The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
3/3 In a series of special programmes in association with the Open University, Laurie Taylor explores the subject of white collar crime.
Is it right that middle-class offenders should spend more of their sentence in open prisons? Should the loss of a professional position be taken into account when sentencing white collar criminals? Is our prison system set up to cope with professionals who offend? Laurie concludes his exploration of white collar crime and talks to past offenders including Jonathan Aitken, leading criminologist Michael Levi, and the former Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken MacDonald, about the punishment of white collar criminals.
Is it time we changed our attitude to crime in the workplace? Should we put more effort into enforcing the law and detecting white collar crime?
The first commercially available 100 per cent British loaf will be sold in January 2010. Anna Hill finds out why, for the past 160 years, it's been impossible to use completely home-produced wheat in bread.
Also, British food which isn't quite British - Farming Today hears more demands for the laws over food labelling to be tightened up.
The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg says it is 'morally reprehensible' to have troops risking their lives in Afghanistan in the absence of a proper strategy. He says that withdrawal would have disastrous consequences but that the strategy had not been explained, nor the case made. Brigadier James Cowan, who took up command last month in southern Afghanistan, discusses the British military strategy.
New admissions polices to ensure a balanced intake of pupils, an overhaul of league tables and a new approach to career development are recommendations of a new report from Teach First. Elizabeth Thonemann, who edited the report, discusses how teachers' perspectives should be fed into policymaking decisions.
When the Sultan of the Gulf state of Oman was overthrown by his son in July 1970, the coup was painted as a family affair. But secret documents obtained by the BBC prove that the British government helped plan the revolt, partly to safeguard its interests there. The papers, which were released by mistake and have now been closed again to the public, are the subject of Radio 4's Document programme. Mike Thomson reports on how the documents show that ministers ordered British officers seconded to the Sultan's army to help oust him by force if the coup appeared to be failing.
The Spanish opposition are calling for a tougher stance against Gibraltar after Giles Paxman, who has been the British ambassador to Spain for just a month, was forced to apologise after Royal Navy officers were said to have opened fire on the Spanish flag. Spanish political analyst Miguel Murado discusses what happened in the waters off Gibraltar last week.
A row has broken out over illegally-obtained emails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia (UEA). The emails, written by some of the most respected scientists in the field, were hacked and leaked, and have been seized upon by climate change sceptics who say they suggest that there is manipulation of data by climate change scientists. UEA Professor Robert Watson discusses the incident.
The Supreme Cat Show has seen growing concerns about breeding, with accusations that in-breeding of pedigree cats has seen an increase in deformities. Isabella Bangs, who bred the winning Persian, and senior vet Elaine Pendlebury discuss the effects of breeding practices for cat shows.
Three days after the deluge hit the Lake District, the extent of the damage is becoming clearer. Sixteen bridges in Cumbria are closed or have collapsed. Correspondent Nicola Stanbridge reports on the damage from Cockermouth and Jill Stannard, chief executive of Cumbria council, discusses the impact on local communities.
There are fears of an upsurge in violence in Northern Ireland after an attempt to blow up the headquarters of the policing board in Belfast. Police say dissident republicans left a car bomb outside the building; it is thought that only the detonator exploded. Five men have now been arrested, after an exchange of gunfire with police in Fermanagh last night. Sinn Fein member Gerry Kelly discusses his reaction to the violence.
Do 'cyber mums' hold the key to the next election? Gordon Brown and David Cameron have subjected themselves to web chats on parenting websites and eye-catching family policies are expected in the next six months. Chief executive of the children's charity 4 Children, Anne Longfield, and author of the report What Women Want, Cristina Odone, discuss the politics of modern family life.
Floods are on the increase in both severity and frequency. In the light of the terrible events in Cumbria and elsewhere in the last few days, what decisions should be made about how to protect the country? Phil Rothwell, Head of Flood Strategy at the Environment Agency, discusses the choices that need to be made if flooding is to become more frequent.
Political editor Nick Robinson analyses Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg's comments that the next general election might result in a hung parliament.
The man in charge of the inquiry examining events surrounding the Iraq war has said his committee will not produce a report that is a 'whitewash'. Sir John Chilcot, a retired career civil servant, has promised to produce a 'full and insightful' account. Sir John tells correspondent Nicholas Witchell about his determination to get the truth.
An inquiry continues into the death of Baha Mousa, an Iraqi citizen who died in British custody in Basra in 2003. Correspondent Caroline Hawley has been listening to the latest evidence.
An account of life at Stalug Luft III, the prisoner of war camp from which The Great Escape took place, have emerged thanks to diaries written by an RAF officer held there. Flt Lt Ted Nestor was a navigator who was held in the camp for 18 months after being shot down in 1943. His journal includes stories of camp life, cartoons and even a coded ref
Andrew Marr finds out how much faith and science can tell us about identity with Tariq Ramadan and Sir Mark Walport; historian Jonathan Phillips explores the relevance of the Crusades, and curator Kate Bush on finding the next Young British Artist.
Dominic West reads from David Kynaston's vivid and intimate history of Britain in the 1950s, drawing on the letters, diaries and memories of well-known and ordinary people.
Actor Anne-Marie Duff on playing ballerina Margot Fonteyn. Plus, why 80% of women wear the wrong size bra; and the campaign for universal birth registration discussed.
Anne McElvoy meets British politicians to find out what impact the revolutions of 1989 had on them and on the worldview they use to govern us.
She compares notes with culture secretary Ben Bradshaw, who at the time was a BBC reporter in West Berlin, and plays him archive of his younger self interviewing Berliners selling bits of the Wall to tourists. German-born Labour MP Gisela Stuart talks about the emotional impact of watching the Wall fall, on TV in Birmingham. And Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles tells Anne how in 1968 he was a teenage communist, but was so angry at the sight of Soviet tanks crushing the Prague Spring that he joined the Tory Party. He talks about his feelings on watching the final overthrow of communism in Prague 21 years on.
Anne brings together former London Mayor Ken Livingstone and shadow schools secretary Michael Gove, who spent part of the winter of 1989 as a picket, to compare notes about the impact of 1989 on their personal politics.
Shadow Cabinet member David Willetts recalls how prime minister Margaret Thatcher stunned guests at a lunch held by his think-tank in December 1989. When the Wall fell she responded with joy, but a few weeks later she was greeting the prospect it opened up - a united Germany - with vehement hostility.
Anne also talks to foreign secretary David Miliband, his Conservative shadow William Hague and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg about the impact that the death of communism still has today on British foreign policy, our involvement in global turbo-capitalism and what our political parties are for.
London to Exeter emotional rollercoaster continues as the train staff's personal embroilments deepen.
Now one of the wedding party is joining in the melee. And why are there finger-holes in the muffins?
Russell Davies chairs the seventh heat of the perennial general knowledge contest.
Eleanor's sister Amy disappeared five years ago. She simply walked out of her house and into the records of the 'missing'. Lucy Caldwell's play explores her family's attempts to come to terms with the loss of a daughter and sister.
Eleanor ...... Alana Kerr
Chris ...... Joe Armstrong
Judith ...... Maggie Cronin
James ...... Kieran Lagan
Darryl ...... Andy Moore
Eleanor aged 15 ...... Hannah R Gordon
Eleanor aged 5 ...... Martha Gordon
Amy aged 10 ...... Naomi Fearnon
Jake aged 5 ...... Harry Robinson
Jake aged 15 ...... Connor Williamson
Amy/Air hostess ...... Nikki Doherty
Police officer/Pilot ...... Patrick Fitzsymons
Police officer/Directory Enq ...... Fo Cullen
Senora Garcia ...... Mary Kelly
To celebrate Scotland's year of Homecoming, Aasmah Mir explores five themes that have been chosen to encapsulate the Scottish contribution to the world.
Aasmah finds out if whisky is still as popular a drink among Scots as its vital contribution to the economy might suggest.
Rod Liddle examines our differing responses to related animal species and tries to establish what those responses tell us not merely about the animals but about ourselves.
As the millenium turned a few years back there was another, less trumpeted shift in emphasis in Britain. After years, perhaps thousands of years, of ascendancy as man's favoured domestic animal, the dog gave way to the cat. It is now cat and dog, literally, at the top of the popular pet league, and Rod Liddle takes a long, hard stare at this stand-off and what it tells us about ourselves.
Cats are the ultimate urban companion. The old debate is whether you own them or they own you. Independent, brimful of attitude and well equipped to operate in a semi-feral environment.
Dogs, on the other hand, spent thousands of years being honed as servants. They might be perfect for the hunt, for herding, for guarding or simply for companionship, but what they never achieved was a capacity for going it alone. Own a dog and you have to be ready to sacrifice your time for them.
So is it just a simple question of 21st-century Britain indulging itself rather than taking on the duties required of dog ownership? And what are the costs of this shifting balance? Dogs eat what dogs are given to eat. Cats eat that and half the urban wildlife around them.
Peter Purves, Ann Widdecombe and Sir David Attenborough are among those informing this domestic animal debate.
Demonstrations in Prague continue to gather pace and the Conservative Party faces a leadership challenge as Margaret Thatcher announces that she is happy to contest two more elections.
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.
The perennial antidote to panel games comes from the Old Vic Theatre in London, with Jack Dee taking over the chairman's role.
Regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined by Rob Brydon.
Lilian surprises Mike, delivering milk to the Lodge. She's stayed over to care for Jack. Awkward at hearing the intricacies of Jack's illness, Mike learns that Matt should be moved to an open prison today.
Lilian is on edge while Jack determinedly tears up the newspaper. She jumps up when Matt rings, but the call is cut short when Jack breaks a lamp. Lilian shouts at Jack - and begs Matt to call back later.
Nigel and Elizabeth go through the complex plans for the Deck the Hall event. Lizzie has arranged for drama students to play some of the parts throughout the event. They worry that not enough people will come, and discuss PR. Lizzie is amused when Nigel takes her outside and suggests dressing Monty the Muntjac as one of Santa's reindeer. They finally decide on using all the animals to create a classic Christmas crib.
Mike and Ed discuss Brenda's publicity plans for the new milk round. Mike expresses sympathy for Jack; and comments on how pleased Robert and Lynda are to have baby Oscar to stay.
Eventually Matt is able to tell Lilian she can visit on Thursday. Lilian is relieved but Matt remains business-like.
American writer Dave Eggers discusses his adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's book Where The Wild Things Are, which has been directed by Spike Jonze.
Journalist Hugo Rifkind reviews the debut album from Susan Boyle, who found fame on TV talent show Britain's Got Talent.
As Mariah Carey's new CD comes free with a mini-magazine, David Quantick considers other items which have been given away with albums - and speculates on others which could.
Charles Dickens ...... Alex Jennings
John Rokesmith ...... Carl Prekopp
Bella Wilfer ...... Daisy Haggard
Lizzie Hexam ...... Lizzy Watts
Mr Boffin ...... Jason Watkins
Betty Higden ...... Lynn Farleigh
Sloppy ...... Benjamin Askew
Eugene Wrayburn ...... Patrick Kennedy
Mortimer Lightwood ...... Matt Addis
Silas Wegg ...... Lee Ross
Aenus Venus ...... Stephen Hogan
Pleasant Riderhood ...... Annabelle Dowler
Rogue Riderhood ...... Jamie Foreman
Bradley Headstone ...... Neil Stuke
Abbey Potterson ...... Janice Acquah
Pa Wilfer ...... Philip Fox
Ma Wilfer ...... Annabelle Dowler
Jenny Wren ...... Nicola Miles-Wildin
Jenny's Father ...... Paul Rider
Solomon Riah ...... Jonathan Tafler
Organ Grinder ...... Malcolm Tierney
Mike Thomson presents the series using documentary evidence to throw new light on past events.
Mike investigates Britain's role during the 1970 coup in oil-rich Oman. History records that it was a family affair, but documents reveal London's hidden hand.
Offically, the architect of the coup was the Sultan's son, but in papers seen by the programme, Britain is seen to be calling the shots. Worried that the country's faltering regime could fall to communism and so threaten its vital oil interests, London decided to act. Formerly secret documents clearly show British civil servants and military leaders plotting regime change in Oman, by the use of force if necessary. They concealed their plans and only now can the real story be told.
Peter Greste investigates whether Rwandans in France and Germany are controlling a deadly African militia. For the last 15 years, the rebels of the FDLR have enforced their control through a series of brutal atrocities. Now Crossing Continents has secret intelligence suggesting that they were taking orders from political leaders living openly in Europe.
Most of our universe is missing. Scientists have called the stuff they can't find 'dark matter'. It may not have much bearing on our everyday lives, but the current theories about how the universe behaves depend on discovering the dark matter.
The search for this elusive 'stuff' is currently hotting up with new experiments about to start. Sue Nelson joins a UK group a kilometre under the ground in North Yorkshire as they put the finishing touches to their apparatus. And she learns that they have put their money on the 'dark matter' being something called WIMPS.
Hugh Bonneville reads from Louis de Bernieres' new book of linked stories which cast an affectionate but acute eye on the vanishing charms and eccentric characters of the fictional Surrey village of Notwithstanding.
In a special edition of the programme for Radio 4's 1989 season, Michael Rosen talks to playwright David Edgar about the rise and fall of the language that became synonymous with communism - from the hyperbole of Ceaucescu's Romania ('General Secretary, President, President of the State Council, Chairman of the National Defence Council, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Socio-Economic Development' was his own job description) to phrases that have passed into the very definition of the Marxist-Leninist dialectic. The demolition of the Berlin Wall led to dramatic changes not only in the political and economic lives of those living in the former Eastern Bloc, but also to the language of those countries too, as they tried to shed the years of euphemism built up within a strongly ideological political system.
Also, political journalist Anne McElvoy tells of her lingustic adventures in East Germany both before and after 1989, and Dr Zoran Milutinovic examines how Serbo-Croat has changed since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.
TUESDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2009
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00nx94t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00nxd1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00nx96v)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00nx9p6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00nx98x)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00nx9qr)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00nxcj2)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Peter Baker.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00nxclj)
As the clean-up operation begins after the flooding in Cumbria, insurers estimate the cost to farmers at over 3 million pounds. Anna Hill hears how farmers saw livestock washed downstream with hundreds of animals still missing or dead. Meanwhile tourism chiefs are urging visitors not to cancel trips to Cumbria fearing the county's income could be damaged further.
TUE 06:00 Today (b00nxcrz)
With John Humphrys and Justin Webb. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Choice (b00ny8f6)
Michael Buerk interviews people who have made life-altering decisions and talks them through the whole process, from the original dilemma to living with the consequences.
Michael talks to Cathy O'Dowd about the terrible choice she had to make when she came across a dying climber on Everest.
TUE 09:30 Pilots That Never Flew (b00g633l)
Comedy Performers
Series in which Director of the National Youth Theatre Paul Roseby examines the laborious process of creating successful pilot programmes.
Paul talks to comedy performers Alistair McGowan, Bea Holland and Samantha Sanns about unsuccessful pilots they have made.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00p298n)
David Kynaston - Family Britain
Family Favourites
Dominic West reads from David Kynaston's vivid and intimate history of Britain in the 1950s, drawing on the letters, diaries and memories of well-known and ordinary people.
Deference, respectability, conformity, restraint and trust - the core values of family and society begin to fray at the edges.
Abridged by Jane Greenwood.
A Loftus Audio production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00nxd3l)
Chores for children; Dinner parties
Why do today's children do fewer chores? Plus, are dinner parties in decline? And what has gone wrong with a national programme to screen young people for chlamydia.
TUE 11:00 1989: Restitching the City (b00ny9y2)
Rosie Goldsmith goes underground in Berlin, searching out the men and women involved in reunifying the city below street level, examining how the tubes, telephone, water and electricity systems of east and west were reconnected after the fall of the Wall.
When the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, the world saw images of ecstatic Berliners celebrating a new freedom of movement across their city. But after the jubilation had died down, council chiefs were faced with a task without precedent in any city in the world. Public transport in the two halves of the city was in chaos and the main arteries of Berlin became clogged with polluting Trabants; using the telephone was an infuriating experience; utility companies faced similar problems trying to bring together two systems which had developed completely separately.
The great symbolism of the fall of communism had been replaced by a more practical but no less crucial question - how to reunite the infrastructure and fabric of a vast city that had been divided for nearly 30 years.
Rosie speaks to the key figures involved in the hugely costly task of restitching the city - among them former West Berlin mayor Walter Momper - as well as ordinary Berliners who recall everyday life in the city after the fall of the Wall. City officials knew that rebuilding their infrastructure was vital to making citizens feel that they were part of a city - and a country - that was physically as well as symbolically reunited.
TUE 11:30 Fallout from the Shore (b00ny9y4)
Libby Purves considers the impact of On the Beach, Stanley Kramer's groundbreaking film which 50 years ago reduced cinema-goers to tears with its bleak vision of a post-apocalyptic world.
Based on Nevil Shute's novel and starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner, On the Beach tells the story of a group of Third World War survivors awaiting death from radiation from the northern hemisphere moving inexorably towards them. The on-screen drama was matched off screen when Shute and Kramer clashed over changes the filmmaker made to appease his backers and the mainstream audience.
The programme hears from Shute's daughter and Kramer's widow, who describe the impact of the row on both men and the difficulties getting the film made in the first place. Although not universally acclaimed, On the Beach was considered a brave film to make and, judging by audience reaction at the time, it was a terrifying warning to the world.
TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00nxd7g)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b00nxd9v)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b00nxg9v)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.
TUE 13:30 Nightingale of the Nile (b00ny9y6)
Singer-songwriter, record producer and world music expert Justin Adams travels to Cairo, where he grew up, to tell the story of the woman whose voice dominated the culture and politics of the Middle East in the 20th century, Umm Kulthum.
Once described as a combination of 'Ella Fitzgerald, Eleanor Roosevelt and Elvis Presley', her radio broadcasts often brought the entire Arabic world to a standstill. Her incredible voice and skilful handling of the media quickly made her the most prominent celebrity in the Arab world at the time, and her close friendship with both the royal circle of King Farouk I before the revolution, and President Nasser in its wake, gave her unprecedented political influence.
Justin Adams is Robert Plant's songwriting partner, record producer for the Tuareg desert blues band Tinariwen, among others, and an ex-collaborator with Jah Wobble. As the son of a British diplomat, Justin grew up in Cairo during Kulthum's golden age. Now he travels back, talking to those that knew her to discover more about this icon of the Arabic world.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00nxgf2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b008z61b)
Cobwebs
Psychological drama by David Hodgson.
Greg Drake is just getting his life back together after the death of his wife. But then his house is broken into when he is asleep. Nothing is taken, but his peace of mind is destroyed.
Greg ...... Kevin Doyle
Cathy ...... Fiona Clarke
Louise ...... Helen Longworth
Jenny ...... Beth Palmer
PC Morgan ...... Roy Carruthers
Denny ...... Mark Winstanley.
TUE 15:00 Home Planet (b00nybx4)
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the natural world and our impact on it.
'Eagled-eyed' implies an ability to spot objects at a great distance, but perhaps a more extraordinary skill is shown by another bird of prey, the osprey. It can spot fish underwater despite the reflected glare of the African Sun, and then pick them off with pinpoint accuracy. We find out how they manage such a feat and whether we humans could learn a trick or two from them.
Ospreys also use all four limbs - two wings and two legs - to pursue and then grab their prey but what is so special about the number four. Why do all land vertebrates have four limbs?
We also feature a round up of our warm, wet and windy autumn, the key environmental issues. And puzzle over why, when we have the same technological know how, Californians can buy powerful and versatile electric cars that are unavailable to the British consumer.
On the panel are conservationist Derek Moore, Professor Sue Buckingham of Brunel University and Professor Philip Stott, an environmental scientist from the University of London.
TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00nyby7)
An Important Passenger
Miss Pearman Takes the Train
Series of three crime stories celebrating and inspired by the 75th anniversary of the publication of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.
By Christobel Kent, read by Anna Massey.
Artemis Pearman is a spinster of a certain age, with a fondness for detective stories. Setting off on a weekend to Paris, reading Murder on the Orient Express and observing her fellow passengers, she lets her mind wander.
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:45 A Very Scottish Homecoming (b00nz9x8)
Golf
To celebrate Scotland's year of Homecoming, Aasmah Mir explores five themes that have been chosen to encapsulate the Scottish contribution to the world.
Aasmah visits the Open golf championship at Turnberry to discover if the sport invented by Scots is still a valid theme for celebration in the Scottish year of Homecoming.
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b00nycby)
Michael Rosen investigates coded language.
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b00nycc0)
Kate Clanchy and Michael Dixon
Sue MacGregor and her guests - poet, Kate Clanchy and director of the Natural History Museum, Sir Michael Dixon discuss their favourite paperbacks by Neil Astley, Paul Torday and H Rider Haggard.
Kate's choice: Staying Alive by Neil Astley
Publisher: Bloodaxe Books
Michael's choice: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
Publisher: Phoenix
Sue's choice: King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard
Publisher: Penguin Classics
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009.
TUE 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00nxhxg)
24th November 1989
Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.
The Czech leadership are forced to resign and Alexander Dubcek makes his first pubic appearance in Prague for 21 years.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 17:00 PM (b00ny443)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00ny471)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Jo Caulfield Won't Shut Up! (b00nycc2)
Episode 3
Jo Caulfield is back with her glorious mixture of bitchy friendliness and foot-in-mouth populism.
In this episode, Jo is failing to shut up about Scotland in general, Scotsmen in particular and a little teashop in Dundee.
Starring Jo Caulfield, with Zoe Lyons, Nick Revell and Paul Sneddon.
Written by Jo Caulfield & Kevin Anderson.
Additional material by Michael Beck, Dan Evans, Brian Mitchell, Joseph Nixon, Matt Ross and Paul Sneddon.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00nxgd3)
When Helen pops by to ask uncomfortable Ian what he thought of Leon, he is forced to confess that Leon was a bit off with him and Adam. When Helen defends Leon, Ian says they saw Leon checking out other girls. He thinks Leon might be a bit of a player. Offended Helen storms out.
The parish council discusses the pros and cons of the green burial site. Neil suggests that the land might be used for allotments but Lynda's well-researched arguments are persuasive.
Pat joins the meeting, to report that Peggy would be willing to lease the shop to the community for a peppercorn rent. She gives extra information about how the shop could meet its running costs, through fundraising and shares. When Neil expresses concern for Susan's position, Pat points out that her Post Office job is a separate issue; and that if the community shop idea were not pursued, then Susan's role will come to an end anyway.
Pat says that she'll need a couple of members of the parish council to join the steering group if the idea is to progress. David and Lynda volunteer. Neil cannot help commenting that Susan would also like to join any committee...
Episode written by Keri Davies.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00ny48h)
Arts news and reviews with Mark Lawson.
Actor James Earl Jones discusses his role in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - opening in London following a sell-out run on Broadway - and his legacy as the voice of Darth Vadar in Stars Wars.
In a Front Row exclusive, the shortlist for the Costa Book Awards 2009 is announced live on the programme. Michael Prodger, literary editor of the Daily Telegraph and Alex Clark, critic and former Man Booker Prize judge, discuss which books are in the running for each of the awards and who has been nominated for the coveted Novel and Biography awards.
2009 Costa Novel Award shortlist:
Penelope Lively, Family Album
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
Christopher Nicholson, The Elephant Keeper
Colm Tóibίn, Brooklyn
2009 Costa Poetry Award shortlist:
Clive James, Angels Over Elsinore
Katharine Kilalea, One Eye'd Leigh
Ruth Padel, Darwin: A Life in Poems
Christopher Reid, A Scattering
2009 Costa Biography Award shortlist:
Graham Farmelo, The Strangest Man The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius
William Fiennes, The Music Room
Simon Gray, Coda
Caroline Moorehead, Dancing to the Precipice
2009 Costa First Novel Award shortlist:
Rachel Heath, The Finest Type of English Womanhood
Peter Murphy, John the Revelator
Raphael Selbourne, Beauty
Ali Shaw, The Girl with Glass Feet
2009 Costa Children's Book Award shortlist:
Siobhan Dowd, Solace of the Road
Mary Hoffman, Troubadour
Patrick Ness, The Ask and the Answer Chaos Walking: Book Two
Anna Perera, Guantanamo Boy
Debbie Isitt and Tim Firth discuss the appeal of the nativity play to writers. Martin Freeman and Ashley Jensen star in Isitt's Nativity!, while a new theatre production of Tim Firth's Flint Street Nativity is to open in Edinburgh.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00ny5nm)
Our Mutual Friend
Episode 12
Adaptation by Mike Walker of Charles Dickens' classic novel.
Rogue Riderhood comes face to face with fate on a dark Thames night.
Charles Dickens ...... Alex Jennings
John Rokesmith ...... Carl Prekopp
Bella Wilfer ...... Daisy Haggard
Lizzie Hexam ...... Lizzy Watts
Mr Boffin ...... Jason Watkins
Betty Higden ...... Lynn Farleigh
Sloppy ...... Benjamin Askew
Eugene Wrayburn ...... Patrick Kennedy
Mortimer Lightwood ...... Matt Addis
Silas Wegg ...... Lee Ross
Aenus Venus ...... Stephen Hogan
Pleasant Riderhood ...... Annabelle Dowler
Rogue Riderhood ...... Jamie Foreman
Bradley Headstone ...... Neil Stuke
Abbey Potterson ...... Janice Acquah
Pa Wilfer ...... Philip Fox
Ma Wilfer ...... Annabelle Dowler
Jenny Wren ...... Nicola Miles-Wildin
Jenny's Father ...... Paul Rider
Solomon Riah ...... Jonathan Tafler
Organ Grinder ...... Malcolm Tierney
Music by Roger Goula
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole and Jeremy Mortimer
This episode is available until
7.45pm on 11th December as part of the Series Catch-up Trial.
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b00nycc4)
Organ Shortages
With around 8,000 people waiting for an organ transplant in the UK, hospitals are having to use organs from the elderly, smokers, cancer sufferers and drug abusers. Gerry Northam examines the dilemmas posed for doctors and assesses the risks to transplant patients.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00nycc6)
Naj Fraser is a partially sighted physiotherapist from Cockermouth, Cumbria, who tells Mani Djazmi of the difficulty she has contacting her clients as she has been unable to use her CCTV during a two-day power cut as a result of the floods.
Lee Kumutat talks to Michael Whapples, the first of three volunteer job seekers willing to share their experiences with the programme. Michael is a graduate from Nottinghamshire and is trying to find a job but, despite having been on a graduate scheme and applying for eight positions a week, is still without work after 18 months. He tells Lee that he feels that some employers need him to be more outgoing than he naturally is - and he finds this daunting.
Mani's studio guest is Isaac Lidsky. Isaac came to London after being awarded the Temple Bar, which recognises the most talented contemporary American lawyers. He is now working at the international law firm Akin Gump in London on US appellate litigation. He began to lose his sight aged 15, just as his career as a child actor was taking off. Isaac then went to Harvard University aged 16 where he studied maths and computer science. He later went back to do a law degree and is now a highly successful lawyer. He and his wife have also set up a charity to fund research into sight-loss prevention through gene therapy.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b00nycc8)
Honesty within Adoption - Remembering Smells
There is growing disquiet among adoptive and foster families and some childcare professionals that contact with birth families is causing children emotional and psychological damage. All In The Mind hears from a specialist in this area who claims children aren't being told the truth about the abuse and maltreatment they suffered as children, and that this lack of honesty is causing them long-term harm. An adoptive mother tells her personal story about how continuing contact affected her daughter and an experienced foster carer describes the impact on a teenager in his care of access visits to her birth father.
Also in the programme, Professor Adam Zeman talks about the most complex entity in the universe, the brain, and Yaara Yeshurun from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel describes how she has helped to prove that smells become etched, like a signature, on our brains.
TUE 21:30 The Choice (b00ny8f6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b00ny61k)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00ny646)
News from a global perspective with Ritula Shah.
President Obama is set to reveal a new Afghanistan strategy.
The secret billion pound bank bailout.
The secrets of Brazil's great economic success.
New rainfall due to hit Cumbria and Scotland.
Iraq's chief election official warns that January's elections will not happen.
Why witness' voices are not being heard in the Khmer Rouge trial.
TUE 22:45 Notwithstanding: Stories from an English Village (b00nzwsj)
The Auspicious Meeting
Hugh Bonneville reads from Louis de Bernieres' new book of linked stories which cast an affectionate but acute eye on the vanishing charms and eccentric characters of the fictional Surrey village of Notwithstanding.
A chance meeting in a country lane brings together two keen but lonely musicians. When they are joined by a visiting genealogist with a bassoon, the Famous Notwithstanding Wind Quartet is well on its way to formation.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
TUE 23:00 Vent (b01dlg0k)
Series 3
Ladies and Gentlemen
Ben makes the ambulance journey home to begin life in a wheelchair. On the way he remembers an argument about cheesecake, invents a panel game and meets Buzz Aldrin.
Dark sitcom about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind.
Written by Nigel Smith.
Ben ...... Neil Pearson
Mary ...... Fiona Allen
Mum ...... Josie Lawrence
Blitz ...... Leslie Ash
Nurse ...... Jo Martin
Derek ...... Stephen Frost
Marley ...... Spencer Brown
Chairman ...... Robert Webb
Buzz ...... Peter Banks
Announcer ...... Bruce Alexander
Bea ...... Scarlett Milburn-Smith
Director: Nigel Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00ny6zq)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Susan Hulme.
WEDNESDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2009
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00nx94y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00p298n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00nx96x)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00nx9p8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00nx98z)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00nx9qt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00nxcj4)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Peter Baker.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00nxclm)
British cheesemakers say their industry is being undermined by imports with misleading labels. Farming Today meets cheese producers who are unhappy with the current labelling regime. And the superbug MRSA has been found in a quarter of EU pig herds. So could it come here?
WED 06:00 Today (b00nxcs1)
Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague.
The government is to respond to the Calman Commission into Scottish devolution, which recommended a fundamental change in how public money is allocated. The response comes a few days before Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, publishes his party's white paper outlying plans for a referendum. Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy discusses the proposals.
The second instalment of a review into the way protests are policed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is to be published today. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, requested the review following criticisms of tactics used in the G20 demonstrations last year. Criminologist and film maker Roger Graef outlines the changes.
The convicted murderer Jane Andrews has been recaptured after absconding from East Sutton Park open prison. The BBC's Helen Fawkes reports on the latest developments.
Researchers have discovered that the Mandrill monkey uses smell to find mates with genes that are different from their own. The method guarantees healthy and strong offspring and maintains genetic diversity. Dr Jo Setchell from the anthropology department at Durham University which carried out the research, discusses the findings.
More heavy rain has threatened bridges and homes in Cumbria. The collapse of bridges due to the force of the flood water has cut off communities and caused transport havoc in the region. Locals are calling for temporary Bailey bridges to be built by the army. Correspondent Colin Blane reports on the latest in the flooding. Peter Lloyd, managing director of Mabey Bridge, which makes the modern version of the Bailey bridge, considers whether temporary bridges can be built.
People would prefer to pay more tax than see important public services cut, according to a new poll by Ipsos Mori. Ben Page, the research group's chief executive, analyses the results.
The system of registering village greens is being used by 'not in my backyard' villagers wanting to register land to avoid it being built on. Environment correspondent Sarah Mukherjee reports from the village of Penn in Buckinghamshire.
Thought for the Day with Canon Dr Alan Billings, an Anglican priest.
The government is launching a 10-year strategy to deal with violence against women and girls. It will target young women and teenagers to prevent them getting into cycles of violence from a young age, after research suggested that a high number of teenage girls are drawn into abusive relationships. Christine Barter, senior research fellow for the School of Policy Studies at Bristol University, which carried out the research, examines the government's policies.
The Bank of England has revealed for the first time that it lent Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HBOS 61.6 billion pounds in emergency funding during the banking crisis last year. The huge sum is four times the value of the National Grid, and was kept hidden from the public. Treasury minister Lord Myners discusses the secret loan and chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym comments on the implications for the financial system.
The party political broadcast has been a part of Britain's election culture for 75 years. The British Film Institute (BFI) has made a film honouring the anniversary which will be screened tonight at the BFI Southbank. The film, Who Voted For This?, produced by the former BBC and ITV political correspondent David Walter, uses rarely-seen footage from the BFI National Archive, including a Churchill screen test, classics from the 1930s through to the present day, and interviews with Michael Heseltine, Charles Kennedy and Neil Kinnock. David Walter and Sir Chris Powell, former Labour advertising adviser, reflect on the history of the party political broadcast and whether or not they are effective at winning votes.
Early next week, on St Andrew's Day, Scottish first minister Alex Salmond will unveil a white paper for a Referendum Bill on Independence. He hopes it will be the first step towards an independent Scotland. In the first of two reports, Today presenter James Naughtie examines how the recession has coloured the debate about Scottish secession from the UK.
New figures for the economy are to be published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), later today. The figures will reveal whether or not the UK is still in a recession. Economics editor Stephanie Flanders analyses the figures, and Jonathan Tepper, partner at independent researcher Variant Perception, discusses the strength of the pound and the chances of a currency crisis.
The National Memorial Arboretum has launched an eight-million-pound appeal to help pay for improvements. The site, near Lichfield in Staffordshire, was recently transformed with 160 large memorials and thousands of smaller memorials honouring service personnel and civilians killed in war, but the buildings are too small to cope with the huge influx in the number of visitors. Correspon
WED 09:00 Midweek (b00nycw1)
Tom Conti is a stage, television and film actor. He won an Olivier and Broadway Tony award for his role in Whose Life Is It Anyway?, was Oscar nominated for Reuben, Reuben and has starred in numerous West End productions. To mark the Pleasance Theatre's 25th anniversary he reprises his one-man show Jesus, My Boy - the familiar story told by his bewildered Jewish dad. Jesus, My Boy is at the Pleasance Theatre, Islington.
Mavis Batey was a top code breaker at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, and one of a very select group of young, female code breakers. Now aged 88, she has written the biography of her boss, Alfred Dillwyn Knox, the man who did more than anyone else in this country to break the Germans' Enigma code and precipitate the successful D-Day invasion of France. Dilly: The Man Who Broke Enigmas is published by Dialogue Books.
Milton Jones is an award-winning comedian who has performed for many years on the British and international comedy circuit. He is probably best known for his BBC Radio 4 series, The Very World of Milton Jones and Another Case of Milton Jones. His first novel, Where Do Comedians Go When They Die? Journeys of a Stand-Up is published by JR Books.
Steve Reid is a jazz drummer who came of age in one of the most exciting, innovative and politically-charged periods in jazz history. Playing with James Brown, John Coltrane and Sun Ra, to name but a few, he was a Black Panther and was imprisoned as a conscientious objector for not going to Vietnam. The newly published book Freedom Rhythm and Sound: Revolutionary Jazz Cover Art 1965-83, which features some of Steve's album covers, is published by SJR Pubishing. His album Odyessy of the Oblong Square has been re-released.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00p298q)
David Kynaston - Family Britain
God Save Our Queen
Dominic West reads from David Kynaston's vivid and intimate history of Britain in the 1950s, drawing on the letters, diaries and memories of well-known and ordinary people.
While the country is spellbound by the Coronation of 1953, another royal soap opera is about to unfold.
Abridged by Jane Greenwood.
A Loftus Audio production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00nxd3n)
Zadie Smith; Domestic violence
Author Zadie Smith on her new collection of essays. Plus, raising awareness of ways to challenge domestic violence; and should fathers be present in the delivery room?
WED 11:00 The Herschel Space Telescope (b00nycw3)
Episode 2
The second of two programmes which follows the engineers and astronomers who are working on the biggest telescope ever sent to space, in one of the most important missions in the history of European spaceflight. Jonathon Amos joins Professor Matt Griffin of Cardiff University and his international team as they aimed to peer through the areas in space that are invisible to other telescopes. This is the story of their aims to solve the mystery behind galaxy and star formation and how these processes eventually gave rise to life-bearing planets like Earth. In this episode, first broadcast in 2009, the telescope is blasted into space, and the team reflect on their first discoveries and future possibilities for the astronomers around the world.
WED 11:30 Ballylenon (b00nydb9)
Series 7
Episode 1
When Muriel experiences a 'miraculous apparition' whilst on pilgrimage to Lourdes, Phonsie Doherty is quick to seize on its business potential for Ballylenon.
Series set in the sleepy town of Ballylenon, Co Donegal in 1959.
Written by Christopher Fitz-Simon.
Muriel Maconchy ...... Margaret D'Arcy
Vera Maconchy ...... Stella McCusker
Phonsie Doherty ...... Gerard Murphy
Vivienne Hawthorne ...... Annie McCartney
Rev Samuel Hawthorne ...... Miche Doherty
Stumpy Bonner ...... Gerard McSorley
Pianist: Michael Harrison
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00nxd7j)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.
WED 12:57 Weather (b00nxd9x)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b00nxg9x)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.
WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00nyf2k)
Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, has announced changes to the remit of BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm. Steve Hewlett asks if the Trust was right to approve BBC Worldwide's acquisition of Lonely Planet and if BBC Worldwide will now be sold off.
With Oprah ending her daytime TV show in its current form and the end of Big Brother, are viewers still as keen to watch members of the public baring their souls on TV?
Following the government's plans to pilot alternatives to ITV's regional news, Steve talks to Alex Connock of Ten Alps, one of the TV companies bidding to take over in the north-east of England.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b00nxgd3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b00fl092)
Flaw in the Motor, Dust in the Blood
Exploration of life with bipolar disorder by Trevor Preston. When Thomas dreams, he's in the world of the crime thriller; his daily life is rather less glamorous.
Thomas ...... Rory Kinnear
Dr Klein ...... Susan Engel
Amy ...... Fenella Woolgar
Lizzie ...... Janice Acquah
Peter ...... Paul Rider
Dr Beard ...... Jonathan Tafler
Nita ...... Manjeet Mann
Ratched ...... Inam Mirza
Directed by Toby Swift.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b00nyf2m)
Vincent Duggleby and a panel of answer calls on renting and letting.
Guests:
Simon Gordon, chair, National Landlords Association
John Gallagher, principal solicitor, Shelter
Tracey Bloom, barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, specialist in housing law.
WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00p27f1)
An Important Passenger
The Plymouth Express
Series of three crime stories celebrating and inspired by the 75th anniversary of the publication of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.
By Agatha Christie, read by Tim Pigott-Smith.
When a murdered woman's body is found hidden in the first-class compartment of the Plymouth Express, Hercule Poirot is once more called to investigate a perplexing murder on a train.
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:45 A Very Scottish Homecoming (b00nz9x0)
Great Minds
To celebrate Scotland's year of Homecoming, Aasmah Mir explores five themes that have been chosen to encapsulate the Scottish contribution to the world.
Scottish inventors have made a huge contribution to the world, from the steam engine to the telephone; but what has Scotland done for the world lately? Aasmah finds out if Scotland still has the spirit of invention.
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00nyfhk)
E-Elections - Jazz
Barack Obama famously used new technologies in his 2008 election campaign. Could those same techniques be used to reinvigorate the next UK general elction in the same way it did for Obama's Web 2.0 campaign? From MySpace and Facebook, text messages to email, will new media transform the election in the same way it did for America? Or is the UK too party political for digital technology to have the same impact? Laurie Taylor discusses with Rachel Gibson, Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester.
Also, how musicians performing can give new insights into negotiation, learning and decision making. Howard S Becker, professional jazz player and acclaimed sociologist, joins Laurie to discuss what jazz and music can teach the rest of the world.
WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b00nycc8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00nxhxj)
25th November 1989
Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.
In Czechoslovakia, demonstrators keep up the pressure for free elections, while schoolchildren in Buckinghamshire organise a protest against Nestle for its promotion of dried milk in the Third World.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 17:00 PM (b00ny445)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Carolyn Quinn. Plus Weather.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00ny473)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00nywl0)
Series 3
Episode 2
Perrier Award-winning comedian, Laura Solon continues her series of sketches, monologues and one-liners.
Olga the ex-tyrannt takes on a British Post Office, a man tries to buy his mother a gift in an expensive department store and Sandrine, the Parisien radio host, chats about why French culture is much better then the culture of say, Britiain.
Producer: Colin Anderson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b00nxgd7)
Vicky happily agrees to babysit Abbie for a few extra hours while Hayley works on the Deck the Hall event. Vicky bumps into Lynda and Coriander. Abbie and Oscar are the focus of much cooing, although Coriander and Lynda have differing views about the importance of a baby's routine and how warm to keep them.
David talks to Ruth while she AIs a cow. The parish council is going ahead with the next stage of Lynda's green burial proposal. They are surprised when Pip returns from college early. A class has been cancelled, and Pip has rejected the chance to do some college work in favour of more halter training with Merlin the steer. David tries to talk to Pip about her forthcoming exams in January - but Pip is evasive.
Hayley tells Vicky about some possible PR work for Brenda at Lower Loxley. Vicky shares her plans for Mike's birthday. She's bought him an ostentatious watch (which Hayley tries to be polite about), and asks for Hayley and Roy's help in sourcing pictures of Mike through the years, to decorate the Bull and the village on the day of his party. Hayley swallows her doubts, and promises to help.
Episode written by Keri Davies.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b00ny48k)
With an election looming and budgets being squeezed, how will the arts fare under a new government?
In a special edition of Front Row John Wilson is joined by the culture secretaries and his Conservative and Liberal Democrat shadows to discuss the politics of art and culture. Labour's Ben Bradshaw, Conservative Jeremy Hunt and Don Foster of the Liberal Democrats set out their policies and debate the issues facing the arts world. Does the Cultural Olympiad have a future? Is the Arts Council safe? What about free access to museums? Can arts funding survive when health and education budgets are being slashed?
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00ny5np)
Our Mutual Friend
Episode 13
Adaptation by Mike Walker of Charles Dickens' classic novel.
Silas Wegg is determined to find a copy of old Harmon's will.
Charles Dickens ...... Alex Jennings
John Rokesmith ...... Carl Prekopp
Bella Wilfer ...... Daisy Haggard
Lizzie Hexam ...... Lizzy Watts
Mr Boffin ...... Jason Watkins
Betty Higden ...... Lynn Farleigh
Sloppy ...... Benjamin Askew
Eugene Wrayburn ...... Patrick Kennedy
Mortimer Lightwood ...... Matt Addis
Silas Wegg ...... Lee Ross
Aenus Venus ...... Stephen Hogan
Pleasant Riderhood ...... Annabelle Dowler
Rogue Riderhood ...... Jamie Foreman
Bradley Headstone ...... Neil Stuke
Abbey Potterson ...... Janice Acquah
Pa Wilfer ...... Philip Fox
Ma Wilfer ...... Annabelle Dowler
Jenny Wren ...... Nicola Miles-Wildin
Jenny's Father ...... Paul Rider
Solomon Riah ...... Jonathan Tafler
Organ Grinder ...... Malcolm Tierney
Music by Roger Goula
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole and Jeremy Mortimer
This episode is available until
7.45pm on 11th December as part of the Series Catch-up Trial.
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b00nywwg)
As Belle de Jour, her blog titillated and fascinated the press in equal measure; now Belle de Jour has outed herself and the reality hasn't disappointed the commentators. Research scientist Dr Brooke Magnanti, 33, revealed she was the person behind the blog; she had turned to prostitution while an impoverished student.
The tale of Belle de Jour seems to encapsulate our moral ambiguity to prostitution. As a tall, blonde, attractive, intelligent, middle-class woman she commands flattering profiles; only when Dr Magnanti claimed that she enjoyed her work did she draw any kind of criticism. Is this another example of the myth of the 'happy hooker' that allows us on the one hand to get a vicarious thrill from a glamorous world where sex is on tap, but on the other to look down on a disease-ridden underclass that sell their bodies to fund a drug habit. Should we use the law to draw a clearer moral line between those who use prostitutes and those who are victims of the trade?
Witnesses:
Beverley Carter
Founder of charity Bridging the Gap and former prostitute.
Dawn Annandale
Editor Lifetimes Magazine and former call girl, author of Call Me Elizabeth: Wife, Mother, Escort and Call Me Madam: From Mother To Madam.
Dr Belinda Brooks Gordon
Reader in Psychology and Social Policy, whose main research interests address psychological, legal, and social policy questions on sexuality, gender and the law.
Anna van Heeswijk
Campaigns coordinator Object, an organisation which challenges 'sex object culture'.
WED 20:45 The Cases That Changed Our World (b00nywwj)
Episode 4
Clive Coleman tells the stories of cases that shaped our lives but which are little known outside the legal world.
Clive revisits Donohue vs Stevenson, better known as The Case of the Paisley Snail. Finding a snail (or was it a slug?) in a bottle of ginger beer may seem a minor upset, but the resulting case in 1932 produced the first comprehensive definition of neglect in tort law and established the meaning of the 'duty of care'.
WED 21:00 The Eureka Years (b00cmb4q)
Series 4
1893
Adam Hart-Davis explores spectacular years in the history of science.
Henry Ford builds his first car, Karl Benz constructs his first four-wheeler and Gottlieb Daimler succeeds in putting his new engines in horseless carriages. The internal combustion engine, hailed as the answer to London's pollution problem, is born.
WED 21:30 Midweek (b00nycw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b00ny61n)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00ny648)
President Obama is due to attend the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen and propose cuts in American greenhouse gas emissions.
The Israeli cabinet approves a ten-month restriction in settlement building in the West Bank, but not in East Jerusalem.
The first anti-Mafia package holiday is launched in Sicily.
WED 22:45 Notwithstanding: Stories from an English Village (b00nzwsl)
The Happy Death of the General
Hugh Bonneville reads from Louis de Bernieres' new book of linked stories which cast an affectionate but acute eye on the vanishing charms and eccentric characters of the fictional Surrey village of Notwithstanding.
Although he has dressed himself carefully, as always, for his shopping trip into town, there is one thing the General has forgotten.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
WED 23:00 The Ladies (b00g3dtz)
Series 1
Episode 2
Series of comedy sketches by Emily Watson Howes set in a ladies' public toilet, featuring various female characters as they come and go.
An unattended bag left by the sinks causes panic and confusion, and Lisa tries to deal with her pushy mother.
With Emily Watson Howes, Kate Donmall, Fran Moulds.
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:15 All Bar Luke (b00d75p4)
Series 3
The Date
Poignant comedy drama series by Tim Key.
Luke tries to move on from Hayley by going on a dinner date with an older woman.
An Angel Eye Media production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00ny6zs)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with David Wilby.
THURSDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2009
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00nx951)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00p298q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00nx96z)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00nx9pb)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00nx991)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00nx9qw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00nxcj6)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Peter Baker.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00nxclp)
News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith.
THU 06:00 Today (b00nxcs3)
Presented by James Naughtie and Sarah Montague.
India is marking the first anniversary of the Mumbai attacks which killed 170 people. Ten gunmen attacked the city in a terror strike that lasted nearly three days. Yesterday a court in Pakistan charged seven suspects in connection with the attacks, including Zaki Ur Rehman Lakhvi, thought to be the mastermind and an operative of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group. Security correspondent Gordon Corera examines relations between India and Pakistan.
Health secretary Andy Burnham is to make a speech on the provision of talking therapies. Yesterday the Today programme heard from GPs complaining of a shortage of such therapies. Home editor Mark Easton comments on the upcoming speech.
A new right-of-centre think-tank is launched today. ResPublica will join the array of Tory-leaning think-tanks battling to influence Conservative policy. Comparisons have been drawn with the 1970s, when it is claimed that Margaret Thatcher's monetarist policies were shaped by the Centre for Policy Studies. Political correspondent Norman Smith investigates whether or not right-wing think-tanks are influential.
An environmental charity has warned that guidance on how planning authorities assess the potential impact of wind turbine noise must be urgently updated. Environmental Protection UK says the noise generated by the turning blades is affecting those living nearby, and that guidelines were due to be revised 11 years ago. Environment correspondent Sarah Mukherjee reports from Camber Sands in Sussex.
A report into the corporate governance of the banking industry is to be published today. Sir David Walker, author of the report and a former banker, conducted the review in response to City bonuses. Sir David discusses his recommendations.
The Scottish question is once more at the forefront of UK politics, with proposals being considered to increase the Scottish Parliament's tax powers. Next week Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, will publish a white paper for a Referendum Bill on independence. Today presenter James Naughtie analyses the different strands of Scotland's on-going debate on constitutional reform.
Thought for the Day with Professor Mona Siddiqui, from the University of Glasgow.
Fifteen cities are to present their case for joining England's 2018 football World Cup bid. Bristol, Portsmouth and Milton Keynes are among the hopefuls. The effort is being overshadowed by infighting on the board, and several members have resigned. Sports correspondent James Pearce outlines the internal disagreements, and board member Paul Elliot discusses the bid.
Water companies and industry regulator Ofwat are engaged in discussions over the future pricing of water. They advise that bills should be reduced by 2015, but water companies insist bills need to rise to pay for improvements and repairs, warning that jobs will be lost. Business presenter Adam Shaw examines the discussions and Pamela Taylor, chief executive of Water UK, discusses water pricing.
The Department of Health previously considered calling for a cull of Britain's sheep and cow stocks to combat climate change, it has emerged. It considered killing livestock to cut methane emissions and reduce the amount of fatty food. Deputy political editor James Landale discusses the proposals.
How has the life of a postman changed? Postman and blogger Roy Mayall has written Dear Granny Smith: A Letter From Your Postman, a polemic on what has changed at Royal Mail. He claims the company has changed services for the worse, and pleads for the return of the old-style delivery. Roy Mayall and management consultant David Stubbs debate how best to run the postal service.
David Cameron is to speak at the launch of a new think tank, ResPublica. Its director, Philip Blond has been described as 'the red Tory'. Mr Blond discusses the new organisation.
Plans to give new tax-raising powers to the Scottish Parliament have been outlined by the UK government in response to the Calman Commission's review into Scottish devolution. The proposals come a few days before Scottish first minister Alex Salmond is to publish proposals for a Referendum Bill on independence. Constitution minister Mike Russell examines the devolution proposals.
India's conservative Muslim seminary has banned the singing of India's national anthem, declaring it un-Islamic. The fatwa posed by Deoband has polarised a nation struggling to remain united, and places the onus for unity on India's liberal Muslims. Correspondent Chris Morris reports from Delhi and Salman Kurshid, India's Union minister of state for minority affairs, discusses the Deoband's objection to the song.
Filmmaker and Iranian opposition activist Mohsen Makhmalbaf is in London to receive the 2009 Freedom to Create Prize. He dedicated it to Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, who has become the spiritual leader of the Iranian opposition. Mr Makhmalbaf discusses growing dissent in Iran.
Financial markets were s
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00nyxvr)
Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Melvyn Bragg and guests Roy Foster, Jeri Johnson and Katherine Mullin discuss A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce's groundbreaking 1916 novel about growing up in Catholic Ireland.Many novelists choose their own young life as the subject for their first book. But very few have subjected themselves to the intense self-scrutiny of the great Irish novelist James Joyce. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, published in 1916, Joyce follows his alter ego, Stephen Dedalus, from babyhood to young adulthood. He takes us from Stephen wetting the bed, through a teenage visit to a prostitute, and on through religious terrors to the prospect of freedom. When it was published, the book met with shock at its graphic honesty. Joyce shows Stephen wrestling with the pressures of his family, his Church and his nation. Yet this was far from being a straightforward youthful tirade. Joyce's novel is also daringly experimental, taking us deep into Stephen's psyche. And since its publication almost a century ago, it has had a huge influence on novelists across the world.With: Roy Foster, Carroll Professor of Irish History and Fellow of Hertford College, OxfordJeri Johnson, Senior Fellow in English at Exeter College, OxfordKatherine Mullin, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Leeds.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00p298s)
David Kynaston - Family Britain
Brisk Buying and Selling
Dominic West reads from David Kynaston's vivid and intimate history of Britain in the 1950s, drawing on the letters, diaries and memories of well-known and ordinary people.
A new era of affluence is fuelled by a boom in advertising and the arrival of commercial television.
Abridged by Jane Greenwood.
A Loftus Audio production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00nxd3q)
Kate Humble; Holloway Prison baby walkers
Kate Humble on her new role as president of the RSPB. Plus, decreasing the number of women in prisons, and the volunteers who take babies in prisons for walks in the park.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b00nyxvt)
A Small Town in Mississippi
In 1995, four people were murdered in Winona, Mississippi. The black man charged with their murders is now facing his sixth trial. Racial tensions helped lead to three convictions being overturned and two trials were deadlocked by hung juries. Tom Mangold visits the Deep South to investigate and to speak to those most closely involved. What he discovers says much about whether the high hopes of an increasingly race-neutral America are still justified at the close of the first year of Barack Obama's presidency.
THU 11:30 It Was A Dark and Stormy Night (b00nyxvw)
We may no longer be familiar with his novels, nor with his scientific theories, but thanks largely to the Snoopy Cartoons, the Goon show and sundry other borrowers and mockers, everyone can quote part of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's opening sentence:
"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
San Jose University in California now run a very popular Dark and Stormy Night competition. The winner is charged with writing the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels.
But Ian Peacock has a sneaking feeling that there's more to Bulwer-Lytton than being simply the patron saint of Victorian gothic kitsch. He was hugely popular in his lifetime (Dickens and Mary Shelley were fans). Works like 'Pelham' and 'The Last Days of Pompeii' made him a literary star. And he was fascinated by scientific discovery, as well as the spookier side of life: his novel 'The Coming Race' is still dear to the science fiction community. It was in this book that he created Vril - electro-magnetic energy which fuels flying machines and automata, and even makes telepathy possible. Add Vril to bovine and you end up with the popular beef-tea energy drink Bovril - another Bulwer-Lytton legacy. He also coined the phrases 'the great unwashed' and 'the almighty dollar.' As if that isn't enough for one life, Bulwer-Lytton became an outrageous dandy, served as an MP, dabbled in the occult, and had a wife who publicly heckled and libelled him for decades. And Wagner was an enthusiast, using one of Lytton's novels as the basis for his early opera Rienzi.
Bulwer-Lytton's stormy life, his writing and his popularity are Ian's focus in this programme. He visits Knebworth Hall, Lytton's home for many years and the source of some of his darker writing and he talks to Professor John Sutherland to judge his literary merits. Sutherland describes him as, amongst other things, 'the father of the English detective novel, science fiction, the fantasy novel and the thriller.'
Producer: Tom Alban.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00nxd7l)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.
THU 12:57 Weather (b00nxd9z)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b00nxg9z)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.
THU 13:30 Off the Page (b00ny8fz)
Last Orders
4 Extra Debut. Dominic Arkwright quizzes Ian Marchant, Simon Fanshawe and Melissa Cole about the future of the public house. From November 2009.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b00nxgd7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b00b4jd0)
Far North
By Louis Nowra.
A boy and his young mother take to the road across Australia in search of the freedom and love she craves.
Directed by Jane Ulman.
A Corporation for Independent Media production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b00nwvx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:07 on Saturday]
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00nx156)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00p27dv)
An Important Passenger
Death By Elocution
Series of three crime stories celebrating and inspired by the 75th anniversary of the publication of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.
By Malcolm Pryce, read by Sandra Duncan.
A strangely familiar collection of characters - Laura Jesson and Dr Harvey from Brief Encounter, Noel Coward, a soldier and a parson - find themselves on a train journey. Their conversation is interrupted by a hideous voice - then there's a scream.
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:45 A Very Scottish Homecoming (b00nz9x2)
Ancestry
To celebrate Scotland's year of Homecoming, Aasmah Mir explores five themes that have been chosen to encapsulate the Scottish contribution to the world.
Scottish immigrants have had an impact all over the world; now, more and more of their descendents are returning to rediscover their roots - especially in this special year of Homecoming. Aasmah talks to those visiting for the celebrations to find out if their image of Scotland is realistic or one clouded by myth and romance.
THU 16:00 Open Book (b00nx8k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:30 Material World (b00nyy8q)
Already dubbed 'Climategate', Quentin Cooper finds out what the real scientific impact is of computer hacking, and leaking, of over ten years-worth of climate researchers' emails at the University of East Anglia.
Do the benefits outweigh the risks for the scientists drilling into the mega-thrust earthquake zone just off the coast of Japan? Will it give us an earthquake early warning system?
17,650: that's the number of species so far found by the Deep Ocean Survey; how many more can we expect?
And with tragic collapse of bridges in Cumbria during the heavy rains of the past few days, how can science help prevent such collapses happening in the future?
THU 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00nxhxl)
26th November 1989
Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.
Czechoslovakia's prime minister has his first meeting with the country's leading dissident, Vaclav Havel; Lady Mosley, Sir Oswald's wife, talks to Sue Lawley on Desert Island Discs.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 17:00 PM (b00ny447)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00ny475)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Bleak Expectations (b00nyy8s)
Series 3
An Evil Life Sort of Explained
Pip Bin, Harry Biscuit and Gently Benevolent find themselves trapped in the vast emptiness of space.
As their doom looks increasingly inevitable, Mr Benevolent finally explains just why it is that he is so very very evil.
Comedy Victorian adventure by Mark Evans.
Sir Philip ...... Richard Johnson
Young Pip Bin ...... Tom Allen
Gently Benevolent ...... Anthony Head
Lovely Benevolent ...... Jane Asher
Harry Biscuit ...... James Bachman
Hardthrasher/Sternbeater/Wackwallop ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Miss Christmasham ...... Sarah Hadland
Miss Sweetly Delightful ...... Raquel Cassidy.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009
THU 19:00 The Archers (b00nxgd9)
After her confrontation with Ian, Helen is unsettled when hungover Kirsty reports from Whispers last night. Barman Leon plied her and her girlfriends with plenty of drinks and banter. Leon calls to cancel a date on Sunday in favour of going karting with a friend. Concerned Helen tries to play it cool.
Lilian visits Matt in prison. She looks for a sign he's missed her but Matt keeps his emotions under wraps, admonishing Lilian for wearing so much jewellery and telling her to keep things low-key.
Lilian asks Matt about life in the prison, and is hopeful when Matt says he might be released in six months, with an electronic tag. It is clear Matt is finding life hard but he does his best to keep a strong image. He's sharing a cell with someone else, and is looking forward to being given some work to do to alleviate the boredom. He confides that most of the guys are fairly pathetic. He cuts the visit short, just before time is up. Lilian is upset: but Matt assures her she can visit again in two weeks.
At the Bull, hurt Lilian turns to Jolene for support. Matt's a strong person - but can he survive prison?
Episode written by Keri Davies.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b00ny48n)
Five British actresses play the Queen at pivotal times in her life in a Channel 4 drama documentary series which examines the social history of Britain via key events in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Four of the stars, Samantha Bond, Diana Quick, Susan Jameson and Barbara Flynn, discuss the challenge of this particular role with John Wilson.
Terry Pratchett's children's novel, Nation, is the story of Mau, the sole survivor - or so he thinks - after a giant wave hits the tropical island where he lives. Then he meets Daphne, another teenager, who wears strange material covering her legs and has a stick which can make fire. She too is alone, apart from a foul-mouthed parrot, having been shipwrecked by the same tsunami. Gradually other survivors appear - some friendly, others aggressive - and in dealing with them, Mau and Daphne learn new skills, come of age and start to forge a new nation. Playwright Mark Ravenhill has adapted Nation for the stage, and John Wilson and writer Bidisha discuss the result.
The Playhouse, a community arts centre in Londonderry, officially opens this week after a four million-pound renovation project to transform two former Victorian school buildings. John Wilson reports from The Playhouse and watches a harrowing new production, We Carried Your Secrets, in which real people - including former Republican and Loyalist gunmen, victims of violence and a former RUC officer - enact their own stories of life during the The Troubles.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00ny5nr)
Our Mutual Friend
Episode 14
Adaptation by Mike Walker of Charles Dickens' classic novel.
Lizzie Hexam and Bella Wilfer meet at last, at a funeral in a country churchyard.
Charles Dickens ...... Alex Jennings
John Rokesmith ...... Carl Prekopp
Bella Wilfer ...... Daisy Haggard
Lizzie Hexam ...... Lizzy Watts
Mr Boffin ...... Jason Watkins
Betty Higden ...... Lynn Farleigh
Sloppy ...... Benjamin Askew
Eugene Wrayburn ...... Patrick Kennedy
Mortimer Lightwood ...... Matt Addis
Silas Wegg ...... Lee Ross
Aenus Venus ...... Stephen Hogan
Pleasant Riderhood ...... Annabelle Dowler
Rogue Riderhood ...... Jamie Foreman
Bradley Headstone ...... Neil Stuke
Abbey Potterson ...... Janice Acquah
Pa Wilfer ...... Philip Fox
Ma Wilfer ...... Annabelle Dowler
Jenny Wren ...... Nicola Miles-Wildin
Jenny's Father ...... Paul Rider
Solomon Riah ...... Jonathan Tafler
Organ Grinder ...... Malcolm Tierney
Music by Roger Goula
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole and Jeremy Mortimer
This episode is available until
7.45pm on 11th December as part of the Series Catch-up Trial.
THU 20:00 The Report (b00nyz7j)
Rising Hate Crime
Simon Cox looks into statistics which indicate a rise in hate crime and asks what they tell us about the world we live in. Are we a more hateful society or have community relations improved? And can branding perpetrators 'haters' entrench prejudice?
Simon travels to Liverpool, where homophobic hate crime appears to be increasing, and Leicester, where Fiona Pilkington and her daughter were victims of hate crime which went unacknowledged.
THU 20:30 In Business (b00nz005)
Unlimited Company
In a world where banks and conventional companies have taken a big battering in the recession, perhaps there are better ways of running an business. Peter Day listens to some people who are trying to do things completely differently.
THU 21:00 Leading Edge (b00nyz7n)
On the Origin of the Species
Geoff Watts examines the impact of Darwin's On The Origin of Species on science, society and religion, then and now, on the 150th anniversary of its publication.
To mark the occasion for the final edition of Leading Edge, he visits 50 Albermarle Street in London, the home and office of Darwin's publisher, John Murray. There he meets another John Murray, direct descendent, and Randall Keynes, great great grandson of Charles Darwin, who tell him the circumstances of publication.
He also meets relatives of the fancy pigeons kept and bred by Darwin to demonstrate the unnatural selection of characteristics desired by humans. Pigeon breeder John Ross describes how Darwin showed they were all descended from the humble rock dove.
One of the mysteries that Darwin did not solve was the origin of life. Dr Graham Cairns-Smith of Glasgow University descibes how he thinks natural selection was at work even there to enable inorganic chemicals and crystals to evolve as precursors of the complex biochemical systems we see today.
A simple understanding of natural selection might suggest that a few vigorous weeds would dominate plant habitats, but instead you get flowery meadows with rich diversity. Professor Jonathan Silvertown of the Open University has shown how plants adapt differently to tiny variations in local conditions, which is why there can be 40 species in an English meadow and how about 30 ancestral types in the Cape Province of South Africa have evolved into 4,500 species.
Professor EO Wilson of Harvard University is one of the world's leading evolutionary biologists. He assesses Darwin's legacy and how it is leading towards a new unification between reductionist and ecological approaches to biology.
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00nyxvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b00ny61q)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00ny64b)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.
The Irish government reveals how the Catholic Church actively covered up cases of sexual abuse committed by priests on children.
A row over civilian casualties in Afghanistan prompts the resignation of Germany's most senior army commander.
Is Dubai's economy in trouble?
THU 22:45 Notwithstanding: Stories from an English Village (b00nzwsn)
Rabbit
Hugh Bonneville reads from Louis de Bernieres' new book of linked stories which cast an affectionate but acute eye on the vanishing charms and eccentric characters of the fictional Surrey village of Notwithstanding.
The major, his wife and Leafy Barkwell have a heartbreaking encounter on an evening walk.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
THU 23:00 Bespoken Word (b00n56sw)
Special edition of Radio 4's performance poetry show from Cardiff University. Featuring Brit School graduate Laura Dockrill, who regularly gigs with Kate Nash and has just published her second book, Ugly Shy Girl, which looks at the experiences of the sixth-form loner girl, the kind who feels 'like a tiny speck of dust that the Hoover has forgotten to suck up'. Plus the winner of the Radio 4 Poetry Slam competition Dizraeli, who makes you listen to rap with new ears, and Siadwell from the TV comedy series Naked Video.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00ny6zv)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.
FRIDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2009
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00nx953)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00p298s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00nx971)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00nx9pd)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00nx993)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00nx9qy)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00nxcj8)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Peter Baker.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00nxclr)
Charlotte Smith asks whether sustainable agriculture, whilst being better for the environment, is going to provide enough food to feed the world. Also, is 'country of origin' labelling in supermarkets clear enough? Defra minister Jim Fitzpatrick says that if a product is labelled British, then it should definitely be produced in Britain.
FRI 06:00 Today (b00nxcs5)
Presented by James Naughtie and Evan Davis.
The Patients Association has called for the urgent reform of hospital regulation after appalling standards of care resulting in patients dying were found in Essex. Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found blood-splattered equipment, blood-stained floors and badly soiled mattresses at Basildon and Thurrock NHS trust. In the same month as the CQC issued the trust with a warning over poor standards it was rated 'good' on quality of service. Director of policy at the Patients Association, Kieran Mullan, examines the hospital regulation system.
A new high-speed rail line is to be built connecting Scotland and London. The line will pass through the Chilterns, a protected area of outstanding natural beauty. The company responsible for the new line, High Speed Two, is investigating possible routes and will report back to the government at the end of the year. Nicola Stanbridge reports on the views of those who live in the Chilterns.
President Obama has paid tribute to the US military on Thanksgiving Day in the US. In a few days he is expected to lay out his new plans for fighting the war in Afghanistan. Robert Fox, war reporter for the London Evening Standard, discusses President Obama's Afghan policy.
Lawyers for Gary McKinnon, the British man accused of hacking into US computers, are preparing to challenge the home secretary's decision not to block his extradition. Alan Johnson said last night that he had seen no medical evidence to suggest that extraditing Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, would breach his human rights. Mr McKinnon's, lawyer Karen Todner, discusses the appeal.
Almost 20,000 people have signed a petition calling for a reform of England's libel laws, after two libel cases were brought against scientists. Campaigners are concerned that the laws are stifling scientific critical debate of medical and other scientific practice. Tracey Brown, managing director of Sense About Science, which organised the petition, discusses libel law.
Ecologists have developed a way of monitoring the size of bird populations from recordings of their song. Writing in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, researchers have found it provides a more accurate estimate of numbers than using nets to capture birds, which they say can be stressful for them. Science correspondent Pallab Ghosh reports on the new technique.
Thought for the Day with the Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks.
The high-speed rail travel experiences of Japan and France could become a way of life in the UK. Travel between major cities including London and Glasgow would be completed in under three hours. Lord Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport, discusses the new high-speed service.
A taskforce is being sent to Basildon and Thurrock NHS trust after Care Quality Commission inspectors identified serious concerns in emergency care, hygiene and cleanliness. The Trust, which has a mortality rate a third higher than the national average, was rated as 'good' on quality of service in the CQC's 2008/09 assessment and marked 'excellent' for its financial management. Martina Davies, a former patient at the hospital, comments on her experience of care. Sir Brian Jarman of Imperial College, London, who was involved in the inquiry into the deaths of heart patients at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and Baroness Young, chair of the Care Quality Commission, discuss hospital morality rates.
How do you complete a cryptic crossword? A new book published today provides tips and pointers for answering the clues. Colin Dexter, author of the book and creator of Inspector Morse, and Sandy Balfour, author of Clue to Our Lives: 80 Years of the Guardian Cryptic Crossword, discuss how best to approach a crossword's cryptic teasers.
The results of an investigation into Dubai's financial crisis are being released. The Warwick Commission, an international group of academics and practitioners, is looking at how to prevent the causes of the crisis, and is the latest of numerous investigations into the malfunctioning of the financial system. Professor Avinash Persaud, the commission's chair, discusses its findings.
Negotiations for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit appear to be moving closer to completion. Sergeant Shalit was captured and taken into Gaza by Palestinian militants three-and-a-half years ago. A deal would involve Israel freeing several hundred Palestinian prisoners in return. Middle East correspondent Tim Franks examines the ramifications of a prisoner swap.
Some 20,000 people have signed a petition calling for England's libel laws to be reformed. The laws are being used to 'silence critical discussion of medical practice and scientific evidence', according to the signatories. Dr Peter Wilmshurst, cardiologist at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, who is being sued for comments he made at a conference in the US, and shadow justice secretary Dominic Gr
FRI 09:00 Food and Farming Awards (b00nz1bf)
Food and Farming Awards 2009
A special 10th anniversary edition of the BBC Food and Farming Awards with an all-star line up including Raymond Blanc, Alex James and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
After sifting through thousands of nominations a team of judges has spent the last few weeks travelling around the UK visiting this year's finalists, watching them at work and tasting their food.
In the programme the winners in nine different categories will be revealed. Find out who is producing the nation's Best Takeaway, which pupils are being served the best school meals and who has won the much coveted title of BBC Food Personality of The Year.
Sheila Dillon, presenter of The Food Programme, hosts the awards, and is joined by two special guests.
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00p298v)
David Kynaston - Family Britain
A Pretty Mess
Dominic West reads from David Kynaston's vivid and intimate history of Britain in the 1950s, drawing on the letters, diaries and memories of well-known and ordinary people.
An increasingly affluent and confident Britain is rocked by the Suez crisis.
Abridged by Jane Greenwood.
A Loftus Audio production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00nxd3s)
Actor Debbie Allen, Lisa Hannigan; Children of service families
Actor and choreographer Debbie Allen interviewed, Lisa Hannigan sings live. Plus, have children of service families become the overlooked casualties of conflict?
FRI 11:00 Lives in a Landscape (b00nz1bh)
Series 5
The Maryfield Writers
Alan Dein goes to Northern Ireland to talk to former Royal Ulster Constabulary officers who have formed a writing group. The Maryfield Writers meet once a month to share and discuss their work. Alan spends time with three of them to understand why they write about their chosen subjects and finds that each of them deals with the past in different ways.
Bob has made a clean break with his police past. He served for 22 years, was shot at, had bombs placed under his car and was forced to move house a number of times. He chooses to write children's stories about fantasy and escape and has had a number of books published. Keith is working on screenplays which fall into the police-procedural genre but avoid autobiographical references. Not entirely at ease with modern Northern Ireland, Keith spends a lot of time at home, writing. Teresa spent 20 years in Juvenile Liaisons and, as a Catholic, was in a minority in the RUC. Her poetry has allowed her some catharsis as years of difficult experiences during the Troubles have now found a creative outlet.
They each reflect on their motivations for joining the police and the importance of their new lives as writers in post-Troubles Northern Ireland.
FRI 11:30 The Richest Man in Britain (b00nz1bk)
The African Village
Sitcom by Nick Hornby and Giles Smith about an ageing rock star and his search for fulfilment.
Trillionnaire rocker Dave Mabbutt contemplates the purchase of an African village to complement his afternoons-only radio station.
Dave Mabbutt ...... Mark Williams
Dom ...... Russell Tovey
Naomi, the Charity Worker ...... Ayesha Antoine
Dave's Mum ...... Lynda Bellingham
Ken, the Maintenance Man ...... Phil Cornwell.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00nxd7n)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b00nxdb1)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b00nxgb1)
National and international news.
FRI 13:30 Feedback (b00nz1bm)
Roger Bolton airs listeners' views on BBC radio programmes and policy.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00nxgd9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b00nz2n9)
Number 10 - Series 3
The Visigoths Are Coming...
Series of plays by Jonathan Myerson depicting life inside Downing Street.
The Angolan Navy have occupied the British territory of St Helena. After six days, the PM and the Angolan Ambassador are locked in talks to try to prevent a declaration of war. But who has prompted this seemingly mad act of aggression?
Adam ...... Antony Sher
Steve ...... Stephen Mangan
Genoveva ...... Adjoa Andoh
Angolan Ambassador/Virgilio, Angolan Military Attache ...... Ray Fearon
Paul, US Deputy Secretary of State ...... Colin Stinton
Simon Laity ...... Damian Lewis
Merlin Helicopter Pilot ...... Theo Fraser
Command HQ ...... Scott Cherry
Directed by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00nz93r)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.
Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank and Matt Biggs answer questions posed by gardeners in Mayfield, East Sussex.
With Christmas just around the corner, the team give their top tips for which new books to buy, and Bunny Guinness checks out some new gadgets and gizmos that might be making an appearance in your garden some time soon.
Including Gardening weather forecast.
FRI 15:45 A Very Scottish Homecoming (b00nz9x4)
Robert Burns
To celebrate Scotland's year of Homecoming, Aasmah Mir explores five themes that have been chosen to encapsulate the Scottish contribution to the world.
Scotland's year of Homecoming has been inspired by the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns' birth. Aasmah asks what Burns' real legacy is - his body of work or the social principles he celebrated?
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00nz93v)
Marking the lives of BBC sports commentator Max Robertson; the Swedish soprano Elizabeth Soderstrom; the Italian mountaineer Lino Lacedelli; British painter John Craxton and the jazz bass player Jeff Clyne.
FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00nz93y)
Controversial director Ken Russell discusses his musical The Boyfriend, which starred Twiggy and featured a series of Busby Berkeley routines.
Andrea Arnold discusses Fish Tank, which has been nominated for eight British Independent Film Awards
Pedro Costa reveals what it was like to make a trilogy of films in a shanty-town outside Lisbon.
FRI 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00nxhxn)
27th November 1989
Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.
Margaret Thatcher defends her record on the BBC's Panorama and Michael Buerk reports from Ethiopia, where millions are facing starvation.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 17:00 PM (b00ny449)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Carolyn Quinn. Plus Weather.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00ny477)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b00nz940)
Series 29
Episode 1
In this first episode of the new series, Steve & Hugh unpick environmental conspiracies; Mitch Benn sings to disaffected Anglicans; Shazia Mirza stands-up for Kate Moss and Simon Cowell feels the wrath of Jon Holmes’ tongue
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00nxgdc)
Pat reports to tired Peggy about progress on the community shop. Peggy will speak to Bryce about rent and the length of the lease. Pat offers to stay over and look after Jack some time but, after Lilian's recent attempts, Peggy is not keen.
Pat and Lynda work on questionnaires to assess village support for the shop. They are interrupted by Robert. Leonie has asked to stay. Aware of Lynda's history with his other daughter, Robert is tentative but Lynda generously confirms that Leonie would be welcome.
Joe tries to entice Nigel into buying Grundy holly and mistletoe. Nigel turns him down but gives them the job of collecting the stuff from the Lower Loxley estate. Nigel tells Joe about some of the plans for the Deck the Hall event - including making kissing boughs in the cruck barn.
While Jennifer and Lynda work on the village website, Jennifer gets a call from the Laurels. She heads over to the Lodge, where Jack is playing the TV extra loud. Jennifer tells Peggy that a room is available. Peggy is upset, but agrees it's for the best. However, she is shaken at the prospect of Jack moving in next week.
Episode written by Keri Davies.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00ny48q)
Arts news and reviews with Kirsty Lang.
Big Top is a new TV sitcom on the trials and tribulations of life in a travelling circus, starring Amanda Holden, Tony Robinson and Ruth Madoc. It's aimed at all the family - and will be broadcast early in the evening. Critic Stephen Armstrong and Kirsty Lang review the series and discuss the fine art of creating a successful pre-watershed comedy.
Hollywood actor Robert Englund found fame as a friendly alien in the hit science fiction TV series V. But he's probably most famous for playing Freddy Krueger - a hideously disfigured man who haunts the dreams of his young victims - in the series of films, A Nightmare On Elm Street. In his new autobiography he discusses how he coped playing one of film's most terrifying monsters, the cult status he achieved and his passion for stage-acting.
The BBC National Short Story Award celebrates the best of the contemporary British short story. Two of this year's judges, Will Young and Tom Sutcliffe, announce the five stories shortlisted for this year's award - and Kirsty Lang talks to one of the five shortlisted authors.
Widely considered to be the first true hip hop record, Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight charted in the UK 30 years ago in December 1979. Kevin Le Gendre examines the record's importance to the genre and its lasting legacy today.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00ny5nt)
Our Mutual Friend
Episode 15
Adaptation by Mike Walker of Charles Dickens' classic novel.
Impetuous and headstrong Bella Wilfer finally takes a stand.
Charles Dickens ...... Alex Jennings
John Rokesmith ...... Carl Prekopp
Bella Wilfer ...... Daisy Haggard
Lizzie Hexam ...... Lizzy Watts
Mr Boffin ...... Jason Watkins
Betty Higden ...... Lynn Farleigh
Sloppy ...... Benjamin Askew
Eugene Wrayburn ...... Patrick Kennedy
Mortimer Lightwood ...... Matt Addis
Silas Wegg ...... Lee Ross
Aenus Venus ...... Stephen Hogan
Pleasant Riderhood ...... Annabelle Dowler
Rogue Riderhood ...... Jamie Foreman
Bradley Headstone ...... Neil Stuke
Abbey Potterson ...... Janice Acquah
Pa Wilfer ...... Philip Fox
Ma Wilfer ...... Annabelle Dowler
Jenny Wren ...... Nicola Miles-Wildin
Jenny's Father ...... Paul Rider
Solomon Riah ...... Jonathan Tafler
Organ Grinder ...... Malcolm Tierney
Music by Roger Goula
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole and Jeremy Mortimer
This episode is available until
7.45pm on 11th December as part of the Series Catch-up Trial.
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00nz942)
Eddie Mair chairs the debate from Tidworth, Wiltshire, with questions from the audience for the panel including:
Chris Bryant MP, Minister for Europe; David Willetts MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills; Timothy Garton-Ash, Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford; and Anne McElvoy, executive editor of the London Evening Standard.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00nz944)
Spirit of the Game
A weekly reflection on a topical issue from Clive James. The spirit in which the game is played determines whether he likes or loathes the sport.
FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b00nz946)
Shirleymander
By Gregory Evans.
A tragic comedy about hubris and political manipulation, depicting the principal events of Shirley Porter's time as 'The Westminster Whirlwind' in the 1980s.
Leader ..... Tracy Ann Oberman
Wet ..... Maggie Steed
Senior Council official ..... Joseph Cohen-Cole
Exec Director ..... Piers Wehner
Deputy ..... Stephen Hogan
The Doctor ..... Sagar Arya
District Auditor ..... Bruce Alexander
QC, Father ..... Ewan Hooper
Chairman, Tesco ..... Philip Fox
Labour Councillor ..... John Biggins
Female interviewer ..... Tessa Nicholson
Directed by Marc Beeby.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b00ny61s)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00ny64d)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig
Iran is censured by the IAEA - will sanctions follow?
Why European extradition can mean rough justice.
China's garlic boom.
FRI 22:45 Notwithstanding: Stories from an English Village (b00nzwsq)
The Broken Heart
Hugh Bonneville reads from Louis de Bernieres' new book of linked stories which cast an affectionate but acute eye on the vanishing charms and eccentric characters of the fictional Surrey village of Notwithstanding.
When Obadiah Oak sells up and moves away from Notwithstanding, he leaves his heart behind.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b00nycc0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00ny6zx)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.