SATURDAY 21 MAY 2011
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b01133bh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b01169r6)
Vesuvius: The Most Famous Volcano in the World
Episode 5
Actress Emma Fielding reads Gillian Darley's 'Vesuvius, The Most Famous Volcano in the World'. Dormant since 1944, but still a potential threat to the thousands who live at its foot, Vesuvius has produced its own literature, imagery and scientific insights.
It has also attracted visitors from all over the world. Many of them have flocked to see the perfect casts of a group of fleeing Romans, captured in their final moments as the deadly volcanic ash incarcerated them in Pompeii. Thomas Cook, the 'Napoleon of Excursions' led his initial tour to the volcano in 1864 and from then on the crowds kept coming, lured by the gruesome prospect of seeing these contorted bodies, the possibility of another major eruption and the many other tourist attractions on offer.Transport improved, first with a funicular for the arduous ascent to the top of the volcanic cone, and then an electrified railway took visitors to its foot. Freud, along with the Surrealists, was deeply curious about Vesuvius, but tourism and artistic interest came to an end with the start of the Second World War.
A young officer, Norman Lewis, serving in Naples, witnessed the terrible eruption of 1944 at first-hand. The Allied forces at first thought the noise had come from the detonation of a huge bomb. He recorded the way the villagers from the badly-affected San Sebastiano reverted to the superstitions of mediaeval times by praying to their own Saints to save them from the terrifying lava flow. Astonishingly, their prayers were answered. Since 1944 a huge amount of building has taken place on the dormant slopes of the volcano. How can Italy really be prepared for the moment when Vesuvius comes to life again, as it surely must?
Additional Readings by Simon Tcherniak. Abridged by Olivia Seligman.
Producer: Olivia Seligman
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01133bk)
The latest shipping forecast.
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01133bm)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
5.20am.
SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01133bp)
The latest shipping forecast.
SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b01133br)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01133bt)
A short reflection and prayer with Pastor Lindsay Allen.
SAT 05:45 iPM (b01133bw)
The news programme that starts with its listeners. 'Don't blame Bogey for the parakeets'. A listener explodes a myth about The African Queen.
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b01133by)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SAT 06:04 Weather (b01133c0)
The latest weather forecast.
SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b0118bgk)
Literary Walks
Heptonstall - Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath
Clare Balding is back with a new series of walks with a literary theme, beginning in Heptonstall, the childhood home of poet Ted Hughes, and the burial place of his wife, Sylvia Plath. The rugged landscape influenced not only their work but many other poets. Clare joins John Billingsley a keen rambler and Hughes enthusiast, as well as other writers and walkers to experience the harsh beauty of Bronte Country.
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b0118bgm)
Farming Today This Week
Invasive animals and plants are costing the UK almost £2 billion a year to tame or kill according to the Environment Agency. Charlotte Smith finds out how farmers are dealing with them and protecting their crops and animals from these pests.
At Lower Smite Farm, owned by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, it's a constant battle with alien invaders. From non-native ladybirds to the original invasive pest - rabbits (introduced by the Romans) - low cunning and quick action is needed to keep them away from the native flora and fauna.
Among the alien species being targeted in the UK are mink. It's estimated there are around forty thousand in the countryside, the animals having been released or escaped from fur farms. They are a particular problem in Scotland where they effect the salmon and grouse industries. Farming Today meets conservationists in Inverness who are laying traps to reduce their numbers.
A trip to a National Trust property in Norfolk illustrates the difference between 'good' rhododendrons and the 'bad' varieties which can poison the soil; and in Devon, one of the most damaging invasives, Himalayan Balsam, is cleared from the Devon Wildlife Trust's Dunsford Reserve.
Presenter, Charlotte Smith; Producer, Angela Frain.
SAT 06:57 Weather (b01133c2)
The latest weather forecast.
SAT 07:00 Today (b0118bgp)
Morning news and current affairs with Evan Davis and Justin Webb, including:
08:10 What is the reality of the proposed sentencing reform?
08:30 Henry Kissinger gives his analysis of the Middle East and China.
08:55 Is Armageddon about to begin?
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b0118bgr)
Richard Coles with historian Amanda Foreman, poet Murray Lachlan Young, a man whose father was a high-ranking official in the Ku Klux Klan, and a torch-bearer at the 1948 Olympics. There's a Sound Sculpture about jackals in India and best-selling author Iain Banks shares his Inheritance Tracks.
SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b0118bgt)
Australia - Art galleries in Britain & Ireland - Iceland
John McCarthy meets poet and author Lavinia Greenlaw who tells him about the designer William Morris's journeys to Iceland in the 1870s and how what he saw informed his radical socialism. She also compares his experiences with her own trip there in the wake of the financial crash.
Novelist Niall Griffiths emigrated to Australia as a child with his family but they returned to Britain after a few years. He tells John about rediscovering his childhood haunts thirty years later and how modern Australia lived up to his memories.
John also talks to art historian Christopher Lloyd who reveals that Britain's art galleries are full of overlooked masterpieces and that a trip to any part of Britain can be a journey of aesthetic discovery.
Producer: Harry Parker.
SAT 10:30 Falling for Francoise (b0118bgw)
It was on a language-learning trip to Paris that John Andrew first heard the music of Francoise Hardy and fell for the sexy but shy singer. He was not alone - she was the dreamgirl of many an English schoolboy in the early 1960s.
In 'Falling for Francoise', he revisits Paris and the streets in which he first lost his heart and he talks to others who've suffered the same fate - the Hardy fan website curator, Yorkshireman Warren Gilbert; musician Ben Christophers, who's written songs for the mature Francoise; journalist Laura Barton, who's besotted with the whole French 60s 'ye ye' scene... and in a real coup, John gets to meet the singer herself, falling for Francoise all over again!
Producer: Alan Hall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b0118bgy)
Steve Richards of the Independent looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The government is reviewing controversial NHS reforms. But should ministers give in to critics or stick by their plans? The Tory grandee, Lord Heseltine, has experience of conducting a review of a controversial policy: the poll tax. What advice would he give ministers as they pause before a tide of protest ?
Will there ever be an elected House of Lords? This week, Nick Clegg's package of reforms for the Upper House was given short shrift by peers and MPs. Here, the Tory peer, Lord Dobbs, and the former Liberal Democrat Leader, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, take sides.
David Cameron has made his second appearance before the committee made up of select committee chairman. Not much news came out of the hearing. But is that a sign that these kind of sessions have failed? The committee chairman, the Lib Dem, Sir Alan Beith, and Labour's Margaret Hodge, reflect.
Finally, life is changing for political bloggers. Live blogger Andrew Sparrow of The Guardian, discusses why - with veteran bloggers Tom Watson MP and Iain Dale.
The Editor was Peter Mulligan.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b0118bh0)
The carrots and sticks which the authorities in Saudi Arabia hope will persuade their people that protest is not a sensible option -- Michael Buchanan is gauging opinion in the desert kingdom. Who'll be the next president of Russia - Putin, Medvedev or someone else? It's a question preoccupying correspondents in Russia, among them the BBC's man Steve Rosenberg. As nuclear power plants around the world check their safety procedures after the apparent meltdown in Japan in March, Nick Thorpe visits a power station on the River Danube in Romania. The American president's on his way to Ireland but Kieran Cooke's been finding out that thousands of Irish, prompted by a tottering economy, are preparing to emigrate. And Kevin Connolly visits the casbah in Algers walking, he assures us, in the footsteps of Tarzan of the Apes.
SAT 12:00 Money Box (b0118bh2)
On Money Box with Paul Lewis:
Fears that a land selling scam may be continuing under another firm's name
Plus: why doesn't the price of petrol at the pump go down when crude oil prices dip?
And is the Revenue rejecting claims for tax to be written off unfairly?
The programme hears a call for the Bank of England inflation target to be raised as prices rise by more than double the 2% it aims for.
And if you were mis-sold payment protection insurance - how to make sure you keep all your compensation.
SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (b01130qc)
Series 74
The News Quiz, Series 74, Episode 6
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, with Armando Iannucci, Will Smith, Bridget Christie and Jeremy Hardy.
SAT 12:57 Weather (b01133c4)
The latest weather forecast.
SAT 13:00 News (b01133c6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b01130qk)
From The Galtres Centre, Easingwold, Yorkshire
Eddie Mair chairs the live discussion from the Galtres Centre in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, with panellists Peter Oborne, Daily Telegraph columnist, Julia Hobsbawn, media busineswoman, Ivan Lewis, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture and Alan Duncan, Minister for International Development.
Producer: Victoria Wakely.
SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b0118bh4)
Your chance to respond to Any Questions? Call 03700 100 444 or email any.answer@bbc.co.uk. The columnist Peter Oborne, Alan Duncan MP, Ivan Lewis MP, and Julia Hobsbawm debate the week's issues posed by the audience in Easingwold, North Yorkshire.
SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00vr5sb)
Five Days in May
Written by Matthew Solon. Under extreme pressure and suffering from lack of sleep, the politicians argued and negotiated. There was nothing inevitable about a Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition. Revealing key moments of the negotiations, the drama unpicks what went on behind closed doors and shows how an allegiance between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat gradually formed, and how it withstood the resignation of Gordon Brown.
Based on pain-staking research, this is a must-listen 60-minutes - a compelling and entertaining dramatic retelling of the most extraordinary British election outcome in 70 years.
Cast:
David Cameron ..... Samuel West
Nick Clegg ..... Nicholas Boulton
Gordon Brown ..... Gerard Kelly
Peter Mandleson ..... Henry Goodman
Ed Balls ..... John Sessions
William Hague ..... Philip Jackson
Danny Alexander ..... Emun Elliot
David Laws ..... Anthony Calf
Chris Huhne ..... Rupert Frazer
George Osborne ..... Ian Hughes
Other parts are played by Charlotte Longfield, Wilf Gilmour and members of the cast.
SAT 15:30 The Music Group (b0112fgn)
Series 5
Episode 4
Fashion designer Betty Jackson joins founder member of The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, George Hinchliffe and astrophysicist Lucie Green to discuss three personally significant pieces of music.
Amongst their choices are a sweeping Sixties soundscape, some philosophising Canadian power rock and eight minutes of magnificent trombone solo played by a man with a pork pie hat.
Along the way we discover what makes a fashion entrepreneur weep at the kitchen table, why comedy instruments can produce very moving music, how rock has contributed to the public understanding of science and the name of the Italian singer that links the occult film Don't Look Now with the phrase 'The weekend starts here!'
The Music Choices are:
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me by Dusty Springfield
Closer To The Heart by Rush
The Lord Is Listening To Ya, Hallelujah by The Carla Bley Band
Presenter: Phil Hammond
Producer: Tamsin Hughes
A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b0118bh6)
Weekend Woman's Hour
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week. Presented by Jane Garvey.
SAT 17:00 PM (b0118brf)
A fresh perspective on the day's news with sports headlines.
SAT 17:30 iPM (b01133bw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:45 today]
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01133c8)
The latest shipping forecast.
SAT 17:57 Weather (b01133cb)
The latest weather forecast.
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01133cd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b0118brh)
Clive Anderson and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.
Louis Theroux begins his weird weekend on Loose Ends. His latest documentary looks at the lives of staff and inmates of Miami's infamous Mega Jail. Louis spends time in the holding-pen for the unconvicted. The inmates there are awaiting trail which can take years and live under a gladiatorial code - having to fight for food, status and just to pass the time...
With early appearances on Blue Peter Sophie Ellis-Bextor was clearly always marked for stardom. She has built up a successful pop career over the last decade since her beginnings with the phenomenally successful Groovejet (If This Ain't Love). Sophie performs her latest single, Starlight, and talks to Clive about her new album, Make A Scene.
Celia Walden is a journalist and author of 'Babysitting George', her memoir about spending a summer in the company of George Best, in the year before he died. She recounts a life of passions and addictions as well as a complexity and intelligence often overlooked by the tabloid press.
Emma Freud conducts an interview with the BAFTA award-winning Choirmaster Gareth Malone. He shares his passion of classical music and tries to make us understand and appreciate the genre more in his new book 'Music for the People - The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Classical Music'.
And there's even more music from Doncaster - the roots folk 4 piece In Fear of Olive who perform I'm Sure They'll Fall from their debut EP 'All We Can Do Is Wonder'.
Producer: Cathie Mahoney.
SAT 19:00 From Fact to Fiction (b0118brk)
Series 10
Belgian Waffle
In the week that Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as head of the IMF - following his arrest on sexual assault charges - award-winning novelist Lionel Shriver (We Need To Talk About Kevin, So Much For That) imagines the reaction of a Brussels-based bureaucrat - and his no-nonsense wife.
"Belgian Waffle" by Lionel Shriver
Cast:
Rupert ... Alex Jennings
Fiona ... Anna Chancellor
Produced by Emma Harding
To complement Radio 4's News and Current Affairs output, our weekly series presents a dramatic response to a major story from the week's news. The form and content is entirely led by the news topic - so drama can come in many guises, as well as poetry and prose.
It's uniquely radio - an instant reaction to the mood of the moment - a concept impossible to imagine in any other medium.
The breadth of approach is echoed in the range of writers that have participated so far. They include: David Edgar, Amelia Bulmore, Mark Lawson, Bonnie Greer, Laura Solon, Will Self, Alistair Beaton, Lemn Sissay, April de Angelis, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Adrian Mitchell, Stewart Lee, John Sergeant, Jo Shapcott, Ian McMillan, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Kate Mosse, Marina Warner, Gurpeet Kaur Bhatti, A.L. Kennedy and Lyn Coghlan.
FF2F presents writers with the creative opportunity to work in a bold and instinctive way as they respond to events in the news, beginning on a Monday when an idea is selected through to Friday when the programme is recorded and edited.
The high-profile series also attracts big names from the acting profession. Philip Glenister, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Samuel West, David Soul, Henry Goodman, Anne-Marie Duff, Alistair McGowan, Robert Bathurst, Stephen Mangan, Ken Cranham, Brendan Coyle, Haydn Gwynne and Sally Hawkins are just some of the names who have featured so far.
SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b0118brm)
Tom Sutcliffe and his guests playwright Mark Ravenhill, novelist Louise Doughty and cultural historian Sir Christopher Frayling review the week's cultural highlights including Win Win.
Thomas McCarthy's film Win Win stars Paul Giamatti as a struggling New Jersey lawyer who also coaches a lacklustre high-school wrestling team. For a while it looks as if his problems may have been solved when he becomes the guardian of wealthy, elderly client and, inadvertently, carer of his wrestling champ grandson.
In Ali Smith's novel There But For The a guest at a Greenwich dinner party locks himself in his hosts' spare room and refuses to come out. His self-imposed incarceration has an unexpected impact on people who hardly even know him.
Deborah Warner's production of The School For Scandal at the Barbican in London draws parallels between Sheridan's satire on 18th century hypocrisy and gossip and our own preoccupation with privacy and the rights of scandal mongers. Alan Howard plays Sir Peter Teazle, anxious not to be cuckolded, while Leo Bill is the rakish Charles Surface.
Love Is What You Want at the Hayward Gallery is the first major survey of Tracey Emin's work to be held in London. A wide, chronological selection from her work, it includes embroidered quilts, monoprints, paintings, pieces in neon and found objects.
All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace is a series of three television essays by Adam Curtis on BBC2 in which he argues that, despite the utopian predictions of the post-war era, computers have failed to liberate us and have left us even more in thrall to powerful political and economic elites than we were before.
Producer: Torquil MacLeod.
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b0118brp)
Bob Dylan and Me
Marking the musician's 70th birthday on May 24th 2011 and drawing on archive, much of which has never before been broadcast, a group of writers, poets, musicians and fans have been asked to reflect on what Bob Dylan means to them.
Bob Dylan and Me offers a series of essays, richly woven together with songs and archive interviews.
Cerys Matthews talks about Bob Dylan's personal impact on her life and music. Paul Morley reflects on Dylan's ability to acquire fame by staying aloof. Professor Christopher Ricks looks at Dylan's years with God. Eddi Reader reflects on the women in his songs.
Billy Bragg takes on Bob's troubadour tradition. Beat poet Michael McClure gives a personal view on the man. Natasha Morgan talks about the night she saw Bob Dylan's first British appearance in 1961.
Also featured in the programme will be a number of rare Bob Dylan interviews, many not broadcast on British radio before.
We will hear Dylan's radio debut from 1962 on WBAI, "I was with the carnival off and on for six years," and he tells KQED San Francisco in 1965, " Do you think of yourself primarily as a singer or a poet?" "Oh I think of myself as more a song and dance man y'know"
Sound Design by Alice K. Winz
Producers: David Prest and Caroline Hughes.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b0112d5g)
The Prelude
Episode 2
William Wordsworth's autobiographical poem The Prelude is arguably the most important piece of poetic writing in our language. Recorded in Wordsworth's home in Grasmere, Cumbria, Wordsworth looks back over events in his early life .
Wordsworth believed that poetry should be written in the natural language of common speech, and in that way it was revolutionary in its time.
Parts of the poem are famous, with lines quoted often such as the description of the young Wordsworth stealing a boat.
Other parts are more introspective. The young poet leaves Grasmere to go to University in Cambridge, and is homesick. Wordsworth grapples with his political feelings - travelling to France at the time of the French revolution. He enjoys the hustle and bustle of London, and is euphoric when crossing the Alps. All the time this poem is accessible, bursting with colour and description, full of gripping storytelling.
The Prelude is read by Sir Ian McKellen with specially composed music by John Harle, performed by John Harle on saxophone and Neill MacColl on guitar.
The Prelude is directed in Manchester by Susan Roberts.
SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b01133cg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b0112xcg)
Slut Walks
It all started with a no doubt well meaning, but bungling, policeman in Canada who told a small group of female students that if they wanted to be safe when they go out at night then they shouldn't dress like sluts. The resulting protests, called "Slut Walks" have spread like wildfire and will be coming to the UK soon. Thousands of women have taken to the streets, often wearing very little, to defend their right to wear what they like and attacking the idea that somehow women are responsible for male violence against them. The organisers also claim that by re-appropriating the word "slut" it will help women achieve full autonomy over their sexuality in whichever way they please.
As the protestors organising the London march put the finishing touches to their chants - "Come out on the streets - Show some skin - We are all sluts - Win, win, win!" - is one of the current favourites, it's hard to avoid the irony of the fact that a government review in to the sexualisation of children is about to be published. Should we welcome this very fleshy public protest, or does it just feed our already highly sexualised society? Is this an act of radical feminism, or does it just pander to male stereotypes that have also given us padded bras for 7 year olds with matching "Future Porn Star" tee-shirts?
Is our attitude to sexuality at best confused or actually hypocritical? On the one hand wanting to have it all, on our own terms and at the same time wringing our hands over the effect that such an open and brazen attitude to sex has on our children.
Witnesses:
Elizabeth Head - Slut Walk London
Rachel Russell - Senior lecturer in sociology, Glasgow Caledonian University.
Dr Linda Papadopoulos - Psychologist who wrote a report on the Sexualisation of Young People commissioned by the Home Office last year.
Jennifer Selway - Assistant Editor on The Daily Express
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by David Aaronovitch with Claire Fox, Melanie Phillips, Kenan Malik and Matthew Taylor.
SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (b01132z4)
Series 25
Episode 7
(7/13)
Can you suggest a musical connection between Hank Williams, the Marvelettes, and the Canadian rock group Klaatu?
The answer to this and many other questions will be provided by Paul Gambaccini, in the seventh heat of this 25th anniversary series of the evergreen music quiz.
The competitors this week are from the North of England - from Stockport, Crewe and Leeds to be precise - and they will each be hoping to win a place in the series semi-finals which begin in a few weeks' time.
As always, the questions cover the widest possible range of music, both classical and popular.
SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (b0112d9s)
In a special edition, Roger McGough re-visits extracts from A.E Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad' read by the late Pete Postlethwaite, which were recorded in 1996.
There are so many well known lines from A.E. Housman's poetry - 'Into My Heart an Air That Kills, 'When I Was One and Twenty', 'Ale's the Stuff,' to name just a few. All feature in today's programme as Roger re-visits the readings that Pete Postlethwaite recorded of A.E. Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad.' Though neither Pete Postlethwaite nor Housman came from Shropshire, it seems that both fell in love with its Blue Remembered Hills.
Producer: Sarah Langan.
SUNDAY 22 MAY 2011
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b01185jb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SUN 00:30 Afternoon Reading (b00mg6n0)
Johnson's Miscellany
Episode 2
Three readings featuring extracts from Samuel Johnson's major works introduced by his biographer, David Nokes.
Samuel Johnson (better known as Dr Johnson) was born in Lichfield in September 1709. Half-blind, shambolic and poverty-stricken, he became the most admired and quoted man in the eighteenth century.
The son of a bookseller, lack of funds forced him to leave Oxford before taking a degree and, after a stint as a teacher, he travelled to London in search of work. Beginning as a Grub Street journalist, Johnson made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, novelist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. A devout Anglican and political conservative, Johnson has been described as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history".
His most famous work is, without doubt, A Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755. It was not the most accurate dictionary, nor the most comprehensive, but it became widely recognised as the first standard dictionary until publication of the Oxford English Dictionary 150 years later.
Other major works by Johnson are, among others, his Lives of the English Poets including his biography of Richard Savage; the novella, Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia; his notes on The Plays of William Shakespeare; The Idler essays; The Rambler magazine and A Journey to The Western Isles of Scotland.
In these three programmes David Nokes, author of a biography of Johnson, introduces a series of extracts from the great man's work. In chronological order, we work our way through his literary life.
This episode includes two contrasting essays from The Idler series published weekly in the Universal Chronicle -The Corruption of News Writers and Ladies' Journey to London.
Read by Michael Pennington
Introduced by Professor David Nokes
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01185jd)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01185jg)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01185jj)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b01185jl)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b0118873)
The bells of St Clement Danes, The Strand, Westminster.
SUN 05:45 Four Thought (b0112xcj)
Series 2
Jake Wallis Simons: Buddha vs Buddha
Writer Jake Wallis Simons describes how an ancient row within Tibetan Buddhism is causing a modern schism - and why it led him to give up Buddhism for good.
Recorded live at the RSA in London, Four Thought is unscripted, thought-provoking and entertaining, with a personal dimension.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b01185jn)
The latest national and international news.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0118cmj)
Open
Professor of History at Leicester University, and former social worker, Peter King explores 'openness' - does it play a role in enabling us to empathise, to love and to be fully human? The programme includes a look at some of the things which close our lives down - inability to forgive, fear, money, and the need to protect our often fragile sense of self.
Peter King, a Deacon in the Anglican Church, explains why he feels the word 'open' is sacred and why being open leads to a life of adventure.
Professor King discusses how being open and ready for the new leads to chance encounters which bring fresh insights. He notes that Jesus' life began with Mary's wild and radical openness, trusting God, even though risking public disgrace.
Producer: Kim Normanton
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 Living World (b0118cml)
Raft Spiders
Nestling alongside Wales and the English Midlands, Shropshire is a much unexplored county, but one with many surprises. Paul Evans is on home ground for this week's Living World as he heads off to the north of the country to meet John Hughes from Shropshire Wildlife Trust, in search of one of Shropshire's most unusual and beautiful surprises. Meeting John at Wem Moss National Nature Reserve Paul discovers that in the midst of farmland, the landscape between here and the Dee Estuary is peppered with interlocking Mires and Moors, wetland relicts of the last glacial period in Britain.
On a cool, windy spring day, Paul and John first explore a small wet woodland, a relic of a once extensive ancient habitat in this area, long cleared by man for farming. Emerging from the trees there in front of them, is an expansive open moss. Mosses in this area are glacial depressions which over time have become filled with peat deposits and are a valuable wetland for a myriad of wildlife. Fed by rainwater these are ideal habitats for the raft spider Dolomedes fimbriatus, Britain's largest native spider.
But this spring has been unusually dry, with strong dry winds from the east, so much so the wetlands are drying out. Walking over the moss, evidence is everywhere of the lack of rain in these parts for weeks. Will this wetland specialist still be able to cling on to a precarious existence in this increasingly hostile environment? Join Paul and John to find out if they indeed do find this beautiful spider after all.
SUN 06:57 Weather (b01185jq)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b01185js)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (b0118cmn)
Jane Little with the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories familiar and unfamiliar.
Jane will reflect on this week's speech by President Obama with Gil Hoffman of the Jerusalem Post and Steve Farrell of The New York Times
The Lourdes Military pilgrimage for peace began in 1958, this year over 20,000 international military will attend. John Laurenson meets servicemen and women who have made the trip this weekend
Humans are 'predisposed' to believe in God and the afterlife, according to a major international study which has taken three years and two million pounds to complete. Jane discusses the findings of The Cognition, Religion and Theology Project with Dr. Justin Barrett.
The President of the Philippines has risked ex-communication from the Catholic Church over his plans to distribute free condoms and offer sex education in schools. BBC Correspondent Kate McGeowan tells Jane how this threatens to divide this strict Catholic country
Edward Stourton investigates the Islamic Gulen movement in Turkey whose influence permeates right around the world.
In January this year Pakistani government minister Salman Taseer was shot 27 times by a man who was assigned to be his bodyguard. His fight to stand up for the rights of minority Christians in Pakistan has been taken up by his 22 year old daughter Shehrbano and she will explain to Jane why carrying on his work is so important
And a matter of days after he was appointed the new Bishop of Ebbsfleet. Jonathan Baker resigned from the Freemasons. Jane will explore whether freemasonry is at odds with Christianity with Alison Ruoff, a member of the Church of England Synod and the Reverend Dr John Railton, who is both a mason and clergyman.
SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b0118cmq)
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Justin Webb, whose own son was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes three years ago, makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Donations to JDRF should be sent to FREEPOST BBC Radio 4 Appeal, please mark the back of your envelope JDRF. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144. You can also give online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/appeal. If you are a UK tax payer, please provide JDRF with your full name and address so they can claim the Gift Aid on your donation. The online and phone donation facilities are not currently available to listeners without a UK postcode.
Registered Charity Number: 295716.
SUN 07:57 Weather (b01185jv)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b01185jx)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b0118cms)
Living Stones
Live from St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow where the Provost, the Very Revd Kelvin Holdsworth explores this description of early Christian community from 1 Peter. Leader: The Revd Anne Tomlinson; With the Cathedral Choir directed by Frikki Walker. Organist: Geoffrey Woollatt. Producer: Mo McCullough.
SUN 08:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b01130qm)
Series 2
Cuckoo
The Cuckoo is one of the iconic brood parasites of the world - the bird that cons another species into taking its egg as its own and rears the chick to fledging.
In the single frame of the Cuckoo you have a long distance migrant, travelling from Africa to breeding grounds in the temperate north, and back again.
The Cuckoo does not raise its own chick and across a range of Cuckoo individuals, they parasitise several species of bird - all much smaller than they are.
Sir David Attenborough explores the world of the Cuckoo and not only marvels at their natural history but tells the story of how a wildlife cameraman resolved a scientific mystery - and how the Cuckoo itself harbours yet more secrets to science and natural history.
Producer: Julian Hector.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b0118cmv)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b0118cmx)
For detailed synopses, see daily episodes
Written by: Carolyn Sally Jones
Directed by: Jenny Stephens
Editor: Vanessa Whitburn
Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ..... Helen Monks
Elizabeth Pargetter ..... Alison Dowling
Kate Madikane ..... Kellie Bright
Peggy Woolley ..... June Spencer
Jolene Perks ..... Buffy Davis
Fallon Rogers ..... Joanna Van Kampen
Kathy Perks ..... Hedli Niklaus
Jamie Perks ..... Dan Ciotkowski
Eddie Grundy ..... Trevor Harrison
Clarrie Grundy ..... Rosalind Adams
Nic Hanson ..... Becky Wright
Roy Tucker ..... Ian Pepperell
Hayley Tucker ..... Lorraine Coady
Oliver Sterling ..... Michael Cochrane
Caroline Sterling ..... Sara Coward
Natalie ..... Maddie Glasbey.
SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b0118cmz)
Debbie Harry
Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer Debbie Harry.
Her group Blondie started out in seedy New York bars and went on to achieve international success - selling tens of millions of albums along the way. She was ultra cool - a striking beauty with platinum hair and a sneer. Now aged 65, her trademark look continues to serve her well, she says: "As far as ageing goes it's rough - I try my best - I'm healthy and I exercise like a fiend. I'm glad that I've had all the radical experiences in my life - it suits me."
Record: Mahler's Symphony No.5 in C sharp Minor -4th movement
Book: War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Luxury: Paints and papers
Producer: Leanne Buckle.
SUN 12:00 Just a Minute (b01132zd)
Series 60
Episode 1
Nicholas Parsons is back with the first of a new series of Just a Minute, the show that stretches your linguistic elastic to breaking point. On today's show we learn Paul Merton's motto is Work Hard Be Happy whereas Tony Hawks' motto is You're Never Too Old to Be Told Off By a Park Keeper.
Joining Nicholas Parsons over the course of this series are Paul Merton, Stephen Fry, Josie Lawrence, Julian Clary, Gyles Brandreth, Jenny Elair, Sue Perkins, Graham Norton, Tony Hawks and new girl Fi Glover.
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b0118cn1)
Vinegar
Sheila Dillon reveals the secrets behind some of the world's great vinegars.
Traditionally, the home of balsamic vinegar is Modena in Italy. But now there is a new breed of British producers who are turning their hands to making this viscous dark brown condiment, as well as others who are producing a sumptuous array of fruit vinegars.
Sheila Dillon hears from the producers, both in Italy and in the UK, discusses the process and the products - and samples the end results with foodwriter and critic, Charles Campion.
Producer: Dilly Barlow.
SUN 12:57 Weather (b01185jz)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b0118cn3)
The latest national and international news, with an in-depth look at events around the world. Listeners can comment via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #theworldthisweekend.
SUN 13:30 A History of the World Special (b010y36c)
When Peter Lewis heard that the BBC were inviting people to nominate personal objects that helped tell the story of the history of the world, he thought immediately of his Uncle Bryn.
The invitation was intended to complement the award-winning Radio 4 series 'A History of the World in A Hundred Objects', made in partnership with the British Museum. Those objects told of mankind's origins, of dynasties, of trade and economics, of science and engineering, war, peace, growth and development.
The many thousands of contributions to the BBC website threw vivid personal light on those broader subjects, but perhaps none more than Bryn's portrait of his World War Two sweetheart, and later wife, Peggy.
The picture, which still hangs in his living room, was painted in oils from a Red Cross postcard photograph that Peggy had sent him when he was a prisoner of war in Poland. He'd been captured in April 1940 and, in spite of twelve unsuccessful escape attempts, he wouldn't see Peggy again until 1945.
His life as a prisoner is an extraordinary story of a private soldier gifted with an iron will, a wicked optimism and an unshakeable survival instinct.
Many of the camps in which he was held are familiar to historians: Thorn, Stalag VIIb Lamsdorf, Terezin - but it's Auschwitz that leaps most agressively from the page.
Bryn was never held with the Jewish prisoners in the main camp. As a British soldier, he had rights they could only have dreamt of. But he was a labourer in the metal workshops alongside the main camp, and he saw the brutality meted out over the several months of his incarceration there.
It was during this period that a fellow worker, a Polish Jew, told him that he could get the tired photograph of Peggy painted for him in oils.
Bryn was uneasy about losing such a treasured possession - but when he learnt about the Nazi policy of employing Jewish craftsmen and artists to copy stolen art treasures in the camp next door, he relented.
A couple of weeks later, his postcard photo was returned, along with a beautiful portrait of Peggy. For obvious reasons, it was unsigned.
So Bryn would never discover the name of the person who painted it, but he treasured it beyond any other possession and kept it taped to his stomach or back for the remaining two years of the war.
Bryn is now in his nineties. He's always been reticent about telling the stories of his imprisonment, but here he talks to Peter Lewis about his survival, his escapes, and the portrait from Auschwitz that he brought home safely to the woman who was to become his wife.
PRODUCER: Tom Alban.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01130pz)
Clapham, N. Yorkshire
Eric Robson and the team are in Clapham Village Hall, near Lancaster. Eric Robson explores the legacy left by plant-hunter Reginald Farrer.
In addition, Christine Walkden visits Emma Morris in her Shrewsbury garden.
Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 14:45 15 by 15 (b0118cn7)
Series 1
Spin
What's in a word? Where did it come from? Where does it lead? In a new series of five programmes Hardeep Singh Kohli chooses a word and sees where it leads him. In 15 minutes he expects to learn 15 things he didn't know before.
Hardeep spins round at over 600 miles per hour, visits the New Lanark Heritage site where Arkwright's revolutionary spinning machine is still in action, hears cricket commentator Christopher Martin Jenkins recall Shane Warne's test match debut, and touches on political spin with political commentator Peter Oborne.
Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 15:00 Saturday Drama (b00n6wfs)
Erich Kaestner - Emil and the Detectives
Dramatisation by Katie Hims of the comic children's detective novel by Erich Kaestner.
Country boy Emil Tischbein, up from Neustadt for the first time, enlists the aid of hundreds of Berlin street boys to help him catch a thief.
Emil ...... Joshua Swinney
Kaestner ...... Bruce Alexander
Grundeis ...... Ewan Hooper
Gustav ...... Daniel Cooper
Professor ...... Neil Reynolds
Traut ...... Bertie Gilbert
Peters ...... Josh Robinson
Tuesday ...... Harry Child
Pony ...... Agnes Bateman
Mrs Tischbein ...... Melissa Advani
Cashier ...... Tessa Nicholson
Jeschke ...... John Biggins
Guard ...... Rhys Jennings
Taxi Driver ...... Joseph Cohen-Cole
Grandma ...... Kate Layden
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (b0118cn9)
Frederick Forsyth, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Literary Salons in Afghanistan
Mariella Frostrup talks to Frederick Forsyth, forty years after he wrote his ground-breaking novel, The Day of the Jackal. The book was one of the first modern international conspiracy thrillers and has spawned an entire genre of writing.
Authors Louise Welsh and Francis Spufford pay homage to one of the giants of English literature, Robert Louis Stevenson, who until very recently, was viewed by the critical establishment as a second-rate writer.
Plus, how amateur writers across Afghanistan are getting together to critique each other's work in home-grown literary salons.
PRODUCER: Aasiya Lodhi and Ella-mai Robey.
SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (b0118cnc)
Roger McGough presents a weekly selection of favourite poetry requested by listeners. Today's programme includes a poem about a writing bureau that transmutes into a small forest, another about an imagined set of neighbours, a bitter love poem from the 8th century, and a sinister folkloric tale read by the poet Robin Robertson. Other poets featured include Harold Nemerov, Lawrence Sail and Molly Holden. The readers are Alison McKenna, Peter Marinker and Jonjo O'Neill.
Producer: Sarah Langan.
SUN 17:00 The Bankers and the Bottom Billion (b0112fz9)
The bankers are back in the spotlight - this time financing an explosion in lending services for the poorest people on earth. They are building on the original dream of "micro-finance" with an array of new products for very poor people, funded in part by raising private debt and equity in London and the world's other financial capitals.
It is thought credit, insurance and mortgages could improve the lives of people in slums and villages from Bangladesh to Bolivia. Yet with mounting attacks on micro-finance's idealistic founder Muhammad Yunus, there are also concerns that this rapid injection of investment capital could hurt the poorest.
Mukul Devichand tells the intimate story of one slum lane in India, where a group of women have been targeted by the audacious plan to create financial services for the "bottom billion."
His report asks one of the most important questions of our time: can financial markets help the poorest, or do they need to be protected from the profit motive?
Contributors, in order of appearance, include:
David Roodman, Centre for Global Development
Tanmay Chetan, Agora Microfinance
Meenal Patole, Agora Microfinance India Limited
Jayesh Modi, HSBC
Yezdi Malegam, Reserve Bank of India
Nitin Aggarwal, Spandana Sphoorty Financial Services
R Subramanyam, Principal Secretary of Rural Development, Andhra Pradesh
Vijay Mahajan, Basix
Professor Abhijit Banerjee, MIT
Rajnish Dhall, Micro Housing Financial Corporation
Presenter: Mukul Devichand
Producer: Ruth Alexander.
SUN 17:40 From Fact to Fiction (b0118brk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01185k1)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (b01185k3)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01185k5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b0118cnf)
Liz Barclay makes her selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio
When the Chinese Nureyev defected to the USA it was 6 years before he was joyfully reunited with his parents. Ruthie gave birth at 16 and abandoned her new born baby in a phone box but that had a happy ending too. And the cuckoo dumps its egg in another bird's next, flies off to another continent, and its determined offspring can still find its parents. Child/parents relationships figure large in this week's Pick of the Week, along with Bob Dylan at 70, the Luddites 200 years on and the Great life of the first African American Heavyweight champion of the world.
Midweek - Radio 4
History of the World Special - Radio 4
The Chinese Nureyev - Radio 4
David Attenborough's Life Stories - Radio 4
Lost Property - A Telegram From the Queen - Radio 4
Incredible Women - Radio 4
EL Milagro - The Miracle of Cartagena - Radio 3
The Luddite Lament - Radio 4
Great Lives - Radio 4
Roller Girls - Radio 4
Costing The Earth - Radio 4
Nashville Cats - The Making of Blonde on Blonde - Radio 2
Ballads of Thin Men - Radio 4
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - Radio 2
Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Cecile Wright.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (b0118cnh)
Kenton tries to talk about David but Elizabeth's still disgusted by his behaviour and blames him for Nigel's death. Elizabeth wants nothing more to do with David.
Susan tells Neil that Emma, Ed, the children, Christopher and her parents are all coming over for Neil's birthday. Neil has been teased by the cricket team about getting old, but he is planning to show them they're wrong by winning the single wicket competition. Susan's heard from Clarrie that Will would like another baby but Nic is set against it.
Jolene tells Kenton that Kathy's been over, and is angry that Jolene hadn't reduced Jamie's hours to leave him more time to revise. In fact, Jamie hadn't said anything about it. But now Jolene knows, she will now reduce his hours.
Jill is worried about how upset David seems. She is convinced that nobody can be blamed for Nigel's death, but Elizabeth holds David wholly responsible for destroying her family, and won't be reasoned with.
SUN 19:15 Americana (b0118cnk)
Irish in America:
As President Obama's visit to Ireland gets underway, Americana examines the impact of Irish culture on the USA and the strength of contemporary Irish American communities across the nation.
Irish Influence:
Boston Globe journalists Joan Vennochi and Kevin Cullen discuss how far the Irish have come in the US - the voting tendencies, economic power and community spirit of the Irish.
Irish Leadership:
Through the years, Irish American families have been among the most famous and well followed in America. Thomas O'Neill III explains the tradition of leadership passed down from generation to generation.
Irish Joseph McCarthy:
Joe McCarthy may be one of America's most infamous US Senators for his aggressive hunt for Communists during the 1950s. Historian Leo Ribuffo explains how a history of Irish American persecution may have influenced McCarthy's motivation and the reactions he garnered.
Irish Music and Dance:
Eileen Ivers, feature fiddler of the award-winning Irish music and dance show, Riverdance, shares some catchy, heart-racing melodies and the story of her musical career.
SUN 19:45 Afternoon Reading (b00n881p)
A Glimpse of Stocking
Hold-Ups
A short story in celebration of 'something shocking' - the nylon stocking.
Alice Herring seems like the perfect witness but all is not as it seems in this comic tale of robberies, romance and cubic zirconia. Written by Jojo Moyes and read by Siobhan Redmond.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (b01130pv)
Too many repeats, schedule changes and the loss of much of the children's programming. Fans of the former BBC Radio 7 lament its loss and challenge the station's head of programming Mary Kalemkerian over the changes she's made to the station that's now called Radio 4 Extra.
Incest, murder and trench warfare - is Book at Bedtime too dour? Radio 4 commissioning editor Caroline Raphael explains how books are chosen for the late night slot and hears your pleas to let listeners know details of music featured in the programmes.
And the controller of Radio 4 Gwyneth Williams reveals how she stopped The Archers being moved from Radio 4 to Radio 4 Extra.
Contact the Feedback team to let Roger know what you'd like him to tackle this series about anything you've heard on BBC radio.
Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 20:30 Last Word (b01130q3)
Garret FitzGerald, Pam Gems, Elisabeth Svendsen, Ernesto Sabato, Bernard Greenhouse
Matthew Bannister on
The former Irish Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald. He helped persuade Margaret Thatcher to sign the Anglo Irish agreement which paved the way for power sharing in Northern Ireland.
Also the playwright Pam Gems - whose best known works are Piaf and Stanley. Sir Antony Sher pays tribute.
Elisabeth Svendsen who founded the Donkey Sanctuary charity after being left 204 donkeys in someone's will.
Ernesto Sabato the Argentinian writer who led the country's investigation into the thousands who disappeared under military dictatorship.
And Bernard Greenhouse, cellist and co founder of the world famous Beaux Arts Trio.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (b0118bh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:00 on Saturday]
SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b0118cmq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 today]
SUN 21:30 In Business (b0112ydv)
Take a Copy
Intellectual property sounds an innocuous enough idea, but patents and copyright have recently been stirring up a lot of strife. Peter Day finds out why copyright in particular is such a contentious issue in the Internet age.
Producer: Sanda Kanthal.
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b0118cqm)
Carolyn Quinn talks to the political editor of the Economist, Janan Ganesh, about the big political stories at Westminster. They discuss the use of superinjunctions, the future of the Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, the government's policy on crime and the prospect of changes to the planned reform of the National Health Service in England.
Professor Vernon Bogdanor, an expert on constitutional affairs, comments on the complaints by some MPs that judges are interfering with the powers of parliament.
The Conservative MP Mark Field and the Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh appear on the MPs' panel. They discuss a range of subjects including superinjunctions and crime.
There is a report on next year's contest for London mayor. Biographers of the current Tory mayor, Boris Johnson, and the former Labour mayor, Ken Livingstone explain how they think the campaign will be fought between these two big political personalities. Professor Tony Travers speculates on what the result might be.
Programme editor: Terry Dignan.
SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b0118cqp)
Episode 53
BBC Radio 4 brings back a much loved TV favourite - What the Papers Say. It does what it says on the tin. In each programme a leading political journalist has a wry look at how the broadsheets and red tops treat the biggest stories in Westminster and beyond. This week John Kampfner takes the chair and the editor is Catherine Donegan.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b01130q5)
Francine Stock has her travelling shoes on for The Film Programme this week. There's a trip to Cannes to hear what's soon going to be showing in an art house near you; there's a journey back in time to assess Karel Reisz' Isadora starring Vanessa Redgrave; and Francine nips down to the Antarctic to savour Herbert Ponting's Twenties classic, The Great White Silence which has just been released in a dazzling new print with a brand new score composed by Simon Fisher Turner. And last but not least - as the cliché would have it - the independent cinema owner, Kevin Markwick and the former editor of Screen International, Michael Gubbins take the temperature of the film industry in what's been a tricky year.
Producer: Zahid Warley.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b0118cmj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 23 MAY 2011
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b0118cx8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b0112gzd)
Cemetery Taboo - The City
Cities are growing at an enormous rate all over the world. As they wrestle with overcrowding, pollution, resource vulnerability and an increasing gulf between the rich and poor what will be the dominant factor to define them? Which forces will shape the experience of urban life for the individual and will our imagination and creativity enable cities to survive into the future? The sociologist Sophie Watson and the geographer Matthew Gandy join Laurie Taylor to discuss the future of the city.
Also, the taboo of the body in the cemetery. Kate Woodthorpe reveals her research into what remains unmentionable at the graveside.
Producer: Charlie Taylor.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b0118873)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0118cxb)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0118cxd)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0118cxg)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b0118cxj)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0118cxl)
A short reflection and prayer with Pastor Lindsay Allen.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b0118cxn)
Charlotte Smith hears the unseasonably warm, dry weather in parts of the UK is causing crops to appear early. A visit to a Worcestershire plum orchard reveals that despite an incredible spring blossom, the fruit is now suffering from the weather. Wildlife too is confused and Matthew Oates from the National Trust says its going to be a memorable summer as the countryside copes with the out-of-kilter weather.
Farming Today hears the EU is considering allowing Governments to help set the price of milk, to take some power away from market forces. Last year 9 dairy farmers a week left the industry in the UK, many claiming they were being paid less for the milk than it cost to produce.
And farmers could be doing more to reduce waste, according to the government's Waste and Resources Action Programme. WRAP says over 8 million tonnes of food and drink is thrown away by UK households each year.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Ruth Sanderson.
MON 05:57 Weather (b0118cxq)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 06:00 Today (b0118cxs)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Sarah Montague, including:
07:50 The pressure increases over privacy injunctions.
08:10 Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond on his campaign for greater economic independence.
08:20 A previously unheard interview with Bob Dylan shows the singer had a serious drug addiction.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (b0118cxv)
Andrew Marr talks to the former British ambassador, Sherard Cowper-Coles, about the failures of Western policy in Afghanistan, and how diplomacy would have been a better option than the gun. In 2003 Baha Mousa was arrested by the British Army in Basra, in Iraq. Two days later he was dead. Richard Norton-Taylor sifts through all the evidence to bring the public inquiry into his death to the stage. David Pryce-Jones asks what motivates those who take up foreign causes, to the detriment of their own country, in Treason of the Heart. And the philosopher Angie Hobbs turns to the Greek Gods to untangle modern ideas of heroism and bravery.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b0118cxx)
Babysitting George
Episode 1
Written by Celia Walden. In the summer of 2003, a young reporter is delegated by her boss to go in search of the newspaper's start columnist who has gone awol in Malta. Celia's role is to stop the hordes of journalists in search of George Best from jeopardising his exclusive contract to her own paper. The hunt is on for the world's most famous footballer.
Read by Clare Corbett
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company for BBC Radio 4.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0118cxz)
Presented by Jane Garvey. Rory Bremner on how he discovered he had ADHD and its role in what he recognises as a chaotic lifestyle. Sarah Campbell on the iconic textile designs produced with her sister Susan Collier and their ambition to bring beauty to the mass market.Office in a handbag: can you run a successful business without an office? We meet the woman who says yes. The psychologist who works with top ballet dancers to help them reach their full potential.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0118lkf)
Colin Douglas - The Gap
Episode 1
A drama about an Edinburgh family breaking up during their daughter's gap year
by Colin Douglas.
Heather's leaving school with flying colours. She's off to Ghana for a gap year and then to Oxford. Her brother Fraser is going into second year at Cambridge studying medicine. And their parents, James, a surgeon, and Pippa, a professor of economics have some shocking news - they're splitting up. Suddenly everything's changing for Heather. With strained relationships at home, she embarks on what will become a rather unpredictable and challenging placement in Africa.
Cast:
Heather...............................................Kirsty McKay
James.................................................Paul Young
Pippa..................................................Isabella Jarrett
Fraser.................................................Keith McLeish
Janice.................................................Lesley Mackie
Dawn..................................................Lucy Paterson
Hector................................................Alasdair McCrone
Directed by David Ian Neville
Colin Douglas is an award-winning radio & TV writer and novelist with a distinctive voice. His plays for Radio 4 have included: The Life Class; Dress Up And Sing; Moving On & Taking The Waters (all written with Harry Quinn); and Better To Break Your Neck; Today We'll Finish Keats; Smart Boy Wanted; and the series, Safe In Our Hands. He's the author of nine novels including, The Houseman's Tale which he also dramatised as a series for BBC TV.
MON 11:00 The Jukes - Bad Blood or Bad Science (b0118lkh)
Professor Steve Jones asks if people can be "born bad" - as was said of the infamous Jukes family in the US. Can criminal behaviour be inherited through the genes?
For more than a century, the Jukes clan has been presented as America's worst family. Right now on the web American evangelical preachers are using the story of the Jukes family as a dire warning against "unworthy" people procreating. There is a deeply held popular belief that bad blood will out, and that criminality can be passed down through the generations. But what does the science say?
Professor Steve Jones talks to leading scientists such as Steven Pinker, Kevin Beaver, Jim Fallon and Essi Viding about the latest research in this highly controversial field.
Genetic evidence is increasingly being presented as a mitigating factor during sentencing in murder cases in the US and elsewhere, and law professor Paul Lombardo assesses its efficacy. Helena Kennedy QC discusses the prospect of this kind of approach succeeding in UK courts.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
MON 11:30 Mr Blue Sky (b0118lkk)
Series 1
My Valentine
The Easter family have a couple of unwanted guests, and Harvey is struggling to come up with a Valentine's idea for Jax. Stars Mark Benton. From May 2011.
MON 12:00 You and Yours (b011c0n8)
Consumer news with Julian Worricker. What the government is doing to bring the UK's empty houses back into use. More than 300,0000 houses have been empty for more than six months in England alone. We hear from innovative social enterprises about their ideas for putting them back to use and what the Dutch are doing to keep their vacancy rates so low.
The tsunami in Japan continues to cause a global shortage in key components, particularly in the car industry. Factories around the world are closing temporarily as they wait for the supply of parts manufactured in Japan. We discuss instant messaging - is it a useful tool for supporting and informing consumers or is it simply a gimmick?
And we look at the future of the railways - will passengers have a say?
MON 12:57 Weather (b0118cy1)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b011fcdd)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
MON 13:30 Counterpoint (b011c0nb)
Series 25
Episode 8
(8/13)
In which of his compositions did Hector Berlioz make extensive use of the 'idee fixe', a term he used for a recurring musical motif or theme?
You can find out the answer by joining Paul Gambaccini and this week's trio of music enthusiasts, in the latest heat of the ever-popular music quiz. This week the competitors are from Sussex, Bristol and Hertfordshire - and they'll each be hoping to take another of the places in the semi-finals, which begin in just a fortnight's time.
Paul's questions are as wide-ranging as ever, covering the classics, show tunes, film music, jazz, rock, and six decades of the pop charts.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b0118cnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b011by9w)
Whistling Wally's Son
Earlier this year playwright Wally K Daly revisited his home town of Middlesbrough and went to the area where he had grown up in Grangetown all of which has virtually disappeared. Most of the local industry has gone together with all the surrounding housing, school and pubs.
His play recalls the street in which he lived, his earliest war time memories, the people he knew, their fears and tragedies, the 'sessions' in bombed houses and the return of his father from a prisoner of war camp. He remembers in particular his love for his mother and the death of his father, Whistling Wally and how these events from his childhood have had a profound effect on his writing career.
Auditions were held in Middlesbrough to find two children to play major parts. Jamie Dickinson stars as the young Wally K Daly and Jodie Day plays two roles, Mary Wrigglesworth and Kathleen Daly. Also in the cast are others originally from the Middlesbrough area including Monica Dolan, David Seddon, Neil Grainger and Marlene Sidaway.
Wally K Daly was recorded on location near the site of his former home on Vaughan Street and also on Eston Hills where he played as a child. The play is directed by Martin Jenkins who first worked with Wally K Daly on his first radio play in 1974.
Director: Martin Jenkins
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0118brp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Saturday]
MON 15:45 Gilbert's Glory (b011c0nd)
Episode 1
Most people know W.S. Gilbert as the writer of comic operas such as 'The Mikado' and 'H.M.S.Pinafore' with Arthur Sullivan. But there was far more to his life and work than that. He was a prolific playwright, a writer of humorous verse including the 'Bab Ballads', a gifted artist and a theatre director who helped to revolutionise the way plays were produced onstage.
In this series of programmes to mark the centenary of his death, the writer and poet Ruth Padel explores five aspects of Gilbert's work and evaluates his significance and his legacy. Key contributors include the director Mike Leigh whose movie 'Topsy-Turvy' depicts the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as biographers, academics and performers such as Alistair McGowan who has performed and directed Gilbert and Sullivan operas and the singer Richard Suart who recently performed in 'The Mikado' at English National Opera.
Programme 1 examines Gilbert the man of contradictions. His photographs show a conventional-looking Victorian gentleman but was that completely true? Ruth explores the theory that underneath lay a desire to turn things topsy-turvy, which would provide him with a recurrent plot in his plays.
Producer: Emma Kingsley.
MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b0118cn1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 Scientists Go to Hollywood (b00tj5qk)
Adam Rutherford heads to tinsel town to talk to the scientists who have left the lab for the glamour of the film set.
Although the silver screen may not be known for its scientific accuracy, in recent years Hollywood does seem to have come calling, where science is concerned. A growing number of scientists seem to be taking time out of their day job to advise Hollywood directors and producers on the portrayal of science, and scientists, in some very well known films and TV series.
Adam visits the set of one of the most well known science based TV shows, CSI New York to meet the writer and co-producer, himself a former forensic scientist. He talks to physicist Brian Cox about his role as science advisor to the Danny Boyle directed movie Sunshine. He meets the new wave of Hollywood movie makers who are turning to the real life scientists to help improve not only the image of science on screen, but to inspire some of their most fantastical plot line, and finds out whether factually incorrect science in the movies really matters?
According to the US National Academy of Science, it does. So much so that they have now set up a programme specifically designed to help their scientists work with the entertainment industry, to improve and foster a positive image of science on screen. Adam meets the producer of one of last year's biggest Hollywood blockbusters about his ambition to keep the science fact in the science fiction as accurate as possible, and how the scientists he worked with came up with some far more intriguing plot twists and turns than anything his writers could have dreamt up.
Presented by: Adam Rutherford; Produced by Alexandra Feachem
MON 17:00 PM (b011cm9r)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0118cy3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b011lhrb)
Series 60
Episode 2
Ever-popular panel show hosted by Nicholas Parsons.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b011c0nj)
Hiding inside the churchyard, Lynda calls Jamie who is walking past. She shows him the newly hatched peregrine, but he's more interested in how they killed the blackbird they're eating.
David is planning to ask Ed to work an extra shift to help him with the silage hauling, since Eddie is busy. Ruth struggles to engage David, who seems distant, and she's concerned he's working himself too hard. Ruth tells Jill that David's acting strangely all the time now, and is getting worse rather than better.
Ruth realises that David really does blame himself, but she's also angry that Elizabeth is being so difficult. Jill explains that Elizabeth is very confused by the whole situation. They determine to try to keep the family together, for the sake of the children if nothing else.
Jamie asks Jolene why she's reduced his hours. She tells him it's because they're reorganising things at The Bull. She doesn't want him on Saturdays any more but he can still do the Sunday shift. Then in the summer they might take him on again. Jamie's annoyed since he needs the money, and thinks that Jolene is starting to act like his mum. He leaves abruptly.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b011c0nl)
Germaine Greer, Anthony Browne, Beryl Bainbridge reviewed
When Beryl Bainbridge died in July 2010, she left a novel almost completed. The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress draws on a trip she made to America in 1968, the year when Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Sarah Churchwell reviews.
Germaine Greer discusses the selection of artwork in Out of Australia: Prints and Drawings from Sidney Nolan to Rover Thomas which is part of the British Museum's Australian Season. Curator Stephen Coppel responds to her views.
Anthony Browne's role as Children's Laureate comes to an end next month. He discusses the importance of drawing, and reflects on the autobiography through pictures which he has co-written with his son, which is called Playing the Shape Game.
The Hangover Part II is a sequel to the successful film starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, which saw them lose the groom and acquire a tiger on a stag night in Las Vegas. This time they travel to Thailand. Matt Thorne reviews.
Producer Robyn Read.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0118lkf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 ADHD and Me (b011c0nn)
Comedian Rory Bremner has found success in his ability to switch between impersonating many different people. But behind this comic persona is a man who struggles to focus, loses the thread and takes on too many tasks that can leave his personal and professional life in disarray. Rory had always put his chaotic lifestyle down to his personality.
However, after a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, within his family, Rory has realised he too may have the condition. For this documentary, Rory goes on a personal journey to find out how this condition affects adults, how attitudes have changed in the two decades since the ADHD was first recognised, and how we can support the next generation of sufferers to cope with this potentially devastating condition.
Producer: Lisa Needham
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b0112y4b)
Searching for an Alzheimer's Cure in Colombia
Early-onset Alzheimer's has stalked a poor extended family in Medellin, Colombia. The family carries a dominant gene that means that half are at risk. The disease strikes family members as young as 25 and by their 40s sufferers are in the grip of full-blown dementia. Alzheimer's is by and large a disease of the developed world, if for no other reason than that people in the developing world don't live long enough to suffer from it. Now by using the Colombian family to trial new drugs, researchers say they may be on the road to a global cure for Alzheimer's. Bill Law asks if this represents an unfair exploitation of desperate people - many of them barely literate - to benefit those in the West? Or is it a case of bringing hope to those in a hopeless situation?
Producer: Natalie Morton.
MON 21:00 Material World (b0112ydg)
Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of the science in and behind the headlines. This week Quentin asks if the remaining stocks of smallpox virus should be destroyed? He celebrates 150 years of the colour photo and finds out when and if we will know if we’ve found the elusive Higgs Boson particle.
The producer is Ania Lichtarowicz.
MON 21:30 Start the Week (b0118cxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b0118cy5)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b011g97s)
The Sun newspaper goes to the High Court to try to overturn the footballer super-injunction.
How can Spain find a way out of its economic woes?
Why Chinese men need a house before they can date.
With Ritula Shah.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b011c0nq)
The Forgotten Waltz
Encounters
'The Forgotten Waltz' is Anne Enright's long-awaited novel, her first since 'The Gathering', which won the Man Booker 2007.
'The amazing thing is how much I got in that first glance: how much, in retrospect, I should have known. It is all there: the twitch of interest in Sean, the whole business with Evie; I remember this very clearly, as I remember the neat and indomitable politeness of his wife.'
In a snow blanketed Dublin, Gina reflects on the last decade, from the moment she first caught a glimpse of Sean Vallely, through a haze of cigarette smoke, through the happenstance and lust, the hotel rooms and the secrets, that have brought down two marriages, three mortgages and left her a reluctant inhabitant of her childhood home. Startling, honest, witty and wry, Enright's novel captures the nuances and the bliss of an overwhelming attraction that becomes an affair and charts the gradual encroachment of reality,damage and a love that can't be overstated.
.
The Reader is Niamh Cusack, currently starring in Cause Celebre at the Old Vic.
The Abridger is Sally Marmion
The Producer is Di Speirs.
MON 23:00 Here We Come (b00pb8l3)
USA: John Waite's personal take on the story of The Monkees, the wildly successful 1960s pop group. From December 2009.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b011c0nv)
Sean Curran reports on exchanges in the Commons as an MP names the footballer at the centre of the row about privacy injunctions. MPs also hear the results of an inquiry into the murder of a lawyer in Northern Ireland in 1999. And delays to an IT system for the NHS in England leave a select committee fuming.
TUESDAY 24 MAY 2011
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b011bz25)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b0118cxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b011bz27)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b011bz29)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b011bz2c)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b011bz2f)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b011c0rp)
A short reflection and prayer with Pastor Lindsay Allen.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b011c0rr)
North and South - two farmers, one in Scotland and the other in England assess the dry weather's affect on crops. The Scottish farmer describes the warm weather as almost perfect for his lambs whilst a veggie grower in Worcestershire worries about his harvest. Rainfall in South East England has been below average for 13 out of the last 16 months.
Also on the programme, calls for newly qualified drivers to be taught how to drive safely on rural roads. The Institute of Advanced Motorists says in 2009, almost two thirds of all fatal accidents happen on routes through the countryside. And continuing Farming Today's look at food waste on farms - our reporter visits a cattle farm Redditch to see what is being done on site to reduce losses.
Presented by Anna Hill. Produced by Angela Frain.
TUE 06:00 Today (b011c0rt)
Morning news and current affairs with Sarah Montague and Justin Webb, including:
07:50 Does Obama really think the UK is an essential ally?
08:10 Has a privacy injunction broken Britain's constitution?
08:20 Is UK air space going to be closed again by the ash cloud?
TUE 09:00 The Choice (b011bz2h)
Mikey Walsh
A new series of The Choice begins this week with the story of Mikey Walsh.
He grew up in the closed world of the Romany gypsies.
Rarely at school, he seldom mixed with anyone outside his community with its colourful characters and strict family code. And despite its violence and hardships, it was the life that Mikey loved.
Eventually he was faced with the agonising decision of whether to turn his back on everyone and everything he knew .....and face an alien world with no education and support... knowing he would never be able to return.
TUE 09:30 The Prime Ministers (b011c0rw)
Series 2
Harold Wilson
Nick Robinson, the BBC Political Editor, continues his series exploring how different prime ministers have used their power, have responded to the great challenges of their time and have made the job what it is today.
This week's portrait in power is Harold Wilson, prime minister during 1964-70 and 1974-76, who won four of the five general elections that he fought as Labour Leader. He captured the mood for change in the 1960s, but his two terms at Number 10 were increasingly dominated by Britain's worsening economic problems.
Wilson became Labour Leader in 1963 and united his party by promising to modernise Britain. He seemed to represent change and looked in touch with modern Britain. His first election triumph in 1964 was no surprise and he won a second, resounding, victory in 1966. However, Wilson spent his first three years as prime minister shying away from devaluation of the pound. When devaluation eventually happened, he lost credibility and suffered further humiliation when he backed down over trade union reform in 1969. Yet his first term as premier brought major, liberal reforms in the law on moral and social matters.
After Wilson's only election defeat as Labour Leader in 1970, his party shifted to the left. Although he led Labour back into government in 1974, he lacked his old energy. He managed to preserve party unity on the issue of British membership of the EEC by holding the UK's first national referendum in 1975. Although his second term was dominated by Britain's economic crisis and also by internal divisions within his government and his party, his sudden resignation in 1976 came as a great shock to those not close to him.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b011j0dw)
Babysitting George
Episode 2
Written by Celia Walden. Celia has begun the awkward process of keeping an eye on the famously charming, but unpredictable, George Best. It's a relationship based on the commercial demands of celebrity journalism. George needs the money and the paper needs readers. But underneath the wine-soaked veneer is wit and intelligence and a man still in love with his estranged wife.
Read by Clare Corbett
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b011c0ry)
The sexualisation of young girls - can government change attitudes?
As the fighting in Afghanistan continues how do the soldiers' wives cope with the day to day pressures of their partners being away? Woman's Hour visits the Afghan Pebbles Project.
For three centuries, until 1900, in the southwest German territory of Württemberg, personal inventories were drawn up for most newly-married brides and bridegrooms and bereaved widows and widowers. Listing items from clothing to kitchen goods, land to luxuries, the entire contents of homes and businesses were inventoried for inheritance purposes, down to the last sack of dried apple slices. Remarkably, many thousands of these inventories survive today. Professor Sheilagh Ogilvie will explain to Jane on Woman's Hour how studying these documents can chart the history of how poor economies improved their living standards, and what lessons they can hold for developing economies today.
And Sanjeev Kapoor is India's best known chef. He has presented Asia's longest running TV show of all time, he has 25 books to his name and has recently launched India's first 24-hour Hindi-language cooking channel. There are many, many chicken curry recipes from all over India in his new book, Mastering the Art of Indian Cooking. He'll be showing Jane how to cook one of these - a simple but deliciously fragrant chicken curry from the southern state of Kerala.
Presented by Jane Garvey.
Producer: Kirsty Starkey.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b011cst4)
Colin Douglas - The Gap
Episode 2
A drama about an Edinburgh family breaking up during their daughter's gap year
by Colin Douglas.
Heather's left school with flying colours. She's off to Ghana for a gap year and then to Oxford. Her brother Fraser is going into second year at Cambridge studying medicine. But just before Heather leaves home her parents, James, a surgeon, and Pippa, a professor of economics have some shocking news - they're splitting up. Suddenly everything's changing for Heather.
After receiving a warm welcome in Ghana, Heather finds herself in trouble after sending a humorous email.
Cast:
Heather...............................................Kirsty McKay
James.................................................Paul Young
Pippa..................................................Isabella Jarrett
Fraser.................................................Keith McLeish
Janice.................................................Lesley Mackie
Dawn..................................................Lucy Paterson
Hector................................................Alasdair McCrone
Directed by David Ian Neville
Colin Douglas is an award-winning radio & TV writer and novelist with a distinctive voice. His plays for Radio 4 have included: The Life Class; Dress Up And Sing; Moving On & Taking The Waters (all written with Harry Quinn); and Better To Break Your Neck; Today We'll Finish Keats; Smart Boy Wanted; and the series, Safe In Our Hands. He's the author of nine novels including, The Houseman's Tale which he also dramatised as a series for BBC TV.
TUE 11:00 Saving Species (b011c0s0)
Series 2
Episode 5
5/30. The National Trust is hosting a BioBlitz event organised by the Bristol Natural History Consortium on the Tyntesfield Estate near Bristol, and Saving Species will be there. A BioBlitz is a growing phenomenon where local communities get together with naturalists and "blitz" an area with hand lenses and guide books endeavouring to identify all the animals and plants in a given place. Their data is then uploaded to a central data base. Tyntesfield - the former stately home of Lord Wraxall is thought by some to be one of the finest Victorian homes in the country, with Victorian methods being used to manage the estate by Lord Wraxall until his death in recent years. It's likely the BioBlitz will yield great results.
One of the benefits of joining a BioBlitz is to gain skills in observation, recording and naming living things. Saving Species asks a panel of experts "where will tomorrow's naturalists come from?" - some believe a loss of connection with nature is eroding this skill. We will have Sue Townsend from the Field Studies Council, Presenter and Naturalist Mike Dilger, Nature Conservation Consultant Doug Hulyer and poet Miles Chambers. And of course an audience of BioBlitzers!
Presenter: Brett Westwood
Producer: Sheena Duncan
Editor: Julian Hector.
TUE 11:30 Blowing in the Wind: Dylan's Spiritual Journey (b011c0s2)
To coincide with Dylan's birthday (24th May 2011) presenter Emma Freud explores the singers spiritual journey revealing a side to the performer often over looked.
The programme opens with how Dylan grew up a small-town Jew in Hibbing, Minnesota. We hear from Cantor Neil Schwartz he also grew up in the same town and his mother was Bob's Sunday school teacher.
Author of 'Prophet, Mystic, Poet' Seth Rogovoy reflects on Dylan's early years and his Barmitzvah. We explore early Dylan music and author Clinton Helylin believes Dylan not only drew on early negro spirituals but the Old testament for his more engaging material. Helping makes sense of some of the more complex theological messages is Nick Baines The Bishop of Bradford and a life long admirer of Bob Dylan.
It was in the late 1970s, Dylan became a born again Christian and 1979 album 'Slow Train Coming' championed Jesus. Author of 'Down The Highway' Howard Sounes finds Dylan's three Christian albums a "difficult listen". Whether they meant something significant to his audience is another matter, but Al Kasha who helped Dylan with his understanding of the scriptures is convinced you can't doubt the depth of Dylan's religious conversion.
Dylan's embrace of Christianity was unpopular with some of his fans and his album "Shot Of Love" recorded the spring 1981, featured Dylan's first secular compositions in more than two years, mixed with explicitly Christian songs. Essentially Dylan's venture into Christianity seemed to be coming to an end.
As we discover with all things Dylan, its tricky to work out what is going on inside the singer's mind but 'Blowing In The Wind - Dylan's Spiritual Journey" will go someway to exploring his thoughts and spiritual beliefs through his songs and these revealing interviews.
Producer: John Sugar
A Sugar Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b011c0s4)
Thousands of airline passengers face cancellations because of a volcanic ash cloud drifting from Iceland. British Airways, KLM, Aer Lingus and Easyjet have all stopped flights to and from Scotland until two o'clock. We'll bring you the latest from a team of experts and reporters from the areas affected and we want to hear how your travel plans are changing. Call You and Yours with Julian Worricker. Your chance to share your views on the programme. Email youandyours@bbc.co.uk, text 84844 and we may call you back or call 03700 100 444 (lines open at
10am Tuesday).
TUE 12:57 Weather (b011bz2k)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b011fcd4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
TUE 13:30 The Music Group (b011c0s6)
Series 5
Episode 5
Joining The Music Group this week are the host of Carpool, Scrapheap Challenge and Kryten in Red Dwarf, Robert Llewellyn; chef, cookery writer and co-founder of fast food chain Leon, Allegra McEvedy and artist, TV director and ex-Slits' guitarist Viv Albertine.
Their choice of music includes a rousing piece of power folk, a personal manifesto for female empowerment and a 1970s tribute to Thirties' night life in Berlin.
Along way we discover out how to bring a machete back from Burma and what aerobics has to do with punk rock. There's some lively disagreement over The X-Factor, militancy and The Woodcraft Folk and a track to which two of the guests can't help but sing along.
The Music Choices are:
Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons
Gloria sung by Patti Smith
Maybe This Time sung by Liza Minnelli from the film Cabaret
Presenter: Phil Hammond
Producer: Tamsin Hughes
A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b011c0nj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b011c0s8)
The Kingsnorth Six
The Kingsnorth Six, by Julia Hollander
In October 2007, climate change activists broke into Kingsnorth Power Station. They planned to climb its central chimney in protest against Government proposals to build more coal-fired power stations. But once on site they faced unexpected challenges. The play tells the story of their gruelling climb and their subsequent court case for criminal damage, in which they faced the threat of prison.
Produced and directed by Fiona Kelcher.
Julia Hollander is an author and journalist. She dramatised her memoir, When The Bough Breaks, for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 Making History (b011c0sb)
Fiona Watson explores the history of those who had to fight for both the Soviets and the Nazis in World War 2.
In Scotland we get a sneak preview of Historic Scotland's makeover of the royal apartments at Stirling Castle - a sixteenth century renaissance gem which was built to show-off the Stuart's place in European politics.
In London, a grubby identity card, which was found by a listener in her grandfather's personal possessions, reveals a forgotten moment of civil unrest in 1887 when the East End poor clashed with police in troops in Trafalgar Square. Tom Holland meets nineteenth century historian and Labour MP Tristram Hunt to find out more about a little-remembered 'bloody Sunday'.
Making History's game of historical chance, 'double-top Domesday' ends up in the village of Sturton by Stow in North West Lincolnshire thanks to the dart-throwing skills of Dr Richard Jones at the University of Leicester.
Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b011bz30)
The Pocket AA Milne
High Jinks at Happy-Thought Hall
A hundred years ago, A.A. Milne was honing his writing skills as Assistant Editor of Punch with his regular humorous columns and essays. Perfect gems of the form, his stories not only delight in the spirit of the age, they also transcend the years with their insights.
Parodying the country-house weekend, with its uncomfortable joys of evening games such as "Definitions", "The Complete Kitchen" and "High Jinks at Happy-Thought Hall", Milne captures the absurdity and vacuousness of characters in transition from idle youth to the tedium of adulthood.
Of course, no country house weekend would have been complete without "the little play for amateurs", perfectly formed examples of which Milne supplies in read-aloud form.
He also shares his experience of being out of his depth in the company of those more suited to society gatherings, in the form of survival hints and tips. One such is to become "an Authority" on something, anything, even if you know nothing - it livens things up.
Milne's stories might have a frivolous veneer, but each one ends with his customary twinkle in the eye, having given us more to think about than we imagined: "...But if you mix in the right society, and only see the wrong people once, it is really quite easy to be an authority on birds --- or, I imagine, on anything else."
When he re-published this collection of his humorous stories much later in his career, he observed that for years his younger self was "a model to which I was failing to live up... in fact he became, as one's past is bound to become, both a rival and a millstone." His talent for comic observation that was to become evident in his tales of Winnie-the-Pooh is obvious in these essays.
As he wrote himself by way of introduction:
"This little book contains the best of what my rival was writing thirty years ago. I contemplate him now with detachment. I have grown to appreciate his quality. So impartial am I become, that I am torn between a desire to tell him how very, very good he is, and a desire to re-write his book for him. But I shall do neither, leaving him to speak for himself."
Read by Ian McNeice
Abridged and Produced by Neil Cargill
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:45 Gilbert's Glory (b011c0ss)
Episode 2
Most people know W.S. Gilbert as the writer of comic operas such as 'The Mikado' and 'H.M.S.Pinafore' with Arthur Sullivan. But there was far more to his life and work than that. He was a prolific playwright, a writer of humorous verse including the 'Bab Ballads', a gifted artist and also a theatre director who helped to revolutionise the way plays were produced onstage.
In this series of programmes to mark the centenary of his death, the writer and poet Ruth Padel explores five aspects of Gilbert's work and evaluates his significance and his legacy. Key contributors include the director Mike Leigh whose movie "Topsy-Turvy" depicts the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as biographers, academics and performers such as Alistair McGowan who has performed and directed Gilbert and Sullivan operas and the singer Richard Suart who recently performed in "The Mikado" at English National Opera.
Programme 2 explores the way in which Gilbert used and developed the English language and investigates the way in which the word "Gilbertian" has become synonymous with wit and brilliance. Examples range from his earliest comic verse to his later patter songs in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
Producer: Emma Kingsley.
TUE 16:00 The Secret History of Social Networking (b00y2f2s)
Episode 2
Rory Cellan-Jones tells the story of the social networking scramble of the early 2000s and finds out how Facebook emerged to become world's biggest social network.
Online social networking had been around for decades, but the popularity of the World Wide Web opened the door to new applications and mass appeal.
For the first time, ordinary people were using computers to socialise in a new way. The rapid growth of our online lives resulted tempted dozens of entrepreneurs into the social networking fray.
In the UK, Bebo took off in British schools - and struck fear in the hearts of parents. Rory visits the couple who built the site and sold it to American tech giant AOL.
MySpace was once network of the future, but after being bought by News Corporation, its tech problems allowed other sites to take off.
The real push came from American college campuses, where wired hipsters were looking for ways to manage their social lives online.
Facebook wasn't the first site of its kind - other businesses had a lot in common with Mark Zuckerberg's efforts - but its simplicity and the single-minded focus of its CEO gave it an advantage over the competition.
From Harvard, Zuckerberg expanded around the world, now counting among his users 500 million people and a third of the British population. But with big growth has come big controversy, over privacy, security, and the targeted advertising that Facebook relies on for the lion's share of its profits.
Now one company is firmly at the top of the social networking pyramid, but the history of the industry has shown that fame can be fleeting. Rory finds out that even young people are becoming more wary about what they share online - could new networks spot a gap in the market and steal Facebook's crown? Part 2 of 3.
Interviewees include:
Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO, Facebook
Chris Cox, vice president of product, Facebook
Chris DeWolfe, co-founder MySpace
Julia Angwin, Wall Street Journal reporter, author of Stealing MySpace
Michael and Xochi Birch, co-founders, Bebo
Wayne Ting, co-founder, Campus Network
David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b011c0tr)
Series 24
Harold Pinter
Matthew Parris is joined by Diane Abbott MP and biographer and critic Michael Billington to explore the life of playwright and Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter.
His name - if you add an "esque" to it, as in Thatcheresque or Ortonesque - defines that which is 'marked especially by halting dialogue, uncertainty of identity, and air of menace'. But today's great life is not an easy man to encapsulate. He was a polymath - a playwright, poet, screenwriter, actor, director, political activist and Nobel Laureate - whom his biographer describes as 'an instinctively radical poet whose chosen medium is drama.' He was one of Britain's most celebrated writers - the master of the pause - Harold Pinter.
Pinter is said to have 'stamped his mark on the cultural and political scene as an observer of suburban brooding and as an irate iconoclast.' He was also born in Hackney, which explains in part why he has been chosen by Diane Abbott, Shadow Minister for Public Health, and MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.
The programme explores Pinter's life and his appeal for Abbott with expert assistance from Pinter's biographer, the writer and critic Michael Billington.
TUE 17:00 PM (b011cmgr)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b011bz2m)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Clare in the Community (b00srjdd)
Series 6
Clare v God
Social worker Clare doesn't like people on her patch - especially an interfering Vicar.
Clare Barker is the self-absorbed social worker who has the right jargon for every problem she comes across, though never a practical solution. But there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Clare ..... Sally Phillips
Brian ..... Alex Lowe
Ray ..... Richard Lumsden
Helen ..... Liza Tarbuck
Megan/Nali ..... Nina Conti
Libby ..... Sarah Kendall
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Producer: Katie Tyrrell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2010.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b011c0tt)
David calls on Ed, who is pleased to be asked to help out again. Emma's mildly offended when David takes no notice of Keira.
Roy discusses his proposals for the Lower Loxely falconry. Hayley's impressed but Roy's still unsure about talking to Elizabeth. He doesn't want to seem like a know-it-all.
Freddie and Lily enjoy their cinema trip, but Lily asks questions about David. Elizabeth explains that Aaron is helping them, as Uncle David has a lot to do at Brookfield. So they'll be getting on with their lives separately from now on.
Oliver offers to help David, and reminisces about how busy and stressed he used to get during spring. They also discuss David's role as chairman of the NFU. David thinks he's doing a bad job, forgetting to do the things he promises in meetings. Oliver's only heard good things about David, and encourages him to open up about the stress he's under. David almost talks about the night Nigel died, when Ed interrupts them. Oliver suggests that David can talk to him at any time, but David has closed up again, blaming his emotions on a long day's work.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b011c0tw)
Film producer Peter Bart on the making of The Godfather
With John Wilson.
Film executive Peter Bart reveals stories behind the making of films including The Great Gatsby, The Godfather and Don't Look Now, as detailed in his memoirs, Infamous Players.
After the huge critical success of his TV series The Wire, set in Baltimore, writer David Simon turned to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina for his series Treme, which focuses on the fate of musicians in the city. Robin Denselow reviews Treme as it arrives on DVD.
Music entrepreneur Alan McGee discusses the rollercoaster story of his label Creation Records, home of the band Oasis.
As the Venice Biennale begins, Grainne Sweeney, creative director of The National Glass Centre, Sunderland, and Mark Segal, director of Artsway's New Forest Pavilion, explain why they are investing money in sending artists to exhibit there.
Producer: Rebecca Nicholson.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b011cst4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Islam Inc (b011c0ty)
From Africa to Kazakhstan, a new Islamic network is attracting millions of followers - and millions of dollars. Inspired by a little-known Turkish Imam, the Gulen movement has more than a thousand schools in more than a hundred countries as well as thinktanks, newspapers, TV and radio stations, a university - and even a bank. The movement's critics claim it's determined to create a new Muslim empire. It's supporters say it's just the expression of a modern, business-friendly Islam committed to human rights and democracy. Edward Stourton travels to Turkey to find out about the man who inspired what has become a global phenomenon - Fetullah Gulen. There he meets supporters and critics of the movement. He also talks to some of its most committed ambassadors - who are running its schools in Central Asia.
Producer: Helen Grady.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b011c0v0)
Schooling for visually impaired children and audio introductions for films
Joseph Clarke School is the only state funded day school for blind and partially sighted children in South East England. It prides itself on being able to offer a specialist education to children with sight loss but in order to save money, it is now looking at joining forces with a much larger special school for children with multiple disabilities. Parents and teachers are concerned that the school's specialist skills could be diluted or lost completely if this alliance goes ahead. And is it appropriate to educate children with very different needs in the same setting? Lee Kumutat reports.
Plus, do you ever feel like you miss out on the visual style of a film? We hear from one audio describer who is working on a project for audio introductions to films. These give blind and partially sighted people a flavour of the cinematic style, together with a description of costumes, characters and locations. Guest: Louise Fryer.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Steven Williams.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b011mt0z)
Racism - Defeat - Comic Strips
Can mess encourage racism? New research by Dutch researchers has found that in a messy and disordered environments people think more in stereotypes and even racist thinking. Claudia Hammond speaks to Professor Siegwart Lindenberg, a social scientist at Tilburg University in Holland, who also explains how the experiment examined unconscious negative responses to race too. In a messy railway station, people sat on average further from a black person than a white one, whereas in the clean station there was no statistical difference. What implications does this research have for social policy and keeping areas prone to racial violence tidy?
Sport and one man's win is another's despair. How we bounce back from defeat is a matter of huge psychological debate. Claudia speaks to Dr Tim Rees from Exeter University who has co-authored a recent paper examining the influence of different feedback on improving performance. The research (in which the participants played darts, blindfolded) found that when positive feedback to failure put the emphasis on change being within your control, there was significant improvement in performance.
From psychiatric ward to Psychiatric Tales. Darryl Cunningham's interest in mental health because of his own problems, led him to work in that field too. Although he found he was not quite cut out for such a stressful job, he tells Claudia how he's turned a diary from that time into a published book of comic strips.
TUE 21:30 The Choice (b011bz2h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b011bz2p)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b011g97g)
In a special programme to co-incide with President Obama's visit, we ask: what are the limits of American power?
With Robin Lustig in Washington.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b011c0w9)
The Forgotten Waltz
In These Shoes
'The Forgotten Waltz' is Anne Enright's long-awaited novel, her first since 'The Gathering', which won the Man Booker 2007.
'The amazing thing is how much I got in that first glance: how much, in retrospect, I should have known. It is all there: the twitch of interest in Sean, the whole business with Evie; I remember this very clearly, as I remember the neat and indomitable politeness of his wife.'
In a snow blanketed Dublin, Gina reflects on the last decade, from the moment she first caught a glimpse of Sean Vallely, through a haze of cigarette smoke, through the happenstance and lust, the hotel rooms and the secrets, that have brought down two marriages, three mortgages and left her a reluctant inhabitant of her childhood home. Startling, honest, witty and wry, Enright's novel captures the nuances and the bliss of an overwhelming attraction that becomes an affair and charts the gradual encroachment of reality, damage and a love that can't be overstated.
In today's episode an international conference in Switzerland, too much booze and the luxury of the kiss sets lust in motion.
The Reader is Niamh Cusack.
The Abridger is Sally Marmion
The Producer is Di Speirs.
TUE 23:00 Jon Ronson On (b011c0wc)
Series 6
Aiming Low
Jon Ronson talks to Stewart Lee about why we are all so caught up in competitive lives. They discuss how choosing to aim low in a conscious way is the way forward.
Producer: Laura Parfitt and Simon Jacobs
An Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b011c0wf)
Susan Hulme with the day's top news stories from Westminster.
WEDNESDAY 25 MAY 2011
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0118kx0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b011j0dw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0118kx2)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0118kx4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0118kx6)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0118kx8)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b011c21r)
A short reflection and prayer with Pastor Lindsay Allen.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b011c21t)
Farmers say that big retailers should be fined if they treat suppliers unfairly, this comes as the role of a Grocery Adjudicator comes one step closer but not everyone's happy about it. The British Retail Consortium says that the consumer will ultimately bear the cost.
Parts of the UK are facing drought conditions. Anna Hill talks to William Brigham who has resorted to irrigating pasture for his dairy herd to eat. The Environment Agency gives advice to farmers about how to make the most of a scarce water supply.
A European parliamentary committee is recomending a review to allow animals to be fed remains from other livestock. At the moment it's illegal to use the remains of chickens, pigs and fish in animal feed... But this potential U-turn comes as concerns grow about the cost of feeding livestock as the global population increases.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Ruth Sanderson.
WED 06:00 Today (b011c21w)
Morning news and current affairs, with Justin Webb and Evan Davis, including:
07:50 Are we overreacting about the ash cloud?
08:10 Beyond the public appearances, what is the political substance of Obama's visit to the UK?
08:20 Is "structured reality" a good development in TV?
WED 09:00 Midweek (b011c21y)
This week Libby Purves is joined by Professor Nicky Clayton, Bill Roedy, Edward Petherbridge and Steve Greenhaugh.
Nicky Clayton is Professor of Comparative Cognition at Cambridge University and is an expert in bird behaviour. She is also passionate about dance and now combines these two strands as the Rambert Dance Company's first 'Scientist in Residence'. She is working with the Rambert on a new production, "Seven for a Secret, Never to be Told" and will be at this year's Hay Festival.
Bill Roedy is the former Chairman and Chief Executive of MTV. In his book, 'What Makes Business Rock', he tells the story of how he built MTV into a global phenomenon. 'What Makes Business Rock' is published by Wiley.
Edward Petherbridge is a distinguished stage actor who has had a long and varied career. He was part of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company at the Old Vic and starred as Lord Peter Wimsey in the BBC adaptation of the Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries. He is currently playing the prophet Teresias in Sophocles' 'Antigone' (translated by Timberlake Wertenbaker) at London's Southwark Playhouse.
Steve Greenhaugh worked as an RSPCA inspector in Lancashire for twenty-eight years. His book ' A Seal Pup in My Bath' tells of his training and early career rescuing thousands of injured, abandoned and abused animals from stranded cats and injured birds, to joining on police raids on quail fighting rings. 'A Seal Pup in My Bath - Tales From an RSPCA Inspector' is published by Constable.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b011j0hc)
Babysitting George
Episode 3
Written by Celia Walden. Having fled the paparazzi in Malta, George has returned home. But the newspaper still feels that he needs babysitting and Celia is once again dispatched to make sure that George keeps his contractual obligations to the paper. A trip to a health farm follows, but it's hard to leave fame and the craving for alcohol behind.
Read by Clare Corbett
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b011c220)
Presented by Jenni Murray. As the British Library stages its first exhibition exploring Science Fiction, we ask whether there is still a male bias to the genre? If it's perfectly normal and everyone's doing it, why do we find it so hard to talk about it? Agony aunt Suzi Godson and columnist Joan Smith join us to talk about masturbation. We look at the dangers of taking the so called "party drug" Ketamine and looks at the ethics of consumer fashion.
WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b011ct6p)
Colin Douglas - The Gap
Episode 3
As the weeks go by in Ghana, gap year student Heather discovers there are staffing problems at her school. Stars Kirsty McKay.
WED 11:00 Going on the Gallopers (b011c222)
A portrait of the life, popular art and remarkable engineering of Carters Steam Fair. John Carter was interested in old machinery and fairground art. People began giving him gear and rides, or selling them to him when they retired, knowing he would keep them working.
His obsession encompassed his family and now, a decade after his death, Carters Steam Fair, staffed by John's widow, his sons and many old friends, travels for 7 months of the year, and spends winter in the yard fettling, burnishing and painting.
There are gallopers (no, not carousels) of extraordinary glamour and beauty, dizzying steam yachts and the amazing Chair -o - Planes. The family and workers live in exquisite 1940s art deco showmen's wagons, with cut-glass clerestories.
Their set-up is different everywhere they go because they regard all this as art and architecture - that moves. Even their lorries are ancient and beautiful - This programme, recorded in their winter yard and on site while they work, captures the wild, bright, musical, oily beauty, and thoughtful philosophy, of the life of the steam fair.
Producer: Julian May
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
WED 11:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b00j7522)
Series 1
Boston
Comedian Mark Steel visits Boston in Lincolnshire to take a look at the Stump and sprouts and see for himself why the inhabitants have no need of a handbrake. With a guest appearance from a Boston rapper he presents a show to the locals and tries and work out what makes the town so distinctive. From March 2009.
Producer - Julia McKenzie.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b011c224)
Winifred Robinson talks to Housing Minister Grant Shapps about the Mortgage Rescue Scheme - has it helped as many people as was hoped?
She examines a new report which suggests mobile phones and wifi should be banned from use in schools.
We explore why websites offering translated pages tend to have more success in business.
And we hear how one plant nursery kept afloat during the recession.
WED 12:57 Weather (b0118kxb)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b011fcd6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
WED 13:30 The Media Show (b011c22d)
Al Gore, the chairman of Current TV, has accused Sky Italia of refusing to renew Current TV's contract due to a political agenda. Gore claims that his channel was dropped after it hired left wing commentator Keith Olbermann, a directive he says came from News Corp headquarters. Sky Italia have dismissed the claims as "nonsense" and say the decision was a purely commercial one. Steve Hewlett hears from Al Gore and the head of Sky Italia Tom Mockridge.
Despite a judge granting an injunction to protect his privacy, thousands of people have made allegations about Ryan Giggs's personal life on Twitter. Does the law need to be re-assessed to take the impact of social networks into account? And can Twitter be held responsible for its millions of users? The Telegraph's Emma Barnett explains where Twitter stands now.
Ofcom has upheld a complaint against Press TV, finding the broadcaster in serious breach of the rules. Last year Press TV broadcast a clip of an interview with journalist Maziar Bahari, which was given while he was imprisoned in Iran but the fact that the interview was given under extreme duress was not made clear. Maziar Bahari joins Steve Hewlett to discuss Ofcom's ruling and the future for Press TV in the UK.
Producer SIMON TILLOTSON.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b011c0tt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b00lg4c7)
Torchwood
Asylum
When PC Andy arrests a teenager for shoplifting, he thinks it's going to be a routine case. Then he sees the weapon she's carrying and decides to call in Torchwood. Under questioning from Gwen, the girl remembers her name but little else, and when she speaks it's in a strange mix of English and Scandinavian but with a Cardiff accent. Then the girl's blood tests come through and the team is faced with a dilemma.
Jack ... John Barrowman
Gwen ... Eve Myles
Ianto ... Gareth David-Lloyd
PC Andy ... Tom Price
Freda ... Erin Richards
Security Guard ... Matthew Gravelle
Policewoman ... Sara McGaughey
Dog Walker ... Dick Bradnum
Girl ... Isabel Lewis
Writer: Anita Sullivan
Sound Design: Nigel Lewis
Director: Kate McAll
BBC Cymru Wales.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b011c235)
Do you have a question about changing employment law, rights at work or resolving workplace disputes?
Whether you are an employee or run a small business you may need to ask about the recent changes to paternity leave, flexible working or the default retirement age.
Or perhaps you are curious about improved rights for agency workers from October.
Whatever your question, Paul Lewis and a team of employment experts will be ready to help.
Phone lines open at
1.30pm on Wednesday 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.
WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b011bz6k)
The Pocket AA Milne
Little Plays for Amateurs
A.A. Milne relives the agony and ecstasy of amateur dramatics during a country-house weekend.
A hundred years ago, A.A. Milne was honing his writing skills as Assistant Editor of Punch with his regular humorous columns and essays. Perfect gems of the form, his stories not only delight in the spirit of the age, they also transcend the years with their insights.
Parodying the country-house weekend, with its uncomfortable joys of evening games such as "Definitions", "The Complete Kitchen" and "High Jinks at Happy-Thought Hall", Milne captures the absurdity and vacuousness of characters in transition from idle youth to the tedium of adulthood.
Of course, no country house weekend would have been complete without "the little play for amateurs", perfectly formed examples of which Milne supplies in read-aloud form.
When he re-published this collection of his humorous stories much later in his career, he observed that for years his younger self was "a model to which I was failing to live up... in fact he became, as one's past is bound to become, both a rival and a millstone." His talent for comic observation that was to become evident in his tales of Winnie-the-Pooh is obvious in these essays.
As he wrote himself by way of introduction:
"This little book contains the best of what my rival was writing thirty years ago. I contemplate him now with detachment. I have grown to appreciate his quality. So impartial am I become, that I am torn between a desire to tell him how very, very good he is, and a desire to re-write his book for him. But I shall do neither, leaving him to speak for himself."
Read by Ian McNeice
Abridged and Produced by Neil Cargill
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:45 Gilbert's Glory (b011c237)
Episode 3
Most people know W.S. Gilbert as the writer of comic operas such as 'The Mikado' and 'H.M.S.Pinafore' with Arthur Sullivan. But there was far more to his life and work than that. He was a prolific playwright,. a writer of humorous verse including the 'Bab Ballads', a gifted artist and a theatre director who helped to revolutionise the way plays were produced onstage.
In this series of programmes to mark the centenary of his death, the writer and poet Ruth Padel explores five aspects of Gilbert's work and evaluates his significance and his legacy. Key contributors include the director Mike Leigh whose movie 'Topsy-Turvy' depicts the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as biographers, academics and performers such as Alistair McGowan who has performed and directed Gilbert and Sullivan operas and the singer Richard Suart who recently performed in 'The Mikado' at English National Opera.
Programme 3 explores Gilbert as a dramatist and satirist. We hear how he developed and parodied Victorian genres of burlesque and pantomime to create new comic effects and to mock institutions such as the House of Lords in 'Iolanthe'. But he also wrote several little-known 'problem' plays, depicting the double standards of the society in which he lived. Ruth Padel investigates how effective his satire was.
Producer: Emma Kingsley.
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b011c239)
Playboy - Celebrity politics
Carrie Pitzulo, the author of a new history of Playboy claims it has "a surprisingly strong record of support for women's rights and the modernisation of sexual and gender roles". Are Bunny Girls and Playmates of the Month really allies of the feminist cause? Laurie is joined by the author Carrie Pitzulo and the sociologist Angela McRobbie to discuss the secret and surprises of the bunny brand.
Also, why do young people trust popular entertainers more than politicians? Sanna Inthorn discusses her new research into celebrity politics.
Producer: Charlie Taylor.
WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b011mt0z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 17:00 PM (b011cmjk)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0118kxd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b010mztl)
Series 3
Episode 4
Arthur Smith presents comedy and music from his flat in Balham, south London.
With Billy Jenkins, Kevin Eldon, Imran Yusef plus poetry from Kate Fox
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b011c23f)
While preparing for the book club, Lynda and Robert chat about the Britain in Bloom committee. They discuss Lynda's birthday trip to Yat Rock, where they hope to see more peregrines and maybe goshawks.
Robert welcomes Jennifer and Susan, and explains that since Cranford's not his kind of book he's just in charge of refreshments. With the meeting in flow, Jennifer enthuses over the book. Everyone agrees with her, except Susan, She didn't believe Miss Matt's understanding of retail and this ruined it for her. Jennifer hasn't made a decision on the book for the next meeting yet, so will email her choice.
Kenton suggests a drink and chat would help David unwind. David's convinced he's ruined things for good with Elizabeth and talking about it won't help. Instead he intends to throw himself fully into his work.
Shula's not managed to get anything out of David either. It's brought back Shula's memories of losing Mark, but unlike Elizabeth she didn't blame anyone. Shula wonders if she could make Elizabeth see that acting destructively isn't the best option. Kenton suggests she gives it a try, although Elizabeth might not want to hear it.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b011c23h)
James Corden on stage; Martin and Eliza Carthy
With Mark Lawson, including an interview with folk musician Martin Carthy, who has just celebrated his 70th birthday. He and his daughter Eliza perform Farewell Sweet Nancy in the Front Row studio.
James Corden returns to the National Theatre, where he appeared in The History Boys. Nicholas Hytner directs him in One Man, Two Guvnors, Richard Bean's new version of Goldoni's comedy. Gaylene Gould reviews.
Dramatist Stephen Poliakoff discusses an exhibition profiling Jewish entertainers in Britain on stage, screen and in music.
Producer: Andrea Kidd.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b011ct6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b011c23k)
Public figures and public morality
There are the sins we know we know; the sins we think we know and the sins we know we don't know, but think we should know. All over the papers and news the rich, powerful and famous are being called to account. It might be Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke, mildly mispeaking himself, and thus earning a barrage of demands for his resignation. Or the outrage at Chris Huhne, who - before he was an MP - may have been speeding and may have asked his wife to take his penalty points, a crime which hundreds of thousands of Britons have committed. And that's before we even get to the footballing hero, with his more than wandering eye. We and the media that serve us, are certainly having our moral pound of flesh. Is this the sign of a healthy democracy and a Fifth Estate that knows its moral boundaries and is policing them with commendable vigour? Are we getting more of these stories now because members of the elites in our society are behaving more badly than in the past and therefore need to be brought to book, or is it just our desire to bring down the powerful? Or maybe it's more that our culture is being driven by sanctimony, fear and loathing? Should we be tackling the elite for their moral turpitude, or looking at our own hate fuelled hypocrisy?
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by David Aaronovitch with Claire Fox, Clifford Longley, Melanie Phillips and Matthew Taylor.
Witnesses:
Peter Oborne - Chief Political commentator of the Daily Telegraph and author of The Rise of Political Lying
Rachel Cooke - Writer at The Observer
Steve Clifford - General Director of the Evangelical Alliance
Aric Sigman - Psychologist, biologist, and author.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b011c244)
Series 2
Philip Cowley: Politicians and Pogo Sticks
Philip Cowley examines how politicians have changed and using letters from leading politicians he argues politicians today compare favourably to those of the 1950s. Plus, he has a small confession to make...
Recorded live at the RSA in London, Four Thought is unscripted, thought-provoking and entertaining, with a personal dimension.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b011c246)
Nature's Medicine Cabinet
Take the venom from a scorpion, the suckers from a starfish and the sting from a bee. You won't create a spell to turn a prince into a frog but you might just find a new anti-asthma spray, a way to prevent the failure of heart by-passes or the answer to drug-resistant bacteria
Rapid advances in genetic research are throwing open the medical treasure chest of the natural world. Chemicals that perform a clear function for a plant or animal can be isolated, studied and, in some cases, applied to complex medical problems.
This is obviously good news for patients but could it also be good news for endangered wildlife? Could we soon be concentrating our limited conservation resources on saving the plants and animals that offer up something to humanity?
Dr. Alice Roberts and medical writer John Naish explore nature's medicine cabinet and consider the ethical dilemmas.
WED 21:30 Midweek (b011c21y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b0118kxh)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b011g97j)
President Obama on why the relationship between the USA and the UK matters.
We'll take a look at the role played by Libyan women in Benghazi.
And Michelle Obama visits her mentored girls, but do inspirational speeches really work?
With Ritula Shah.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b011c248)
The Forgotten Waltz
Kiss Me Honey, Honey
'The Forgotten Waltz' is Anne Enright's long-awaited novel, her first since 'The Gathering', which won the Man Booker 2007.
In a snow blanketed Dublin, Gina reflects on the last decade, from the moment she first caught a glimpse of Sean Vallely, through a haze of cigarette smoke, through the happenstance and lust, the hotel rooms and the secrets, that have brought down two marriages, three mortgages and left her a reluctant inhabitant of her childhood home. Startling, honest, witty and wry, Enright's novel captures the nuances and the bliss of an overwhelming attraction that becomes an affair and charts the gradual encroachment of reality, damage and a love that can't be surpassed or ignored.
In today's episode an invitation from his wife to a New Year's Day party, a stolen kiss and an unwanted witness.
The Reader is Niamh Cusack.
The Abridger is Sally Marmion
The Producer is Di Speirs.
WED 23:00 Fabulous (b00fb8zx)
Series 2
Episode 4
Faye is anxious. She knows that today's women are Fabulous; they have it all, the job, the house, the colour-co-ordinated capsule wardrobe and they cope with the pressures modern life brings effortlessly, with nothing more than a copy of Prima and a poem by Pam Ayres to guide them. So why can't she pull it off? Life should be exciting with Edith going on maternity leave and announcing who will get her job...
Starring Daisy Haggard with Katy Brand, Stephen Critchlow, Ben Crowe, Justin Edwards, Mel Hudson, Martin Hyder, Joanna Neary, Jo Scanlan, Laura Solon, Dan Starkey and Ann Reid.
Written by Lucy Clarke
Music by Osymyso
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b011c24b)
Sean Curran reports on the historic address by President Obama to both Houses of Parliament. He reports too on debates in the House of Lords on Europe, Lords' reform and the merits - or otherwise - of switching to Central European Time.
THURSDAY 26 MAY 2011
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b0118kxk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b011j0hc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0118kxm)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0118kxp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0118kxr)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0118kxv)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b011cff6)
A short reflection and prayer with Pastor Lindsay Allen.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b011cff8)
The weather continues to affect food production across the UK. Winds of up to 100 miles an hour earlier this week have damaged hundreds of acres of polytunnels protecting soft fruits, like strawberries and raspberries destined for supermarkets in the next few weeks. Angus Growers in Scotland, one of the largest soft fruit producers in the UK, say it could cost them 6 million pounds.
Whilst in East Anglia experts are predicting if drought conditions don't improve, farmers could see the barley yield halve and other crops drop by 10-40%.
Also on the programme, the National Farmers Union says it's angry the industry could soon have to pay the whole cost of inspecting animals and meat, an estimated cost £20 million nationally. The move still has to be approved the Government. The Food Standards Agency says it isn't right for it, as the body which inspects and regulates abattoirs, to also subsidise them by not charging the real cost of the inspections.
And hear how a dairy farmer is employing a waste-not want-not approach to his business in Norfolk.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith; Producer: Angela Frain.
THU 06:00 Today (b011cffb)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Justin Webb, including:
07:50 Can Scotland control sectarianism?
08:10 New concerns over elderly care in English hospitals.
08:55 How chivalry lives on in modern warfare.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b011cffd)
Xenophon
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Xenophon.Xenophon, an aristocratic Athenian, was one of the most celebrated writers of the ancient world. Born in around 430 BC, he was a friend and pupil of the great philosopher Socrates. In his twenties he took part in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Persian king Artaxerxes II, and played a key role in guiding the surviving Greek troops - known as the Ten Thousand - back to safety. It was a dangerous journey from deep inside hostile territory, and lasted more than a year. Xenophon's gripping account of this military campaign, the Anabasis, is one of the masterpieces of Greek literature.Xenophon went on to write a history of the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath. But he was not just a historian, and his other works include books about household management, hunting and his mentor Socrates. His advice on the education and behaviour of princes had a significant influence in Renaissance Italy, and his treatise on horsemanship is still widely read today.With:Paul CartledgeA.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at Cambridge UniversityEdith HallProfessor of Classics and Drama at Royal Holloway, University of LondonSimon GoldhillProfessor in Greek Literature and Culture at the University of Cambridge and Fellow and Director of Studies in Classics at King's College.Producer: Thomas Morris.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b011j0kh)
Babysitting George
Episode 4
Written by Celia Walden. Once again, George has eluded the pursuing media and headed off in pursuit of wine and women. Celia Walden continues her account of the lonely and frenetic world where tabloid journalism, addiction and celebrity feed off each other.
Read by Clare Corbett
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b011cffg)
Presented by Jenni Murray. Andrea Corr on her solo career, we assess the chances of the French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde who's running for the head of the IMF. Jenni discusses Love through history, philosophy, literature and popular culture, with the philosopher Simon May the writer Lisa Appignanesi. And a new project helping parents with alcohol problems.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b011d72g)
Colin Douglas - The Gap
Episode 4
A drama about an Edinburgh family breaking up during their daughter's gap year
by Colin Douglas.
Heather's left school with flying colours. She's off to Ghana for a gap year and then to Oxford. Her brother Fraser is going into second year at Cambridge studying medicine. But just before Heather leaves home her parents, James, a surgeon, and Pippa, a professor of economics have some shocking news - they're splitting up. Suddenly everything's changing for Heather.
As Heather and her friend prepare to go off travelling in Ghana over the Christmas break the school finances are under scrutiny and more staff are leaving.
Cast:
Heather...............................................Kirsty McKay
James.................................................Paul Young
Pippa..................................................Isabella Jarrett
Fraser.................................................Keith McLeish
Janice.................................................Lesley Mackie
Dawn..................................................Lucy Paterson
Hector................................................Alasdair McCrone
Directed by David Ian Neville
Colin Douglas is an award-winning radio & TV writer and novelist with a distinctive voice. His plays for Radio 4 have included: The Life Class; Dress Up And Sing; Moving On & Taking The Waters (all written with Harry Quinn); and Better To Break Your Neck; Today We'll Finish Keats; Smart Boy Wanted; and the series, Safe In Our Hands. He's the author of nine novels including, The Houseman's Tale which he also dramatised as a series for BBC TV.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b011cffj)
The Roman Catholic Church is accused of running a dirty campaign as the people of Malta prepare to vote in a referendum on divorce. Jake Wallis Simons has been gauging the mood in and around the capital, Valletta; Anna Cavell, who's in Kampala, Uganda, tells us how the continuing series of protests is heaping pressure on the long-standing president Yoweri Museveni; Bhutan, the Himalayan mountain kingdom, is a place said to be more interested in Gross National Happiness than Gross Domestic Product! Mark Tully's been talking to the prime minister there about whether this is the most profitable way for the country to move forward; the war in Sri Lanka may now finally be at an end but Peter Meanwell, who's been there making a music programme for Radio 3, says its legacy can still be seen throughout the north ... and as Europe prepares for its biggest football match of the year, Pascale Harter tells us why the fans of FC Barcelona believe it's a club with a difference!
THU 11:30 Doing It in the Street (b011cffl)
Actor and academic Martin Reeve occasionally takes to the streets under the performance name of Mr Lucky, the Man with the Raining Umbrella. It's an act he's been doing for the last twenty-five years or so, since he first teamed up with street theatre company Avanti Display. He's fascinated by the way that street theatre, or outdoor performance which is free and accessible to anyone passing by, affects our perceptions of the spaces around us: shopping centres, streets and squares, buildings, parks and public places. For him, it's a more radical and dangerous art form than might be imagined, with its roots in the political turbulence of the 1960s when companies like Welfare State International decided to take art and performance out of theatres and galleries onto the streets as a deliberate counter-cultural tactic. Although it may now feel less radical, often confined to festivals, civic celebrations and corporate entertainment, he believes street theatre can still make us see the world differently, and stop traffic momentarily to make the familiar seem, just for a moment, unfamiliar and extraordinary.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b011cffn)
Consumer news with Winifred Robinson.
Down the drains with a flusher - we count the cost of clearing up the baby wipes and face cleaners we insist on flushing down the loo.
The death of a child in a nursery playground has highlighted how the regulator, OFSTED, does not always publish information which parents might view as vital. John Waite reports.
Last week David Cameron outlined the areas where Ministers will be rethinking NHS reforms in England. But what do GPs think about this change of heart, and what will it mean for them?
Why are we finding it so hard to wean ourselves off peat? Jamie Oliver's put his name to a compost containing it and Alan Titchmarsh admits using it - but in 1990 the British government set targets to reduce peat use by 90% by 2010. Garden writer Mark Diacono, Head of Gardens at River Cottage, and Tim Briercliffe of the Horticultural Trade Association, discuss.
THU 12:57 Weather (b0118kxx)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b011fcd8)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
THU 13:30 Costing the Earth (b011c246)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:00 The Archers (b011c23f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b00lg4nq)
Torchwood
Golden Age
By James Goss. On the trail of a dangerous energy field, Torchwood are led to Delhi. As the energy field grows once more, they witness the simultaneous disappearance of hundreds of people. Jack discovers that the field centres on an old colonial mansion - Torchwood India. Shocked to find that Torchwood India is still going strong - he shut it down himself over 80 years ago - he's even more surprised to find that its members, including his old flame the Duchess, haven't aged a day.
Jack ..... John Barrowman
Gwen ..... Eve Myles
Ianto ..... Gareth David-Lloyd
The Duchess ..... Jasmine Hyde
Mr Daz ..... Amerjit Dew
Mahajan ..... Ravin J Ganatra
Gissing ..... Richard Mitchley
Writer: James Goss
Sound Design: Nigel Lewis
Director: Kate McAll
BBC Cymru Wales.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b0118bgk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:07 on Saturday]
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b0118cmq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b011bz70)
The Pocket AA Milne
The Arrival of Blackman's Warbler
How to survive dinner parties by becoming an expert on absolutely anything.
A hundred years ago, A.A. Milne was honing his writing skills as Assistant Editor of Punch with his regular humorous columns and essays. Perfect gems of the form, his stories not only delight in the spirit of the age, they also transcend the years with their insights.
Parodying the country-house weekend, with its uncomfortable joys of evening games such as "Definitions", "The Complete Kitchen" and "High Jinks at Happy-Thought Hall", Milne captures the absurdity and vacuousness of characters in transition from idle youth to the tedium of adulthood.
Of course, no country house weekend would have been complete without "the little play for amateurs", perfectly formed examples of which Milne supplies in read-aloud form.
When he re-published this collection of his humorous stories much later in his career, he observed that for years his younger self was "a model to which I was failing to live up... in fact he became, as one's past is bound to become, both a rival and a millstone." His talent for comic observation that was to become evident in his tales of Winnie-the-Pooh is obvious in these essays.
As he wrote himself by way of introduction:
"This little book contains the best of what my rival was writing thirty years ago. I contemplate him now with detachment. I have grown to appreciate his quality. So impartial am I become, that I am torn between a desire to tell him how very, very good he is, and a desire to re-write his book for him. But I shall do neither, leaving him to speak for himself."
Read by Ian McNeice
Abridged and Produced by Neil Cargill
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:45 Gilbert's Glory (b011cfms)
Episode 4
Most people know W.S. Gilbert as the writer of comic operas such as 'The Mikado' and 'H.M.S.Pinafore' with Arthur Sullivan. But there was far more to his life and work than that. He was a prolific playwright,. a writer of humorous verse including the 'Bab Ballads', a gifted artist and a theatre director who helped to revolutionise the way plays were produced onstage.
In this series of programmes to mark the centenary of his death, the writer and poet Ruth Padel explores five aspects of Gilbert's work and evaluates his significance and his legacy. Key contributors include the director Mike Leigh whose movie 'Topsy-Turvy' depicts the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as biographers, academics and performers such as Alistair McGowan who has performed and directed Gilbert and Sullivan operas and the singer Richard Suart who recently performed in 'The Mikado' at English National Opera.
Programme 4 examines Gilbert's achievements as a theatre director and looks at the ways in which he helped revolutionise theatre production. He was part of a new movement to end the tradition of the actor-manager and put control of stagecraft into the hands of the director. He also displayed meticulous attention to detail as far as costumes and sets were concerned. We hear about the way he created miniature sets and plotted action using woodblocks - but how his cast of real characters didn't always respond as he would have liked.
Producer: Emma Kingsley.
THU 16:00 Open Book (b0118cn9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:30 Material World (b011cfmv)
Adam Rutherford stands in for Quentin this week and hears the latest news about the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, the Grimsvotn eruption that caused it and its impact for aviation. He reports from his small garden in East London on how private gardens benefit the urban environment, and he discovers how scientists from Imperial College London are working out the shape of one of the smallest things known - the electron.
The producer is Martin Redfern.
THU 17:00 PM (b011jvzr)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0118kxz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 The Simon Day Show (b011cfmx)
Series 1
Simon Day
Simon Day and his characters welcome listeners to The Mallard, a small provincial theatre somewhere in the UK. Each week one of Simon's characters come to perform at The Mallard and we hear the highlights of that night's show along with the back stage and front of house goings on at the theatre itself.
In the final episode of the series British comedy legend and star of The Fast Show, Down the Line and Bellamy's People, Simon Day visits The Mallard Theatre as "himself".
Cast list:
Simon Day ..... Simon Day
Catherine ..... Catherine Shepherd
Goose ..... Felix Dexter
Ron Bone ..... Simon Greenall
Written by Simon Day
Produced by Colin Anderson.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b011cfmz)
Brian tells Adam that he and Jennifer plan to visit Gretham College and Joseph Hill in a few weeks' time. They'll talk to Ruairi if the schools look promising. Jazzer arrives, claiming he's worried about the Polish pickers' lack of integration. He suggests that Adam should organise some social events with the pickers and locals. Brian and Adam reject his idea, and suggest Jazzer will have to try harder to get to know Zofia.
Elizabeth and Roy go through plans for upcoming events. The time off has done Elizabeth good, and she's ready to focus on her work once more. Hayley lets slip about Roy's hopes for reorganising the falconry. Put on the spot, Roy explains that he didn't want to overload Elizabeth with things to do, but she assures him that she's ready to hear his ideas.
Elizabeth is dubious, but Roy's convinced that an increase in revenue would make the necessary repairs worthwhile. Roy worries about overstepping the mark by criticising Nigel's judgement. But Elizabeth explains that she is putting the past behind her and with Roy's help intends to make Lower Loxley as successful as possible. She agrees to look over Roy's figures and make a decision in the next week.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b011cfn1)
With Mark Lawson, including an interview with the actor Rob Lowe, whose screen career began over 30 years ago, and whose roles include Sam Seaborn in the TV drama The West Wing.
James Bond has been brought to life again in a new novel from American writer Jeffery Deaver. He discusses getting to grips with English phrases and bringing back old Bond characters in Carte Blanche.
As American politician Sarah Palin is compared to Joan of Arc by one of her supporters, we reflect on comparisons between politicians and famous characters: including Cameron / Flashman and Thatcher / Boadicea.
Producer: India Rakusen.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b011d72g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b011cfn3)
Learning Lessons from 7/7
In the wake of the findings of the 7/7 inquest Simon Cox looks at what has changed within the emergency services.
Could any of the 52 people who died on July 7th 2005 have been saved if help had reached them sooner? Earlier this month the findings of inquest concluded that they could not. But the coroner Lady Justice Hallet didn't give the emergency services a clean bill of health. She made 9 recommendations for improvement and has asked for responses by the end of June.
This week's "The Report" looks at the reasons why some victims waited over an hour for fire and ambulance workers to reach them. And we talk to some of those involved in the incidents including Jason Killens from the London Ambulance Service and Michael Henning, a survivor of a bomb detonated at Aldgate Tube station, both of whom gave evidence at the inquest.
THU 20:30 In Business (b011cfn5)
Continental Drift
Continental Drift
As the sovereign debt crisis continues what next for the Euro? What next for Europe? Peter Day asks the experts.
THU 21:00 Saving Species (b011c0s0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Tuesday]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b011cffd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b0118ky1)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b011g97l)
The Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic has been arrested - what now for Serbia?
As world leaders arrive in France - we are live in Paris to examine French leadership power?
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b011cfyp)
The Forgotten Waltz
Dance Me to the End of Love
'The Forgotten Waltz' is Anne Enright's long-awaited novel, her first since 'The Gathering', which won the Man Booker 2007.
In a snow blanketed Dublin, Gina reflects on the last decade, from the moment she first caught a glimpse of Sean Vallely, through a haze of cigarette smoke, through the happenstance and lust, the hotel rooms and the secrets, that have brought down two marriages, three mortgages and left her a reluctant inhabitant of her childhood home. Startling, honest, witty and wry, Enright's novel captures the nuances and the bliss of an overwhelming attraction that becomes an affair and charts the gradual encroachment of reality, damage and a love that can't be ignored or surpassed.
In today's episode, hotel rooms, the Mistress Game and an unexpected devastation.
The Reader is Niamh Cusack.
The Abridger is Sally Marmion
The Producer is Di Speirs.
THU 23:00 Dave Against the Machine (b011cfyr)
Come Oily Bombs
Brand new sitcom about paranoid conspiracy theorist Dave Railings, written by and starring Radio 4 stalwart and cult Come Dine With Me voiceover star Dave Lamb.
Dave Railings lives with his younger brother Jim in a bog standard first floor flat which has been customised with more surveillance and security equipment than the pentagon. Dave kitted it out, Jim despises it and dreams of escaping.
In Episode One Jim casually mentions that he's been unable to buy any cooking oil. From this Dave manages to deduce that the town is under imminent threat from a dirty bomb attack. And when Jim also lets slip that he's going on a date with an Arabic woman called Hannan who he's only just met, Dave becomes convinced that he's in a desperate race against time to save the lives of everyone within a two hundred mile radius.
Fast-paced, laugh out loud, convoluted romp focussing on one man's over-reaction to the Climate of Fear...or is it an over-reaction?
Cast:
Dave Railings ..... Dave Lamb
Jim Railings ..... Jim North
Nigel Spikes ...... Nick Walker
Geoff Brown ..... Richie Webb
Hannan ..... Jess Robinson
Written by Dave Lamb
Script edited by Anil Gupta
Directed by Adam Tandy
Produced by Richie Webb
A Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:30 I Was... (b00g36l4)
Series 1
David Lean's Boy Star
Andrew McGibbon analyses great artists at a significant time in their careers but from the perspective of someone who worked for them, inspired them, employed them or even did their job for them while no one was looking.
John Howard Davies played Oliver Twist in David Lean's 1948 black and white classic. For the eight-year old boy on a film set for the first time in his life, surrounded by the likes of Alec Guinness, Robert Newton and Anthony Newley it was an exciting and dizzying break from the privations of a post war childhood.
Nevertheless the fame that followed the success of the film did not suit John and he struggled for many years afterward to adjust.
With authentic insights into the making of the film, fresh views on the legendary actors John reveals a fascination and respect for David Lean that led him to chose a similar career path to his mentor - that of a director and producer of some of the BBC's most classic comedies in the seventies.
Featuring contributions from producer Ronald Neame and biographer Kevin Brownlow.
Producers: Andrew McGibbon and Nick Romero
A Curtains For Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
FRIDAY 27 MAY 2011
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b0118ky3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b011j0kh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0118ky5)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0118ky7)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0118ky9)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0118kyc)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b011cjm0)
A short reflection and prayer with Pastor Lindsay Allen.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b011cjm2)
The Institute for Animal Health in Pirbright has been issued with an improvement notice after a flask containing foot and mouth virus cracked and some of the virus escaped in a laboratory. Head of the Institute Mike Johnson explains how the incident happened.
96% of children don't eat their 5 portions of fruit and veg a day according to the Government, so it has launched a new Task Force to encourage more schools to grow their own vegetables. Charlotte Smith talks to Myles Bremner, chairman of the "Food Growing in Schools Task Force". He says that most schools can grow their own food cheaply.
And Farming Today hears beef farmers are making an extra £100 profit on cattle because of a 50% rise in offal exports. Last year the UK exported 4000 tonnes of offal, and the English Beef and Lamb Executive say demand is such that farmers can now virtually eliminate carcass waste. Meanwhile a visit to a turkey farm reveals that over 33 million birds are lost each year in the poultry industry.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Ruth Sanderson.
FRI 06:00 Today (b011cjm4)
Morning news and current affairs with Evan Davis and Justin Webb, including:
07:49 The BBC's John Simpson analyses the arrest of Ratko Mladic.
08:10 France's finance minister Christine Lagarde on why she wants to head the IMF.
08:17 Can garden design be considered an art-form?
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b0118cmz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b011j0nn)
Babysitting George
Episode 5
Written by Celia Walden. The public affection for the womanising, hell-raising, often charming and mostly drunk George Best has begun to wane in favour of a macabre fascination with his disintegrating life. The last couple of occasions on which Celia meets George prove that as well as the aggressive egotist flashes of the old humour are still there alongside the wine-fuelled death wish.
Read by Clare Corbett
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b011ckx6)
Why a decision to invite the anti abortion group LIFE onto a government advice forum for sexual health has provoked such discussion. We ask whether planned cuts in free English lessons will have a disproportionate effect on women; what difficulties will this place on their ability to take part in their local communities? Leila Ahmed was the first professor of Women's Studies in Religion at Harvard University. She grew up in the Egypt of the 1940s, raised by a generation of Muslim women who never dressed in veils and head scarves. Today many Muslim women throughout the Islamic world and beyond are choosing to cover themselves and wear "Islamic dress". She joins Jenni to talk about this "Quiet Revolution". The Japanese Garden at Tatton Park in Cheshire, said to be one of the finest examples of a Japanese garden in Europe, is 100 years old this year. What makes a Japanese garden distinct from an English garden?
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b011d7g1)
Colin Douglas - The Gap
Episode 5
A drama about an Edinburgh family breaking up during their daughter's gap year
by Colin Douglas.
Heather's left school with flying colours. She's off to Ghana for a gap year and then to Oxford. Her brother Fraser is going into second year at Cambridge studying medicine. But just before Heather leaves home her parents, James, a surgeon, and Pippa, a professor of economics have some shocking news - they're splitting up. Suddenly everything's changing for Heather.
As her gap year in Ghana ends, Heather is having second thoughts about going to Oxford, but how can she tell her parents?
Cast:
Heather...............................................Kirsty McKay
James.................................................Paul Young
Pippa..................................................Isabella Jarrett
Fraser.................................................Keith McLeish
Janice.................................................Lesley Mackie
Dawn..................................................Lucy Paterson
Hector................................................Alasdair McCrone
Directed by David Ian Neville
Colin Douglas is an award-winning radio & TV writer and novelist with a distinctive voice. His plays for Radio 4 have included: The Life Class; Dress Up And Sing; Moving On & Taking The Waters (all written with Harry Quinn); and Better To Break Your Neck; Today We'll Finish Keats; Smart Boy Wanted; and the series, Safe In Our Hands. He's the author of nine novels including, The Houseman's Tale which he also dramatised as a series for BBC TV.
FRI 11:00 The Diving Venus (b011ckx8)
Swimmer and explorer Kate Rew tells the fascinating story of Annette Kellerman, the 1920s Australian vaudeville star and champion swimmer who dived into glass tanks, popularized the one-piece swimsuit and became the first woman to attempt to swim the English Channel.
Paralysed by polio as a child, Kellerman was introduced to swimming as a therapy. When she discovered that her limbs 'found their true congenial element in water', she quickly became an ambitious swimmer.
Her family moved to England to promote her and in 1904 she swam 26 miles down the Thames from Putney to Blackwall, training on a diet of bread and milk. The Daily Mail picked up her story and sponsored her to become the first woman to attempt to swim the English Channel.
In her twenties she took a job performing her unusual water ballet act as a mermaid at the London Hippodrome. It was here that she became known as the Diving Venus.
But swimming was also a political act for Kellerman. She was a campaigner for the right of women to wear a one piece swim suit. While visiting Boston Beach in 1907, she appeared before the press in a tight-fitting one-piece swimsuit and was later arrested.
Using some new interviews and some archive interviews from the documentary, 'The Original Mermaid', Kate Rew explores the many layers to Kellerman's life and examines her own affinity with Kellerman's story. She talks to Margaret Drabble, another swimmer with a passion for mermaids. We hear from the dancer Beth Dean, who went to see Kellerman perform her underwater ballet in the 1920s and we hear extracts from Kellerman's own writings on swimming. 'Swimming cultivates imagination; the man with the most is he who can swim his solitary course through night and day and forget a black earth full of people who push', she wrote.
Produced by Sarah Cuddon
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 The Gobetweenies (b011ckxb)
Series 1
Befriending Freddie
David Tennant and Sarah Alexander star as the exes determined to be double not single parents and bring the kids up together apart.
But Lucy needs compensation for moving house every week...
If it's Wednesday it must be Holloway.
It turns out Mimi's new husband says he is into fatherhood after all, and Lucy tells her Dad and Tom all about Mum's condition...
Mimi is desperate to bring the kids to New York for the premiere of her new husband's play but Tom has found a new friend whose cute yogic mother Joe is drawn to...
When Lucy refuses to miss out on her best friend's birthday because of a planned visit to her stepfather in New York, Mimi fails to get Joe's back-up.
Cast List:
Joe ..... David Tennant
Mimi ..... Sarah Alexander
Tom ...... Finlay Christie
Lucy ..... Phoebe Abbott
Jennifer ..... Emily Bruni
Freddie ...... Oliver Dillon
Harry ...... Stuart Milligan
Writer: Marcella Evaristi
Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b011ckxd)
The luxury travel company which has gone into liquidation, leaving thousands of travellers without a holiday.
How much the fire service spends rescuing cats from trees..
What working life is like at one of the most famous museums in the world, and how employees are sharing their experiences for posterity.
The new rules announced by the EU which orders clothes manufacturers to clearly label textiles containing animal products.
And what older people can do to get a travel insurance policy when companies impose upper age limits.
The presenter is Peter White. The producer is Katy Takatsuki.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b0118kyf)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b011fcdb)
National and international news, featuring analysis, comment and interviews. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on Twitter: #wato.
FRI 13:30 Feedback (b011ckxg)
The Moral Maze prides itself on robust discussion, but many listeners thought this week's programme was more about bad manners than reasoned argument. Did they go too far? Or is all fair in love and debate?
Could Chris Evans be the saviour of children's radio? Quite possibly, judging by the massive response to his short story competition, 500 Words. Ahead of next week's announcement of the winners, executive producer Helen Thomas reveals what it is about the Radio 2 Breakfast Show that appeals to all ages.
Inspired by all this youthful talent, Feedback is searching for the radio critics of the future. If you are 13 or under do please write to us with your views on what you love - or hate - about anything at all on BBC Radio.
And local radio - what is it good for? Roger talks to David Holdsworth, who's in charge of all 40 of the BBC's radio stations in England to find out why we still need it in the internet age.
Contact the Feedback team to let Roger know what you'd like him to tackle this series about anything you've heard on BBC radio.
Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b011cfmz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b00lg4vz)
Torchwood
The Dead Line
When a Cardiff Hospital is inundated with patients who have fallen into coma-like trances, Torchwood move in to investigate. The trances appear to have been triggered by phone calls, all received on retro phones and made from a number that hasn't been active for over 30 years. Determined to find out who's been calling the unfortunate victims, Jack rings the mysterious number - two, oh, five, nine - nothing. It's a dead line. Until, it calls Jack back.....
Jack ... John Barrowman
Gwen ... Eve Myles
Ianto ... Gareth David-Lloyd
Rhys ... Kai Owen
Stella .... Dona Croll
Jan ... Eiry Thomas
Bob .. Matthew Gravelle
Tyler ... Brendan Charleson
Writer: Phil Ford
Sound Design: Nigel Lewis
Director: Kate McAll
BBC Cymru Wales.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b011ckxj)
Postbag edition
Peter Gibbs and the panel answer a collection of listener questions from Sparsholt College. Rosie Yeomans updates on the GQT trial beds.
Panellists are Matthew Biggs, Anne Swithinbank and Matthew Wilson.
Produced by Lucy Dichmont.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Gilbert's Glory (b011ckxl)
Episode 5
Most people know W.S. Gilbert as the writer of comic operas such as 'The Mikado' and 'H.M.S.Pinafore' with Arthur Sullivan. But there was far more to his life and work than that. He was a prolific playwright,. a writer of humorous verse including the 'Bab Ballads', a gifted artist and a theatre director who helped to revolutionise the way plays were produced onstage.
In this series of programmes to mark the centenary of his death, the writer and poet Ruth Padel explores five aspects of Gilbert's work and evaluates his significance and his legacy. Key contributors include the director Mike Leigh whose movie 'Topsy-Turvy' depicts the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as biographers, academics and performers such as Alistair McGowan who has performed and directed Gilbert and Sullivan operas and the singer Richard Suart who recently performed in 'The Mikado' at English National Opera.
Programme 5 examines Gilbert's relationship with the man with whom his legacy would be bound up - Arthur Sullivan. We hear the qualities that Gilbert brought to the partnership and how his work with Sullivan included not only the creation of the Savoy operas, but a constant monitoring of the finances of the business, which would eventually lead to the famous 'Carpet Quarrel'.
Producer: Emma Kingsley.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b011ckxn)
Mala Sen, Willard Boyle, Lloyd Knibb, and the 7th Earl of Onslow
Matthew Bannister on
The Indian born writer and activist Mala Sen, who campaigned for the rights of ethnic minority workers in the UK.
The nobel prize winning scientist Dr Willard Boyle, who invented the tiny charge couple device that is behind all digital imaging
Lloyd Knibb - the Jamaican drummer who came up with the ska beat.
The actor Edward Hardwicke best known for playing Dr Watson to Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in the 1980s TV series
And the seventh Earl of Onslow, a political maverick and true British eccentric.
FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b011ckxq)
In the Film Programme this week Francine Stock talks to the screenwriter Jane Goldman about the latest X-Men feature; discusses metaphysics and the intractability of goats with Michelangelo Frammartino, the director of the brilliant and mysterious Le Quattro Volte; and shares in the author and critic Kim Newman's enthusiasm for a comedy thriller featuring Jane Russell, Robert Mitchum and Vincent Price. There's also a master class in the kind of music that makes an action sequence really fizz from Neil Brand.
Producer: Zahid Warley.
FRI 17:00 PM (b011g8yv)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0118kyh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b011ckxs)
Series 74
Episode 7
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b011ckxv)
Lilian needs to talk business with Brian, and explains that two supermarkets are interested in developing the old market site. She wants to hurry up the works being carried out, by paying the contractors more. Brian knows that Matt is her mysterious source, and he'd need hard facts before such a request could be put to the board.
Jennifer reminds Adam to ask Ian over for lunch, and tells him that she's had inspiration for her book club choice.
Lilian joins Jennifer for coffee and asks about a book on the table. Jennifer explains that it is her choice for the book club. Lilian is shocked that she's picked such a racy title.
Shula tries to get through to Elizabeth, but Elizabeth's determined never to have anything to do with David again. Shula points out the difficult position this puts the rest of the family in, but Elizabeth doesn't see it that way. She's sickened by David's lies, and now everyone is blaming Nigel rather than forcing David to accept responsibility for daring him to go on the roof in the first place. Elizabeth refuses to let Shula speak on David's behalf, and if Shula carries on they'll be finished too.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b011ckxx)
War Correspondents - From Telegram to Twitter
Kirsty Lang examines the changing role of the war correspondent in the light of a major new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum North. She talks to the curator of the show, Amanda Mason, and the author of the book that accompanies the exhibition, Jean Hood, about the early pioneers in this area of journalism. William Howard Russell is regarded as the first modern war correspondent with his compelling dispatches for the Times from the Crimean War. Kirsty is joined by his journalistic descendents, Robert Fox, Defence Correspondent for the London Evening Standard, Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor for Channel 4 News, John D McHugh, Multimedia Photojournalist and Filmmaker, and Rosie Garthwaite, news producer for Al Jazeera English and author of How To Avoid Being Killed In A War Zone. With many decades of war reporting experience between them, they discuss how the role of the war correspondent has been helped and hindered by the technology available, the nature of the conflict, and the interest from those back home.
Producer Ekene Akalawu.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b011d7g1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b011bybz)
From Saffron Walden Town Hall, Essex
Eddie Mair presents a discussion about politics and news from Saffron Walden Town Hall in Essex with Business Secretary, Vince Cable; Shadow Business minister, Chuka Umunna; novelist and screenwriter, Anthony Horowitz; and LBC broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer.
Producer: Victoria Wakely.
FRI 20:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b011ckxz)
Series 2
Quetzalcoatlus
As Sir David Attenborough explains:
"The biggest animal to fly was not a bird, but a reptile."
It was a Quetzalcoatlus, a pterosaur with at least a 44 foot wingspan. David, a huge fan of palaeontology, is skilled in bringing the past natural histories to life through stories about the discovery of key fossils.
What a creature this "terrible lizard" must have been - big enough to scavenge the bodies of dead Tyrannosaurus and yet able to fly, probably in large numbers. And with a twist so typical of Sir David's writing, he brings this pterosaur to life at the very end.
Written and presented by David Attenborough
Producer: Julian Hector
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b00s7g8f)
RIP Boy
Eleven years ago Zahid Mubarek was beaten to death by his cellmate, teenager Robert Stewart in Feltham Young Offenders Institution. In Neil McKay's new factual drama, prison offer John acts as our narrator, leading us through an overloaded prison system to reveal how a known racist with psychopathic tendencies ended up sharing a cell with a quiet Asian lad serving only 90 days for petty theft.
Stewart's manipulative actions get him moved round the country from one YOI to another as his behaviour becomes increasingly violent and erratic, from tattooing RIP onto his forehead, to inciting the murder of a fellow inmate during a cookery class. He eventually ends up in the huge, overcrowded nightmare that is Feltham, where cells designed for one hold two, and boys are banged up for twenty-three hours out of twenty-four. Astonishingly, Stewart's long record of violence and racist behaviour fails to reach Swallow wing, where the only spare bed is in Zahid Mubarek's cell.
It is now ten years since Zahid's death and many of the recommendations of the public inquiry have still not been fully implemented. Prisons remain overcrowded and overstretched. Violence is rife. More than 70% of prisoners suffer two or more mental health disorders. As prison officer John in the play observes: "But it's all out of sight so we keep it out of mind. It shouldn't be, for the sake of everyone. Zahid could have been your son or mine. Remember him. Remember his name. Zahid Mubarek."
RIP Boy is written by Bafta award-winning TV dramatist Neil McKay (Mo, See No Evil, Dunkirk, The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper) who specializes in dramatizing stories about real lives. Matthew NcNulty (Five Days, Unforgiven, The Mark of Cain) plays Robert Stewart and Ross Boatman (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Cassandra's Dream) plays John. Zahid Mubarek is played by Darren Kuppan who has just appeared in East is East at Birmingham Rep.
Robert Stewart ..... Matthew NcNulty
John ..... Ross Boatman
Zahid Mubarek ..... Darren Kuppan
Jamie Barnes ..... Ashley Gerlach
Karen Stewart, Nurse ..... Fiona Clarke
Prison Officers ..... Nick Underwood
Prison Officers ..... Greg Wood
Travis ..... John Cattrell
Simmo ..... James Adler
Directed by Melanie Harris. This is a Red production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b0118kyk)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b011g97n)
A court in Belgrade has ruled that Ratko Mladic can be transferred to the war crimes tribunal in the Hague - has his arrest helped the Serbs draw the line under their unhappy recent history?
The governing body of world football, FIFA, has opened ethics proceedings against the organisation's president, Sepp Blatter, as part of a widening inquiry into alleged bribery.
Sharon Shoesmith, the director of children's services in the London borough where Baby Peter was killed, has won her claim of unfair dismissal at the Court of Appeal - is the reflex to sack the manager any help in dealing with management failings ?
And Amnesty International 50 years on - we discuss how the concept of human rights has changed over the years.
With Robin Lustig.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b011cky1)
The Forgotten Waltz
How Can I Be Sure
'The Forgotten Waltz' is Anne Enright's long-awaited novel, her first since 'The Gathering', which won the Man Booker 2007.
In a snow blanketed Dublin, Gina reflects on the last decade, from the moment she first caught a glimpse of Sean Vallely, through a haze of cigarette smoke, through the happenstance and lust, the hotel rooms and the secrets, that have brought down two marriages, three mortgages and left her a reluctant inhabitant of her childhood home. Startling, honest, witty and wry, Enright's novel captures the nuances and the bliss of an overwhelming attraction that becomes an affair and charts the gradual encroachment of reality, damage and a love that can't be ignored or surpassed.
In today's episode: breaking up and looking back, in the shadow of a For Sale sign, and Dublin's general disapproval.
The Reader is Niamh Cusack.
The Abridger is Sally Marmion
The Producer is Di Speirs.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b011c0tr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 I Was... (b00ft1wg)
Series 1
Ernest Hemingway's La Secretaria
Andrew McGibbon analyses great artists at a significant time in their careers but from the perspective of someone who worked for them, inspired them, employed them or even did their job for them while no one was looking.
Valerie Danby Smith was Ernest Hemingway's secretary in the final two years of his life, accompanying him, his wife and their entourage on bullfighting tours of Spain, trips to New York, and stays in his beloved house in Havana, Cuba. As their relationship blossomed Ernest even proposed to her - while he was still married to his wife - and later confided in Valerie that he was planning to commit suicide after learning he was going blind.
This is a moving story of love and duty and how an innocent convent educated girl in a chance encounter in Spain finds herself the willing pupil of one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century who was determined to teach Valerie everything he could about the art of writing and why a courageous engagement of life was vital to that art.
Producers: Andrew McGibbon and Nick Romero
A Curtains For Radio production for BBC Radio 4.