassian Yee explains what they did.
Harley Davidson - that quintessentially American brand - is launching a bike specifically designed for the European market. Michael Van Der Sande, the managing director of Harley Davidson Europe, and Mike Carter, author of Uneasy Rider, discuss the open road and freedom.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00c1fct)
The Music of the Spheres
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the music of the spheres, the elegant and poetic idea that the revolution of the planets generates a celestial harmony of profound and transcendent beauty. In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice the young Lorenzo woos his sweetheart with talk of the stars: “There’s not the smallest orb which thou behold’stBut in his motion like an angel sings,Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins;Such harmony is in immortal souls;But whilst this muddy vesture of decayDoth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.”The idea of music of the spheres ran through late antiquity and the medieval period into the Renaissance and its echoes could be heard in astrology and astronomy, in theology, and, of course, in music itself. Influenced by Pythagoras and Plato, it was discussed by Cicero, Boethius, Marcello Ficino and Johannes Kepler It affords us a glimpse into minds for which the universe was full of meaning, of strange correspondences and grand harmonies.With Peter Forshaw, Postdoctoral Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London; Jim Bennett, Director of the Museum of the History of Science at the University of Oxford and Angela Voss, Director of the Cultural Study of Cosmology and Divination at the University of Kent, Canterbury.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00c0ldj)
The Pain and the Privilege
Episode 4
Ffion Hague reads from her book about the women in David Lloyd George's life. Lloyd George's relationship with Frances intensifies.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00c0ldl)
Neo natal care shortages; The study
How has the concept of the live/work space evolved? Plus Sylvia Lancaster on promoting tolerance between young people, and is a serious shortage of nurses putting babies at risk?
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b00c1fcw)
BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the world's headlines. Introduced by Kate Adie.
THU 11:30 Round Britain Quiz Is 60 (b00c1fcy)
Tom Sutcliffe finds out the secret of Round Britain Quiz's enduring popularity as the world's longest-running radio quiz celebrates its sixtieth anniversary. Participants have struggled to find connections between some of the most arcane bits of knowledge to ever grace the airwaves, with the likes of Irene Thomas and Eric Korn becoming broadcasting institutions in the process. Tom offers a glimpse behind the scenes at the show, combining classic archive with fresh interviews.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00c0mth)
Presented by Liz Barclay and Carolyn Atkinson.
We meet the new head of the Serious Fraud Office, Richard Alderman who says he wants to concentrate more on frauds that affect the consumer - particularly boiler room fraud.
Why does your council tax rating stay the same even if you have extended your property? We speak to Tim Bradford, Director of Council Tax at the Valuation Office Agency.
The Government has launched its consultation period on the National Dementia Strategy. We ask a dementia expert, Professor David Wilkinson, whether the proposals are ambitious enough.
The value of used cars has dropped more than would normally be expected. What is causing this and how much more could they fall? We speak to Mark Norman, Operational Development Manager at CAP Motor Research.
We look the prospects for BA's new venture Open Skies. With rapidly rising fuel prices, what does the future hold for the airline and its passengers? Simon Calder, Travel Editor at the Independent, and Laurie Price, Aviation Consultant at Mott MacDonald, debate the issue.
THU 12:57 Weather (b00c0mtk)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b00c0mtm)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.
THU 13:30 Open Country (b00c0b6b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:07 on Saturday]
THU 14:00 The Archers (b00c0rm8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b00c1fd0)
Beijing's Slowest Elevator
Penny Leicester's adaptation of a specially commissioned short story by Xiaolu Guo.
Zhang Yan has turned her back on her rural upbringing and is determined to make it in Beijing. By night, she works in an upmarket karaoke bar, entertaining and sleeping with its successful businessmen clients. When she meets an attractive young man, she hopes for escape.
Zhang Yan (Ai Lian) ...... Liz Sutherland
Li Xin ...... David Lee
Ma Yue San ...... Chike Chan
Father/Taxi Driver/Entrepeneur/Client 1 ...... Richard Woo
Mother/Karaoke Girl 2 ...... Su-Lin Looi
Directed by Emma Harding.
THU 15:00 Check Up (b00c1fd2)
Cosmetic Dentistry
How important is the perfect smile to you?
With everything from whitening treatments to top-of-the-range porcelain veneers, this episode of Check Up focuses on the fast-growing area of cosmetic dentistry.
Barbara Myers and her guest, dentist Martin Fallowfield, offer advice on the latest treatments and the truth behind the headlines about that perfect Hollywood smile.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00c0f9m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00c0nph)
Unaccustomed Earth
Once in a Lifetime
Stories from a brilliant new collection by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri exploring the dark secrets of family life, all linked by the Bengali immigrant experience.
One memorable winter, two Indian immigrant families are reunited under one roof in a small house in suburban Massachusetts. As the snow falls they look back to the time they were last together, a winter's evening seven years earlier when things were very different.
Read by Nina Wadia.
THU 15:45 Cosmic Quest (b00c3h8m)
Einstein's Biggest Blunder
Heather Couper presents a narrative history of astronomy.
In 1915, Albert Einstein found that he had to introduce a new factor into his equations of gravity to prevent the stars from falling in on one another. He called it the cosmological constant. But then, astronomers discovered that the light from galaxies was stretched in a way that could only be explained if the galaxies were flying apart from each other and the universe was expanding.
A recent twist to this tale came in the year 2000, when estimates of the rate of the expansion revealed that the most distant galaxies are accelerating. The only way to explain this was by a force called dark energy - in effect, a cosmological constant.
Readers are Timothy West, Robin Sebastian, Julian Rhind-Tutt and John Palmer.
THU 16:00 Open Book (b00c0fyv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:30 Material World (b00c1fd4)
The Baby - Wonderland
The Baby
Sixty years ago the chair of IBM thought there would one day be a world market for about 5 computers. In this week’s Material World, Quentin Cooper celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first ever task performed by a computer. On the 21st June 1948 Manchester University’s Small-Scale Experimental Machine, or Baby, the world’s first stored programme electronic digital computer ran its first ever program. With a mere 128 bytes of memory and only seven possible instructions, Baby’s capabilities may sound primitive by today’s standards, but the principles behind it survive to this day in all computers. Sixty years on Quentin explores the incredible legacy of Baby and its progeny in the decades since with Steve Furber from Manchester University and Simon Moore from Cambridge University.
Wonderland
Also in the programme why a collaboration between artist Helen Storey and chemist Tony Ryan from Sheffield University are making bottles that could recycle themselves and why their work could revolutionize packaging.
THU 16:56 1968 Day by Day (b00c0r3y)
19th June 1968
John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 40 years ago.
Nelson Rockefeller throws his hat into the ring in the Republican race for the US Presidency. Enoch Powell faces more student protests. The future of the House of Lords hangs in the balance.
THU 17:00 PM (b00c0r40)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00c0r42)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.
THU 18:30 Heresy (b00c1fd6)
Series 5
Episode 6
Victoria Coren chairs the programme which challenges established ideas. The panellists are Arthur Smith, Michael Bywater and David Mitchell.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b00c0rmg)
It's Fallon's birthday and Jolene senses things aren't right. Fallon admits something's changed. Jolene thinks Ed just needs time and reminds her of Ed's problems at Grange Farm. She's sure their relationship will work itself out. Anyone can see they're made for each other.
Will wants to talk to Emma but catches her during another bad moment with George. She doesn't want him shouting again but Will explains that he's realised she's right. Will thinks he's been a hopeless father and blames himself for everything. Emma insists that George couldn't have had a better father, he just needs boundaries.
Jennifer's looking forward to ladies' day at Ascot but Brian's got something on his mind. He found Ruairi making a big thing out of burying a dead bee and is clearly upset. Jennifer points out that Ruairi needs to grieve for his mother in his own way. She's determined not to let it spoil their day. It's Brian's thank-you for Jennifer being so good about him going to Ireland, but she doesn't want to talk about that now. Brian agrees and asks her what she fancies for the next race.
Episode written by Mary Cutler.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b00c0rmj)
John Wilson gets a rare backstage pass to interview The Police on the final leg of their world tour.
Critic Mark Eccleston reviews a new British film starring Brian Cox as a prison 'lifer' who learns that his estranged daughter is critically ill following an overdose.
After seven years of planning, construction and headline grabbing debate, The Public, a multi- purpose cultural building, is set to open in West Bromwich. Director Marlene Smith talks to John about the building's role, and the innovation of its interactive content.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00c0rml)
The Way we Live Right Now
Episode 4
Anthony Trollope's satirical novel about money, greed and dishonesty, updated by Jonathan Myerson.
Jeremy Longstaff MP loses both his football club and his daughter to Mehmoud.
Ghassan Mehmoud ...... Henry Goodman
Felix Carbury ...... Dexter Fletcher
Anthony Trollope ...... John Rowe
Paul Montague ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Rt Hon Jeremy Longstaff ...... David bamber
Georgiana Longstaff ...... Lucy Montgomery
Ruby Ruggles ...... Sheridan Smith
Marie Mehmoud ...... Chipo Chung
Roger Lloyd-Montague ...... Ben Crowe
Hetta Carbury ...... Emily Wachter
Tilly Carbury ...... Annette Badland
Helen Croll ...... Liz Sutherland
Nick Broune ...... Stephen Critchlow
Other parts played by Chris Pavlo, Beth Chalmers, Dan Starkey and Joan Walker.
Directed by Jonquil Panting.
THU 20:00 Circles (b00c1fxz)
Documentary about the work of Circles of Support and Accountability, an organisation which supports sex offenders, some of whom have abused children, on their release from prison.
THU 20:30 In Business (b00c1kvm)
Happy Go Lucky
Peter Day asks whether companies ought to pay more attention to how happy their employees are.
THU 21:00 Leading Edge (b00c1kvp)
Life’s Building Blocks - From the Stars
Life’s Building Blocks - From the Stars
Tiny fragments that could be the pre-cursors to genetic material have been found in a carbon-rich meteorite. Does this mean that life on Earth has an extraterrestrial origin? One of the researchers who’ve identified them is Zita Martins of Imperial College, London. She’s published the results in the latest issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
Science Book Prize
This week saw the announcement of the winner of this year’s Royal Society annual prize for popular science books - Mark Lynas for his 'Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet'. Professor Jonathan Ashmore of University College, London, chaired the judging panel; Professor Steve Jones, also of UCL, was among the clutch of short-listed entrants whose books didn’t win the prize. They reflect on the state of science book publishing and what judges of competitions like this are looking for.
Robot Language Teachers
Can a robot teach our children to speak foreign languages? Scientists at the University of California in San Diego are trialling the robot RUBI with pre-schoolers to see if they can learn Finnish. Molly Bentley reports.
ASTRONET
A symposium held at Liverpool John Moores University this week involves over 300 European space scientists deciding what projects to concentrate their efforts on, including the European Extremely Large Telescope. Geoff discusses the prospects with Professor Mike Bode.
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00c1fct)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b00c12w6)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00c12w8)
With Robin Lustig. Including reports on European leaders' discussions on the Lisbon Treaty, the African Union's view on elections in Zimbabwe and a Bournemouth-based airline.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00c12wb)
Things Fall Apart
Episode 9
Chuk Iwuji reads from Chinua Achebe's classic novel, abridged by Jane Marshall. The seven years of exile are at an end and Okonkwo prepares to return to his clan.
THU 23:00 Nebulous (b00c1kvr)
Series 3
Us and Phlegm
Comedy series by Graham Duff, set in the year 2099, about Professor Nebulous and his team of eco-trouble shooters.
When 99 percent of the nation's workforce phone in sick, Nebulous comes face to face with a very unpleasant alien life form.
Professor Nebulous ...... Mark Gatiss
Rory ...... Graham Duff
Paula Breeze ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Sir Ronald Rolands ...... Graham Crowden
Harry ...... Paul Putner
Gemini ...... Julia Dalkin
Clown Father ...... Matt Wolf
Dr Beep ...... David Tennant
Directed by Nick Briggs.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00c12wd)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.
FRIDAY 20 JUNE 2008
FRI 00:00 News and Weather (b00c0kyx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00c0ldj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00c0kyz)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00c0kz1)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00c0kz3)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00c0kz5)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00c0kz7)
Daily prayer and reflection with Clair Jaquiss.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00c0kz9)
News and issues in rural Britain.
FRI 06:00 Today (b00c0kzc)
Presented by James Naughtie and John Humphrys.
Detectives have visited Bulgaria twice this year to investigate the murder of Georgi Markov in London nearly 30 years ago. David Loyn, who covered the case at the time, looks at the latest developments.
A rare type of meteorite that could hold clues to the birth of our solar system has been bought by London's Natural History Museum. Dr Caroline Smith, meteorite curator at the museum, explains its importance.
The glory that was the Circus Maximus in Rome is being restored. Julius Caesar built it in 46 BC and as many as 250,000 people are thought to have watched chariot races there in its heyday. David Willey reports.
A new book, Cityboy, reveals what really happens in the fevered world of the money markets. Author Geraint Anderson and Justin Urquhart-Stewart, a veteran of city life, discuss the book.
President Sarkozy hopes that the United Nations will award 'heritage' status to France's cuisine. Emma Jane Kirby reports.
Are we seeing a resurgence in vinyl records? BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris and Mark Ellen, editor of Word magazine, discuss whether the era of the LP is over.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00c1q5q)
Peter Carey
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the author Peter Carey. He says he grew up in his homeland "thinking that Australian history was dull and Australian literature was dull" and that he developed a strong passion to make it new and fresh. In this he has surely succeeded - he is one of only two novelists to have been awarded the Booker Prize twice.
Yet he came to writing relatively late. The son of a car salesman he started off studying science but he abandoned his university career and ended up, in his 20s, drifting into advertising. It was only then that his literary awakening began. "I announced with great confidence one day, 'I’m going to be a writer',' he says, 'I’m an obsessive fool, I was determined to do it!"
Favourite track: The Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah by George Frideric Handel
Book: Austerlitz by W G Sebald
Luxury: A ‘magic’ pudding and a drink
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00c0ldn)
The Pain and the Privilege
Episode 5
Ffion Hague reads from her book about the women in David Lloyd George's life. After Margaret's fatal accident, what of Frances?
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00c0ldq)
Mica Paris; Women boxers
Mica Paris talks about her wide ranging career, and sings live. Plus the appeal of women and boxing, and how hard is it to get boys to enjoy reading? With Jane Garvey.
FRI 11:00 Langoustines on the Clyde (b00c3thm)
Mark Stephen reports on a remarkable development on Glasgow's river Clyde, where cleaner waters and over-fishing of predators have made the river a home to billions of langoustines. This has come not a moment too soon for a fishing fleet rapidly becoming obsolete. Mark joins the fishermen benefiting from this and asks whether the phenomenon is as sustainable as everyone hopes.
FRI 11:30 Paul Temple (b00c1q5v)
Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery
Just a Red Herring
New production of an adventure by Francis Durbridge, first broadcast in 1949.
The hunt for the counterfeiters leads Paul to a high-speed powerboat on the Thames.
Paul Temple ...... Crawford Logan
Steve ...... Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham Forbes ...... Gareth Thomas
Stella Portland ...... Emma Currie
George Kelly ...... Robin Laing
Inspector Vosper ...... Michael Mackenzie
Hubert Greene ...... Richard Greenwood
Chris Boyer ...... Nick Underwood
Moira Portland ...... Lucy Paterson
Dr Elzec ...... Greg Powrie
Don Alfaro ...... Jimmy Chisholm.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00c0mtp)
Presented by Winifred Robinson and Liz Barclay.
Is the power supply needed for the 2012 Olympic Games denying power supply to computer centres? We speak to Alex Rabbetts, Managing Director of Migration Solutions.
Are we too embarrassed to complain in expensive restaurants? And do we know what the food should taste like? Italian chef Aldo Zilli and restaurant critic Charles Campion discuss the issues.
We take a tour through the UK's finest little homes at the Dolls House festival in Kensington.
How will China transform its transport infrastructure and tourist sites to accommodate disabled visitors?
FRI 12:57 Weather (b00c0mtr)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b00c0mtt)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.
FRI 13:30 Feedback (b00c1q5x)
Roger Bolton airs listeners' views on BBC radio programmes and policy.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00c0rmg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b00c1q5z)
Address Unknown
Tim Dee's adaptation of Kressmann Taylor's novel, published in 1938.
Two old friends, former business associates in San Francisco, exchange letters. One is an American German Jew, the other an American German who, excited and energised by the new Germany of the 1930s, has gone home. Attitudes harden with the seemingly inexorable rise of Hitler, the Jew horrified by the change in his friend and his wholesale adoption of the rhetoric and ideology of Nazism.
With Henry Goodman, Patrick Malahide.
FRI 15:00 Shared Earth (b00c4jgl)
Series 5
Episode 2
Dylan Winter presents the topical magazine series celebrating the natural world and how to preserve it. He meets Professor Ben Sheldon at Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire to find out how great tits are coping with climate change.
FRI 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00c0npk)
Unaccustomed Earth
Year's End
Hari Dhillon reads Year's End, the last in the series of stories by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, exploring the dark secrets of family life through the Bengali immigrant experience.
During a holiday visit to his family home three years after his mother's death, a young man struggles to accept his father's new, and very young, Indian wife.
Year's End begins in America, but like all the stories in this series, spills back over memories and generations to India, following new lives forged in the wake of loss.
Reader: Hari Dhillon
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
FRI 15:45 Cosmic Quest (b00c3hvl)
How the Universe Began
Heather Couper presents a narrative history of astronomy.
The discovery that the universe is expanding led cosmologists to suggest that its origin lay in a compact, dense, hot fireball. Cambridge astronomer Fred Hoyle thought this so ridiculous that he disparagingly called it the big bang. The name stuck and there followed intense arguments between supporters of the big bang theory and Fred Hoyle and his colleagues, who favoured a steady state universe.
A decisive blow to the latter theory came from a radio telescope in New Jersey in the early 1960s that detected a gentle background glow at microwave radio frequencies that theorists had predicted as the dying embers of the big bang itself.
Readers are Timothy West, Robin Sebastian, Julian Rhind-Tutt and John Palmer.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00c1t76)
Matthew Bannister presents the obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.
FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00c1t78)
Francine Stock talks to Brian Cox about his new film The Escapist, prison movies and James Cagney.
Audrey Tautou, The star of Amelie talks about Priceless and playing against type.
Critic Jane Graham on a new director's cut of Peter Weir's early masterpiece Picnic At Hanging Rock.
FRI 16:56 1968 Day by Day (b00c0r44)
20th June 1968
John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 40 years ago.
Vice President Hubert Humphrey launches his campaign for the US presidency. James Earl Ray's defence lawyer arrives in London. Industrial unrest deepens in the UK.
FRI 17:00 PM (b00c0r46)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00c0r48)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b00c1t7b)
Series 65
Episode 6
Sandi Toksvig chairs the topical comedy quiz. Panellists include Jeremy Hardy, Carrie Quinlan, Phill Jupitus and Andy Hamilton.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00c0rmn)
Brian's mulling over Jennifer's suggestion that Ruairi needs to grieve privately and thinks he needs a memorial to Siobhan. Jennifer thinks it's maybe Brian who needs this, and when he keeps going on about it she makes it clear she's had enough.
Susan's heard a rumour about the anaerobic digester and asks Ruth if it's true it's going to be much bigger than they thought. Realising this has come from Matt, Ruth suggests that Matt's maybe trying to wind Pat up.
Ruth tells David, who can't believe Matt could be so stupid, but Ruth's concerned it could actually happen. David decides to put a stop to it by going straight to Matt. Matt tries to convince David it's a good idea but David's having none of it; if it goes ahead it will happen without Brookfield's involvement. Matt retorts that he can always get another partner.
David tells Ruth that Matt seems determined to go ahead and apologises for pulling out without consulting her. Ruth insists he's done the right thing. The last thing the village needs is some big industrial unit and if that's what Matt's planning then Brookfield should have nothing to do with it.
Episode written by Mary Cutler.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00c0rmq)
Presented by Kirsty Lang.
Scottish born actor James McAvoy talks about his latest Hollywood action role, and reveals why no-one cares what you do on a big action movie.
Kirsty talks to Charlie and Lola author Lauren Child on the eve of the opening an exhibition of her creations.
Critic and novelist Nicholas Royle reviews Criminal Justice, a new five-part drama on the BBC.
Music Journalist and broadcaster Rob Hughes looks at the reissue of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00c0rms)
The Way we Live Right Now
Episode 5
Anthony Trollope's satirical novel about money, greed and dishonesty, updated by Jonathan Myerson.
Will Flex have the courage to ask Mehmoud for his daughter's hand?
Ghassan Mehmoud ...... Henry Goodman
Felix Carbury ...... Dexter Fletcher
Anthony Trollope ...... John Rowe
Paul Montague ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Rt Hon Jeremy Longstaff ...... David bamber
Georgiana Longstaff ...... Lucy Montgomery
Ruby Ruggles ...... Sheridan Smith
Marie Mehmoud ...... Chipo Chung
Roger Lloyd-Montague ...... Ben Crowe
Hetta Carbury ...... Emily Wachter
Tilly Carbury ...... Annette Badland
Helen Croll ...... Liz Sutherland
Nick Broune ...... Stephen Critchlow
Other parts played by Chris Pavlo, Beth Chalmers, Dan Starkey and Joan Walker.
Directed by Jonquil Panting.
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00c1t7d)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate from Kilwinning, North Ayrshire. The panellists are deputy first minister Nichola Sturgeon MSP, Labour leader in Scotland Wendy Alexander MSP, shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve MP and Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00c1t7g)
A weekly reflection on a topical issue from Lucy Kellaway.
FRI 21:00 Cosmic Quest Omnibus (b00c55yk)
The Galaxy and Beyond
Early ideas about the nature of the Milky Way and fuzzy patches or nebulae were transformed by precise astronomical measurements. It took several centuries for astronomers to accept that the Milky Way is a giant body of stars of which our solar system is but one outlying member. As techniques to estimate the distances of stars improved, the nebulae were revealed to be galaxies in their own right, island universes that were flying apart in a great expansion from the big bang of creation.
Read by Timothy West, Annette Badland, Robin Sebastian, Julian Rhind-Tutt, John Palmer.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b00c12wg)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00c12wj)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00c12wl)
Things Fall Apart
Episode 10
Chuk Iwuji reads from Chinua Achebe's classic novel, abridged by Jane Marshall. The new church has been destroyed and the elders are summoned before the District Commissioner.
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b00c197x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00c12wn)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.