The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The Daleks are obsessed with racial purity and dedicated to a policy of genocide: they represent the Nazis. The Jagrafess is a loathsome alien purveying useless information - which he has censored, rewritten and controlled: he represents a modern day media mogul. This is the theory of the US academic Marc Edward DiPaolo who has analysed the political content of five decades of Doctor Who. He finds that the Time Lord is a liberal, bohemian, pacifist environmentalist, and definitely anti-American. Is Doctor Who a closet radical? Laurie and Marc discuss the contention with journalist, broadcaster and some-time Dr Who script-writer Matthew Sweet.
Also on the programme: Softening Masculinities. New research by Mark McCormac finds that British secondary school boys are far less restrictive in their behaviour than they used to be. It is okay to use conditioner, comment on someone's clothes, and even give each other a hug.
The Food and Drink Federation say that eggs will still be imported from Europe, despite the dioxin contamination scare in German eggs, as it is the only way to ensure a reliable supply for UK food manufacturers.
Also, the controversial practice of trimming hen's beaks is to continue for at least another 5 years - despite plans that it would be outlawed at the beginning of this year. Compassion in World Farming and the National Farmers' Union discuss the decision to delay the ban.
Morning news and current affairs with James Naughtie and Evan Davis, including:
The collapse of the trial of six environmental campaigners in Nottingham has brought to light the story of an undercover policeman who spent six years as an activist, but apparently offered to give evidence for the defence
In the first Start the Week of the New Year Andrew Marr asks what has gone wrong in the West. The economist Dambisa Moyo charts 50 years of economic folly and argues that only radical changes in policy will stem permanent decline, while Lord Lawson, the former Chancellor, exposes the myths surrounding economic thinking. The journalist Stephen Kinzer calls on the US and UK to ditch its present allies in the Middle East - Saudi Arabia and Israel - and look to Iran and Turkey for support. And Labour's former Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, explores those seemingly intractable problems, with a series of debates drawn from the "too difficult" box.
"We are a trading community - a commercial people. Murder is, doubtless, a very shocking offence; nevertheless, as what is done is not to be undone, let us make our money out of it." Punch, 1842
Over the course of the nineteenth century, murder - in reality a rarity - became ubiquitous: transformed into novels, into broadsides and ballads, into theatre and melodrama. Seeing therein the foundation of modern notions of crime, "The Invention of Murder" explores this fascination with deadly violence by relating some of the century's most gripping and gruesome cases and the ways in which they were commercially exploited.
The Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 were particularly dreadful: two separate sets of killings in which seven people lost their lives. It was a case that shocked the nation - this was half as many people as had been murdered in the entire previous year throughout England and Wales - and forced the establishment to rethink the policing of major cities.
Read by Robert Glenister.
Abridged by David Jackson Young.
Presented by Jane Garvey. How often should you change your bedsheets? Every week? Before and after guests? We look at the politics of bed linen. The Secret Life of Stuff: would knowing a product has an environmentally sound footprint make you change your shopping habits? Actress Betty Anne Waters talks about her new film "Conviction" and we ask whether prostitution should be legalised.
again age 47. Somehow it's a lot harder
Cass ..... Jenny Éclair
Ken ..... Kevin Eldon
Penny ..... Felicity Montagu
Library Manager ..... Sean Baker
Barbara ..... Christine Kavanagh
Producer ..... Sally Avens
Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo return with a second series about being an 'older' mother.
Cass Mason is finding motherhood age 47 tough. She barely has time to blog with a new baby who won't sleep; she fears she may be turning into a zombie. Not only does Cass have to deal with Florence the rest of the family aren't much help; will Ken ever get a job, will her designer clad sister even offer to hold a drooling baby and are her two grown children really contemplating moving back home? Cass charts Florence's first year to a backdrop of sibling rivalry, competitive mums and attempting to get her body back off the floor and into some kind of shape.
Ruth McDonald accompanies members of the House of Lords to the titular land of their peerages to meet the communities who live there now. Does reality match-up to expectation for a peer who hasn't visited "home" in several decades, or never been there at all, and what will "home" make of them?
In this second programme, Ruth takes Baroness Richardson of Calow back to the village in North Derbyshire. A life baron since 1998 it's been 52 years since Kathleen Richardson last lived here but Calow has left its mark on her. In the place where her faith was awakened, its impact has proved pivotal to her career as a Methodist trailblazer - first female minister, bishop, and president of the Methodist conference. But as she has changed and moved on, how has the village that shaped her altered?
From a catch-up at the United Reform Church where old faces and memories come flooding back, to the story of how the NHS rescued a former mining area, Baroness Richardson meets the people who live out their lives in Calow, including a session knotting with the scouts and bowling with the over 65s... And as she sizes them up, the locals contemplate the arrival of their hitherto largely unknown peer: just what will Calow make of the Baroness and what will she glean from them?
Radio 4's most curmudgeonly author is back for a new series, complete with his trusty companion Elgar, his pipe and his never ending capacity for scrimping and scraping at whatever scraps his agent, Ping, can offer him to keep body, mind and cat together.
Ed Reardon ..... Christopher Douglas
Jaz Milvain ..... Philip Jackson
Cliff ..... Geoff McGivern
Ray ..... Simon Greenall
Ping ..... Barunka O'Shaughnessy
Felix ..... John Fortune
Ben Herbert ..... Tom Price
Pearl ..... Rita May
Olive ..... Stephanie Cole
Stan ..... Geoffrey Whitehead
Functionary ..... Henry Devas
Inevitably Ed finds himself once more battling through the week encountering the numerous 12-year olds who run the media; teaching the lively bunch of pensioners who can teach him a thing or two about money making schemes, frugal living and having a good time thank you very much, and regular run-ins with the rather successful Jaz Milvane, director of Ed's only ever book-to-screen adaptation.
As we renew our acquaintance with Ed austerity has hit hard. Jaz is eating at austerity themed restaurants, Ping is drawing in stocking seams with magic marker and Ed is picking blackberries from the canal towpath for his breakfast. However, things may be looking up as episode 1 sees Ed working with the most disturbingly fresh and mesmerizingly compelling voice of his generation, Ben Herbert. Ben has a three book deal and no time to write them all, so Ed has been drafted in to help him write one of the books - 'How to Survive With Like No Cash'. Surely a match made in heaven.
A lone pensioner has taken on the might of an American private equity fund. The 71 year old investor turned up at an FSA hearing to put his case in the presence of the combined board of the Kent Reliance Building Society and US equity firm JC Flower.
If you are counting on an inheritance from family based abroad be prepared for a long haul before you can get your hands on your bequest.
A small record company has invented a gizmo that some in the record industry believe could save the concept of the 'album' which is suffering as fans cherry pick tracks rather than complete works in ever great numbers. The 'playbutton' is a badge that plays an album and it will be launched by its New York based inventor Nick Dangerfield next month.
As power bills and debt to energy companies rise, a local council has blundered by fitting some of its affordable houses with heating systems that cost more to run that those that they replaced.
We are not all in it together, says commentator Matthew Parris - and nor should we be. He believes in the clash of political philosophies there are always losers and in the challenging economic climate the poor are bound to shoulder a disproportionate amount of the financial burden. Send us your comments ahead of Tuesday's Call You and Yours.
The quest for the 2011 Brain of Britain champion reaches the twelfth and last heat, with Russell Davies in the questionmaster's chair. Today's contest will decide who completes the line-up in the semi-finals which begin next week. The programme comes from Manchester, with contenders from Liverpool, Kidderminster, Leicester and Beeston in Notts.
When art teacher Rachel bumps into chef Tyrone on his first day in London it is the start of a sunny, passionate love affair, an affair that will take them into much darker places.
When art teacher Rachel, walking home festooned with end-of-term gifts from her pupils, bumps into Tyrone on his first day in London it is the beginning of a passionate love affair. Soon it makes sense for Tyrone, now working as a chef in a local up-market cafe, to move into Rachel's flat. But it's not long before there are tiny bits of grit starting to despoil the love oyster. As things get more serious issues of control, jealousy, trust and violence rise to the surface in this thriller exploring a lesser-known side of domestic abuse.
Lucy Ash profiles Jose Miguel Sanchez, one of several students on a journalism course at the Universidad de Navarra in Spain who've come up with their own survival guide for the economic crisis. All of them are worried about finding a job when they graduate but their guide called 'Soluciones', which they are distributing free in the northern city of Pamplona, features inspiring stories about people who've overcome troubles in the past.
Ernie Rea chairs Radio 4's discussion programme in which guests from different faith and non-faith perspectives debate the challenges of today's world.
Each week a panel is assembled to represent a diversity of views and opinions, which often reveal hidden, complex and sometimes contradictory understandings of the world around us.
In this programme, Ernie and guests discuss how suicide is understood in Christian, Muslim and Hindu communities. Why do people want to take their own lives? What do the faiths say about suicide? And why does having a faith make you less vulnerable to suicide, as the evidence suggests it does?
Joining Ernie to discuss suicide is the Rev Dr Mike Parsons, principal of the West of England Ministerial Training Course and author of "Suicide and the Church"; Raana Bokhari, doctoral student in the Department of Religious Studies at Lancaster University; and Dr Chetna Kang, a consultant psychiatrist and Hindu pastor. The panel hear from the Reverend Alan Smith, an Anglican priest, whose daughter, Sarah, took her own life in January 2007.
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.
The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a first-time visit to the Hawth in Crawley. Regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Ross Noble, with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell provides piano accompaniment.
Producer ..... Jon Naismith.
Vicky helps Susan at Bridge Farm and Pat's having the day off for her birthday. Vicky's going to miss working there when Clarrie comes back but she might be needed later when Pat takes over the cheese making for Helen.
Vicky and Susan admire photos of Henry and discuss who he takes after. Vicky thinks it's a shame that they won't ever know whether he looks like his father. Susan can't believe Vicky's been so slow - Henry Ian! Susan's convinced Henry's got Ian's chin, and his hair, so he must be the father.
Tom picks Helen up from the hospital. She thinks it's wonderful to see Tony so besotted with Henry. Tom's worried about Vicky's plans for a big surprise 30th birthday party for Brenda, and Vicky's now proposing to have games.
Elizabeth's worrying about the twins' first day back at school but Jill's sure it's the best place for them. Elizabeth reflects that Nigel would probably have chosen to travel by bike for his 'last journey'. The next best thing would to be put the coffin on the wagon drawn by his favourite horse, Cranford Crystal. Jill thinks the children should attend the funeral but Elizabeth's adamant she doesn't want to put them through it.
The Green Hornet began as a radio series in America in the 1930s, following the exploits of masked vigilante crime fighter Britt Reid, his sidekick Kato and a hi-tech car called Black Beauty. Film serials, comic books and TV shows followed and now Michel Gondry directs Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz and Christoph Waltz in a new action thriller for cinema. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews.
Paul Bailey talks about his latest novel, Chapman's Odyssey, which is narrated by a 70-year-old writer, lying in a hospital bed, tormented and comforted by voices from his own past and from his favourite books.
Last year Bret Easton Ellis launched the Front Row Chain Story, which was then taken up by writers including Ian Rankin, Frederick Forsyth, Frances Fyfield and Stephen Fry. Tonight you can hear the story so far, including new contributions from Colm Toibin, Michelle Paver, Belinda Bauer and Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson. Now you are invited to continue the story. Send us a sentence or two, maximum 50 words, by 31 January and we will feature a selection on air and on our website.
The American playwright Gina Gionfriddo was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her comedy Becky Shaw, which begins with a disastrous blind date. Gina discusses her work, ahead of the play's British premiere.
We go inside refuges for men who experience domestic violence from their female partners. There are only up to fifty refuge places for men in England and Wales, compared to four thousand for women. We ask whether refuge provision for men is the best way forward. With incidents against men on the rise, we also look at society's more critical response to men who are victims of domestic abuse. Normally bigger, stronger and with more financially independent than their partners, why do men succumb to this violence and what are the complex issues that make them stay in an abusive relationship.
It's estimated that nearly one million Indians with conditions like cancer die in acute, unnecessary pain because of the lack of palliative care. Restrictions on morphine prescription are being lifted, but too slowly.
One of the most sophisticated systems of palliative care in the developing world has been established in the Indian state of Kerala. The grassroots movement to create a much-valued and effective palliative care system in Kerala has been called a silent revolution. Every week, thousands of volunteers across the state give up their time to go and tend to those who are dying. They may cook food, help with chores, or simply provide a listening ear. Hundreds of thousands more people in Kerala belong to Palliative Care Societies. They donate money regularly - even just a few rupees - to help support this kind of outreach. The hope is that people will not die alone, and in pain, without any support.
Linda Pressly travels to Kerala, which has more palliative care centres than the rest of the country put together, and ask whether this is a model to treat the dying that could be rolled out in other nations, as well as other parts of India.
2011 is the International Year of Chemistry: Quentin hears about the largest molecule, how legitimate research on neurochemicals was subverted by designer-drugs makers, the value of rare earth elements, and green chemistry.
Radio 4's daily evening news and current affairs programme bringing you global news and analysis with Ritula Shah.
Lawyers acting for six green activists - who'd been accused of plotting to shut down a power station - have called for an inquiry, after the case against them collapsed. It emerged that an undercover police officer who'd gained access to the group had agreed to assist the defence.
President Obama has said the United States is "grieving and in shock" after the gun attack in Arizona, in which six people died and a congresswoman was shot in the head - we talk to a top Democrat on the Homeland Security committee.
David Cameron has invited bosses from some of Britain's biggest companies to discuss new ways of creating jobs - but is slow economic growth leading us towards a jobless recovery?
And as Croatia wraps up the negotiations to become the 28th member of the European Union, why have ordinary Croats turned Eurosceptic?
By A.D. Miller. It's deep mid-winter in Moscow and Nick's neighbour Oleg is more and more anxious about the fate of his friend Konstantin. Nick offers to help.
In January 1961 in New York's Greenwich Village, Bob Dylan was beginning a career that would revolutionise song-writing. Michael Rosen lends an ear to the last fifty years of the song-lyric.
Dylanologist Michael Gray explains why Bob matters. A sceptical David Quantick argues that Dylan's influence was not entirely helpful to rock music. And singer-songwriter KT Tunstall pays tribute to one of her biggest influences.
Labour has accused the Government of failing to prepare properly for dealing with outbreaks of flu this winter. The attack in the Commons came as some GPs reported that they have run out of vaccines. But the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, told MPs that there was no flu epidemic in the UK and that the number of people becoming infected was falling. In the Lords, peers have again called for a change in the laws on who can succeed to the throne. Sean Curran and team report on today's events in Parliament.
TUESDAY 11 JANUARY 2011
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00x93tx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00xcd9n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00x93tz)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00x93v1)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00x93v3)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00x93v5)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00x93v7)
Leslie Griffiths
With the Revd Dr Leslie Griffiths.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00x93v9)
Anna Hill hears claims that many environmental labels on fish are misleading. Client Earth reviewed 100 fish products sold in supermarkets and says 32 used misleading terms. But the British Retail Consortium tell Farming Today that retailers use accurate descriptions on their products.
And Farming Today talks to a highly qualified farmer who says people aren't employing him because of his disability. The Employers' Forum on Disability tell Anna Hill discrimination against disabled people is an issue in agriculture, and point to government schemes which can assist farmers taking on staff with disabilities.
Presented by Anna Hill, produced by Melvin Rickarby.
TUE 06:00 Today (b00x93vc)
Morning news and current affairs with James Naughtie and Evan Davis, including:
07:50 Former F1 boss Max Mosley on his legal battle for prior notification of publication.
08:10 Are we facing a year of union discontent?
08:20 Should Sister Rosetta Tharp be considered one of the greats of rock and roll guitar?
TUE 09:00 Haiti and the Truth about NGOs (b00xcc0k)
A year after the earthquake, Edward Stourton returns to Haiti to look at problems in the aid industry. How far has the way we help gone bad?
Aid workers have already baptised the earthquake in Haiti a "historical disaster". But despite more than an estimated 10,000 relief agencies flooding the country in the wake of the emergency, the rescue operation has become notorious for the slowness with which aid reached the victims.
More than one million people are marking the anniversary of the quake still living in refugee camps. How can that be when Haiti has attracted billions of dollars in donations and aid pledges?
Critics say foreign aid groups were out of control - that they failed to coordinate and were therefore ineffective; that they swamped some areas leaving others untouched. One NGO evaluation described a 'wild west' situation.
In Haiti, Edward talks to UN officials responsible for coordinating the humanitarian response, to local aid watchdogs about how aid is failing to meet needs, and to Haitian grassroots NGOs about a different way to deliver help where and how it is needed.
Is what has happened in Haiti symptomatic of a wider crisis of humanitarianism?
Insiders say many aid agencies have been compromised by business imperatives and increasing political ties. Inside the sector there is growing concern about previously taboo issues of aid corruption and abuse, and ways to improve weak accountability and deliver relief that local people really want.
An insight into the aid industry as it faces challenging times.
Producer: Eve Streeter
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00x8hl2)
Judith Flanders - The Invention of Murder
Episode 2
By Judith Flanders.
Over the course of the nineteenth century, murder - in reality a rarity - became ubiquitous: transformed into novels, into broadsides and ballads, into theatre and melodrama. "The Invention of Murder" explores the Victorian fascination with deadly violence by relating some of the century's most gripping and gruesome cases and the ways in which they were commercially exploited.
Despite rising crime figures - and increasingly crowded cities - the public were reluctant to accept the establishment of an organised police force. This episode examines the reasons for that unwillingness and offers a fascinating insight into the origins of modern policing.
Read by Robert Glenister.
Abridged by David Jackson Young.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00x93vj)
Presented by Jenni Murray. Dale Templar is the series producer of The Human Planet which starts on Thursday on BBC One. She joins Jenni to talk about the making of the programmes and some of the stories of human endeavour that have been uncovered. Multi-Systemic Therapy is a new way of dealing with young offenders in the home. As trials take place in the UK, we look at how it works and whether it's the alternative to custody that's claimed. South Sudan is in the midst of a referendum to decide whether it should become a separate country - so what might this mean for women? And the world's leading female beatbox artist, Bellatrix, performs live.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00x93vl)
TwilightBaby.com: Series 2
Episode 2
By Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo.
Cass's grown up children pay a visit
to their baby sister but seem in no hurry
to leave.
Cass ..... Jenny Éclair
Ken ..... Kevin Eldon
Katie ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Charlie ..... Joe Coen
Heather ..... Christine Kavanagh
Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo return with a second series about being an 'older' mother.
Cass Mason is finding motherhood age 47 tough. She barely has time to blog with a new baby who won't sleep; she fears she may be turning into a zombie. Not only does Cass have to deal with Florence the rest of the family aren't much help; will Ken ever get a job, will her designer clad sister even offer to hold a drooling baby and are her two grown children really contemplating moving back home? Cass charts Florence's first year to a backdrop of sibling rivalry, competitive mums and attempting to get her body back off the floor and into some kind of shape.
Jenny Eclair stars with Kevin Eldon and Felicity Montagu.
TUE 11:00 Saving Species (b00x95h4)
Series 1
Episode 37
37/40 South America is famous for its parrots and the largest parrots in South America are the Macaws. There were four species and now there are only two species free-living in the wild. Parrots and Macaws have fallen foul of the pet trade, populations being decimated as chicks were abducted from their nests and sold in the exotic pet industry. Across South America there are various moves to protect the species from the illegal pet trade. Mark Brazil visits the Brazilian corner of the Pantanal, one of the world's most glorious wetlands across three countries. At a tourist lodge he discovers how the new burgeoning tourism industry is helping to restore the populations of Hyacinth Macaw to levels of decades ago. Again, it seems, wildlife tourism is an avenue of hope for endangered species and especially these iconic birds of Americana Latina.
Also in the programme, our long-legged friends from Eastern Germany on the Somerset Levels. We catch up on the success, or not, of the captive born and released European Cranes we've been following over the year.
And we have the third episode of our special Ladybird Book Britain series with Chris Sperring. It's Autumn - what has changed in the 50 years since the publication of the first editions?
Presented by Brett Westwood
Produced by Sheena Duncan
Series Editor Julian Hector.
TUE 11:30 What We Leave We Carry: The Legacy of John la Rose (b00x95h6)
When John La Rose died in 2006 the poet Linton Kwesi Johnson wrote in his obituary, 'the depth and breadth of his contribution to the struggle for cultural and social change, for racial equality and social justice, for the humanisation of society, is unparalleled in the history of the black experience in Britain'. Hundreds crammed into his funeral.
In 1966 John La Rose founded New Beacon Books, at first selling Caribbean and African literature from his north London home, and then began publishing himself, becoming the first black publishing house in Britain. The shop and publishing house are still active today. In the early 1980s he organised - with others - the International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World Books.
But his whole life was one of activism and political and cultural involvement. He was a trades unionist in Trinidad, and in the mid-1950s, he co-authored, with Raymond Quevedo (Atilla the Hun), an early study of calypso. With poets Andrew Salkey Kamau Brathwaite, he co-founded the Caribbean Artists Movement; he was chairman of the Institute of Race Relations; in response to the classification of some black children as 'educationally sub-normal' he became involved in the Black Education Movement and he founded the George Padmore Supplementary School for West Indian children in 1969. He was Chair of the committee that mobilised 20,000 people to march in protest through London after the arson attack in New Cross in 1981 in which 13 young black people died.
Poets, novelists, theologians, campaigners, sculptors and musicians - all gathered around the kitchen table of this erudite and generous man, liming and planning campaigns. Around that same table the actor and director Burt Caesar, who was himself influenced by John La Rose, joins his partner Sarah White and old friends Linton Kwesi Johnson, the poet and musician, Margaret Busby, founder of Britain's second black publishing house, the visiting Trinidadian scholar Susan Craig-James and Professor Gus John, who in Hackney in the 1980s, became the first black Director of Education in the country. They gather to tell his story, and consider the legacy of John La Rose.
Burt Caesar also visits the bookshop itself and the chambers of Ian MacDonald QC, who as a young lawyer allied himself with La Rose and his causes. He speaks to John's son Michael La Rose and the sculptor Errol Lloyd, who captured his intelligence and wit in bronze. Using BBC archive of John La Rose, calypso and dub poetry reggae associated with him, Burt tells the story of this remarkable man and how his influence lives on today.
TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00x95h8)
2011 kicked off with another hike in petrol prices and rail fares; food prices are set to go up, not to mention the vat increase, and while private sector workers get pay rises this year, these are not in line with inflation. The pay disparity in the UK is at its widest since 1918, yet pay for bosses has increased again, and the next round of bankers' bonuses promises to earn them 'billions.'
Julian Worricker asks: are we - as George Osborne announced when delivering his austerity measures - "all in this together"?
Are you affected by the squeeze, or are you a high earner paying high taxes?
Email youandyours@bbc.co.uk or call 03700 100 444 (lines open at
10am).
TUE 12:57 Weather (b00x93vn)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b00x95hc)
National and international news.
TUE 13:30 Music in the Dark Years (b00x95hf)
Episode 2
Stephen Johnson explores how Paris's vibrant musical scene survived - and flourished - through the 'dark years' of Nazi Occupation.
On 14th June 1940, Germans tanks rolled into a humbled and deserted Paris. The Nazi war machine had abruptly plunged the celebrated "City of Light" into darkness, condemning the city to four long years of Occupation.
Yet these 'dark years' were not to be ones of silence. Within weeks, musical life in the French capital - previously perhaps Europe's most vibrant and eclectic cultural hub - had resumed. Opera houses, jazz clubs, cabaret theatres, concert halls - before long, all were playing again to packed houses of German soldiers and French music-lovers alike.
As the continent tore itself apart, Paris's unique and strange renaissance suited both occupier and occupied. The Nazis were happy to provide cultural distractions for the subjugated French - not to mention their own battle-weary soldiers - whilst the French proudly showed off that whatever happened, their musical spirit had not been defeated. From Maurice Chevalier to Francis Poulenc, Django Reinhardt to Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet to Alfred Cortot - the city rang once more to the sound of some of Europe's most brilliant musical figures.
But was this cultural co-habitation appropriate at a time of war? What exactly were the moral duties of France's great composers and musical celebrities? And were musicians 'saving' or 'betraying' France by performing and creating new work?
Broadcaster and music journalist Stephen Johnson travels to Paris some seven decades after the city's fall, to untangle the mythology of "la France resistante musicale" - telling the story of this brief firework of brilliant - and controversial - period of frenetic musical activity.and its bitter aftermath.
In the second and final programme, Stephen explores the life of one of French music's greatest heroes, conductor Roger Desormiere - a man who juggled a career as the musical director of the iconic Opera-Comique with a secret life as a key member of the musical Resistance. He also examines hidden resistance messages in music by one of French classical music's greatest composers, Francis Poulenc.
Stephen also visits the famous bar "Le Chope Des Puces" in North-West Paris for some live jazz and a celebration of the life of the extraordinary gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, who despite being 'undesirable' to the Nazi regime - and having only three fingers on one hand - became one of the most famous and revered musical celebrities in all of France. He also investigates the remarkable cultural phenomenon of the "Zazous" - disaffected, jazz-loving youths with attitude that infuriated German officials (not to mention their own parents) with their flagrant lack of conformity.
Contributors include journalist Alan Riding, jazz writers Anne Legrand and Ludovic Tournes, and 94-year old composer (and former Resistance member) Henri Dutilleux.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00x92y5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b00x44l6)
Chris Wilson - I Before Bee
I Before Bee
by Chris Wilson
A comic and heartwarming play about teenager Michael Croxley whose stammer has contributed to his fear of public speaking. To his horror, Michael finds that he's competing in the national school spelling bee's; when the girl he adores, Lynne Hargreaves, reads a composition of his in double English and discovers he's a whizz with words and his spelling is stupendous she asks him to be part of the school spelling-bee team. How can he refuse? He accepts gallantly. Secretly he sobs to his nana terrified at the prospect. His Scottish Nana comes to the rescue with the help of Robert The Bruce.
Michael ....... Mykola Allen
Lynne ....... Sophie McShera
Nana............Maureen Beattie
Michael Senior....Paul Copley
Serena ....... Poppy Rush
Andre ...... Jack Ryan
Moderator.....Seamus O'Neill
Speech Consultant....Sue Addlestone
Producer/Director - Pauline Harris
The Writer - Chris Wilson is a sports journalist from Hull, who won a BBC Northern Radio writer for new writers -Alfred Bradley Bursary Award. His first play, Lump Boy Logan, starring Annette Badland and William Rush was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in The Wire strand.
TUE 15:00 Home Planet (b00x95hh)
Bluetongue, Butterflies and Bees
Bluetongue is a devastating disease of lifestock, spread by a tiny midge. It only arrived in the UK three years ago, carried on a tide of climate change. However, will a cold winter kill the midges and slow down the spread of disease? Does the molasses some councils are mixing with road grit pose a threat to roadside vegetation? Will disturbing a hibernating butterfly cause it harm? And we sift fact from fiction as we discuss the mating flight of the queen honey bee.
Making up the panel this week are ecologist Dr Lynn Dicks of Cambridge University; entomologist Richard Jones and Dr Chris Collins, a soil scientist from Reading University.
Contact:
Home Planet
BBC Radio 4
PO Box 3096
Brighton
BN1 1PL
Or email home.planet@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Richard Daniel
Producer: Toby Murcott
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00mk71d)
Agatha Christie - The Mysterious Mr Quin
The Coming of Mr Quin
Martin Jarvis reads a trio of stories starring Agatha Christie's personal favourite character - a certain Mr Harley Quin.
When guests at a house party recall the suicide of the previous owner, a mysterious stranger arrives who throws unexpected light on the case. But another mystery remains - who actually is Mr Quin himself?
Producer/Director : Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:45 Europeans on the Edge (b00xp0w1)
The mayor who saved an Italian village
Lucy Ash profiles Italian mayor Domenico Lucano in her series about individuals whose lives reflect the crisis in the European economy. The mayor from Calabria, in Southern Italy, has just been voted one of the world's best mayors. He has managed simultaneously to create employment, stop a mass exodus from his village and find a solution to the controversial issue of asylum seekers. The downside is that he has received the unwelcome attentions of the local mafia.
Producer: Mark Savage.
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b00x95hk)
In 1861, Johann P. Reis announced that he'd invented the microphone. To celebrate 150 noisy years, Michael Rosen is joined by John Liffen, Curator of Communications at the Science Museum, the social historian, Clare Langhamer, and 'digital futurologist', Peter Cochrane.
Steve Punt, meanwhile, reports from an alternative universe where the microphone was never invented.
Producer: Peter Everett.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b00x95hm)
Series 23
JB Priestley
Barry Cryer nods to his Yorkshire roots in choosing JB Priestley, the Bradford born author of The Good Companions and An Inspector Calls. Barry knew JB for the last ten years of his life, and fondly recalls visiting a man he loved with two members of Monty Python. Other memories include a trip to the Cafe Royal, and thoughts on Priestley's notorious love of women.
Martin Wainwright, northern editor of the Guardian, presenter of last year's radio documentary about the Postscripts, also brings to life a prolific writer nearly killed in World War One. Some say he wrote so much to avoid the memories of that war. Recorded in front of an audience at the Arnolfini in Bristol, the programme includes colourful clips of JB Priestley and also Priestley's son, Tom. The only discordant note is raised by presenter Matthew Parris: "It's awfully watchable, awfully readable ... but where's the magic ? Is Priestley really very good ?"
The producer is Miles Warde.
TUE 17:00 PM (b00x95hp)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00x93vq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 My Teenage Diary (b00x95hr)
Series 2
Meera Syal
Rufus Hound invites Meera Syal to read embarrassing extracts from her teenage diary and read it out in public for the very first time.
Producer: Victoria Payne
A TalkbackThames production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00x95ht)
Ruth's worried that on top of all his responsibilities at Lower Loxley, David also takes over as chair of Borsetshire NFU next week. He's also promised Jill that he'll try to talk Elizabeth into letting Freddie and Lily attend the funeral. Jill's also asked Alan to talk to Elizabeth. It was right for Amy to go to her mother's funeral and he's willing to talk to Elizabeth but points out that everyone has to find their own way.
Shula's arranged the catering for the funeral tea, and Elizabeth wants the harpist Nigel booked for their anniversary to play. Elizabeth decides she wants to say a few words at the funeral if she can manage it. She asks David if he will too. He's touched to be asked but is relieved when Shula offers to speak instead.
Elizabeth's got other decisions regarding the children to worry about. The school entrance exams are coming up. She tells David that she knows her own children, so they won't be coming to the funeral. Elizabeth asks Alan to deliver the eulogy but he's also unable to change her mind. Jill's adamant the children will suffer for it. She has to do something to change Elizabeth's mind.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00x95hw)
Poet Jackie Kay and Hattie Jacques TV drama
Jackie Kay talks to Mark Lawson about Fiere, her latest collection of poetry which is a companion piece to last year's Red Dust Road, her memoir about the search for her Nigerian and Scottish Highland birth-parents.
The film Blue Valentine intercuts the romantic beginning of a couple's relationship with its painful end six years later. Both Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams have Golden Globe nominations for performances that include controversial sex scenes, and the film is tipped for Oscar success. Stella Duffy reviews.
Ruth Jones stars in a new TV drama about the comedy actress Hattie Jacques, telling the story of how her happy marriage to actor John Le Mesurier was blown apart by a secret sexual liaison with her young driver. Graham McCann, the biographer of John Le Mesurier, reviews.
A new exhibition The Land of Light and Promise: 50 years Painting Jerusalem and Beyond features depictions of The Holy Land by the Czechoslovakian-born artist Ludwig Blum. Exhibition curator Dr Dalia Manor discusses the artist who depicted the ancient Promised Land and the New Palestine.
And a selection of your many suggestions for the next sentence in the Front Row chain story, announced last night.
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00x93vl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Children Who Kill (b00x95hy)
The programme examines how society tackles youngsters accused of a range of crimes, particularly those involved in serious offences. With unique access to the police cells in Hull, Winifred Robinson charts what happens from the moment of arrest and examines how demands for justice are reconciled with the need to protect society by changing offending behaviour
The two young brothers who beat and tortured another pair of boys in Doncaster raised concerns about what happens longer term to those who offend at a very young age. These concerns have been heightened by the re-arrest of Jon Venables and the case of Learco Chindamo, who was rearrested just four months after serving his sentence for the murder of headmaster Philip Lawrence.
The Coalition government has agreed plans to drastically cut the prison population through community penalties overseen by charities and the private sector. To assess how changes will affect young offenders Winifred examines restorative justice schemes and initiatives including the one undertaken in Hull, where youth justice workers maintain a round the clock presence in the custody suite.
The programme follows access granted for earlier documentary programmes in some of the country's secure children's units. Winifred follows up youngsters released from these "child prisons" and examines what more could be done in terms of preventing reoffending.
Producer: Susan Mitchell.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00x95j0)
Parents fight for taxi for blind daughter and OBE's for two In Touch regulars
Peter White talks to Richard Sloane about his blind and gifted daughter. The parents want her to go to a school outside their catchment area, and the local authority has agreed, but refuses to pay for transporting her to this school.
The RNIB suggest in a statement that the Sloane's take their case to a Special Education Needs Tribunal.
Cambridgeshire County Council say in their statement that their decision not to pay for transport costs is about the child's visual impairment, not about her gift for languages.
They maintain that her local school can provide for her visual impairment needs.
Jill Allen-King and Stephen Hallett have been awarded an OBE.
There is listener feedback to the interview Peter did with PC David Rathband.
TUE 21:00 Follow the Leader (b00x95j2)
Episode 2
2/2 Carolyn Quinn examines the psychology of leadership. Once you've secured your position as leader, how do you deal with the demands at the top?
The level of media attention across all sectors, from politics to football, means that today's leaders are under more scrutiny than ever before. In the last episode, Carolyn explores the challenges of modern leadership, from stepping up to the top job, to stepping down.
She talks to psychologists about the dos and don'ts of successful leadership and finds out how leaders create and change their image to attract followers.
The gender gap in leadership is still large. According to the 2010 Female FTSE report, produced annually by Cranfield University, female appointments to corporate boards in the UK's top companies have stalled at around 12 percent.
Research by Prof Michelle Ryan, from Exeter University, has also shown that women are more likely to be given top positions in organisations that are doing badly, when there is more chance of failure.
Producer: Michelle Martin.
TUE 21:30 Haiti and the Truth about NGOs (b00xcc0k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b00x93vs)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00x95j4)
Radio 4's daily evening news and current affairs programme bringing you global news and analysis.
The Chancellor says if banks don't agree to lend more, and pay smaller bonuses, nothing is 'off the table'.
The Australian city of Brisbane braces itself for the flood waters.
And two days before the by-election, our reporter has been to Oldham to see hear what the public there think of politicians.
The World Tonight, with Robin Lustig.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00xb1tn)
Snowdrops
Episode 7
By A.D. Miller. Not everything goes smoothly for Nick in the purchase of Tatiana Vladimirovna's flat and his worlds collide when his mother decides to visit Moscow.
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:00 Rhyme and Reason (b00x95j6)
Tori Amos
Mr Gee presents the second programme in a four part series, Rhyme and Reason.
He is joined by American pianist and singer-songwriter Tori Amos, to talk about how poetry and music has influenced her life. Throughout the programme we hear music from Tori's back catalogue and readings of her favourite poetry.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00x95j8)
Rachel Byrne presents a round-up of the day at Westminster, when Labour accused the Coalition Government of caving in to the demands of banks to be free to pay the bonuses they want to their investment bankers. At the same time, the boss of Barclay's Bank Bob Diamond faced some tough questioning from a committee of MPs over the issue of bonuses, and in particular the bonus that he is expected to be awarded. Will he take it in full? Or will the Barclay's boss decline to take it?
Also on the programme.
* Kristiina Cooper reports on the latest Commons arguments over how much British sovereignty is continuing to be surrendered by the country's membership of the European Union.
* Simon Jones follows the exchanges over the Government's decision to allow prison inmates the right to vote.
WEDNESDAY 12 JANUARY 2011
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00x95q2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00x8hl2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00x95q4)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00x95q6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00x95q8)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00x95qb)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00x97hh)
Leslie Griffiths
With the Revd Dr Leslie Griffiths.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00x97hk)
Authorities in Europe are continuing to investigate the dioxin scare in eggs. 14 tonnes of contaminated liquid egg came into the UK from Germany to be used in cakes and quiches. The FSA says there's no risk to human health. Anna Hill hears from a British food writer who says the supply chain and the traceability of food are too complex.
England's ancient woodland heritage is at risk according to a conservation charity which says commitment to replacing some trees is being jeopardised.
The snow and freezing temperatures have delayed the daffodil crop in Cornwall. We hear if it'll leave unhappy mums at Mothers' Day.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.
WED 06:00 Today (b00x97hm)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Sarah Montague, including:
07:30 Floodwaters threaten Australia's third largest city.
07:50 The daughter of assassinated Pakistani governor Salmaan Taseer speaks out.
08:10 European economies prepare for an uncertain Portuguese bond sale.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b00x97hp)
This week Libby Purves is joined by Lorraine Pascale, Wilbert Rideau, Dame Kelly Holmes and Stephen Hough.
Lorraine Pascale was spotted aged 16 by a model scout whilst shopping in Covent Garden. She was whisked off to New York to model for Chanel, Lagerfeld and John Galliano and was the first British black model on the cover of American Elle magazine. She's now left the catwalk to qualify as a professional chef, baker and patissiere and is about to appear in a new series for BBC Two, Baking Made Easy, in which she shares her baking secrets.
Wilbert Rideau was sentenced to death for murder in 1961 at the age of 19. He robbed the local bank in an ill-thought-out and bungled robbery, killing the bank teller. He spent the next 44 years in prison. While in there he edited the prison magazine The Angolite, which became the first prison magazine to publish uncensored news in the world and won national journalism awards. "In the Place of Justice" (Profile) is his autobiography.
Former athlete Dame Kelly Holmes won two gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics for the 800 and 1500 metres. Since her retirement from athletics in 2005 she has set up the charity the Dame Kelly Legacy Trust which helps disadvantaged young people to fulfil their potential, written her autobiography and taken on other challenges. She has just written a new motivational book 'Just Go for It!', published by Hay House.
Stephen Hough is a pianist, composer and writer. Last year he became the first British instrumentalist to play a solo recital on the main stage of Carnegie Hall in 20 years. He will be the soloist in the opening event at the Southbank Centre celebrating Hungary's European Union Presidency, playing Liszt's Piano Concerto No 1 in E flat which will begin worldwide bicentenary celebrations of the composer's life and works.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00xcdk9)
Judith Flanders - The Invention of Murder
Episode 3
By Judith Flanders.
Over the course of the nineteenth century, murder - in reality a rarity - became ubiquitous: transformed into novels, into broadsides and ballads, into theatre and melodrama. "The Invention of Murder" explores the Victorian fascination with deadly violence by relating some of the century's most gripping and gruesome cases and the ways in which they were commercially exploited.
The decreasing age of the British population - in the 1820s half the country was under 25 - meant there was a lucrative market for lively entertainment. Children flocked to penny gaffs: unlicensed theatres which offered cheap entertainment, often dramatisations of notorious murders. One of the most infamous, the Red Barn Murder of 1828, was being performed as a melodrama even before the prime suspect was put on trial.
Read by Robert Glenister.
Abridged by David Jackson Young.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00x97hr)
Presented by Jenni Murray. Marine Le Pen looks set to take over the mantle of the far right from her father this weekend. So what might her impact be on French politics? "If I Never See You Again", is the first novel from Niamh O'Connor, a crime reporter for Ireland's Sunday World. She'll be talking to Jenni about the influence of her day-job on the characters and storyline. Recent news reports have highlighted the prosecution of gangs of predominantly Pakistani men for the grooming and sexual exploitation of young girls. We discuss the best way to tackle this appalling crime without stereotyping and dividing communities. And we hear the story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the legendary blues and gospel singer.
WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00x97ht)
TwilightBaby.com: Series 2
Episode 3
By Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo.
Cass has a baby to bring up and has rather let herself go
but would Ken really contemplate an affair?
Cass ..... Jenny Éclair
Ken ..... Kevin Eldon
Penny .....Felicity Montagu
Margaret ..... Sally Orrock
Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo return with a second series about being an 'older' mother.
Cass Mason is finding motherhood age 47 tough. She barely has time to blog with a new baby who won't sleep; she fears she may be turning into a zombie. Not only does Cass have to deal with Florence the rest of the family aren't much help; will Ken ever get a job, will her designer clad sister even offer to hold a drooling baby and are her two grown children really contemplating moving back home? Cass charts Florence's first year to a backdrop of sibling rivalry, competitive mums and attempting to get her body back off the floor and into some kind of shape.
Jenny Eclair stars with Kevin Eldon and Felicity Montagu.
WED 11:00 Vines On The Front Line (b00x97hw)
"The message from a glass of Lebanese wine should be tolerance and openness between civilizations. It's more than fermented grape juice." Ramzi Ghosn, Massaya Wines.
The BBC's Middle East Editor, Jeremy Bowen, takes time out from reporting conflicts to give vinophiles a new perspective on an ancient story. Lebanon is not a place you naturally associate with winemaking.
It's a Middle Eastern country nestled between Arab neighbours whose religion forbids them to drink alcohol. It is also a country that has been scarred by war, from the 15-year civil war from 1975-1990, to the recent Israeli-Lebanon conflict in 2006.
But Lebanon is also an ancient civilisation, a country of merchants and traders - its history dating back to Noah, the first winemaker in the Bible. Fittingly the Temple of Bacchus, an impressive tribute to the God of wine, is situated amongst the ruins of Balbek, in the Bekaa Valley, a region these days better known for Hezbollah than hedonism. But the temple, like Lebanese wine, has survived centuries of war and the winemakers of the Bekka are optimistic wine will outlive war.
Sharing stories with the wine makers who, in defiance and dedication to their craft, continue to grow their vines so close to the frontline, Jeremy delves into the cultural and ethnic mosaic of this unstable but extraordinary country.
Producer: Gemma Newby
An All Out production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
WED 11:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00x97hy)
Series 6
Gone Fishing
On a fishing trip to Spiggy Lakes with long suffering friends, Sally, Geoffrey and Wilf, things start to go awry for Arthur after he 'finds' a rowing boat.
He thinks may give him the edge in their £
5.10 per head sweepstake based on who will catch the most fish, and sets out into the lake unaccompanied.
Cast:
Steve Delaney
Alastair Kerr
Dave Mounfield
Mel Giedroyc
Producers: Richard Daws, Mark Radcliffe & John Leonard
A Komedia Entertainment & Smooth Operations production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00x97j0)
The government plans to stop paying money to disabled people living in state-funded residential care which helps them with transport and mobility costs. But have they underestimated the impact this will have on disabled people's independence?
How governments and companies are using the wisdom of crowds to design policies and products.
WED 12:57 Weather (b00x95qd)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b00x97j2)
National and international news.
WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00x97j4)
Steve Hewlett presents a topical programme about the fast-changing media world.
As former presenter Miriam O'Reilly celebrates winning an ageism case against the BBC, we ask whether this ruling will impact on who programme executives choose to be their on-air talent.
A recent EastEnders storyline on sudden infant death syndrome has prompted a record number of complaints leading producers to announce they will cut the story short. Former channel controller Lorraine Heggessey and scriptwriter Simon Ashford ask whether a culture where complaints have such weight will lead to less creative drama.
Why has Northern and Shell, which includes Express Newspapers, withdrawn from the Press Complaints Commission? What are the implications for press regulation in the UK?
The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is due to outline his plans for local television next week. It follows a report by Nicholas Shott in December, which suggested a network of around 10 local TV stations. But former Director General of the BBC and Chair of the Local Television Advisory Committee, Greg Dyke says the report is too cautious. He suggests that local TV could be commercially viable in at least 60 areas of the UK. We talk to him about how this more extensive network might operate, and how much it's likely to cost.
The producer is Kathryn Takatsuki.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b00x95ht)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b00xgdhb)
My Haunted Expression
My Haunted Expression by Helen Clohessy
Sue dreams of living by the sea and leaving their tough housing estate behind but husband Finn earns little and won't borrow. An offbeat 21st Century urban love story.
Sue ... Rosie Cavaliero
Finn ... John Dougall
Lisa ... Sally Orrock
Mick ... Tony Bell
JJ ... Daniel Cooper
Milly ... Deeivya Meir
Derek ... Jude Akuwudike
Director: David Hunter
It's a difficult time for Sue, her mother has just died and the kids have moved out and she has a vision of starting a new life by the sea. Husband Finn is a rock in this sensitive tale of love, loyalty and dreams.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b00x97j6)
Do you need help completing your tax return or dealing with a tricky tax question?
The deadline for filing your online return and paying any tax you owe is just three weeks away.
If you're late you'll be faced with a penalty of one hundred pounds.
So don't delay, if there's a tax issue slowing you down, call Paul Lewis and guests on this afternoon's Money Box Live.
Phone lines open at
1.30 this afternoon and the number to call is 03700 100 444. Standard geographic charges apply. Calls from mobiles may be higher. The programme starts after the three o'clock news. That number again 03700 100 444.
WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00mp4fv)
Agatha Christie - The Mysterious Mr Quin
The Soul of the Croupier
Martin Jarvis reads this compelling tale set amidst the roulette tables of Monte Carlo, starring Agatha Christie's personal favourite character, Harley Quin.
Holidaying in the South of France, Mr Satterthwaite encounters a beautiful Russian Countess with a mysterious past. But with the sudden arrival of Mr Quin, secrets are about to be revealed. Can they solve a conundrum concerning her and a brash young American?
Producer/Director : Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:45 Europeans on the Edge (b00xj9yy)
The Irish developer
Lucy Ash meets chastened developer Simon Kelly, a victim of the property crash in Ireland and one of five Europeans whose lives reflect the crisis in the continent's economy. Kelly was once the poster boy in a world where property developers made huge sums of money, but now he's broke and belongs to a vilified breed. He talks to Lucy Ash about the effect the economic crisis is having in Ireland and how it's changed his own life - in some ways for the better.
Producer: Mark Savage.
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00x97j8)
Cosmopolitanism - Dietetics
Many of our global problems - from climate change to terrorism - require international not local solutions. Yet the world is increasingly fractured by nationalism. The political scientist, David Held, has a new book which explores cosmopolitan values. He tells Laurie Taylor why we should regard ourselves as citizens of the world rather than members of nations. Also, should we take responsibility for our own health, bodies and nutrition? Steven Shapin, Professor of the History of Science, talks about Dietetics - a branch of traditional western medicine which sought to prevent illness rather than find a cure. Originating in the 2nd century it held that good health reflected a virtuous life. This moral approach to the body died out with the advent of modern science but may now be enjoying a revival.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 Follow the Leader (b00x95j2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 17:00 PM (b00x97jb)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00x95qg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Shappi Talk (b00wsr2x)
Series 2
Politics
Shappi Khorsandi looks at a variety of subjects close to her Iranian heart - including History, Addiction and, in this programme, Politics.
Shappi reveals her thoughts on Margaret Thatcher, how Anne Frank got her into politics and that, while other parents took their children to the zoo, she was taken to Speakers' Corner.
She'll be joined by writer and satirist John O'Farrell to discuss how humour and politics are intertwined. Stand-up comedian Ian Stone offers his take on the world of politics and there's a witty song from Duncan Oakley.
Producer: Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b00x9x9y)
Lewis and David are determined that the big society wedding at Lower Loxley is a success. David worries that he's let Elizabeth down by not speaking at Nigel's funeral but Shula assures him that she wants to speak. Kenton wishes he'd been asked.
Helen visits Elizabeth, who wants to hear all about Henry. Helen's pleased that they're moving him out of the Special Care Baby Unit so hopefully he'll be home soon.
Elizabeth asks Jill to help her prepare for Camilla and Ellen's arrival. Jill explains why she feels so strongly about the twins attend the funeral. She lost her parents at an early age. Her Aunt Daphne felt she'd been through enough after her father's death so she wasn't given the chance to say goodbye to her mother. It left her feeling people that she loved could just disappear. Only when she met Phil did she learn to love again, and to forgive her mother for abandoning her. She begs Elizabeth not to do that to Freddie and Lily.
Elizabeth relents. She tells Kenton there's a change to the order of service. She can't risk speaking if the twins are going to be there. Kenton offers to take her place.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b00x9xb0)
Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall and Dennis Hopper art sale
With John Wilson.
Steve Backshall, adventurer and wildlife presenter of the TV series Deadly 60, discusses his passion for animals - particularly the dangerous ones - and the accident which left him with a broken back and a shattered foot.
The late actor Dennis Hopper was a passionate art collector, who was involved in the early days of pop art and bought an Andy Warhol Soup Can for just $75. Now his collection has arrived at the auction house, where a Warhol portrait of Chairman Mao, complete with bullet holes inflicted by Hopper himself, has sold for more than $300,000. Our report includes part of John's interview with Dennis Hopper, recorded in Liverpool in 2007.
As new software allows Hollywood to indulge in digital re-juvenation, so that older actors can appear as their younger selves, film critic Adam Smith considers the possibilities and the pitfalls.
Yale University Press has published of The Anthology of Rap, an 800 page collection of lyrics, moving from the school yards of the Bronx to the dominance of hip-hop in the charts today. Music writer Jacqueline Springer and literature professor John Sutherland discuss whether the words alone are worth reading.
Producer Claire Bartleet.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00x97ht)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b00x9xb2)
Law of the Sea
Clive Anderson and some of the country's top legal minds discuss the law of the sea, examining the problems of trying to achieve justice over three-quarters of the earth's surface in the face of competing national interests.
Are the high seas a legal wild west, or can national and international law be brought together to address such complex issues as piracy, oil spills, fishing quotas and Arctic seabed mining rights?
And even if adequate law exists, who is responsible for seeing that it is enforced?
Guests include Britain's former judge at the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, David Anderson, and legal experts on piracy and environmental law.
Producer: Brian King
An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 20:45 It Happened Here (b00sb25g)
House of Commons
Continuing his series about how places have shaped political events, Peter Hennessy, the leading historian of post-war Britain, visits the Office of the Prime Minister in the House of Commons which has been a little-known cockpit of war planning since 1950.
He first discusses what is special about the Office and why it has been so important to successive prime ministers on defence issues. He then considers how prime minister Clement Attlee and his Cabinet decided to handle Anglo-American tensions over the Korean War in 1950 that had been heightened by provocative remarks made by the US general, Douglas MacArthur, on the use of nuclear weapons.
Peter goes on to reveal the significance of the Office in the history of Britain's decision to develop the hydrogen bomb and then describes its pivotal role in the 1956 Suez Crisis and the abortive premiership of Conservative leader, Sir Anthony Eden.
Finally, we learn about the part played by the Office in the dramatic events of the spring of 1982 as prime minister Margaret Thatcher evaluated with her closest advisers the prospects for re-taking the Falkland Islands following the Argentine invasion.
Producer: Simon Coates.
WED 21:00 Thin Air (b00x9xb4)
Episode 1
We not only live in the air, we live because of it. And air is about much more than just breathing. It is a transformer and a protector, though ultimately also a poison. At ground level, photosynthesis transforms air miraculously into solid food without which every creature on Earth would starve. It wraps our planet in a blanket of warmth. It brings us wind and rain and fire. It sustains our bodies and at the same time it burns them up, slowly, from the inside. The atmosphere provides a floating mirror for intercontinental radio signals and its outer layers soak up flares of deadly radiation from the Sun.
In the first episode, Gabrielle Walker experiences air - and weighs it. At ground level, the air is not as 'thin' as we might imagine. The Royal Albert Hall, in its day one of the largest volumes of air enclosed in a single span may seem to be full of nothing, but in fact, the air inside weighs 30 tons! On the other hand, not much further away than the next city, the air is so tenuous as to be unbreathable! That is in the 'up' direction. In between is a gaseous ocean in which Gabrielle takes a swim - floating on air, flying a glider and chasing the storm clouds that bring us our weather.
Producer: Martin Redfern.
WED 21:30 Midweek (b00x97hp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b00x95qj)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00x9xb6)
Flood waters reach their peak in Australia's Queensland - we have the latest.
Sarah Palin speaks for the first time after Arizona's shooting.
And how reliable are the English school league tables?
With Robin Lustig.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00xccx2)
Snowdrops
Episode 8
By A.D. Miller. As the city approaches spring, the truth begins to unravel for Nick, both in his job and his relationships with Masha.
Reader: Stephen Mangan
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 iGod (b00x9xb8)
Procrastination
We all worry about the end of the world, as economists and environmentalists speak in apocalyptic terms everyday. iGOD says that trying to predict the end of the world is as pointless as moisturising an elephant's elbow.
In each episode, an unnamed, all-seeing narrator (David Soul - Starsky and Hutch) shows us that it is stupid to be worrying, as he looks back at some of the most entertaining apocalypses on parallel Earths. Each week a different parallel world is accidentally wiped out by an ordinary bloke called Ian (Simon Day). With a full-range of sound effects and wonderfully funny and surreal twists, iGOD will be a true aural extravaganza.
In this episode, a parallel Earth is obliterated when a lazy Ian decides to take the afternoon off.
iGOD is a highly original and funny late-night comedy series. It stars Simon Day (The Fast Show) and David Soul (Starsky & Hutch) and is written by one of the head writers of the BAFTA award-winning The Thick Of It, Sean Gray and produced by Simon Nicholls (Ed Reardon's Week / News At Bedtime).
Ian ...... Simon Day
The Narrator ...... David Soul
Also starring
Rosie Cavaliero
Alex MacQueen
Dan Tetsell
Written by Sean Gray.
Producer: Simon Nicholls.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2011.
WED 23:15 My Teenage Diary (b00x9xbb)
Series 2
Rob Deering
Rufus Hound invites Rob Deering to read embarrassing extracts from his teenage diary and read it out in public for the very first time.
Producer: Victoria Payne
A TalkbackThames production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00x9xbd)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster on the first Prime Minister's Questions of 2011 where bankers' bonuses dominate the exchanges. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband brands David Cameron the "defender of the banks", accusing him of failing to take action on City pay and bonuses. The Prime Minister retorts that the last Government failed to regulate the City or impose conditions restricting bonuses when it bailed out the banks. In the Lords, peers discuss the case of the undercover police officer, Mark Kennedy, who infiltrated an environmental group. There's a report on legislation to privatise the Royal Mail; coalition rebels call on the Government to protect post offices by guaranteeing a 10-year deal with the Royal Mail. And MPs discuss how to secure the UK's food supplies.
THURSDAY 13 JANUARY 2011
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00x9xd4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00xcdk9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00x9xd6)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00x9xd8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00x9xdb)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00x9xdd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00x9xdg)
Leslie Griffiths
With the Revd Dr Leslie Griffiths.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00x9xdj)
Vegetable growers are counting the cost of the cold weather as fields of cauliflowers have rotted in the ground before they can be harvested. The chair of the National Farmers' Union Horticultural board says farmers will change the way they grow the crop to plan ahead for icy conditions.
Also, a row's broken out among beekeepers about whether their national body - the British Beekeepers Association - should be able to endorse pesticides in the future.
And we hear from Tom Martindale, a young farmer in Hampshire, about life since graduating.
Presented by Sarah Swadling and produced by Emma Weatherill.
THU 06:00 Today (b00x9xfp)
Morning news and current affairs with Sarah Montague and Justin Webb, including:
08:10 The Government has confirmed that the default retirement age at 65 is to be scrapped in April.
08:20 Have you ever had an imaginary friend?
08:30 US president Barack Obama has made an impassioned speech at a memorial service for victims of the Arizona shootings.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00x9xjb)
Random and Pseudorandom
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss randomness and pseudorandomness.Randomness is the mathematics of the unpredictable. Dice and roulette wheels produce random numbers: those which are unpredictable and display no pattern. But mathematicians also talk of 'pseudorandom' numbers - those which appear to be random but are not. In the last century random numbers have become enormously useful to statisticians, computer scientists and cryptographers. But true randomness is difficult to find, and mathematicians have devised many ingenious solutions to harness or simulate it. These range from the Premium Bonds computer ERNIE (whose name stands for Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment) to new methods involving quantum physics.Digital computers are incapable of behaving in a truly random fashion - so instead mathematicians have taught them how to harness pseudorandomness. This technique is used daily by weather forecasters, statisticians, and computer chip designers - and it's thanks to pseudorandomness that secure credit card transactions are possible.With:Marcus du SautoyProfessor of Mathematics at the University of OxfordColva Roney-DougalSenior Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the University of St AndrewsTimothy GowersRoyal Society Research Professor in Mathematics at the University of CambridgeProducer: Thomas Morris.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00xf8nz)
Judith Flanders - The Invention of Murder
Episode 4
By Judith Flanders.
Over the course of the nineteenth century, murder - in reality a rarity - became ubiquitous: transformed into novels, into broadsides and ballads, into theatre and melodrama. "The Invention of Murder" explores the Victorian fascination with deadly violence by relating some of the century's most gripping and gruesome cases and the ways in which they were commercially exploited.
As the century progressed, so did advances in medical knowledge and expert witnesses were soon playing a major part in criminal trials. This episode looks at the sensational case of Adelaide Bartlett, who was accused of murdering her husband with chloroform in 1886. Newspapers and magazines pored over lurid details of the Bartletts' marriage and the case was responsible for inspiring a rash of fiction.
Read by Robert Glenister.
Abridged by David Jackson Young.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00x9ycz)
Presented by Jenni Murray. Why the family of Louisa May Alcott became obsessed with a naturalistic cult - we hear about their nineteenth-century search for utopia. Miriam O'Reilly's lawyer joins the programme to discuss the wider implications for women following the age discrimination ruling, regarded as a milestone in the employment sector. We've an update on the case of a human rights lawyer sentenced to 11 years imprisonment in Iran. And we hear a call from one former education secretary for a re-think on pupils taking GCSEs at 16.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00x9yd1)
TwilightBaby.com: Series 2
Episode 4
By Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo.
Cass can't cope and attempts to employ
a nanny.
Cass ..... Jenny Éclair
Ken ..... Kevin Eldon
Magda ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Jacob ..... Stephen Hogan
Michaela ..... Christine Kavanagh
Polyamorous nanny ..... Sally Orrock
Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo return with a second series about being an 'older' mother.
Cass Mason is finding motherhood age 47 tough. She barely has time to blog with a new baby who won't sleep; she fears she may be turning into a zombie. Not only does Cass have to deal with Florence the rest of the family aren't much help; will Ken ever get a job, will her designer clad sister even offer to hold a drooling baby and are her two grown children really contemplating moving back home? Cass charts Florence's first year to a backdrop of sibling rivalry, competitive mums and attempting to get her body back off the floor and into some kind of shape.
Jenny Eclair stars with Kevin Eldon and Felicity Montagu.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b00x9yd3)
Cambodia: Country for Sale
The paddy fields of impoverished Cambodia have suddenly become a prime slice of global real estate. But will the rural poor pay the price? This tiny Asian nation has just begun to recover after dictator Pol Pot's reign of terror, in which around 2 million Cambodians died, and the brutal civil war that followed. But now a very different story is unfolding in the agricultural heartland which once became notorious as the "killing fields." In a world plagued by food shortages, Cambodia is suddenly awash with global investors keen to snap up its cheap fertile land. The global financial elite see it as a recession-proof investment, and the government is desperate to invite in money and development. But it's driving a surreal land boom in the poorest villages: an estimated 15% of the country is now leased to private developers and stories are filtering in from the country's most impoverished farmers who tell of fear, violence and intimidation as private companies team up with armed police to force them from their land. In this week's Crossing Continents, Mukul Devichand samples the heady atmosphere of Cambodia's business elite, uncovers a lawless reality and investigates the claims of corruption and violence visited on the poor. He tells the stories of three very different men, Cambodian and foreign, who have very different plans for Cambodia's land: and asks what's really happening as one of rising Asia's poorest nations struggles to catch up.
Producer: Jo Mathys.
THU 11:30 Imelda Marcos, Dictator of Taste? (b00x9yd5)
During her time as First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos was an enthusiastic patroness of the arts. She has now become an object of inspiration to musicians and artists across the globe, with Imelda-inspired works including an elaborate song cycle, photographs, a film and a musical.
Mark Ellen explores the emergence of Imelda Marcos as an unlikely modern icon as David Byrne, Norman Cook and other artists and musicians inspired by her life consider why Imelda has mutated into a modern muse and whether she deserves such broadly sympathetic treatment.
Producer: Julia Johnson.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00x9yd7)
Shari Vahl explores what your rights are buying 'new and 'second hand' products. We speak to Gerry Robinson about his new programme 'Can't Take It with You' due to be aired on Friday 14 January on BBC2. We also have the latest in our marketing series - today we explore how retailers target customers using their mobile phone.
THU 12:30 Face the Facts (b00x9z74)
Feeding Frenzy
Two years ago spiralling prices of wheat, corn and rice caused riots in more than 30 countries worldwide as many families struggled to feed themselves. A number of organisations, including representatives at the UN, believe that it wasn't just a supply and demand issue, but that financial firms and other speculators entered the food markets to profit from short term changes in price. As food prices begin to rise again, John Waite investigates whether speculators are to blame, and if tighter regulation is needed.
THU 12:57 Weather (b00x9xdl)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b00x9z76)
National and international news.
THU 13:30 Questions, Questions (b00x9z78)
Stewart Henderson continues his sparkling series of Questions Questions - the programme which offers answers to those intriguing questions of every day life, inspired by current events and popular culture.
Each programme is compiled directly from the well-informed and inquisitive Radio 4 audience, who bring their unrivalled collective brain to bear on these puzzlers every week.
How do woodpeckers keep their beaks sharp? How do you know if a volcano is extinct? This is the programme which answers listener questions on just about everything.
Email Questions.questions@bbc.co.uk
Tel: 03700 100400
Or you can reach us online via our Radio 4 message board.
Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b00x9x9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b00x9z7b)
Escape from Gaza
By Justin Butcher and Ahmed Masoud. A small private odyssey. In summer 2009, Ahmed Masoud left his pregnant wife to visit his sick mother. An everyday occurrence for most, but Ahmed's family live in Gaza.
Cast
Ahmed Masoud ... Adeel Akhtar
Mahmoud ... Sam Dastoor
Father ... Kevork Malikyan
Mohammed ... Saikat Ahamed
Mother ... Souad Faress
Heather ... Claire Harry
Alex ... Leah Brotherhead
Dudo ... Deeivya Meir
Tariq ... Lloyd Thomas
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b00x87bf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:07 on Saturday]
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00x89fs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:10 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00mp4fj)
Agatha Christie - The Mysterious Mr Quin
At the Bells and Motley
Martin Jarvis reads another story concerning investigations by the mysterious Mr Quin. For Mr Satterthwaite, a punctured car tyre on a cold winter's evening is the start of another mystery-solving encounter with the enigmatic Mr Harley Quin.
Taking refuge at a country inn Mr Satterthwaite discovers his friend Mr Quin, who invites him to re-examine the strange case of a wealthy young local woman and her new husband's disappearance. Was it murder? Or is there some other game afoot?
Producer/Director : Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:45 Europeans on the Edge (b00xj9z0)
The French comedian
Lucy Ash meets French comedienne Anne Roumanoff, one of five Europeans whose lives reflect the crisis in the continent's economy. She's just been voted one of France's top comedians. Her routines encompasse everything from the little foibles of French life to the latest political drama. The crisis in the economy has provided her with plenty of material, especially now it is hitting the middle classes, her loyal audience.
Producer: Mark Savage.
THU 16:00 Open Book (b00x9zdb)
Mariella Frostrup talks to American author Michael Cunningham, author of the The Hours, adapted into a film starring Nicole Kidman. Cunningham discusses his new novel, By Nightfall, which follows the story of a New York based couple.
Producer: Sally Spurring
THU 16:30 Material World (b00x9zdd)
Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. He talks to the scientists who are publishing their research in peer reviewed journals, and he discusses how that research is scrutinised and used by the scientific community, the media and the public. The programme also reflects how science affects our daily lives; from predicting natural disasters to the latest advances in cutting edge science like nanotechnology and stem cell research.
Producer: Roland Pease.
THU 17:00 PM (b00x9zdg)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00x9xdn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b00x9zdj)
Series 3
Episode 2
Comedian-activist, Mark Thomas collates policies suggested by the studio audience to add to his People's Manifesto.
These policies are intended to improve our world, nation or just our own lives, with tonight's agenda including:
1. 50% Minimum Participation in Elections
2. Converting Fast Food into Renewable Gas
3. Imposing an Earning Cap of £30k on All Bank Employees
Plus there are plenty of "any other business?" suggestions from the studio audience.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b00x9zdl)
It's the day of Nigel's funeral. Elizabeth decides to wear a purple dress that Nigel always admired, along with the brooch he bought her.
Kenton's speech, filled with gentle humour about Nigel, is received fondly by the congregation. It's what Nigel would have wanted. Shula talks about Nigel's love of the natural world.
Elizabeth is grateful for Kenton's warm words. He managed to bring Nigel to life with happy memories.
Elizabeth realises it was the right thing to do to let the twins attend the funeral. Nigel would have been so proud of them.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b00x9zdn)
Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran
John Wilson presents.
Trevor Eve plays an international hostage negotiator in a three-part TV thriller. When British businesswoman Naomi Shaffer (Emma Fielding) is kidnapped in South Africa, Dominic King (Trevor Eve) is employed to negotiate her release, but at the handover things go horribly wrong.
Simon le Bon has been the front man for Duran Duran for just over 30 years and with the release of their new album All You Need Is Now, he looks back over the three decades of ups and downs and the heady days of Girls on Film and Rio in the '80s.
Comedian and actor Hugh Dennis talks to John Wilson about hosting the new comedy improvisation series, Fast and Loose. In each programme, two teams compete against each other in a succession of games that spoof films, TV shows and music - using sketches or quick-fire questions, visual trickery and even interpretive-dance. Hugh considers improv in general and how his upbringing as the son of a vicar may have helped his performing style.
A new exhibition about the death of analogue technology features images of professional darkrooms taken by the photographer Richard Nicholson. When he shot the images in 2007 there were over 200 darkrooms in the London area alone, by 2010 only eight remained. Photographer Anna Fox, who has seen the exhibition, discusses the lore of the darkroom with John Wilson.
Producer: Philippa Ritchie.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00x9yd1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b00x9zdq)
Luton: A 'Hotbed of Extremism'?
The revelation that the man responsible for Sweden's first suicide bombing had lived and studied in Luton provided the latest link between the Bedfordshire town and terrorist activity.
The accusation that Luton has become a 'hotbed of extremism' dates back to the late 1990s, when it was claimed that one of the men alleged to be involved with a terrorist plot in Yemen in 1998 had lived in the town. Links with Luton have also been cited in other major planned terrorist atrocities since, including the fertiliser bomb plot of 2003 which aimed to blow up British nightclubs and shopping centres, and the July 7th London bombings. The Report investigates whether Luton has a problem with militant Islam and if it is doing enough to stop its young residents from being radicalised.
The programme also asks why Luton has proved fertile territory for the extreme right. The English Defence League was born in Luton in the spring of 2009 in response to the abuse faced by members of the Royal Anglian Regiment - who had returned from a tour of duty in Iraq - from a small group of extremist Muslim protestors.
Phil Kemp speaks to community leaders who reject the impression painted of their town as a divided place.
Producer: Hannah Barnes.
THU 20:30 In Business (b00x9zds)
All at Sea
ALL AT SEA
This week's In Business is all at sea. Peter Day reports on the great boom in the sea as as real estate: a site for huge arrays of windmills and other sustainable energy devices. He also has an unfortunate experience in what he thinks might have been Portsmouth harbour.
Producer: Jo Mathys.
THU 21:00 Saving Species (b00x95h4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Tuesday]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00x9xjb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b00x9xdq)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00x9zqr)
Brazil's floods kill more than 360 people.
Why does Britain have so many absent fathers?
Is there growing anger at rising fuel prices?
With Robin Lustig.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00xccxn)
Snowdrops
Episode 9
By A.D. Miller. A trip to Odessa with Masha helps Nick suspend reality, but it's becoming ever more difficult for the English lawyer justify his actions.
Reader: Stephen Mangan
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 Spread a Little Happiness (b00knp6s)
Series 1
Episode 2
Comedy by John Godber and Jane Thornton, set in a Yorkshire sandwich bar.
Another day at the breadface, but now Jodie's anxieties aren't just about her sandwich business. Though she rather likes having Hope around, her husband Dave isn't so keen.
Hope ...... Suranne Jones
Jodie ...... Susan Cookson
Dave ...... Neil Dudgeon
Milkman ...... Shaun Prendergast
Workman ...... Ben Crowe
Directed by Chris Wallis.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00x9zqt)
The Business Secretary, the senior Lib Dem Vince Cable, has been given a tough time in the Commons over the behaviour of the banks and his secretly-recorded comments to undercover reporters before Christmas. Labour MPs also voiced their concerns over the Government's switching of responsibilities for Rupert Murdoch's media expansion plans from Vince Cable's Business Department to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. MPs complained that they didn't know who was responsible for what. Today in Parliament, with Rachel Byrne, reflects these stories.
Also on the programme:
* Kristiina Cooper reports on MPs' reaction to a newly published document that's been called the closest thing to a written British constitution.
* Viv Robins reports on peers' forthright views on the role that Turkey could play in the future of Europe.
* Simon Jones reports on claims that standards of behaviour in the House of Lords have fallen. One peer said the Lords was in danger of adopting 'the bad habits of the Commons'.
FRIDAY 14 JANUARY 2011
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00xb0rg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00xf8nz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00xb0rj)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00xb0rl)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00xb0rn)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00xb0rq)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00xb0rs)
Leslie Griffiths
With the Revd Dr Leslie Griffiths.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00xb0rv)
Caz Graham talks to one of the British scientists involved in developing the world's first genetically modified chicken. The bird has been designed so it will not spread bird flu. It's still at an experimental stage but the British Poultry Council says public opinion will be a deciding factor in whether GM chickens are ever farmed here. Scientists say the creation of GM chickens could eventually lead to a new generation of virus resistant livestock. Also in the programme, Scottish salmon farmers will be exporting fish to China for the first time.
FRI 06:00 Today (b00xb0rx)
Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00x8f2l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00xf9t2)
Judith Flanders - The Invention of Murder
Episode 5
By Judith Flanders.
Over the course of the nineteenth century, murder - in reality a rarity - became ubiquitous: transformed into novels, into broadsides and ballads, into theatre and melodrama. "The Invention of Murder" explores the Victorian fascination with deadly violence by relating some of the century's most gripping and gruesome cases and the ways in which they were commercially exploited.
The public imagination was particularly stirred when new technology was used to bring criminals to justice. This episode looks at one such case in which an enterprising railway clerk used the electric telegraph to send a description of a suspected murderer ahead of the train he was travelling on, so that the suspect could be met by police at his journey's end. And, bringing us right up to the final years of the century, how the funeral of an acclaimed actor - and murder victim - was captured on film for posterity.
Read by Robert Glenister.
Abridged by David Jackson Young.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00xb0rz)
Presented by Jenni Murray. Soprano Heather Shipp talks about the enduring appeal of Carmen. Should children be allowed to go to a funeral? What impact is the orthodox right having on the women of Israel? Plus, the Women of Steel who kept the Sheffield steel mills going during the war.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00xb0s1)
TwilightBaby.com: Series 2
Episode 5
By Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo.
Cass throws a birthday party for Flo
in a building site
Cass ..... Jenny Éclair
Ken ..... Kevin Eldon
Magda ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Jacob ..... Stephen Hogan
Penny ..... Felicity Montagu
Charlie ..... Joe Coen
Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo return with a second series about being an 'older' mother.
Cass Mason is finding motherhood age 47 tough. She barely has time to blog with a new baby who won't sleep; she fears she may be turning into a zombie. Not only does Cass have to deal with Florence the rest of the family aren't much help; will Ken ever get a job, will her designer clad sister even offer to hold a drooling baby and are her two grown children really contemplating moving back home? Cass charts Florence's first year to a backdrop of sibling rivalry, competitive mums and attempting to get her body back off the floor and into some kind of shape.
Jenny Eclair stars with Kevin Eldon and Felicity Montagu.
FRI 11:00 Wheels Coming off at the Rotary? (b00xb0s3)
Episode 1
The Rotary Club was established in Chicago in 1905 as a place where businessmen could meet, network and along the way put something back into the community. Though there were originally just four members the idea spread across first America, and then the world at a phenomenal rate, so that by the 1920s the Rotary was as firmly established in British life as it was across the Atlantic. By now it is the largest organisation of volunteers in the world.
Though never especially fashionable with the intelligentsia, for generations it has provided local businessmen with a place to meet on a weekly basis and try to make a difference, both at the local and international level - one of its most successful campaigns saw it lead the drive to stamp out polio from the planet.
In spite of this success, however, Rotary is now seeing its membership drop as its image has become shop-worn and society has changed around it, making it harder for people to make the kind of commitment in terms of time and effort that the organisation typically requires. Rotary itself says it is facing a 'demographic time-bomb', as it struggles to attract younger members to local clubs where the majority of the members are typically much older than them.
In 'Wheels Coming off At The Rotary?' Allan Beswick travels to clubs around the country and finds there are significant efforts afoot to turn things around, with newer clubs springing up where formalities are more relaxed and the meetings more accommodating to a younger age-group with less time to offer. He also visits the more traditional clubs where the members reluctantly recognise the need for things to move on, even if it means they are left to wither on the vine.
FRI 11:30 Bleak Expectations (b00ngz6q)
Series 3
A Lovely Life Re-Kippered Again Once More
Pip Bin's happiness is shattered once again.
Fog-filled streets, murders, and apparitions abound, and through it all echoes the terrible, menacing coo of a possessed evil pigeon.
The return of Mark Evans's epic Victorian comedy pastiche in the style of Charles Dickens.
Sir Philip...........................Richard Johnson
Young Pip..................................Tom Allen
Gently Benevolent........................Anthony Head
Harry Biscuit......................James Bachman
Dr Wackwallop ...................Geoffrey Whitehead
Ripely Fecund......................Sarah Hadland
Pippa........................................Susy Kane
Other parts ...........Mark Evans
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00xb0s5)
Should young children view 3D images? Nintendo have said their new '3DS' games console should NOT be used by under 6s as it could harm their eyesight. But medical experts have conflicting views. We'll get the latest advice for parents.
Plus how online marketing of money saving group voucher schemes, is now moving into the mainstream..
We take a look at a new website offering comparisons of Travel Insurance policies for people with pre-exisiting medical conditions.
And astro tourists tell us why the best holidays have sun, sea and stars.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b00xb0s7)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b00xb0s9)
National and international news.
FRI 13:30 More or Less (b00xb0sc)
In More or Less this week:
Street grooming
The former Justice Secretary Jack Straw says there is a specific problem with Pakistani men "street grooming" under-age white girls. Are there any statistics to support his claim?
Loxleygate
Last week we calculated the height of Lower Loxley Hall - the ancestral home of the late Nigel Pargetter in The Archers - by timing the length of Nigel's scream as he plunged from its roof. But many of you disputed our findings. So this week we ask Graham Seed, the actor who played Nigel Pargetter, what really happened.
Bank tax
How much tax do banks pay? Lord Jones, the former trade minister, says 20% (a little less than the 24% he claimed in May). We think the true amount is closer to 12%.
Meanwhile in the House of Commons, David Cameron and Ed Miliband have been slugging it out over plans for new bank taxes. We check both their workings out.
Debt or deficit
Has the union Unite failed to grasp the difference?
Five guys named Mohammed
And why, despite repeated claims to the contrary, Mohammed is not (yet) the most popular boy's name in Britain.
Producer: Richard Knight.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00x9zdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b00xb0sf)
Marcy Kahan - Incredibly Guilty: A Comic Moral Fable
by Marcy Kahan
Ed Hanson didn't mean to put Penhaligon Rhinehart into a coma;
after all he's a National Treasure.
Now Ed's life is about to change forever.
Directed by Sally Avens
It's an important day for Ed Hanson; he has to do two things, present a 'vision statement' to keep hold of his job and propose marriage to his girlfriend, Lucinda. What isn't on Ed's list of things to do is put Penhaligon Rhinehart, author, barrister, circus clown and National Treasure into a coma. Ed's life will never be quite the same again.
Stephen Mangan is one of our leading comic actors from playing roles such as 'Adrian Mole' on television and Norman in 'The Norman Conquests' on Stage and most recently Dirk Gently on BBC4
Marcy Kahan is an award winning screen and stage dramatist.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00xb0sh)
Central London
Eric Robson leads the panel in a lively horticultural discussion in Central London. He also tours the UK's grandest collection of gardening books at RHS Lindley Library.
Then it's back up north to Nottingham where we revisit Grace in her garden: part of our Listeners' Gardens series.
Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Europeans on the Edge (b00xj9z2)
The German Millionaire
Lucy Ash concludes her series on five Europeans whose lives reflect the crisis in the economy with a look at the man they call German's Sun King. Herr Frank Asbeck made his money from solar energy and his company SolarWorld is now the third largest photovoltaic energy company in the world, employing 3000 people. He is a maverick millionaire who studied agricultural engineering and wrote a thesis on trout farming before zooming off to Nigeria on a motorbike. He has also completed a long political journey. He was a committed communist, then a member of the Social Democratic Party and he has now switched to the Greens. And he tells Lucy, despite worries about the Euro, the currency has been "smashing" for German manufacturers.
Producer: Mark Savage.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00xb0sk)
On Last Word this week:
The multi-millionaire property developer David Hart who played an influential role in Tory politics in the 80s and 90s. We have a tribute from his friend Michael Portillo.
Major Dick Winters, the American soldier whose courage during the D-Day landings was featured in the TV mini series Band of Brothers.
The children's writer Dick King Smith, who created the sheep-pig Babe.
The Czech dissident Jiri Dienstbier who went on to become the country's Foreign minister.
And the film director Peter Yates who brought us Steve McQueen's hair-raising car chase in Bullitt.
FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00xb0sm)
Francine Stock looks ahead to Radio 4's Film Season, asking for listeners' diaries of their movie watching habits over January. The result will be a snapshot of the nation's viewing preferences - where we watch films (on television, computer or in the cinema) and on what format - DVD or download. Francine will try to find out if the digital revolution has finally arrived or is it just a media myth, and to discern what we are watching, whether its new releases or old favourites. Plus, Francine will be publishing a record of her own viewing habits via Twitter during the season.
Francine talks to award contenders Darren Aronofsky and Ryan Gosling, director of Black Swan and star of Blue Valentine respectively. Plus, actor/director Peter Mullan discusses NEDS, which stands for Non-Educated Delinquents.
FRI 17:00 PM (b00xb0sp)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Including at
5.57pm Weather.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00xb0sr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b00xb0zx)
Series 73
Episode 2
By-Elections, Baccalaureats, and Bankers' bonuses. In the week that Labour won the Oldham East by-election; Michael Gove backdated the baccalaureat, and bankers decided they'd take their bonuses despite government opposition, Sandi Toksvig and team tell us where it all went wrong. With guest panellists Jeremy Hardy, Sue Perkins, Susan Calman and Henning Wehn. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00xb0zz)
Jolene's feeling in low spirits following Nigel's funeral, which brought back memories of losing Sid. Business is slow too and now she hasn't got Sid to spark ideas off. Kenton offers to help her. He's always coming up with ideas. It's 'Farmhouse Breakfast Week' next week. The Bull could offer a full English using local produce. He offers to help with promoting it, and will even pitch in with the cooking.
Matt shares other plans for the Bull with Lilian. Jolene's given it her best shot and it's just not working out. He could buy up Jolene and Jamie's share at rock bottom price and apply for planning permission to turn the building into flats. Lilian's concerned about what people will think of them. She doesn't want to become a pariah in her own village.
Elizabeth spends the day with Freddie and Lily. She tells them how much Nigel loved them. She talks to them about their entrance exams. They don't have to do them if they don't want to. But the twins decide it's what their father would have wanted.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00xb101)
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and news of the Fourth Plinth
The TV documentary My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding took a detailed fly-on-the-wall look at the secretive and extravagant world of Gypsies and travellers in Britain today. The success of this film has spawned a new five-part series which explores new areas not covered in the original programme. Playwright Richard O'Neill and Rachel Cooke review.
Linda Grant, whose novel The Clothes on Their Backs was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize, discusses her new novel We Had It So Good. The book charts the secrets, longings and regrets of three generations of one family, from Los Angeles, via Oxford, to present-day London.
Writer and comedian Richard Herring first came to prominence as part of a double act with Stewart Lee. Herring explains why he decided to reclaim the Hitler Moustache and have religion as the main focus of his current stand up show: Christ on a Bike: The Second Coming.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, today unveiled the next two sculptures that will mount the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2012 and 2013. Chosen from a shortlist of six, they are Katharina Fritsch's giant ultramarine blue cockerel, entitled Hahn/Cock, and Elmgreen and Dragset's bronze of a boy on a rocking horse, called Powerless Structures. Kirsty Lang talks to the artists.
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00xb0s1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00xb103)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate from Sexey's School in Bruton, Somerset with questions for the panel including Education minister Sarah Teather and Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation Harriet Lamb.
Producer: Victoria Wakely.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00xb105)
'News' and concentration
Alain de Botton argues that in our mad desire to keep up with what's new, we have lost our ability to concentrate. We are made to feel, he says, that "at any point, somewhere on the globe, something may occur to sweep away old certainties". How was it, he wonders, that for Christians, there has been no news of "world-altering significance to their faith" since 30 AD? He suggests that a period of fasting from our obsession with "news" may be what's needed.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b00xb107)
Ob'owa
Ob'owa is the story of when eight-year-old Francesca and her brother six-year-old Joseph are kidnapped by their father to their parents' homeland of Nigeria, life is very different to they one they had in Peckham. Thirty years later, it's time to return to Nigeria.
As Francesca reveals the story of their kidnap and life at their Grandfather's house in Benin City with his three wives and his many children, it's clear many adjustments had to be made to survive in a world where everyone looks like you but are so very foreign. Peckham could not have prepared the children for the mosquitoes, lizards and sweltering heat of sub-Saharan Africa; the slaughter of animals in the backyard; a diet consisting of yam, yam and more yam and the painful ritual of tribal markings carved with a razor blade into young flesh.
Ob'owa is inspired by real events. Created by Director, Christiana Ebohon and Writer, Moya O'Shea. The play examines themes of belonging and home. Is home the place where your family originates or where you were born? It is told in present day, with flashbacks to the 70s and that fateful trip to Nigeria.
The cast stars Rhiannon Baccus, Jayden Jean-Paul-Denis, Tracey Ifeachor (Welcome to Thebes), Nonso Anozie (Death and the King's Horseman), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Death and the King's Horseman), May Owen, Susan Agbabi, Isobel Akpobire, Abi Enola and Lorcan Bolger.
The play was partly recorded on location in Lagos, Nigeria
Producer: Frank Stirling
An Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b00xb0st)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00xb12v)
Tunisia's president calls new elections as protests continue.
Older and Sadder: what have the parties learnt from last night's by-election result?
Structural deficit: how a building boom undermined Spain's economy.
with Ritula Shah and Jonty Bloom.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00xc3wk)
Snowdrops
Episode 10
By A.D. Miller. In Moscow the snow has melted and, for Nick, it spells the end of the affair.
Reader: Stephen Mangan
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b00x95hm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00xb12x)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.