SATURDAY 16 JUNE 2012
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b01jrlxj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b01jsw4q)
Dear Lupin
Episode 5
David Horovitch and Nicky Henson conclude their reading from the collected correspondence of a long-suffering father to his wayward son.
"My Dear Lupin, How are things going with you? Are you (a) On the verge of becoming a millionaire? (b) On the brink of insolvency? (c) The subject of investigation by the Fraud Squad?" or (d) Cruising along like me, in genteel poverty?
Abridged and Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01jrlxl)
The latest shipping forecast.
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01jrlxn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
5.20am.
SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01jrlxq)
The latest shipping forecast.
SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b01jrlxs)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01jrrjs)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Ranjit Singh Dhanda.
SAT 05:45 iPM (b01jrrjv)
'I grew up in a factory making explosives' A listener remembers wartime munitions work, as her co-workers are granted the right to walk past the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. And BBC Political Correspondent Ben Wright reads Your News. With Eddie Mair and Jennifer Tracey. iPM@bbc.co.uk.
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b01jrlxv)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SAT 06:04 Weather (b01jrlxx)
The latest weather forecast.
SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b01jrlff)
Series 21
Larkhall, South Lanarkshire
Clare Balding is walking with dogs (and their owners) throughout this series of Ramblings.
Prog 4: Larkhall, South Lanarkshire.
This week Clare Balding travels to Larkhall in South Lanarkshire to meet Scott Cunningham. A veteran of some of Britain's long-distance walks (including the West Highland Way, the Pennine Way and the Southern Upland Way) as well as the bagger of multiple Munroes, he never walks without the dog, he describes as his 'best-mate', Travis.
On this walk around the Larkhall area, he describes the intensity of their relationship and the joy of his companionship. This will be a particularly moving walk for Scott, as Travis - who is a guide-dog - is retiring the following day, and a new dog, Milo, will take over.
Scott was awarded an MBE last year for his achievements, which include raising over £150,000 for Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Producer Karen Gregor.
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b01jwcm4)
Farming Today This Week
Bees to butterflies, Charlotte Smith investigates the threats faced by UK pollinators.
The insects that pollinate our plants play a vital role in UK agriculture. According to the government, pollinators contribute £430m each year.
Yet gradually the number of butterfly and bee species are declining thanks to habitat loss and changes in the way we use land.
So from pesticides to emerging diseases, Farming Today looks at why and what today's farmers are doing to reverse that trend.
Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Clare Freeman in Birmingham.
SAT 06:57 Weather (b01jrlxz)
The latest weather forecast.
SAT 07:00 Today (b01jwd5m)
Morning news and current affairs presented by Evan Davis and Justin Webb, featuring:
0810
A High Court judge has decided that a 32-year-old woman with "extremely severe" anorexia should be force fed. Tony Calland, head of the British Medical Association committee debates with Frances Connan, consultant psychiatrist at the Vincent Square eating disorder clinic.
0815
Rupert Murdoch attempted to hurry Tony Blair and Britain's engagement in the Iraq war. That is the claim in the latest excerpts from Alistair Campbell's diary. Mr Campbell explains the background to the story.
0820
One of this summer's headline acts at the Meltdown music festival in London is Elizabeth Fraser. Best known as the singer in the alternative rock band the Cocteau Twins in the 80s and 90s, Elizabeth Fraser is making a comeback. Today's reporter Nicola Stanbridge interviews the singer.
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b01jwd5p)
Sian Williams & Richard Coles with classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes; Mark Lawson and JP Devlin breakfast in Dublin for Bloomsday; Julie Wassmer who discovered the daughter she'd given up for adoption by quite extraordinary coincidence; Dominic Walker, The Bishop of Monmouth, who conducts exorcisms; Susan Richards who was inspired by a damp June village fete to send a million books to Russia; there's a Dublin Crowdscape and former Chancellor Norman Lamont's Inheritance Tracks. Plus the first three parts of the landmark Radio 4 dramatization of James Joyce's Ulysses.
Producer: Dixi Stewart.
SAT 09:10 James Joyce's Ulysses (b01jxwkk)
Part 1a: On the Martello Tower
'Stately plump' Buck Mulligan calls Stephen Dedalus to the top of the Martello tower overlooking Dublin Bay - and so begins James Joyce's celebrated account of the 16th June 1904. The combined stories of Stephen and Leopold Bloom as they meander through the city. In a landmark project a new dramatisation of Ulysses is broadcast across one day - morning, afternoon and evening. With live commentary from Mark Lawson, broadcasting from Dublin. Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Narrator...Stephen Rea
Stephen Dedalus...Andrew Scott
Malachi 'Buck' Mulligan...Kevin Trainor
Haines...Harry Livingstone
Mary Dedalus...Janet Moran
Young Man...Ronan Raftery
Singer Daire Halpin
Pianist Colin Guthrie
Produced and Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
Executive Producer Claire Grove
(Ulysses chapter 'Telemachus').
SAT 09:30 James Joyce's Ulysses (b01jxwkm)
Part 1b: The Martello Tower
8.15 am and Stephen Dedalus breakfasts with Mulligan and the Englishman Haines before walking out along the strand to the swimming place at Forty Foot hole. Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Narrator...Stephen Rea
Stephen Dedalus...Andrew Scott
Malachi Mulligan...Kevin Trainor
Haines...Harry Livingstone
Young Man...Ronan Raftery
Produced and Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
(Ulysses chapter 'Telemachus').
SAT 10:15 James Joyce's Ulysses (b01jxwkp)
Part 1c: At School
Stephen Dedalus collects his wages from Headmaster Deasy, who wants Stephen to deliver a letter about the recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease to the editor of the Evening Telegraph. Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Narrator...Stephen Rea
Stephen Dedalus... Andrew Scott
Mr Deasy...Jim Norton
Sargent...Joshua Ellershaw
Usher...Aidan Dunlop
Produced and Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
(Ulysses chapter 'Nestor').
SAT 10:30 James Joyce's Ulysses (b01jwd5r)
Part 2: From Bloom's House, through the Morning Streets, to a Funeral
7 Eccles Street, Dublin. The home of Leopold and Marion (Molly) Bloom. Bloom, we are told, 'eats with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls' and cooks himself a pork kidney for breakfast. While Molly receives a letter from her concert promoter Hugh 'Blazes' Boylan who has arranged to visit her later in the day. Bloom prepares to attend Paddy Dignam's funeral at Glasnevin cemetery. Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Narrator...Stephen Rea
Leopold Bloom...Henry Goodman
Molly Bloom...Niamh Cusack
Milly Bloom...Grainne Keenan
Martin Cunningham...Stephen Hogan
Simon Dedalus...Des McAleer
Martha Clifford... Christine Absalom
With Pip Donaghy, Jonathan Forbes, Peter Hamilton Dyer
Gerard McDermott, John Rogan
Produced and Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
(Ulysses chapters 'Calypso' 'Lotus Eaters', and 'Hades').
SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b01jwd5t)
Steve Richards of the Independent reflects on this week's star cast at the Leveson Inquiry with the former Conservative leader Michael Howard and Labour's Nick Brown, a close ally of Gordon Brown
He looks at the merits of a referendum on the EU with the Tory MP and referendum-supporter Douglas Carswell and the Professor of Government Philip Norton who opposes referendums in principle.
Evan Harris and Stephen Gilbert, both Liberal Democrats, help assess the mood of the Lib Dems after this week's mass abstention in a Commons vote.
And two football fans, Labour's Steve Pound and the Tory, Tracey Crouch, ponder the political impact of national sporting triumphs.
Editor: Peter Mulligan.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b01jwd5w)
All of Europe is watching the Greek elections this weekend. Chris Morris says they could have a profound effect on the Euro and on the future of the European Union.
The child miners of Madagascar. They break stones. All day every day. It earns them just a few coins. And, as Luke Freeman finds out, there's no question of them ever going to school.
He was one of Cuba's revolutionary heroes. The funeral of boxer Teofilo Stevenson has just taken place in Havana. Sarah Rainsford was there and later talked to some of the Cuban athletes trying to emulate his Olympic success at this year's Games in London.
Jackie Bird has been to Korea with some of the Britons who fought in the war there sixty years ago. It's a conflict which few in Britain commemorate. But there, the soldiers were applauded and thanked.
Fuchsia Dunlop dons her dancing shoes and heads out into Shanghai to get a glimpse of what this Chinese city must have been like during the glittering, decadent pre-war years.
SAT 12:00 James Joyce's Ulysses (b01jwd5y)
Part 3: From the Beach, to a Newspaper Office, into Davy Byrne's Pub
11.00 am Stephen walks on Sandymount Strand before visiting the offices of the Evening Telegraph, where he catches a glimpse of advertising salesman Leopold Bloom. Stephen takes the Editor out for a drink, while Bloom slips into Davy Byrne's pub for a cheese sandwich. Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Narrator...Stephen Rea
Leopold Bloom...Henry Goodman
Molly Bloom...Niamh Cusack
Stephen Dedalus...Andrew Scott
Simon Dedalus...Des McAleer
Miles Crawford...Jonathan Forbes
Dilly Dedalus...Bronagh Taggart
Blazes Boylan...Sean Campion
Josie Breen...Grainne Keenan
Bantam Lyons...John Rogan
With Christine Absalom, Pip Donaghy, Aidan Dunlop, Peter Hamilton Dyer,
Stephen Hogan, Gerard McDermott, Ronan Raftery
Produced and Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
(Ulysses chapters 'Proteus' 'Aeolus' and 'Lestrygonians').
SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b01jrqrt)
Series 37
Episode 2
The Never-Ending Stories: Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis look at the stories that haven't left the news for weeks, including the Leveson Enquiry, the Euro crisis, and education reform. They're joined by Ava Vidal, who tackles racism in football, Mitch Benn who explains why three gigs is too many for some, and Jon Holmes with the lowdown on some very saucy penguins. With additional voices from Laura Shavin.
The Now Show is written by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, with additional material from Rhodri Crooks, Jon Hunter, Juliet Meyers, Jack Bernhardt, Tom Neenan and Annie Burchill.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd.
SAT 13:00 News (b01jrly3)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b01jrqs0)
Bishop's Stortford
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs a live discussion of news and politics from Bishop's Stortford High School, Hertfordshire, with panellists John Whittingdale, Conservative MP and chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee; Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty; Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Chris Leslie; and editor of the Independent, Chris Blackhurst.
Producer: Victoria Wakely.
SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b01jwdk0)
Listeners' calls and emails in response to this week's edition of Any Questions?
SAT 14:30 James Joyce's Ulysses (b01jwdk2)
Part 4: The Library, through the Lunchtime Streets, to the Ormond Hotel
Stephen tries to get commissioned for an article at the National Library, while Leopold Bloom takes lunch at the Ormond Hotel and listens to Simon Dedalus and Benjamin Dollard sing at the piano. It is mid-afternoon and Hugh 'Blazes' Boylan is on his way to his adulterous assignation with Molly Bloom in Eccles Street. Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Narrator...Stephen Rea
Leopold Bloom...Henry Goodman
Stephen Dedalus...Andrew Scott
Molly Bloom...Niamh Cusack
Simon Dedalus...Des McAleer
Richard Best...John Rogan
John Eglinton...Peter Hamilton Dyer
Malachi Mulligan...Kevin Trainor
Patrick Dignam...Joshua Ellershaw
Hugh 'Blazes' Boylan...Sean Campion
Lenehan...Lorcan Cranitch
Benjamin Dollard...Gerard McDermott
Martin Cunningham...Stephen Hogan
Miss Kennedy...Denise Gough
Miss Douce...Bronagh Taggart
With Aidan Dunlop, Peter Hamilton Dyer,
Jonathan Forbes, Grainne Keenan,
Harry Livingstone
Produced and Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
(Ulysses chapters 'Scylla and Charybdis', 'Wandering Rocks' and 'The Sirens').
SAT 15:30 Cerys Matthews' Blue Horizon (b01jqjl7)
Among Cerys Matthews' landmark musical memories is a very sunny summer Sunday afternoon in 2009.
It was the day that, browsing albums in Portobello Market, she parted with £70 and took home a rare copy of Fleetwood Mac's Sweet Pious Bird of Youth. She played it over and over again. She was hooked.
Since that day Cerys has fed her addiction to Blue Horizon records and has sought out and amassed a valuable collection of her own. She is passionately enthusiastic about these gems of recordings that are almost too precious to play.
The Blue Horizon record label linked the roots of the blues in the US with the UK blues scene of the 1960s. It was the home of American blues artists Champion Jack Dupree, Bukka White, Mississippi Joe Callicot and Furry Lewis, Eddie Boyd, Otis Spann, Ainsley Dunbar, Elmore James but also of the British blues artists Chickenshack and Fleetwood Mac.
Label founder Mike Vernon also invented the blues sound we still hear today. In 1966, he produced the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, considered one of the most influential British blues recordings. It was notable for its driving rhythms and Clapton's rapid blues licks with a full distorted sound derived from a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall amp. This became something of a classic combination for British blues guitarists.
Cerys talks to Mike Vernon about his passion for the blues and how he left the old-school Decca Record company to strike out on his own. Artists from Blue Horizon's roster, including former members of The Yardbirds, Fleetwood Mac and Chickenshack reflect on the part Blue Horizon played in their careers and establishing the credibility of Britain as a home for the blues.
Producer: Nick Barraclough
A Smooth Operations production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2012.
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b01jwdk4)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Jackie Kay and lesbian writers
Being brought up by dad. Joy Larkcom - the woman credited with introducing the mixed salad bag to consumers - shares her passion for salad. The Australian sex worker Rachel Wooton - whose clients include people with disabilities - on why she's fighting for the rights of disabled people. The campaign for stillborn babies to get birth and death certificates. Novelist and poet Jackie Kay talks about her latest project Manchester lines and why she's so in love with the City, but where are all the lesbian writers? The women who've won Gold at the Olympics on the impact it's had on their lives. Plus Alex Scott the footballer who hopes to represent team GB in London.
Presented by Jane Garvey.
Editor: Beverley Purcell.
SAT 17:00 PM (b01jwdk6)
Saturday PM
Ritula Shah presents the day's top news stories, with sports headlines.
SAT 17:26 James Joyce's Ulysses (b01jwdw9)
Part 5: In Barney Kiernan's Pub
Bloom gets into an argument with the 'Citizen' which climaxes in mock-heroic battle, when Bloom makes a dignified retreat and his opponent flings a biscuit tin after him. This episode is narrated by an anonymous crony of the 'Citizen', an anti-Semitic Nationalist bigot. Repulsive as he is, he provides an opportunity for Bloom to show his true heroism by arguing against prejudice and preaching a doctrine of love and understanding. Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Leopold Bloom...Henry Goodman
Citizen...Pip Donaghy
Unnamed Narrator...Jim Norton
Joe Hynes...John Rogan
Terry O'Ryan, Martin Cunningham...Stephen Hogan
Alf Bergan...Ronan Raftery
Lenehan...Lorcan Cranitch
Directed by Jonquil Panting
Produced by Jeremy Mortimer
(Ulysses chapter 'Cyclops').
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01jrly5)
The latest shipping forecast.
SAT 17:57 Weather (b01jrly7)
The latest weather forecast.
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01jrly9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b01jwdwc)
Simon Le Bon, Niamh Cusack, Jaime Winstone and Tony Hawks
Clive celebrates the work of James Joyce with actress Niamh Cusack, who has graced our screens in 'Heartbeat' and will grace the airwaves as Molly Bloom in Radio 4' dramatisation of 'Ulysses'. First published in 1922, 'Ulysses' traces the progress of Leopold Bloom, making his way through Dublin on an ordinary day - 16th June 1904, now known as Bloomsday. 'Ulysses' broadcasts throughout Saturday 16th June from
09.00
Clive's Dead Set to talk to actress Jaime Winstone about starring in Dominic Savage's 'True Love'; five powerful and overlapping love stories set in the same town. Love is in the air for Jaime, who recently starred alongside her father Ray in 'Elfie Hopkins'. 'True Love' starts on Sunday 17th at
22.25 on BBC One and runs on consecutive nights until Wednesday 20th June.
Girl On Film Emma Freud talks to Wild Boy Simon Le Bon about life as lead singer of one of the most successful bands of the 20th Century. Simon being one of the 'prettiest boys in rock' tells us about Duran Duran's recent 'Diamond In The Mind' concert recording and how they're gearing up to perform at the Olympic Opening Ceremony Celebration Concert in London's Hyde Park on Friday 27th July.
Clive volleys with comedian and author Tony Hawks who will clearly do anything to win a bet. Not content with travelling round Ireland with a fridge, Tony challenged the entire Moldovan football team to a game of tennis! He'll be introducing 'Playing The Moldovans At Tennis' at selected cinema's around the country and the film is out on DVD on 22 June.
Music comes from Gabby Young & Other Animals who perform 'In Your Head' from their album 'The Band Called Out For More'.
And mischief makers Scoundrels perform 'Sexy Weekend' from their EP of the same name.
Producer Cathie Mahoney.
SAT 19:00 From Fact to Fiction (b01jwdwf)
Series 12
Heroes
Heroes
By Eoin McNamee
In a week that has seen clashes both on and off the pitch in the Euro 2012 championship, Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter Eoin McNamee creates a dramatic response to the news in this week's From Fact to Fiction.
Two men and a campervan: Matt and Maciek are on the football trail in Poland. While Matt is following the fortunes of the Irish boys in green, football is the last thing on Maciek's mind. Their friendship is about to be tested as past deeds and present enmities collide in a clash as charged as any football match.
Cast:
Matt ..... Lalor Roddy
Maciek ..... William Brand
Lukasz ..... Rafael Ferenc
Producer/Director Heather Larmour.
SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b01jwdwh)
Tom Sutcliffe and his guests novelists Linda Grant and Adam Mars Jones and writer Bidisha review the week's cultural highlights including David Cronenberg's film Cosmopolis.
GATZ is Elevator Repair Service's stage adaptation of The Great Gatsby in which every word of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel is read and acted by the occupants of a drab American office. Scott Shepherd plays a man who, arriving at his desk and finding his computer unresponsive, picks up a paperback copy of the book and starts reading it aloud.
David Cronenberg's film Cosmopolis is an adaptation of Don DeLillo's 2003 novel and stars Robert Pattinson as Eric Packer - a billionaire financial whiz-kid who is travelling across Manhattan to get a haircut in the stretch limo he uses as an office. However, a presidential visit to the city, a rapper's funeral and a threat to Packer's life mean that the journey is far from straightforward.
Indelible Ink by Australian author Fiona McGregor is a novel about Marie King - a 59 year old divorcee facing large changes in her life, including having to sell her beautiful Sydney Harbour home and the garden she has spent years creating. One afternoon, on a drunken impulse, she gets a tattoo and - despite the disapproval of her three children - she goes on to have her skin covered in more and more elaborate designs.
Invisible: Art about the Unseen 1957 - 2012 at the Hayward Gallery in London explores the rich history of intangible art including film of Yves Klein showing the viewer around the blank walls of an empty gallery, Andy Warhol's Invisible Sculpture (comprising a plinth that he once stood next to) and Air by Teresa Margolles - a space cooled by two air-conditioners filled with water previously used to wash murder victims in a Mexican morgue.
Dominic Savage's new drama series for BBC1 - True Love - consists of five short films, all of them set in Margate and all of them created by a process of improvisation. Among the actors creating their own dialogue are David Tennant, Ashley Walters, Billie Piper and David Morrissey.
Producer: Torquil MacLeod.
SAT 20:00 James Joyce's Ulysses (b01jwdyk)
Part 6: From Sandymount Beach at Evening, to the Maternity Hospital, and into Nighttown
Bloom cannot go home. For he knows that Molly has an adulterous appointment with Hugh 'Blazes' Boylan. So he stands on the beach at nightfall watching Gerty MacDowell enjoy the fireworks. Meanwhile, at the maternity hospital in Holles Street, Mina Purefoy is still struggling - after three days - to give birth. Near the ward, Stephen Dedalus joins a raucous group of medical students and Bloom joins the party, which then moves off to Bella Cohen's brothel. Dramatised by Robin Brooks. Contains strong language.
Narrator...Stephen Rea
Leopold Bloom...Henry Goodman
Stephen Dedalus...Andrew Scott
Molly Bloom...Niamh Cusack
Bella Cohen...Frances Barber
Gerty MacDowell...Denise Gough
Cissy Caffrey, Nurse Callan...Bronagh Taggart
Edy Boardman...Grainne Keenan
Tommy...Aidan Dunlop
Lenehan...Lorcan Cranitch
Malachi Mulligan...Kevin Trainor
Private Compton...Peter Hamilton Dyer
Private Carr...Ronan Raftery
Rudolph Bloom... Pip Donaghy
Hugh 'Blazes' Boylan... Sean Campion
Zoe... Susie Riddell
With Christine Absalom, Aidan Dunlop,
Jonathan Forbes, Stephen Hogan
John Rogan, Harry Livingstone,
Gerard McDermott, Janet Moran
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer and Jonquil Panting
Produced by Jeremy Mortimer
(Ulysses chapters 'Nausicaa', The Oxen of the Sun', 'Circe', 'Eumaeus').
SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b01jrlyc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
SAT 22:15 Ulysses Today (b01jzqnl)
Mark Lawson chairs a discussion about the powerful influence of Ulysses today and in the years since its publication in 1922, with guests including Anne Fogarty, Professor of James Joyce Studies at UCD, Declan Kiberd, author of Ulysses and Us.
Producer: Phil Tinline.
SAT 23:00 James Joyce's Ulysses (b01jwf9h)
Part 7: From a Cabman's Shelter, to Eccles Street and Home
Bloom takes Stephen home, and gives him a cup of cocoa. They talk, relieve themselves in the garden, and go their separate ways. Bloom joins Molly in bed, home at last. In her bed, Molly Bloom lies and muses, reliving the afternoon's sexual encounter with Blazes Boylan, and winding up all the threads and themes of the day. Dramatised by Robin Brooks. Contains very strong language.
Narrator...Stephen Rea
Leopold Bloom...Henry Goodman
Stephen Dedalus...Andrew Scott
Molly Bloom...Niamh Cusack
Dilly Dedalus...Bronagh Taggart
Sinbad...Pip Donaghy
With Peter Hamilton Dyer, Stephen Hogan
Gerard McDermott, Ronan Raftery
Singer Daire Halpin
Pianist Colin Guthrie
Produced and Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
Executive Producer Claire Grove
(Ulysses chapters 'Eumaeus', 'Ithaca', and 'Penelope').
SUNDAY 17 JUNE 2012
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b01jvcvs)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SUN 00:30 Platform 3 (b01jwfpd)
Union Station
A young man visits his cousin Neil and his wife Lou before setting off to continue his tour of the American Mid-West. He remembers Union Station as 'one of the oldest and most significant stations in the country, on the historic, transcontinental railroad, the first to span the continent from coast to coast.' But when he gets as far as the bus-station, the locals find it hard to give him directions...
Written by Gerard Woodward, and read by Patrick Kennedy.
Gerard Woodward was born in London in 1961. After studying painting and anthropology, he published three prize-winning collections of poetry before turning to novel-writing. His first novel, August, was shortlisted for the 2001 Whitbread First Novel Award, his second, I'll Go To Bed At Noon, for the 2004 Man Booker Prize. Since then he has published another collection of poetry, We Were Pedestrians (shortlisted for the 2005 T.S Eliot Prize) and become Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. His collection of short stories, Caravan Thieves, was published in March 2008. A Birthday Cockatrice appeared in an earlier Sweet Talk series for BBC Radio 4 - The Foods of Love and Hate (2008). Nourishment, his new novel, will be published in September 2010. Gerard lives in Somerset.
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01jvcvv)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01jvcvx)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01jvcvz)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b01jvcw1)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b01jwfpg)
The bells of St Mary and St Chad, Brewood in Staffordshire.
SUN 05:45 Four Thought (b01jrkn9)
Series 3
Sir Terry Farrell: Architects are Problem Solvers
Architect Sir Terry Farrell explains why architects are uniquely placed to solve the problems of Britain's public spaces - and why doing the work for free is crucial to its success.
Sir Terry explains how working pro bono can bring together businesses, councils and community groups who would otherwise find it hard to work together, and how these architectural schemes or 'masterplans' can transform the public spaces we all share.
He describes some of the schemes he has worked on - and how, even though it sometimes takes years, the benefits are clear to see.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b01jvcw3)
The latest national and international news.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b01jwfpj)
The Spirit of Jazz
Mark Tully improvises on the theme of spirituality in jazz, one of his favourite forms of music. He is joined by trumpeter, Ian Smith who evangelizes about the links between jazz and faith.
Together Mark and Ian identify the roots of jazz, deep in the church and in religious experience, as well as in the lives of ordinary black Americans in the first half of the 20th Century. Ian maintains that jazz provided the only forum in American public life where black creative artists could be respected and could articulate a culture specific to their own experiences. More than that, he maintains that jazz, "is a meditative form which circles around certain fundamental truths without pretending that the limited human personal experience can solve them."
Mark Tully also celebrates the sheer joy of jazz with readings and music which lift the heart. He is even given permission by Ian to enjoy some of his favourite jazz pieces by musicians who are sometimes regarded by jazz buffs as not quite the genuine article.
The readers are Frank Stirling, Emma Fielding and Peter Guinness.
Producer: Adam Fowler
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b01jwfpl)
Open Farm Sunday
Hundreds of farmers across the UK will be keeping their fingers crossed that the weather improves, as they prepare to welcome visitors on Open Farm Sunday, 17th June. Almost a million people have spent the day on a working farm since the event began in 2006. Ian Pigott, who first came up with the idea and Charlotte Smith talks to him as he prepares to open his farm in Hertfordshire. He tells her how inspiration struck: "The countryside was gagging to find out more about what farmers were up to. For years and years we'd kept everything a trade secret...so the media told people what they thought was going on, and that wasn't always a good thing."
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sarah Swadling.
SUN 06:57 Weather (b01jvcw5)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b01jvcw7)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (b01jwfpn)
As turmoil around the elections in Egypt continues we speak with Dr Mariz Tadros, fellow of the Institute of Development Studies in Brighton.
Ahead of an open air Mass to mark the final day of the Eucharistic Congress at Croke Park Stadium Ruth MacDonald hears from Catholics from around the world who have attended and Edward asks William Crawley what impact this event has had on the Catholic Church in Ireland and across the world.
About 75,000, Asian Christians have been feeling rejected by the established British church. Trevor Barnes reports
When 6 small bones were found in a Bulgarian monastery , it was claimed they were the relics of St. John the Baptist. Edward talks to Dr. Thomas Higham whose own research shows that the bones may indeed belong to St. John.
In a week where the Church of England has dominated the news over it's views on gay marriage. Legal affairs journalist, Joshua Rosenberg looks at whether the institution of marriage is legally under threat?
Kevin Bocquet reports from St Clements, an Anglican Church in Manchester, with views from the pews on Gay Marriage
Desmond Swain MP says church is behaving like a medieval pope over Gay marriage and debates the issue with Don Horrocks Head of Public Affairs Evangelical Alliance.
SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b01jwfpq)
Place2Be
Matt Dickson presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Place2Be
Reg Charity: 1040756
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope Place2Be.
SUN 07:57 Weather (b01jvcw9)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b01jvcwc)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b01jwfps)
A Mass celebrating the new Leeds Cathedral Choir School, the country's first state primary choir school. Celebrant: Monsignor Philip Moger, Dean of Leeds Cathedral; Preacher: Monsignor Michael McQuinn; Directors of Music: Ben Saunders and Sally Egan with musicians from the Leeds College of Music.
Producer: Mark O'Brien.
SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b01jrqs2)
Beatle Time
"There is something eerie, fated, cosmic about the Beatles" writes Adam Gopnik. "They appear in public as a unit on August 22nd 1969 and disappear as a unit, Mary Poppins like, exactly seven years later".
In this talk, he ponders exactly what it is that makes their music endure. Why is it, he asks, that one of the things people never say is "I don't like the Beatles". For his children, he says, "the Beatles are as uncontroversial as the moon. Just there, shining on".
To underline how strange this is, he points out that had the same thing been true for his generation, then the pop music of his childhood would have dated from before the First World War. And that, he says "would have been more than bizarre".
Gopnik concludes that the reason their music lasts is that it was a perfect collaboration of opposites.
Producer:
Adele Armstrong.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b01jwfpv)
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Kevin Connolly.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b01jwfpx)
Writer ..... Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti
Director ..... Kim Greengrass
Editor ... John Yorke
Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ..... Helen Monks
Adam Macy ..... Andrew Wincott
Ian Craig ..... Stephen Kennedy
Matt Crawford ..... Kim Durham
Lilian Bellamy ..... Sunny Ormonde
Jamie Perks ..... Dan Ciotkowski
William Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Neil Carter ..... Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
Christopher Carter ..... William Sanderson-Thwaite
Alice Carter ..... Hollie Chapman
Mike Tucker ..... Terry Molloy
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Alan Franks ..... John Telfer
Usha Franks ..... Souad Faress
Amy Franks ..... Jennifer Daley
Darrell Makepeace ..... Dan Hagley
Iftikar Shah..... Pal Aron
Tracy Horrobin ..... Susie Riddell
Rosa Makepeace..... Anna Piper.
SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b01jwfpz)
Ahdaf Soueif
Kirsty Young's castaway is the Egyptian writer and commentator Ahdaf Soueif.
She was the first Muslim woman to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize and, from an early age, her life has been divided between Egypt and Britain. She was among the crowds in Tahrir Square last year, witnessing the uprising at first hand, and describing events for the world's media.
She says: "Every once in a while there would be a surge of a few meters forward, as your friends, who were being killed at the front, gained you those three metres and your job, as the masses, was to move forward and hold the three metres."
Producer: Leanne Buckle.
SUN 12:00 Just a Minute (b01jqfkd)
Series 63
Episode 5
Nicholas Parsons challenges Graham Norton, Alun Cochrane, Gyles Brandreth and Paul Merton to speak for 60 seconds. From 2012.
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b01jwfq1)
The Best in Food and Farming
In this special programme Sheila Dillon launches the search for this year's winners of the BBC Food & Farming Awards.
Sheila is joined by Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett to catch up with some of the recent winners and nominees. With insights from last year's winners of the Best Food Producer award - Loch Arthur Creamery - to the Best Market - Bolton - we hear why the awards make a real difference.
Valentine Warner and Pete Brown, both new to the judging team this year, give their take on the Drinks Producer and Market categories, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, also a winner in 2011, explains why these awards really do matter.
Producer: Rich Ward.
SUN 12:57 Weather (b01jvcwf)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b01jwfq3)
Shaun Ley presents the latest national and international news, including an in-depth look at events around the world. Email: wato@bbc.co.uk; twitter: #theworldthisweekend.
SUN 13:30 Miles Jupp in a Locked Room (b01hw6h8)
1/1
There's a fresh corpse! But that room hasn't been opened for years! Locked Room Mysteries astonished and delighted crime fans in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. But as Miles Jupp discovers, the Locked Room continues to infuriate and delight, inspiring writers in Japan and France. But how many ingenious solutions can be wrung out of a body, a sealed chamber, and the imagination of a dedicated writer? You'll be surprised...
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01jrqrc)
South Gloucestershire
Eric Robson and the team are garden trouble-shooting in South Gloucestershire. The panellists are: Bunny Guinness, Anne Swithinbank and Chris Beardshaw.
This week we revisit two listeners' gardens, in Nottingham and Shrewsbury, as part of an ongoing series.
Questions answered in the programme:
How soon should I start removing the bottom branches of hornbeams to pleach them?
I have a Pittosporum whose leaves are meant to turn pink - but they haven't, why?
Tips for creating a rockery in a sunny corner of my garden?
Suggestions included: Sun Roses and Rock Roses (Helianthemum)
What can be done about my neighbours very invasive bamboo, which seems to prefer our lawn over theirs?
How can I soften the edges of a concrete path cutting through a flower meadow?
When and how can I prune into the hard wood of my Chilean Lantern (Crinodendron hookerianum)?
How can I encourage my single-stemmed Aeonium to develop side stems?
Produced by Lucy Dichmont and Amy Racs
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b01jwfq5)
Sunday Edition
Fi Glover presents the Sunday edition of Radio 4's series capturing the nation in conversation: in today's programme we meet former Olympic athlete Mark, who remembers his experiences in Moscow and Los Angeles for his daughter Sophie, and civil partners, Nick and Philip from Scotland, who reflect on how attitudes to homosexuality have changed. Jonny Robinson explains how the British Library is saving such conversations for posterity.
The Listening Project is a new initiative for Radio 4 that aims to offer a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Many of the long conversations are being archived by the British Library which they will use to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer:.
SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b01jwfwv)
Songs and Lamentations
Episode 1
Songs and Lamentations by Michael Symmons Roberts interweaving new translations of two powerful books of the Bible: the 'Song of Songs' - the most sensual biblical love poetry; and the 'Book of Lamentations' - its most searing poetry of violence and vengeance.
Through a fresh contemporary translation working with Biblical historians, the reverberations in these texts throw light on current events in the same part of the world.
Jeremiah Peter Hamilton-Dyer
Rachel Gillian Kearney
Pashur Russell Dixon
Nathan Tom Ferguson
Zedekiah David Seddon
Thomas Henry Devas
Samuel Patrick Lally
Ana Deborah McAndrew
Directed in Salford by Susan Roberts
A powerful story of the horrific destruction of a once great city, and the love story of a couple who find hope and solace in each other offering two very different perspectives on the days leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian armies in 587 BC.
Set in the middle east, this poetry of violence, heat, passion and vengeance has clear resonance with the intractable cycle of violence - and the survival of love - in that same part of the world 2500 years on. The themes and wisdom of 'Song of Songs' and 'Lamentations' have never been more current or more apposite.
The two episodes mesh together to form a single drama looking at the same last days of Jerusalem from two very different perspectives.
Seen through the eyes of Jeremiah, the troubled prophet. Crippled by poverty and oppression, Jerusalem's streets are buzzing with talk of revolution. King Zedekiah needs a grand gesture to hold on to power. His advisers are urging him to raise an army to overthrow the Babylonians, but there is one siren voice against an uprising - Jeremiah. So Zedekiah has him arrested.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (b01jwfwx)
Literary London Special
Literary London Special. How London has inspired writing and writers across the centuries.
Recorded in A Room for London, the creative / living space in the shape of a boat on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank of the Thames, Open Book explores the impact the city has had on literature - from Chaucer and Dickens to Martin Amis and Peter Ackroyd; the themes it evokes and why it creates such a diverse backdrop to novels. Mariella Frostrup is joined by novelists who've all been charmed by London - Will Self, Amanda Craig, Dreda Say Mitchell and Ben Aaronovitch.
Producer: Andrea Kidd.
SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (b01jwfwz)
Roger McGough presents listeners' poetry requests, including readings of poems both old and new by the Irish poet Paul Durcan - one of which is in celebration of fathers.
Also, Lucy Black reads poems by Charlotte Mew, John Donne, Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, John Keats, Emily Bronte, George Byron and John Freeman.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b01jqsys)
NHS Queues
Hospital waiting times are a key measure of success for the NHS. But do the official figures accurately reflect the reality for patients across the UK?
In Scotland the waiting time data has been called into question after a hospital trust was exposed for manipulating the figures in order to hit its targets. There's now an investigation to see if the practice has become widespread.
In England the Health Secretary has hailed latest statistics showing a fall in the number of people waiting for treatment as a great achievement. However there's evidence which suggests the pressure to meet waiting list targets is leading to gaming of the system.
Jane Deith investigates.
Producer Ian Muir-Cochrane.
SUN 17:40 From Fact to Fiction (b01jwdwf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01jvcwh)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (b01jvcwk)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01jvcwm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b01jwfx1)
Hardeep Singh Kohli makes his selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio
On Pick of the Week this week we have Honest Doubt, Richard Holloway's excellent series about religion and faith. Katie Derham treads her past and some water as she visits synchronised swimmers. And we hear the most astonishing interview from a murderer in One to One. All that and a sentence including the words "Swedish", "dwarf" and "gun". Yes, yes.
Honest Doubt - Radio 4
One To One - Radio 4
Ramblings - Radio 4
The Essay: What is a Nation - Radio 3
Kicking The Air - Radio 4
The New Elizabethans: - Radio 4
The Synchro Girls- Radio 4
The Now Show - Radio 4
The Digital Human - Radio 4
Don't Log Off - Radio 4
Drama on 3: Henceforward - Radio 3
The World Tonight - Radio 4
Slippered Pantaloons - Radio 4
Barbara Windsor's Clubland - Radio 2
Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Jessica Treen.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (b01jwfx3)
Emma offers to take Neil out for a Fathers' Day lunch. Money's no object, as she made good tips yesterday. She's unsure about Ed taking George to Open Farm Sunday today, but Ed promises he won't let him out of her sight. When Emma and Neil end up at Paxley (Neil's choice), she realises Ambridge are playing them at cricket. She and Neil go and watch.
David's Father's Day gift of beer is well received, and the open day starts well. David advises Pip to tell the stewards to look out for anyone straying off the paths.
David's 'plough to plate' talk goes smoothly, but later as he's addressing another crowd there's a disturbance on the yard. The bullocks are out and David and Ed mobilise to get everyone into the orchard. A cry of alarm from George alerts Ed. George has become trapped in the wrong place. Brave Ed rushes in and scoops up terrified George in the nick of time. He, Pip and Josh move the beasts safely away, but one or two visitors are already muttering about lawyers.
The mystery of how the bullocks escaped is solved when David discovers a cut fence and the firework used to start the stampede. Pip is appalled. David calls the police.
SUN 19:15 The Write Stuff (b01b1nk7)
Series 15
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe is the Author of the Week this episode - a man who both helped establish modern journalism and modern espionage, as well as being the creator of such literary classics as "Moll Flanders" and "Robinson Crusoe", a book that, the Bible excepted, has been translated into more languages than any other.
Team captains Sebastian Faulks and John Walsh are joined by journalist, Jane Thynne, and creator of the DI Thorne novels, Mark Billingham.
For the finale of the show, the teams are asked to imagine Robinson Crusoe's observations were he to be marooned on an island today...the Isle of Dogs or Ibiza, for example.
SUN 19:45 Sailors' Knots (b01jwfx5)
Keeping Up Appearances
Written by W.W. Jacobs.
Published in 1909, Sailors' Knots is an anthology of comic stories set around London and the Thames Estuary at the turn of the last century. The 'knots' are the various mix-ups that occur between sailors on shore leave and the local residents. The tales are great fun, full of entertaining characters (with names like Silas Winch, Sam Small and Ginger Dick) and often deal with marital spats, misunderstandings, and rascals getting their just rewards.
In this second episode, Mark Williams reads the story of Bill Buttenshaw, who is put off drink for life by the terrifying ghost of an old shipmate.
W.W. Jacobs is best known for his horror story, The Monkey's Paw (1902), but the majority of his writing is comic. He was born in Wapping in 1863, where his father was wharf manager at the South Devon Wharf at Lower East Smithfield, and his early observation of merchant ships and the behaviour of their crews informed his many humorous tales.
Mark Williams is well-known as one of the stars of BBC TV's The Fast Show ("Suits you, sir..!!") and for the role of Ron Weasley's father in the Harry Potter films.
Abridged by Roy Apps
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (b01jrqrm)
Do you ever sing along to the radio? Many listeners to BBC Radio 3's Choral evensong confess they love to join in with the hymns - but recently they have suddenly found themselves singing solo. The programme has disappeared off the air without warning on no less than four occasions. Roger Bolton asks Christine Morgan, Head of Radio for Religion and Ethics, to explain what went wrong. Could it happen again?
Roger is granted an audience with the golden-throated denizens of Continuity, and puts your questions to announcer Corrie Corfield. What does the job involve? What do they do if something goes wrong? And do they fight to the death for the chance to read the clips on the News Quiz?
And after BBC Radio 4's World at One accidentally misattributed an archive clip to Richard Dimbleby, one sharp-eared listener calls Roger to reveal just who the mystery voice is.
Producer: Kate Taylor
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 20:30 Last Word (b01jrqrh)
Jean McFarlane, Phillip Tobias, Warda Al Jazairia, Barry Unsworth and Lee Rich
Matthew Bannister on
Lady Jean McFarlane who transformed the way nurses are trained in the UK;
Philip Tobias, the South African paleoanthropologist who carried out pioneering research into the evolution of human beings - and fought apartheid;
The North African diva Warda Al-Jazairia
The Booker prize winning historical novelist Barry Unsworth
And the influential American TV producer Lee Rich. His Lorimar Company brought us the Waltons and Dallas.
SUN 21:00 In Business (b01k6cyb)
Diaspora Bonds
Diaspora Bonds
Developing countries need all kinds of facilities that most cannot afford, facilities that meet absolutely basic human needs: roads, bridges, railways, water supplies, power, sewerage, street lighting.
Many of them have little of the cash it needs to get big public investment programmes started. Overseas aid can help, and so can official borrowing from the big international institutions such as the World Bank.
But there's another pool of potential investment money that has so far been used mainly informally and only in very limited circumstances. Peter Day reports how developing governments, mostly in Africa, are waking up to the investment possibilities of the money diaspora send back to their own countries.
Producer: Richard Berenger.
SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b01jwfpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 today]
SUN 21:30 Analysis (b01jqhly)
Wasted Youth
Many young school leavers have struggled to find work for years. Now the economic crisis has made things worse. Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies investigates the roots of the problem. He discusses the challenge faced by those - particularly boys - who dislike classroom learning, and the often chaotic transition from school to the world beyond. And he hears about the key importance of work experience at the earliest stage to enable young people to acquire the skills and attitudes employers want. But how much can be changed as employers hold onto their older workers during the downturn, leaving youngsters even further behind?
Interviewees include the youth unemployment and vocational education specialists Alison Wolf and Paul Gregg, employers and specialist trainers in Wiltshire, and the new Scottish minister for youth employment.
Producer: Chris Bowlby.
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b01jwfz5)
Preview of the week's political agenda at Westminster with MPs, experts and commentators. Discussion of the issues politicians are grappling with in the corridors of power.
SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b01jwfz7)
Episode 108
Andrew Grice of The Independent analyses how the newspapers are covering the biggest stories in Westminster and beyond.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b01jrlfh)
Francine Stock meets with David Cronenberg to discuss his latest Cosmopolis, starring Robert Pattinson.
The man behind Chariots of Fire, director Hugh Hudson, on his ill-fated film from 1985 - Revolution, starring Al Pacino.
Director Regan Hall and dramatist Roy Williams on Fast Girls, a film about four girls vying for medal glory on the running track.
Producer: Craig Smith.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b01jwfpj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 18 JUNE 2012
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b01jvcxk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b01jrjg3)
Kinship
Kinship is a key term in Anthropology. It describes the genealogical and biological ties which bind human beings to each other. The French anthropologist, Maurice Godelier, tells Laurie Taylor about his groundbreaking study into the evolution of kinship as a reality, as well as a concept. He disputes the idea that it constitutes the original building block of society; arguing instead that political and religious allegiances cut across family groups. He also suggests that traditional ideas of 'kinship' are complicated by the modern day transformation in family forms. The celebrated British anthropologists, Henrietta Moore and Adam Kuper, join the debate.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b01jwfpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01jvcxm)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01jvcxp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01jvcxr)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b01jvcxt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01jwjvm)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Ranjit Singh Dhanda.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b01jwjvp)
Charlotte Smith launches the search for BBC Farmer Of The Year 2012. As nominations open for the 13th BBC Food and Farming Awards we want to celebrate the best of British food and those companies and individuals who grow, make and supply it. Judges Adam Henson and Christine Tacon tell Charlotte what they are looking for in this year's nominations.
Next week there will be a judicial review into the Government's decision to allow badgers to be culled in England to halt the spread of TB in cattle. Jack Reedy from The Badger Trust explains why he thinks that the animals should be vaccinated instead. Meanwhile, Andrew Biggs, former president of the British Cattle Veterinary Association, tells Charlotte why the disease is such a problem for farmers.
And..... Clare Freeman goes tractor pulling in Warwickshire.
You can submit nominations for the Food and Farming Awards 2012 at www.bbc.co.uk/foodawards
The presenter is Charlotte Smith and the producer is Emma Weatherill.
MON 05:57 Weather (b01jvcxw)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 06:00 Today (b01jwk64)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by John Humphrys and Justin Webb, including:
07:30 Analysis of the Greek election result.
07:40 Does music help cows relax?
07:50 MPs criticise the care system over children in care who go missing.
08:10 What does the Greek election result mean for Europe?
08:30 Are mentally ill people discriminated against?
MON 09:00 Start the Week (b01jwjvr)
Science and Politics: Professor David Nutt and David Blunkett
On Start the Week Andrew Marr asks how far scientific evidence can influence the political agenda. Professor David Nutt is a respected researcher working in the field of drugs, but is best known as the government advisor who was sacked by the Home Secretary for comparing the risks of horse-riding with taking ecstasy. He argues for a rational debate on drugs policy based on objective evidence. Mark Henderson despairs that this will never happen while only one of our 650 MPs is a scientist. But the former Labour minister, David Blunkett, defends his profession, arguing that even evidence-based policy must take into account public opinion and perception. And for former No. 10 advisor Jill Rutter evaluates the evidence for and against.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b01jwjvt)
Beauty and the Inferno
From Scampia to Cannes
Essays by Roberto Saviano. Translated by Oonagh Stransky.
Italian journalist Roberto Saviano describes the affects of writing his successful Mafia expose' Gomorrah on his life and work. In this episode, he is given a rare release from enforced hiding, to take a trip to the Cannes Film Festival for the opening of the film version of his explosive book, which dramatises his insights going undercover in Naples to reveal the scale and brutality of the modern Mafia operation in Italy and beyond. He is accompanied to Cannes by the youthful stars of the film, ordinary kids from the streets of Naples who play wannabe gangsters, all of whom who have grown up, as Saviano did, in the shadow of violent organised crime.
A series of essays from Italian journalist Roberto Saviano, the celebrated author of Gomorrah - a sensational book exposing the inner workings of the Italian Mafia. Saviano explores a range of his passions, both light and dark, sharing common themes of David vs Goliath and the power of art and talent to overcome difficulties, while offering a compelling insight into his life in hiding and under permanent police protection since Gomorrah's publication in 2006.
Saviano describes the effects on his life and work of writing the book, including a surreal 'fish out of water' trip to the Cannes Film Festival for the opening of the film version.
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Reader: Nicholas Murchie
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01jwjvw)
Fashion style in the rain - and it's not all about wellies; the documentary maker who's focussing on Ukraine's forgotten children; The Archers but not as you know it - how an everyday tale of Afghan folk came to the airwaves; one nanny who cared for more than 100 children before retiring at 80; what future awaits women who are made homeless?
Producer: Sarah Crawley
Presenter: Jane Garvey.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01jwjvy)
An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk: Series 1
Episode 1
A slice of daily life in a village in the wild, mountainous Pak-Afghan borders where the only law is tribal law and there is no road, no electricity and no mobile phone signal. An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk is based on PACT Radio's existing daily soap, made by and for the Pashtun people of this untamed area.
In episode 1 we meet the wealthy, landowning family of Akbar Khan. A criminal and warlord, Akbar Khan welcomes his son's friend to his household. His good wife, Shah Bibi, fears that the lad is on the run and has asked for refuge. She hopes the visitor will keep his hands clean while he is staying but Akbar Khan is pleased to find someone who will help his criminal activities. Akbar Khan's elder son, Wisal, shares his mother's opinion of the guest. But he has other things on his mind - like the pretty young girl from the poorest family in the village who works in their household.
Cast:
Akbar Khan, the wealthy landowner...... Sagar Arya
Shah Bibi, his wife ........ Shaheen Khan
Sudha Bhucher ...... Durranai, his mother
Wisal, his elder son ....... Donald Slack
Mashal, his younger son ....... Muzz Khan
Kashmala, his widowed daughter-in-law ....... Betsabeh Emran
Lashkar, Mashal's friend the outlaw ......... Narinder Samra
Based on a PACT Radio production led by John Butt
Written and directed in the UK by Liz Rigbey
Sound design by David Chilton
Music by Olivia Thomas
Producer: Anne-Marie Cole
An Above the Title production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 11:00 Habana: The Children of the Spanish Civil War (b01jwjw0)
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the evacuation by sea of 4,000 child refugees from the port of Bilbao during the Spanish Civil War.
A great and heart-warming story of how British people welcomed the Spanish children, and strived to make a difference during that conflict, told through the experiences of the refugees and their own children living in the UK today.
On May 21st 1937, 4,000 child refugees were evacuated to the UK on the ship Habana to escape the bombs and fighting around Bilbao. After much shameful prevarication by a British Government keen to appease burgeoning fascist powers in Europe, action was secured by pressure from British Socialists and other groups following the criminal carpet bombing of Guernica by the German Condor Legion.
However, parents were not allowed to travel with their children and in consoling their departing children, mothers on the quayside told them it was 'solo por tres meses' - 'only for three months'. For some it was actually ten years; others never returned to Spain. Around 400 remained in the UK, largely because the authorities could find no trace of any living relatives back home.
The refugees who stayed in the UK, and their families, remain a tightly knit group. Many married within their own community or married other Spaniards. The way they brought their children up was heavily influenced by their own trauma of being sent away at such a young age. Through continuing close contact, they kept their identity and memories of the Spanish Civil War very much alive.
Producer: Amanda Bruckshaw
Exec Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 11:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b0184rgq)
Series 3
Holyhead
In this third series comedian Mark Steel visits 6 more UK towns to discover what makes them and their inhabitants distinctive.
He creates a bespoke stand-up show for that town and performs the show in front of a local audience.
As well as shedding light on the less visited areas of Britain, Mark uncovers stories and experiences that resonate with us all as we recognise the quirkiness of the British way of life and the rich tapestry of remarkable events and people who have shaped where we live.
During the series 'Mark Steel's In Town' Mark will visit Berwick-Upon Tweed, Holyhead, Basingstoke, Douglas (Isle of Man), Bungay and Wigan.
Episode 2 - In this episode Mark performs a show for the residents of Holyhead in Anglesey, where he talks about sinking ships, fishy foot nibbling, the town's newest locals, Kate and Wills, and a mayor whose eccentricity puts Boris to shame... From December 2011.
Written by Mark Steel with additional material by Pete Sinclair.
Produced by Sam Bryant.
MON 12:00 You and Yours (b01jwjw2)
Pain relief, food and farming awards and a water supply with no bills
It's the launch of the Oscars of the food world. You and Yours and the Food and Farming Awards are on the hunt for Britain's Best Local Retailer. But we need your nominations.
We'll also hear about a man who was denied pain relief because his dementia meant he couldn't say how he was feeling. How should nurses deal with patients who can't speak for themselves?
And - if you're sick of paying water rates and don't want a water meter - you could have your own bore hole. We'll find out how to do it and if it's worth it?
Presented by Julian Worricker
Produced by Paul Waters.
MON 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01jwjw4)
Francis Crick
The New Elizabethans: Francis Crick. To mark the Diamond Jubilee, James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.
James Naughtie peers down the microscope at the talkative and incisive Nobel prize-winning molecular biologist who helped discover the structure of DNA. As the principal author of the 1953 paper in the journal Nature, Crick, alongside Jim Watson, established how messages might be carried by DNA, the memory system in our genes. His "central dogma" was that genetic information flows one-way in cells, from DNA to RNA to protein. Later he developed an interest in neuroscience and the problem of consciousness. The Francis Crick Institute due to open in London in 2015 will be the biggest centre for biomedical research and innovation in Europe.
The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.
They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."
Producer: Clare Walker.
MON 12:57 Weather (b01jvcxy)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b01jwjw6)
National and international news with Martha Kearney. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
MON 13:45 Honest Doubt: The History of an Epic Struggle (b01jwjw8)
On the Edge
In a series of personal essays, Richard Holloway considers the tensions between faith and doubt over the last 3000 years. Author and former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway focuses on the Judeo-Christian tradition as he takes the listener from the birth of religious thinking, through the Old and New Testaments, to the developments in subsequent centuries and their influence on thinkers and writers, up to the present day.
In exploring the 'riddle of existence', Richard Holloway uses the American poet Emily Dickinson as a bridge between 19th and 20th Century thinking. He draws from her poem sequence 'The World is Not Conclusion' to suggest that there is no objective 'point of view from which we can observe the whole mystery of the universe'.
He talks to Sir Anthony Kenny, literary executor and biographer of the 20th Century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, about Wittgenstein's view that 'even when all possible scientific questions are answered, the problems of life have still not been touched at all'. In response, Kenny offers a rare poem by Wittgenstein.
The debate between the 'unbelieving' and the 'believing' continues into our age as Holloway cites the ideas of evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and philosopher Roger Scruton.
Producer: Olivia Landsberg
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b01jwfx3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b01jwk66)
Ben Lewis - Tiny
This is the story of a legend in the making.
A nervous young man lives at the dead end of a dead-end town. On his eighteenth birthday he comes into his inheritance. With a little help from an old teacher, he finds it equips him to broadcast over the internet.
Living in a house where rolling news is a constant presence, he does what comes naturally - he fires up his computer and presents the news. But his news is different. It puts a spring in its audience's step. That is, until his grandma starts to grow suspicious about what this boy is getting up to, nightly in his bedroom, and tries to put a stop to the broadcasts completely.
A quirky comedy about a teenager who becomes an internet phenomenon by Ben Lewis.
MON 15:00 Counterpoint (b01jwk68)
Series 26
Episode 9
(9/13)
Which opera features the aria known in English as the 'Jewel song'? And which American poet and singer published a prize-winning memoir entitled 'Just Kids'?
Paul Gambaccini is in the chair for the last of the heats in the current series of the wide-ranging music quiz. Contestants from Lancashire, Staffordshire and County Down compete at Media City in Salford, for the one remaining place in the 2012 semi-finals.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b01jwfq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Forced Entertainment (b01k12qv)
Recorded over several months, this programme follows the creative process of the Sheffield-based, experimental performance group, Forced Entertainment, during a period in which they invent, develop, and rehearse their next big production, The Coming Storm. For the last 28 years, Forced Entertainment has built its shows around the same core group of six actors, working together under the guidance of artistic director, writer and visual artist Tim Etchells. Their productions are unconventional - somewhere between performance art, drama and dark comedy. 2010's The Thrill of It All, for instance, included deranged dancing girls, derelict comedians, and a soundtrack of Japanese lounge music, whereas another recent production Void Story, is a combination of radio play and graphic novel. Since the company started out in post-punk 1980s Sheffield, they have regularly impressed critics and audiences. And unusually for a British theatre company, they are also popular and recognised critically in Europe, partly because of their visceral, physical humour, and partly because of their risk-taking strategies. As the programme reveals, Forced Entertainment "evolve" a script by improvising it over a long series of workshop sessions, which the group have agreed to us recording. In this programme, Dickinson also follows the company to their co-producing venue, PACT Zollverein at Essen in Germany, where The Coming Storm receives its world premiere, prior to its first UK showing on June 19 at Battersea Arts Centre, as part of LIFT 2012 and London 2012 Festival. Creative intensity combined with a busy timetable, will make for an exciting and funny programme.
MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b01jwk6b)
Series 6
Oceans: The Last Great Unexplored Frontier?
Brian Cox and Robin Ince return for a new series of the award-winning science/comedy show, as they take a witty, irreverent and unashamedly rational look at the world according to science. In today's programme they'll be looking down rather than up as they consider the great mysteries that still remain uncovered in the watery depths of our oceans and asking whether they are truly the last unexplored frontiers for science. It has often be said that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about much of what lies beneath the ocean waves, so how come we know so little about the vast majority of our own planet? They'll be joined on stage by comedian Dave Gorman, British Antarctic Survey scientist Lloyd Peck and Bramley Murton from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.
Presenters: Robin Ince and Brian Cox
Producer: Alexandra Feachem.
MON 17:00 PM (b01jwk6d)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01jvcy0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b01jwk6g)
Series 63
Episode 6
Nicholas Parsons challenges Jenny Éclair, Tony Hawks, Richard Herring and Paul Sinha to speak for 60 seconds. From 2012.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b01jwk6j)
Darrell's thrown when some kitchen units are delivered in an unmarked van. Bernie assures him it's all above board, and demands cash up front. Matt assures Darrell later that Bernie works for Borsetshire Building Supplies, but does extra work on the side. He reminds surprised Darrell that he pays him to do as he asks, not to ask questions.
Kenton longs to see daughter Meriel, and he and Jolene agree it can't do any harm to check flight prices. Kenton finds no bargains, and Jolene confides to Matt that Kenton's gutted. He's desperate to see Meriel, and she herself was warming to the idea too. It looks like they'll both be disappointed now.
It's the morning after the stampede at Brookfield. Jill checks on David's welfare and asks what the police said. Is he worried people are going to sue? David has to explain that the cause of the escape wasn't negligence but sabotage. Shocked Jill pieces together the recent horrific incidents at the farm and imagines how much worse it could have been. She's proud that David wants to testify, but urges him to consider the family's safety. His assurance that they're all on board elicits no reply from Ruth.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b01jwk6l)
Yoko Ono's art; Bruce Willis in Lay the Favourite
With Kirsty Lang,
A major Yoko Ono exhibition called To The Light opens this week with art installations, films with soundtracks by John Lennon, a maze and a room in which you're invited to record your smile. Writer Iain Sinclair gives his verdict.
Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta Jones star in Stephen Frears' new film comedy, Lay the Favourite, set in the world of Las Vegas sports gambling. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews.
The British Paraorchestra has been founded by conductor Charles Hazlewood to showcase disabled musicians, aiming to end the limitations placed on them, not by their physical ability but by lack of opportunity. Kirsty attended a rehearsal, to meet members of the orchestra.
Pia Juul is a leading Danish literary author whose new book The Murder of Halland opens with a woman answering the door to be greeted with the words 'I am arresting you for the murder of your husband...'. Pia Juul discusses her crime-novel-with-a-difference, and her portrayal of one woman's grief as she comes to terms with her partner's death.
Producer Claire Bartleet.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01jwjvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 Things We Forgot to Remember (b01jwk7k)
Series 8
The Junkers of Woodbridge Airfield
Through the story of a German night fighter captured in Suffolk, Michael Portillo remembers the crucial electronic war waged between the Axis and the Allies.
In July 1944 the crew of a Junkers JU88 night fighter, lost and without fuel, emergency landed their plane on an RAF airfield in Suffolk. This gift from the skies provided British Air Intelligence with the latest German radar secrets. Throughout the war a technological see-saw had been underway with each side trying to gain the the advantage in radar detection and evasion equipment. The radar technology in this particular night fighter explained why large numbers of British bombers were being shot down from the rear and the RAF aircraft were quickly modified as a result.
Alongside distinguished historians and veterans of RAF Bomber Command Michael pieces together the story of that fateful night. He also explores how it illuminates the vital - yet lesser known - battle front of electronic warfare.
Producer Neil McCarthy.
MON 20:30 Analysis (b01jwk7m)
Cameron's Swede Dreams
What's so great about Sweden? The British left has long been obsessed with Sweden. Now the Conservatives are too. Little wonder: the country always tops the global charts for happiness and social cohesion; its economy is dynamic and its deficit is low.
In this week's Analysis, Jo Fidgen investigates the "Swedish model" and the British obsession with it. She finds the country is more conservative than people think, with its centre-right government's generous welfare state depending on very traditional notions of trust and social cohesion. At the root of Swedish conservativism is what the experts call a "Swedish theory of love" - in which the state is seen as the defender of the individual. Could this idea ever work for Britain? Sweden has provided a blue-print for David Cameron's Conservatives and their "Big Society" reforms, but many in Sweden argue that they are being misunderstood by Britain's Tories. Jo also looks at how, as Sweden struggles to become more multicultural, the "Swedish model" itself may in fact be unravelling.
Interviewees include:
Anders Borg, Swedish finance minister
Samuel Englom, Chief Legal Adviser at the Swedish trade union federation (TCO)
Fraser Nelson, Editor of The Spectator magazine
Sofia Nerbrand, Swedish centre-right thinker
Nalin Pekgul, Swedish Social Democrat member of Parliament
Lars Tragardh, Professor of History at Ersta Sköndal University College
Marcus Uvell, President of the free market think-tank Timbro
Producer: Mukul Devichand.
MON 21:00 Material World (b01jrlfk)
This month sees the 100th anniversary of the birth of British mathematician and computer pioneer Alan Turing. Lauded by many as one of the founding fathers of information technology, his visionary ideas and theories are at the heart of our digital age. Yet until relatively recently he was forgotten, his achievements ignored. We discuss his legacy with Dr Tilly Blyth, curator if computing and information at London's science museum and Dr Peter Bentley, reader in computer science at University College London and the author of the recently published 'digitized' in which he compares the work of Alan Turing with other computer age pioneers.
Just ahead of the finals in Cheltenham, we catch up with two of our 'So You Want to Be a Scientist?' finalists. William Rudling can finally shed some light on whether people who look similar also have similar voices. And we hear from Dara Djavan Khoshdel if people's emotional response to an artwork is a good predictor of the monetary value of that artwork.
Producer: Julian Siddle.
MON 21:30 Start the Week (b01jwjvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b01jvcy2)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b01jxrh2)
Greek politicians work to form a coalition following the weekend's elections - but are Europe's problems still unresolved?
Egyptian military take law-making powers - is this a soft military coup?
With Ritula Shah.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01jxrh4)
Salvage the Bones
Episode 6
By Jesmyn Ward.
Skeetah and Manny's cousin Rico organise a savage dog fight in the woods. It is watched by Esch and their friends. If Rico wins, Skeetah must give up one of China's puppies, something he will avoid at all costs.
It is 2005. Fifteen-year-old Esch is the narrator of the novel. She lives in poverty with her brothers and her father in the Mississippi woods near the small town of Bois Sauvage. Skeetah's beloved pit-bull China is a fighting dog and her puppies will be trained to fight too, if they survive. Esch's mother died giving birth to her youngest brother Junior. The only other people in Esch's world are her father, her older brother Randall and her brother's friends. They include Manny, who she worships and gives herself to freely without getting any love or respect in return. The story takes place against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina forming out at sea, then descending on the country with terrifying force.
Salvage The Bones won the 2011 National Book Award in America. It is Jesmyn Ward's second novel and is based on her own experience of Hurricane Katrina and growing up black and in a poor family in rural Mississippi. She is currently the Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi.
Abridged by Jeremy Osborne
Read by Cush Jumbo
Producer: Rosalynd Ward
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 23:00 Off the Page (b01jqsyd)
What It Says on the Tin
There is a well known advert for woodstain with the modest boast, "It does what it says on the tin." This is the theme for our trio of writers - actor Michael Simkins, psychologist Dr Funke Baffour, and journalist Tom Mitchelson. Truth and lies in everyday life, and how honest are we with those we love, including ourselves.
Tom Mitchelson reveals a sideline as an investigative journalist - infiltrating a male bonding cult, posing as a playboy, pretending to be a foreign language teacher - to get at a higher truth. "I find it exhilarating," he confesses. Not everything is as it seems in Off The Page, presented by Dominic Arkwright.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01jxrh6)
The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, defends his plans for a shake-up of the curriculum in English primary schools.
The SNP condemns as an "obscene waste of money" a decision to spend £1.1 billion on reactors for nuclear-powered submarines.
MPs debate Government's proposals to bring in individual electoral registration across the UK.
Peers challenge the Government over its management of the business of the House of Lords and demand action to improve mobile phone coverage in rural areas.
Susan Hulme and team report on today's events in Parliament.
TUESDAY 19 JUNE 2012
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b01jvcyz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b01jwjvt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01jvcz1)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01jvcz3)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01jvcz5)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b01jvcz7)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01jwjwj)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Ranjit Singh Dhanda.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b01jwjwl)
The emotional and financial cost of TB in cattle: we hear the story of one Cheshire farmer who has just had 74 animals slaughtered. Anna Hill hears that the wet weather means it's Slugs v Spuds in the fields of East Anglia. New research suggests parent barley plants pass on disease defence mechanisms to their offspring. And 18 EU member states say they'll comply with the ban on keeping sows in narrow stalls on 1st January 2013. But British pig farmers think their Spanish counterparts may not be able to live up to their government's promises.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling.
TUE 06:00 Today (b01jwjwn)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by Evan Davis and Justin Webb, including:
07:30 and
08:10 Are the Dilnot social care funding reforms in doubt?
07:50 What should A-levels look like?
08:20 Yoko Ono.
08:30 Tony Nicklinson and assisted dying.
TUE 09:00 The Reith Lectures (b01jmx0p)
Niall Ferguson: The Rule of Law and Its Enemies: 2012
The Human Hive
The eminent economic historian Professor Niall Ferguson argues that institutions determine the success or failure of nations. In a lecture delivered at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he says that a society governed by abstract, impersonal rules will become richer than one ruled by personal relationships. The rule of law is crucial to the creation of a modern economy and its early adoption is the reason why Western nations grew so powerful in the modern age.
But are the institutions of the West now degenerating? Professor Ferguson asks whether the democratic system has a fatal flaw at its heart. In the West young people are confronting the fact that they must live with the huge financial debt generated by their parents, something they had no control over despite the fact that they were born into a democracy. Is there a way of restoring the compact between different generations?
Producer: Jane Beresford.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b01k04ng)
Beauty and the Inferno
Brittle Bones
Essays by Roberto Saviano. Translated by Oonagh Stransky.
Italian journalist Saviano pays tribute to the great jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani, in a triumphant tale of the man's music and his indomitable spirit, despite being crippled by brittle bone disease.
This series of essays are by the celebrated author of Gomorrah - a sensational book exposing the inner workings of the Italian Mafia. Journalist Roberto Saviano explores a range of his passions, both light and dark, sharing common themes of David vs Goliath and the power of art and talent to overcome difficulties, while offering a compelling insight into his life in hiding and under permanent police protection since Gomorrah's publication in 2006.
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Reader: Nicholas Murchie
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01jwk39)
Barbara Hulanicki the designer behind the swinging sixties fashion brand Biba, talks about the importance of design. How far have women's rights progressed in Egypt under the new regime? Have they improved, or been eroded since the revolution. Can a "toxic culture" explain why so many women leave the corporate world ? And after Lisa Brown, a US Democratic representative in Michigan, was recently thrown out of a local government debate on abortion for referring to her vagina we ask; why can't women use the word "vagina" in US politics? Did Michigan politicians react to the word itself or the increasingly polarised debate on abortion?
Presenter Jane Garvey.
Producer Martha Owen.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01k06vk)
An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk: Series 1
Episode 2
A slice of daily life in a village in the wild, mountainous Pak-Afghan borders where the only law is tribal law and there is no road, no electricity and no mobile phone signal. An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk is based on PACT Radio's existing daily soap, made by and for the Pashtun people of this untamed area.
In episode 2 we meet the poorest family in the village. Mewa Gul scrapes a living by farming the fields of the wealthy Akbar Khan - but he is always in debt to his landlord. When Mewa Gul and his son Taza Gul witness a murder, they know they risk losing everything if they reveal what they saw.
Mewa Gul's daughter has problems of her own. She works for Akbar Khan's family and is falling for his son, Wisal. And if she's old enough to fall in love, then she's too old to be working in someone else's house. Her mother Bakhtawara tries to take the situation in hand.
Cast:
Sagar Arya ..... Akbar Khan, the wealthy landowner
Muzz Khan ..... Mashal, his younger son
Lashkar, Mashal's friend the outlaw ......... Narinder Samra
Mewa Gul, the poorest farmer ....... Vincent Ibrahim
Bakhtawara, his wife ........ Meera Syal
Zarlakhta, his daughter ........ Balvinder Sopal
Taza Gul, his son ....... Sagar Arya
Based on a PACT Radio production led by John Butt
Written and directed in the UK by Liz Rigbey
Sound design by David Chilton
Music by Olivia Thomas
Produced by Anne-Marie Cole
An Above theTitle production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 11:00 Sniffing Out Danger (b01jwk3c)
Breathe deeply - what can you smell? We live in a landscape of scents - but unlike sniffer dogs, we don't have the ability to identify and read them. Until now. Scientists are training not just dogs, but bees, mice and electronic noses to sniff out security threats by odour alone. Amber Marks explores the growth of olfactory surveillance, finding out about the challenges of harnessing and mimicking nature, and asking about the implications of harnessing this world of scents.
TUE 11:30 The Songs of Milne (b01jwk3f)
'Christopher Robin is saying his prayers....', 'They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace....': familiar verses by A.A. Milne from the 1920s, but who wrote the original music?
In their day the songs were as much a part of the Milne success as the famous E.H. Shepard illustrations. Time, Disney and changing fashions have seen to it that the majority of these pieces have been all but forgotten, along with the man who set them to music. There are sixty-seven songs in all, from the verses in When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, and The Hums of Pooh are from the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Their composer was Harold Fraser-Simson, whose reputation was made by a hit West End musical in 1917 called The Maid of the Mountains, though he was partly chosen by Milne because he lived across the street in Chelsea and belonged to the Garrick Club.
When pianist John Kember first found the music on a friend's piano, he was so struck with it that he scoured the world for the scores to gather in all of the songs, which haven't yet been compiled into a full collection. With baritone Richard Burkhard John performs his favourites, follows the fortunes of some of the songs and hopes that the time might be ripe for another revival.
Presenter: John Kember
Producer: Kate Howells.
TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b01jwk5b)
Call You and Yours: Mental Illness
Call You& Yours asks how can we change attitudes towards mental illness?
It accounts for nearly a half of all ill health suffered by people under 65 and is more disabling than most chronic physical diseases - a new report out today has revealed. One in four people in the UK will at some stage in their lives have a mental health problem, ranging from stress, anxiety and depression to devastating psychotic conditions.
Yet only a quarter of those are in any form of treatment.
In an historic moment last week a group of MPs announced to Parliament that they are suffering or had suffered from mental illness at some point in their lives.
So why is mental health seen as a taboo subject?
We want to hear what you think? Have you or someone in your family suffered from mental illness? Are you one of those who feels let down by the NHS? Do you believe that mental health is so central to the health of individuals and of society that more should be done about providing help? Do you work with people suffering from mental ill health?
03700 100 444 is the phone number - a call will cost you the same as to an 01 or an 02 number - you can e-mail via the Radio 4 website, or you can text to 84844. If you do the latter it will cost you your standard operator message rate, and we may call you back on that number.
Or you can tweet @BBCRadio4 using the hashtag #youandyours.
Presenter Julian Worricker
Producer Maire Devine.
TUE 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01jwk5d)
Doris Lessing
The New Elizabethans: Doris Lessing. A spirited, straight-talking Nobel laureate who has been praised for her ability to inhabit different fictional worlds.
Radicalised in colonial Africa, her first novel The Grass is Singing is set in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where she grew up. The government there would later accuse her of "subversive activities" and she was labelled a prohibitive immigrant. Most famous as author of The Golden Notebook, she has resisted the way in which feminists have claimed the book as an inspiration and has been critical of the "rubbishing of men".
Awarded The Nobel Prize by the Swedish Academy in 2007, she was described as "That epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny".
The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.
They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."
Producer: Clare Walker.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b01jvczc)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b01jwk5g)
Martha Kearney presents national and international news.
TUE 13:45 Honest Doubt: The History of an Epic Struggle (b01jwk5j)
Saving Doubt
In a series of personal essays, Richard Holloway considers the tensions between faith and doubt over the last 3000 years. Author and former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway focuses on the Judeo-Christian tradition as he takes the listener from the birth of religious thinking, through the Old and New Testaments, to the developments in subsequent centuries and their influence on thinkers and writers, up to the present day.
In today's programme, Richard Holloway explores the theme of doubt and disloyalty with the help of three great 20th Century writers - James Joyce, Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene. Holloway suggests that doubt and disloyalty help 'keep our most cherished institutions open to change and renewal'. It's a view supported by Joyce and Greene who challenged the Catholic notion of Hell and its 'eternal repetition'. But for Waugh, it was the very idea of changelessness and stability that attracted him to Catholicism. Holloway talks to Revd. Prof. David Jasper from Glasgow University about how this theme plays out in Waugh's work, while Graham Greene tells us himself why doubt and disloyalty are essential roles for the writer.
Producer: Olivia Landsberg
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b01jwk6j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b01jwk6z)
Flying Backwards
A new drama by Jack Klaff set in Cape Town, starring Alice Krige and Jack Klaff.
Johnnie's back in Cape Town to record his new radio play - his first in his home town after many years abroad in London. In the cast, to Johnnie's surprise, is Vicki. Vicki and Johnnie had an all-consuming affair, decades ago. He was 22, she was 30. Then, prejudices about politics, age and gender shattered a deep and passionate love. Johnnie left for England, shunning Apartheid and, candidly, furthering his career. Now - crying, laughing, raging, teasing - they revisit their earlier lives and their unrecognisable city in a country, South Africa, with its own unfinished story.
Johnnie's decision to leave came at a time when the troubles had deeply affected his own family - his father was murdered. Was it a selfish decision to further his career or born out of desperation at the state of his country?
The drama is unflinching in its examination of a young man's dreams and choices. It's also forgiving but honest about a beloved woman and a beautiful land. While in Cape Town Johnnie visits no go areas and places from his past. Confronting his own memories and demons. Meeting after so long, Johnnie and Vicki are forced to consider what they've made of themselves. They are also nudged into thinking about their own responses and actions during extremely dark times.
Flying Backwards
by Jack Klaff
Cast:
Vicki/Maureen........................ALICE KRIGE
Johnnie.................................JACK KLAFF
Ma.......................................DOREEN MANTLE
Deon/Andrew/Bruce.................VINCENT EBRAHIM
Tyrone...................................DON MCCORKINDALE
Michelle/Lizzie........................HELEN SZYMCZAK
Producer/Director: David Ian Neville.
TUE 15:00 Making History (b01jwk71)
Tom Holland presents Radio 4's popular history programme in which listener's questions and research help offer new insights into the past.
The Archaeology of 2012: Nick Bateman from the Museum of London Archaeological Service talks to Tom Holland about the work that's gone at the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London.
Georgian Window Tax: A listener in Edinburgh isn't convinced that the blocked up windows in her Georgian terrace house are evidence of the well-known window-tax of the time. Fiona Watson hears the thoughts of Professor Charles McKean at the University of Dundee.
Irish Deserters: Professor Brian Girvin gives his opinion of what the pardon for those that deserted the Irish army and served in the British forces during World War 2 will do for historians.
Stella Rutter the D-Day Hostess: Helen Castor talks to the remarkable octogenarian Stella Rutter who was the hostess of a party for all the leading commanders involved in Operation Overlord just two days before the invasion.
Martin Shaw: Tom Holland talks to Professor George Odam about the life and work of a forgotten classical war composer, Martin Shaw.
Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Off the Page (b01jwk7r)
Bone Idle
As politicians seem to endlessly bang on about their passion for protecting 'hard working' families, Dominic Arkwright discusses the merits of idleness with Hardeep Singh Kohli, Stephanie Calman and Oliver Burkeman.
Every week there seems to be a new report about how lazy we're becoming. Recent headlines have included "Lazy Brits Spend 36 Years sitting on their bottoms," and "Teenagers are too lazy to babysit." As Dominic wonders who has the time to know all of this, Hardeep Singh Kohli tells us how he's not had a week off in over ten years, Stephanie Calman extols the joys of being a slattern and Oliver Burkeman tells us why it's really important for us to step back and just stop.
Producer: Sarah Langan.
TUE 16:00 Law in Action (b01jwkh8)
The Quality of Advocacy
As the lines blur between the work of solicitors and barristers , Joshua Rozenberg asks whether a cheaper service provides better value for money or is it leading to poor representation in court and ultimately miscarriages of justice? He discusses the issues with Baroness Deech of the Bar Standards Board, a solicitor advocate Sundeep Bhatia and Elisabeth Davies, Chair of the Consumer panel at the Legal Services Board. He also speaks to senior appeal court judge Lord Justice Moses and asks about the best way to assess quality and what dangers lie ahead if suffers.
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b01jxrd5)
Ian Marchant and Larry Lamb
Harriett Gilbert's guests are the actor Larry Lamb, best known for his recent roles in EastEnders and the comedy Gavin and Stacey, and the novelist, travel writer and broadcaster Ian Marchant.
Books featured in the programme:-
Larry Lamb's choice: ‘Dirt Music’ by Tim Winton
Ian Marchant's choice: ‘How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup’ by JL Carr
Harriett Gilbert's choice: ‘African Psycho’ by Alain Mabanckou.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
TUE 17:00 PM (b01jxrd7)
Ritula Shah presents full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01jvczf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Cabin Pressure (b012x12f)
Series 3
St Petersburg
Some vodka and an unwary bird could spell the end of the line for MJN Air and when Carolyn meets her ex-husband the atmosphere turns even icier.
John Finnemore's sitcom about the pilots of a tiny charter airline for whom no job is too small and many jobs are too difficult.
With special guest Timothy West
Carolyn Knapp-Shappey ..... Stephanie Cole
1st Officer Douglas Richardson ..... Roger Allam
Capt. Martin Crieff ..... Benedict Cumberbatch
Arthur Shappey ..... John Finnemore
Gordon Shappey ..... Timothy West
Tommo ..... Paul Shearer
Producer/Director: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2011.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b01jxrd9)
Alice finds Adam loading sheep pen hurdles on to the trailer. She advises him not to overdo it now he's back full time. Adam assures her he's fine. He's looking forward to a birthday meal out with Ian.
But Brian's horrified when he sees Adam; he knows it will be him in the doghouse with Jennifer if Adam does himself a mischief. They discuss Noah, a new casual labour prospect who's keen to get combine experience. When Adam tires, they stop for a break. Brian advises the afternoon off, but Adam insists he's got his second wind.
Amy and Alice stake out Carl's workplace. Rattled Carl's not pleased to see Amy. He tries to put her off, but she persuades him to stay and listen. She apologises for appearing too pushy and keen; of course she knows he needs time. But he remains stony faced. When she mentions his wife and daughter he's angry and scornful. Would Amy really imagine he'd leave Rochelle for her? He cruelly bats away Amy's proclamations of love, and finally the scales fall from her eyes.
Waiting Alice picks up the pieces. How could he do that to me, wails heartbroken Amy.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b01jxrdc)
Sam Mendes; news of the Art Fund Prize winner
With Mark Lawson.
Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes is the executive producer of a series of Shakespeare's history plays, filmed for TV. He discusses why he believes in bringing Shakespeare to the small screen, and also considers the similarities between the Bard and his next film project, the new James Bond film Skyfall.
In the new film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the 16th President of the United States discovers blood-thirsty vampires are planning to take over his country. The action horror film imagines Lincoln's secret identity as a vampire-hunter. Elaine Showalter reviews the film whose cast includes Rufus Sewell and Benjamin Walker.
Lord Smith, former Culture Secretary, announces the winner of the £100 000 Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries, following the deliberations of his judging panel.
Producer Philippa Ritchie.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01k06vk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b01jxrdf)
Secret Justice
Ministers want to extend secret hearings to Britain's civil courts - so judges can deal with the increasing number of cases involving the intelligence services.
Justice Secretary Ken Clarke says it is the only way that judges can hear the testimony of spies working for MI5, MI6 or GCHQ. Getting them to give evidence in open court is not an option, he says.
A small number of courts already hold secret sessions to consider appeals from individuals facing deportation on evidence compiled by the security services. But how well does the system work? File on 4 hears evidence from lawyers who are concerned about the quality of some of the testimony given behind closed doors.
And the programme has learned of a growing number of closed justice cases being heard in Employment Tribunals where people are claiming they were sacked because they pose a risk to national security. Because the Tribunals are hearing evidence in secret, the claimants are unable to get further details of why they were dismissed.
Gerry Northam explores the operation of secret justice in British courts and asks whether its extension to more cases would be in the national interest.
Producer: David Lewis.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b01jxrdh)
The Government is proposing that owning a guide dog will contribute more points towards a benefit than using a white cane. Two listeners - one who uses a guide dog and one who uses a cane take us on a regular route they make describing their journeys. And Tony Shearman joins a group of visually impaired people as they visit a farm to experience farming and farm animals hands on.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b01jxrdk)
The well respected mental health campaigner, Janey Antoniou, died in hospital in 2010 while detained under the Mental Health Act. Her husband, Dr Michael Antoniou, talks to Claudia Hammond about the circumstances of his wife's death and why he believes it's wrong that hospitals, when a patient dies, can investigate themselves.
Also in the programme Claudia talks to psychologist, Sonja Lyubomirsky, about new research which shows that parents are happier than non-parents but surprisingly, the effect is greatest for men.
Claudia visits Europe's largest club drug clinic, part of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, a year after it opened to find out about a growing use of so- called legal highs and the problems associated with legal and illegal club drug use.
Producer: Pam Rutherford.
TUE 21:30 In Living Memory (b013fj17)
Series 14
Episode 4
In 1974 an provincial orchestra sold out the Albert Hall. But this was no ordinary band - it was the Portsmouth Sinfonia, billed as the "world's worst orchestra". In its ranks were some distinguished musicians, including Brian Eno, Michael Nyman and the composer Gavin Bryars. But under the rules of the orchestra they had to play an instrument they were unfamiliar with. Alongside them were amateurs with no musical ability whatsoever. The conductor knew nothing of conducting but had studied pictures of Herbert von Karajan.
The Portsmouth Sinfonia played light classics and rock arrangements, and the familiar tunes were just discernable through the miasma of wrong notes and unforced errors. It enraged some in the musical establishment who felt they were murdering good music, but got huge national attention, appearing regularly on TV programmes and in the newspapers, thanks in part to the fact that the orchestra signed a deal with a record company with a flair for publicity. Brian Eno was the producer of its first records.
The orchestra had been founded by Gavin Bryars while he was a lecturer at the Portsmouth College of Art, and most of the original members were art students. So was it all an art school prank? By no means, say former members. It was an important contribution to the experimental music scene. Michael Nyman says it was hugely influential on his own work. Some people have claimed that the orchestra was a precursor of the punk movement. Others say that's nonsense.
The orchestra never formally disbanded but stopped live performances in 1979. Portsmouth Sinfonia's recordings have never been re-released on CD and the vinyl recordings are collectors' items. In this programme Jolyon Jenkins talks to key former members of the orchestra, gives listeners the chance to savour those classic recordings, and tries to work out whether the Portsmouth Sinfonia had any artistic merit whatsoever.
TUE 21:58 Weather (b01jvczh)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b01jxrdm)
G20 leaders meet in Mexico - what pressure will be put on Eurozone leaders?
Rival Egyptian candidates claim to have won the weekend's presidential election.
Birmingham curry houses apply for the Balti to get EU protected status - should they get it?
With Ritula Shah.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01jxrdp)
Salvage the Bones
Episode 7
By Jesmyn Ward. As Esch's father recovers from his hand injury, Esch and her brothers prepare the house as best they can for the onset of Hurricane Katrina. Esch tells Manny he is the father of her baby - can Manny respond with the love that Esch so desperately wants?
It is 2005. Fifteen-year-old Esch is the narrator of the novel. She lives in poverty with her brothers and her father in the Mississippi woods near the small town of Bois Sauvage. Skeetah's beloved pit-bull China is a fighting dog and her puppies will be trained to fight too, if they survive. Esch's mother died giving birth to her youngest brother Junior. The only other people in Esch's world are her father, her older brother Randall and her brother's friends. They include Manny, who she worships and gives herself to freely without getting any love or respect in return. The story takes place against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina forming out at sea, then descending on the country with terrifying force.
Salvage The Bones won the 2011 National Book Award in America. It is Jesmyn Ward's second novel and is based on her own experience of Hurricane Katrina and growing up black and in a poor family in rural Mississippi. She is currently the Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi.
Abridged by Jeremy Osborne
Read by Cush Jumbo
Producer: Rosalynd Ward
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b01jwk6b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Monday]
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01jxrf0)
Sean Curran with the day's top news stories from Westminster.
WEDNESDAY 20 JUNE 2012
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b01jvd0b)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b01k04ng)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01jvd0d)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01jvd0g)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01jvd0j)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b01jvd0l)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01k889l)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Ranjit Singh Dhanda.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b01jxrmk)
On Farming Today, Anna Hill finds out why British strawberry growers in some parts of the country are having their worst season in years. Some farmers report the wet weather has cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds. Also on today's programme, just days before the judicial review is held into the Government's decision to allow badgers to be culled in England to halt the spread of TB in cattle, Farming Today looks at what other countries are doing to reduce and eliminate the disease. Presented by Anna Hill. Produced by Anna Varle.
WED 06:00 Today (b01jxrmm)
Morning news and current affairs presented by Evan Davis and Justin Webb, including:
0753
Major General Sameh Seif, a retired senior officer in the army, and Dr Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, a Muslim Brotherhood MP, debate the future of Egypt on the eve of the final election results.
0810
Business Secretary Vince Cable will announce today that shareholders will have more power to tackle excessive executive pay. Sir Mike Darrington, former head of Greggs, and John Cridland, head of the CBI, debate what is the best way to sort out executive pay.
0852
Why is there a sudden focus on gay themes in the world of superheroes? Axel Alonso, editor in chief of Marvel Comics, explains.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b01jxrmp)
Frank Ifield, Alastair Campbell, 'Mr Freedom' Tommy Roberts, and Romany
Libby Purves is joined by sixties singer Frank Ifield, former director of communications to Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, Tommy Robert, of the fashion label Mr Freedom and magician Romany.
Australian singer and yodeller Frank Ifield achieved four No. 1 hits between 1962 and 1963 including I Remember You. A then unknown band called the Beatles supported him on tour. Now a promoter, Ifield is back in the UK to celebrate fifty years since his hits with rock star Nicki Gillis.
Alastair Campbell was director of communications to Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister. The fourth volume of Campbell's diaries starts on September 11th 2001 and ends on the day he leaves Downing Street in August 2003. It covers the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, WMD and the death of weapons inspector David Kelly. Alistair Campbell - The Burden of Power: Countdown to Iraq is published by Hutchinson.
Tommy Roberts is regarded as one of the most influential designers in post-war British fashion and design. From kaftans, bells and beads at Kleptomania in Swinging Sixties London, to hot pants and satin baseball jackets at Mr Freedom, Roberts dressed David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Elizabeth Taylor. The book 'Mr Freedom - Tommy Roberts, British Design Hero' by Paul Gorman is published by Adelita.
Magician Romany, known as The Diva of Magic, is a former street entertainer and salsa champion. Described as a cross between Bette Midler and Mary Poppins, she is the only woman to hold the Magic Circle Stage Magician of the Year Award.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b01k078g)
Beauty and the Inferno
Playing It All
Essays by Roberto Saviano. Translated by Oonagh Stransky.
Roberto Saviano describes meeting his hero, the great Lionel Messi, Barcelona FC's star player, and another courageous fighter whose life embodies the title of the book - the transcendent beauty of his sporting skills matched only by the infernal battle it took for him to reach the top of his game.
This series of essays are by the celebrated author of Gomorrah - a sensational book exposing the inner workings of the Italian Mafia. Journalist Roberto Saviano explores a range of his passions, both light and dark, sharing common themes of David vs Goliath and the power of art and talent to overcome difficulties, while offering a compelling insight into his life in hiding and under permanent police protection since Gomorrah's publication in 2006.
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Reader: Nicholas Murchie
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01jxrmr)
Katie Price; Caring for an ill partner; Forced feeding; Mary of Guise
Katie Price on books, business and fame; How does caring for an ill partner change your relationship? Is multi generational house sharing the answer to loneliness in old age? The politics of forced feeding; Mary of Guise - 'The greatest Queen Scotland never had'. Presented by Jenni Murray.
WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01k078j)
An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk: Series 1
Episode 3
A slice of daily life in a village in the wild, mountainous Pak-Afghan borders where the only law is tribal law and there is no road, no electricity and no mobile phone signal. An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk is based on PACT Radio's existing daily soap, made by and for the Pashtun people of this untamed area.
In episode 3 we share the tribulations of Sardar Aka, village shopkeeper, who after many years of marriage to Gulnara has taken a second wife, the young Sakina. It is clear to both women that Sakina is his preferred wife and Gulnara's resulting jealousy can make home unbearable. When a gold bangle goes missing, relations reach breaking point. But Sardar Aka is busy outside the home too - as a member of the jirga, the village justice committee, he is determined to find out who is responsible for last night's murder.
Cast:
Akbar Khan, the wealthy landowner ...... Sagar Arya
Shah Bibi, his wife ....... Shaheen Khan
Wisal, his elder son ....... Donald Slack
Sardar Aka, the shopkeeper ....... Madhav Sharma
Gulnara, his first wife ....... Pooja Ghai
Sakina, his young second wife ........ Rakhee Thakra
Kashmala, his daughter, and the widow of Siyal Khan ....... Betsabeh Emran
Based on a PACT Radio production led by John Butt
Written and directed in the UK by Liz Rigbey
Sound design by David Chilton
Music by Olivia Thomas
Produced by Anne-Marie Cole
An Above the Title production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:00 Don't Log Off (b01jxrmt)
Series 2
Episode 2
Alan Dein crosses the world on a series of late night excursions via Facebook and Skype, discovering the real life dramas behind the online profiles.
Among those he connects with are Bryan, whose relationship with his Russian girlfriend has been conducted entirely through Google Translate, and Bill, who stood in a phone box, holding a gun to his head as he came out to his wife.
Alan also catches up with Amir, who in the last series was trying to leave Iran, and finds out why he was so keen to go.
Producer: Sarah Bowen.
WED 11:30 A Month of June (b01jxrmw)
Now You See Me, Now You Don't
There's skulduggery afoot in Mrs. Ramsbottom's safe house for refugees from the Sorcerers' Circle.
Written by Andy Merriman and Peter Morfoot.
Series of comedies written for the many voices of legendary actor June Whitfield.
Debra Cadabra ..... June Whitfield
Kitty French ..... Barbara Windsor
Harry Halliday ..... Robert Blythe
Billy .... Joe Sims
Fred ..... Patrick Brennan
Mrs Ramsbottom ..... Christine Absalom
Director: David Hunter
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b01jxrmy)
What will the Olympic legacy be for UK business?
Twenty travellers were left stranded in Frankfurt on route to Goa after their flight didn't materialise. So what went wrong?
It's just over a month until the start of the 2012 Olympics and the beginning of the much anticipated 'Olympic effect' on business. The Sydney games are regarded as amongst the most successful in recent times. We speak to two companies there to find out what the lasting legacy has been for them.
Business gurus come from all walks of life, including ageing rockstars. So what can lessons can business learn from rock & roll?
And how e-books have sparked a boom in erotic fiction.
Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Vibeke Venema.
WED 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01jxrn0)
Alan Sainsbury
The New Elizabethans: Alan Sainsbury. To mark the Diamond Jubilee, James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.
Alan Sainsbury's grandparents, John and Mary, established a grocer's in 1869 which became the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's. When Alan Sainsbury retired as chairman nearly 100 years later in 1967, his business was established as the market leader - and it was he who'd presided over and championed the move to self-service. Alan Sainsbury was also heavily involved in politics, campaigned for the Republican side in the Spanish civil war, making common cause with conservatives and Communists in the process, and became a committed member of the Liberal Party (he'd joined Labour in 1945 and be a founding member of the SDP in the 1980s.
The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.
They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."
producer Sarah Taylor.
WED 12:57 Weather (b01jvd0n)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b01jxrtf)
Martha Kearney presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
WED 13:45 Honest Doubt: The History of an Epic Struggle (b01jxrth)
Darkness Made Visible
In a series of personal essays, Richard Holloway considers the tensions between faith and doubt over the last 3000 years. Author and former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway focuses on the Judeo-Christian tradition as he takes the listener from the birth of religious thinking, through the Old and New Testaments, to the developments in subsequent centuries and their influence on thinkers and writers, up to the present day.
In today's programme, Richard Holloway explores one of the biggest questions in the story of doubt: How can we reconcile the idea of God when there's so much suffering in the world? He cites the 18th century philosopher David Hume who formulated the eternal questions about God and the presence of evil: "Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?"
Holloway continues into the 20th Century, focussing on the work of the Jewish poet and Holocaust survivor Paul Celan, and the French Resistance writer Andre Schwartz-Bart. David Jasper, Professor of Literature and Theology at Glasgow University, discusses how these writers attempted to 'say the unsayable'.
Producer: Olivia Landsberg
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b01jxrd9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b01jxrtk)
Don Shaw - Talking to Zeus
Talking To Zeus
by Don Shaw
Inspired by the book Talking To Zeus, by Jane Shaw; Greek, green, fresh and vivid, this is based on a true story set in the world renowned environmental gardens called Helikion. Perched on a steep hillside, thirty miles from Athens, Jane starts work as an intern in the Gardens which are managed by the elderly, feisty, eccentric, garden fanatic Joy. Helikion is at the forefront of the battle against global warming. World scientists come to observe and take note. When suddenly the Gardens are under threat of closure we see how Jane, Joy and the local Greek volunteers combine forces to fight the proposed demise of the Garden.
Joy ..... Brigit Forsyth
Jane ..... Verity May Henry
Pavlos ..... Andonis James Anthony
Tom ..... Conrad Nelson
Debbie ..... Deborah McAndrew.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b01jxrtm)
Join Vincent Duggleby and guests to get advice about saving and investing.
Economic troubles in the Eurozone and stock market turbulence have made it a worrying time for people who want to invest for the long term. But experts say there are opportunities for people to snap up undervalued shares and to invest in well capitalised companies that pay good dividends. For people who want to keep their money in cash, it is just as much of a challenge to get a good return. The Bank Of England base rate at 0.5% is not expected to rise for some time. You may also have concerns about the safety of your money with some Eurozone banks struggling and their credit rating downgraded.
Whether you're keen to save, new to investing or experienced in the stock market, you may have a question for our panel of experts.
Which savings accounts pay the best rate of interest?
How are your savings and investments protected?
What type of equity investments are available?
Which sectors should you choose?
How much should you pay in fees and charges?
How do you assess risk and choose a fund?
Vincent Duggleby will be joined by:
Christine Ross, SG Hambros
Kevin Mountford, Moneysupermarket.com
Gavin Oldham, The Share Centre.
The number to ring - Ring 03 700 100 444. Lines open at
1pm. Or e mail: moneybox@bbc.co.uk
Producer: lesley McAlpine.
WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b01jxrdk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b01jxrtp)
Hostility to tax; Mumbai slums
Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near Mumbai's international airport. The Pulitzer prize winning writer, Katherine Boo, spent 4 years hearing the stories of the slum dwellers who stand little chance of joining the 'new' Indian middle class. She talks to Laurie Taylor about her new book "Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Slum". Also, the sociologist, Jeff Kidder, highlights new research which analyses why so many Americans are morally opposed to taxation. They're joined by British sociologist, Peter Taylor Gooby, who's researched British attitudes to tax.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b01jxrtr)
On today's programme with Steve Hewlett:
Why was BT prepared to pay so much for the rights to show Premiership football? Marc Watson is chief executive of BT Vision and he explains the strategy, while analyst Mathew Horsman of Mediatique looks at the implications for consumers and for rivals BSkyB.
The Leveson Inquiry has raised concerns over a story in the Mail on Sunday this weekend which alleged Lord Justice Leveson threatened to quit over comments from Michael Gove - a claim he strongly denies. Anne McElvoy of The Economist and Professor Brian Cathcart from the Hacked Off campaign discuss whether the inquiry really does have the "chilling effect" on the media which some claim and whether the inquiry's response to the Mail on Sunday's story is proportionate.
And Steve talks to Mark Damazer of St Peter's College, Oxford, about the variety of voices on the BBC. A report from Ofcom this week said there's a potential risk that people who consume the BBC's services don't get a wide enough range of voices and suggests the BBC Trust should monitor this. Mark Damazer is a former controller of Radio 4.
The producer is Simon Tillotson.
WED 17:00 PM (b01jxrtt)
Eddie Mair presents coverage and analysis of the day's news.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01jvd0q)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 So Wrong It's Right (b01jxrtw)
Series 3
Episode 6
Presented by Charlie Brooker, So Wrong It's Right is a competitive game of wrongness where coming up with terrible ideas is the right thing to do.
Over a series of rounds, Charlie asks his guests to trawl through their lives for comic calmites and to pitch inappropriate ideas.
In this episode - the last in the current series - the guests joining him to try and out-wrong each other are comedians Susan Calman and Rob Beckett and Pointless star Richard Osman.
The panel's worst experience as a teenager is just one of the challenges in this edition. Will anyone better Richard Osman's confession that he performed a rap version of the Easter story in front his entire school?
The host of So Wrong It's Right, Charlie Brooker, also presents BBC2's How TV Ruined Your Life, Channel 4's You Have Been Watching and 10 O'Clock Live, and writes for The Guardian. He won Columnist of the Year at the 2009 British Press Awards and Best Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards 2009.
Produced by Aled Evans
A Zeppotron Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b01jxrty)
Jill's distracted on her shift at the shop. Matt attempts conversation but it barely registers.
Ruth informs Usha they've had to tell Jill about the attacks at Brookfield. Usha's full of admiration for Ruth and David and she thinks they're doing the right thing. They should just stick it out. Ruth isn't so sure.
Usha is sad that Amy didn't acknowledge her birthday. Ruth thinks Amy's being silly, but Usha's worried Amy will leave home before they've had a chance to make things right. She feels it might be her fault.
Lynda's looking out for fledgling peregrines. Kenton spots them, and they watch them fly before going into the fete committee meeting. Lynda is chair and is keen as ever to lead proceedings. She and Kenton vie for attention over ideas for the day, but when Lynda asks for his ideas on sporting activities he makes an excuse and leaves. He reappears miraculously furnished with so many suggestions that the item has to be postponed until the next meeting.
Jill tells Kenton she will pay for the flights to New Zealand. Family's what's important, not money. She's only too glad to help.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b01jxryj)
Julie Walters back on stage, Adrian Lester, and Ed Stoppard on Alan Turing
With Mark Lawson.
Julie Walters returns to the stage playing an old hippie, in The Last of the Haussmans, a debut play by Stephen Beresford. The play also stars Helen McCrory and Rory Kinnear as Judy's grown-up children and the victims of a rackety 60s upbringing. Valerie Grove reviews.
A new exhibition at the Science Museum celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alan Turing, the wartime codebreaker and pioneering computer scientist. Actor Ed Stoppard, who played Turing in a recent TV docudrama, reviews.
Actor Adrian Lester, star of hustle on BBC One, discusses his career and takes questions from a group of young would-be actors in a session recorded in Hackney at the Radio 1 Academy.
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01k078j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b01jxryl)
A report out this week has highlighted what it says is the shocking extent of mental illness in this country. The group, from the London School of Economics, found that among those aged under 65, nearly half of all ill-health was mental illness and that six million people had depression or anxiety conditions. If there is so much mental illness, shouldn't we be treating the cause rather than the symptoms? If this was a public health issue in almost any other field there would be an outcry that not enough was being done to help people to stop them getting ill. But what would be the moral consequences? Should we accept that we need to take the "happiness agenda" more seriously, start considering the impact of public policy decisions on people's mental health, teaching school children about good mental health and how to be happy? And if we are experiencing a rise in anomie in our society because of family breakdown, the demise of organized religion and the atmosphere of aggressive competition prevalent in modern societies, what to do? Or is the problem a combination of the self-help and the pharmaceutical industries that are undermining our resilience and encouraging people to think of themselves as victims? Either telling us that we're not good enough to start with or trying to convince us that we needn't go through the normal emotional responses to life's stresses without some chemical assistance and if that fails creating new conditions like "social anxiety disorder". Nobody is denying that mental illness can cause real pain and unhappiness, but are we really less able to cope with life's stresses today than in previous generations? Or are we just too quick to use the label "mental illness" and using it as an excuse for other failings and inadequacies?
Witnesses:
Professor Lord Richard Layard - Director of the Well-Being Programme, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics
Dr Kenneth McLaughlin - Senior Lecturer at the Research Institute for Health & Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University
Dr Charlie Alcock - CEO of MAC-UK
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk with Michael Portillo, Melanie Phillips, Matthew Taylor and Claire Fox.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b01jxryn)
Series 3
Mitu Khandaker: Knowing Ourselves Through Computer Games
Computer games present a wonderful opportunity to know ourselves; a slow bombardment of opportunities for self-reflective thought says games developer Mitu Khandaker.
She argues that to look beyond the violent and mindless games of popular caricature is to see a new medium which represents the culmination of all our previous artistic forms - literature, film, painting, music. Parts of all of these, she says, can coalesce in games.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 Frontiers (b01jxs8q)
Gene therapy - repairing malfunctioning cells by mending their DNA - offers an elegant solution to diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, caused by a single flawed gene. It's a very simple concept to describe - simply insert a 'normal' gene to do the job - but it's this process, the delivery of the gene, that's proving to be so difficult and time consuming. Since the first human study began in 1990 the field has struggled with various technical challenges and set-backs. But over a decade on, researchers are beginning to report successes in treating several devastating diseases. Geoff Watts finds out about some of the new techniques for gene therapy, and discovers how these are now being used in a trial of a new method of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis.
12 years ago, a group of scientists from Imperial College in London, Oxford and Edinburgh formed the Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium. This year they started the world's biggest trial of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis. Funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the Medical Research Council and The National Institute for Health Research , the trial will treat 120 CF patients with either a placebo or a healthy copy of the gene that causes CF. The gene is wrapped up in a fat globule, or liposome and delivered in aerosol form directly to the lungs.
Producer: Fiona Roberts.
WED 21:30 Midweek (b01jxrmp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b01jvd0s)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b01jxs8s)
Greece finally has a new government - but will it be able to solve the crisis? or just prolong the agony?
As world leaders meet to discuss climate change in Rio, we hear about the battle over coal in the United States.
And if Julian Assange is granted sanctuary in Ecuador, what will he find there?
With Robin Lustig.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01jxs8v)
Salvage the Bones
Episode 8
By Jesmyn Ward. Hurricane Katrina unleashes its full fury. Esch's family huddle together in the living room; they have never experienced a hurricane like it. Will Esch's family be safe in the house?
It is 2005. Fifteen-year-old Esch is the narrator of the novel. She lives in poverty with her brothers and her father in the Mississippi woods near the small town of Bois Sauvage. Skeetah's beloved pit-bull China is a fighting dog and her puppies will be trained to fight too, if they survive. Esch's mother died giving birth to her youngest brother Junior. The only other people in Esch's world are her father, her older brother Randall and her brother's friends. They include Manny, who she worships and gives herself to freely without getting any love or respect in return. The story takes place against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina forming out at sea, then descending on the country with terrifying force.
Salvage The Bones won the 2011 National Book Award in America. It is Jesmyn Ward's second novel and is based on her own experience of Hurricane Katrina and growing up black and in a poor family in rural Mississippi. She is currently the Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi.
Abridged by Jeremy Osborne
Read by Cush Jumbo
Produced by Rosalynd Ward
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 Bird Island (b01jxslg)
Series 1
Episode 2
On one hand, Ben is on the trip of a lifetime to Sub-Antarctica. On the other, he's trapped in an icy hell with one other person, a dodgy internet connection and a dictaphone. Loneliness is something of a problem. His fellow travelling scientist Graham should alleviate this, but the tragi-comic fact is, they are nerdy blokes, so they can only stumble through yet another awkward exchange. Ben experiences all the highs and lows that this beautiful, but lonely place has to offer but fails miserably to communicate this to Graham. So, Ben shares his thoughts with us in the form of an audio 'log'.
Apart from his research studying the Albatross on the Island, Ben attempts to continue normal life with an earnestness and enthusiasm which is ultimately very endearing. We're with him as chats awkwardly with Graham, telephones his mother and as he tries to form a long distance relationship with a woman through Chemistry.com. In fact, we follow Ben as everything occurs to him. We also hear the pings and whirrs of machinery, the Squawks and screeches of the birds and the vast expanse outside. Oh, and ice. Lots of ice.
EPISDE TWO:
Bird Island is the story of Ben, a young scientist working in Antarctica, trying to socially adapt to the loneliness by keeping a cheery audio diary on his Dictaphone. An atmospheric 15 minute non audience comedy.
Ben and Graham are short on food supplies and can't radio main base. Tensions rise as they are forced to survive on porridge.
Written by ..... Katy Wix
Produced by ..... Tilusha Ghelani.
WED 23:15 Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard (b01jxslj)
Series 3
Election Fever
Step into the magically mundane world that is the life of 21st Century Wizard Mordrin McDonald. An isolated 2000 year-old Scottish sorcerer with enough power in his small finger to destroy a town, yet insufficient clout to get a speed bump installed outside his cave by the local council. Even for such a skilful sorcerer, modern life is rubbish!
In this episode, Mordrin (David Kay) finally gets an opportunity to get a seat on the Wizard Council. The Golden Phoenix has flown down the chimney at the Wizard Chambers signifying the start of the election process, which only happens every 150 years, and Mordrin has been called to stand. It's a brilliant chance for Mordrin to finally get some clout in the Wizard community, the only downside is that failure to win at the ballot box will result in certain fiery death under the Golden Phoenix. Mordrin decides to call upon Bernard (Jack Docherty) to be his campaign manager.
Written by David Kay and Gavin Smith
Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01jxtwk)
Susan Hulme and the BBC's parliamentary team with the day's news from Westminster. Top stories: the Government and Labour say doctors should be at work on Thursday, and not on strike; and plans for shareholders to be given a greater say over bosses' pay. Editor:Rachel Byrne.
THURSDAY 21 JUNE 2012
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b01jvd1r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b01k078g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01jvd1t)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01jvd1w)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01jvd1y)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b01jvd20)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01k889x)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Ranjit Singh Dhanda.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b01jxtd3)
She fought for Gurkhas' rights now she's fighting for cows' rights. Joanna Lumley tells Farming Today why she's added her voice to a new campaign for dairy cattle to be protected by the same welfare standards across Europe. She's unhappy about cows being kept tethered in countries like Germany. Also in the programme, how Bovine TB led to the slaughter of an entire deer herd in Gloucestershire. And the Welsh Chief Vet explains why a badger vaccination pilot is going ahead, despite there being no hard evidence it will reduce TB in cattle.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling.
THU 06:00 Today (b01jxtd5)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by John Humphrys and James Naughtie, including:
07:30 Sarah Montague reports on Liberia's entrepreneurs.
08:10 Is doctor industrial action justified?
08:20 How should Education Secretary Michael Gove change GCSEs?
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b01jxtd7)
Annie Besant
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life of the prominent 19th-century social reformer Annie Besant. Born in 1847, Annie Besant espoused a range of causes including secularism, women's rights, Socialism, Irish Home Rule, birth control and better conditions for workers. Described by Beatrice Webb as having "the voice of a beautiful soul", Besant became an eloquent public speaker as well as writing numerous campaigning articles and pamphlets. She is perhaps most famous for the key role she played in the successful strike by female workers at the Bryant and May match factory in East London in 1888, which brought the appalling working conditions of many factory workers to greater public attention.
Later in life she became a follower of theosophy, a belief system bringing together elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions. She moved to India, its main base, and took on a leading role in the Indian self-rule movement, being appointed the first female president of the Indian National Congress in 1917.
With:
Lawrence Goldman
Fellow in Modern History at St Peter's College, University of Oxford
David Stack
Reader in History at the University of Reading
Yasmin Khan
Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Producer: Victoria Brignell.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b01k07kb)
Beauty and the Inferno
The Man Who Was Donnie Brasco
Essays by Roberto Saviano. Translated by Oonagh Stransky.
Roberto Saviano dines out his American counterpart, Joe Pistone, an FBI agent who went undercover inside New York Mafia, just as Saviano went undercover with the Naples Camorra. Immortalised in the cinema by Johnny Depp, the real-life Joe offers his insights into the changing face of organized crime in America and in Italy, and the challenges he and Saviano share, living their lives under constant threat.
This series of essays are by the celebrated author of Gomorrah - a sensational book exposing the inner workings of the Italian Mafia. Journalist Roberto Saviano explores a range of his passions, both light and dark, sharing common themes of David vs Goliath and the power of art and talent to overcome difficulties, while offering a compelling insight into his life in hiding and under permanent police protection since Gomorrah's publication in 2006.
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Reader: Nicholas Murchie
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01jxtd9)
Celebrating, informing and entertaining women. Presented by Jenni Murray.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01k07kd)
An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk: Series 1
Episode 4
A slice of daily life in a village in the wild, mountainous Pak-Afghan borders where the only law is tribal law and there is no road, no electricity and no mobile phone signal. An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk is based on PACT Radio's existing daily soap, made by and for the Pashtun people of this untamed area.
In episode 4 we agonise with the village's poorest farmer, Mewa Gul, and his son, Taza Gul, over what to do with their knowledge of the recent murder. There's only one place for a good Muslim to take his problems, and that's the mosque.
Sardar Aka, the village shopkeeper, has his share of trouble too. The quarrel between his two wives reaches hideous proportions when the three of them decide to search for a missing bangle.
Cast:
Mewa Gul, the poorest farmer ...... Vincent Ibrahim
Bakhtawara, his wife ....... Meera Syal
Zarlakhta, his daughter ...... Balvinder Sopal
Taza Gul, his son ...... Sagar Arya
Mullah Sahib ...... John Butt
Sardar Aka, the shopkeeper ...... Madhav Sharma
Gulnara, his first wife ...... Pooja Ghai
Zakina, his young second wife ....... Rakhee Thakra
Based on a PACT Radio production led by John Butt
Written and directed in the UK by Liz Rigbey
Sound design by David Chilton
Music by Olivia Thomas
Produced by Anne-Marie Cole
An Above the Title production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b01jxtdc)
Kevin Connolly has the latest from Cairo, a city awash with conspiracy theories after the authorities said they were delaying the results of Egypt's presidential election.
Jill McGivering's travelling across northern India investigating a growing water crisis. Major rivers are contaminated by pollution and wells are running dry. Religious and environmental leaders are joining forces to plead with the government to take urgent action.
As delegates at the Rio conference study papers on future energy sources, Jonny Dymond's been to Kentucky where livelihoods built around coal mining are now jeopardised by the sudden abundance of natural gas.
There's a building boom going on in the central African state of Chad but still, Celeste Hicks tells us, lives are blighted by violence, poverty abd disease.
And Koreans are being urged to dress down now that high summer's arrived in the Far East. But Lucy Williamson's been finding out that Koreans won't listen to entreaties that they should dress down, wear something cooler.
THU 11:30 Staff No Fee: The Other Life of Brian (b01jxtdf)
Barry Johnston explores the forgotten work of his father Brian to reveal a remarkable broadcasting career long before he became affectionately known as 'Johnners'.
Today, the name Brian Johnston is largely remembered for Test Match Special and Down your Way. However as both of these programmes happened after he retired as a BBC staff member in 1972 they have overshadowed a fascinating television and radio career starting in the late forties.
In those early years Brian's BBC contract was marked 'SNF' - 'Staff No Fee'. This meant he could be booked by any BBC radio or TV programme for no extra fee because he was on a salary. It is these fascinating engagements which will be explored in this programme.
On In Town Tonight he rode bareback on a circus horse, was attacked by a police dog, busked in the street, was shaved onstage by the Crazy Gang and hid inside a pillar box. He commentated on King George VI's funeral, the Coronation, the Boat Race, the Festival of Britain and the Monte Carlo Rally - as well as appearing on Hancock's Half Hour, quizzes, children's TV and much more.
Brian's interview list includes such names as Field Marshall Montgomery, Bernard Delfont, Donald Campbell, Donald Bradman, Bobby Charlton and Henry Cooper.
His son and presenter of this programme Barry Johnston has been collecting and preserving archive clips along with his father's own scrapbooks and press cuttings and we will hear recordings from the great man himself along with gaining a unique insight into a slice of broadcasting history.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b01jxtdh)
Antisocial behaviour and hate crime, missing bank transfers, and automatic dog washing.
Victims of anti-social behaviour are slipping through the net, according to a report from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. One in three victims were dissatisfied with police handling of the problem. The report also accused the police of failing to find out whether victims who report abuse are vulnerable or if they've been targeted before. We hear from the mental health charities who want the police to do more.
The case of the bank transfer that never happened, with neither bank claiming to have the money, so where does that money go?
A Which? report shows how existing customers are paying more to get in touch with their banks and utility companies than new customers.
Blood banks want more of us to donate ahead of the Olympics.
With more public spaces being privately owned, should we be concerned?
And pooch primping made easy - we hear from the entrepreneur trying to sell the idea of an automatic dog washer.
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Rebecca Moore.
THU 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01jxtdk)
Alfred Hitchcock
The New Elizabethans: Alfred Hitchcock. To mark the Diamond Jubilee, James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.
Alfred Hitchcock dealt in terror, obsession, and above all, suspense. He directed the first British talkie, fittingly called Blackmail, and in a career spanning half a century developed an unmistakeable cinematic style, often copied but seldom equalled. He is without doubt one of the most influential British film directors and his voyeuristic use of the camera and the screams of his vulnerable blonde heroines have resonated with film goers down the ages. Psycho is probably his most famous work, and a strong contender for best known horror film of all time but he also made Dial M for Murder, North by Northwest, the 39 Steps and The Birds.
The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.
Producer: James Cook.
THU 12:57 Weather (b01jvd22)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b01jxtdm)
Martha Kearney presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
THU 13:45 Honest Doubt: The History of an Epic Struggle (b01jxtdp)
On Presence and Absence
In a series of personal essays, Richard Holloway considers the tensions between faith and doubt over the last 3000 years. Author and former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway focuses on the Judeo-Christian tradition as he takes the listener from the birth of religious thinking, through the Old and New Testaments, to the developments in subsequent centuries and their influence on thinkers and writers, up to the present day.
In today's programme, Richard Holloway focuses on an enduring paradox in the story of doubt: that God can be experienced both as present and absent at the same time. He explores the idea with the help of three post-war poets - Philip Larkin, John Betjeman and RS Thomas.
He talks to Larkin's friend and literary executor, Sir Andrew Motion, about Larkin's complex attitude to religion and reads from Larkin's seminal poem 'Aubade'. Larkin himself introduces his poem, 'Churchgoing', which expresses the nostalgia of what we lose when we lose our faith.
John Betjeman's religious struggle is discussed with Betjeman's biographer AN Wilson. And for the Welsh priest poet RS Thomas, the theme of God's absence and presence is compared to finding a dead hare on the hillside - 'we find the place still warm with his presence, but he is absent'.
Producer: Olivia Landsberg
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b01jxrty)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b01jxtdr)
Katie-Ann's Blog
Written by Colin Bytheway.
Katie-Ann is 11 and dying of leukaemia. But she is the bravest of souls. She journals her pain, her hopes and dreams online in her blog. She talks of the treatments she endures, the daily indignities, but always remains positive.
Vic is 79 and also has leukaemia, but unlike Katie-Ann no-one cares about him. He is old. He and his illness are not picturesque and he rails at life and impending death alone.
Aspiring, ambitious writer Rob grows interested in the popularity of Katie-Ann's Blog. He is determined to find her and bring her story to a wider audience. Maybe even broker a book deal and enhance his own career. But instead of Katie-Ann, Rob meets Vic and it is a meeting that changes both their lives.
Cast:
Vic ....... Roy Hudd
Rob ....... Carl Prekopp
Katie-Ann ....... Ella Dale
Lisa ....... Jaimi Barbakoff
Sandra ....... Jenny Funnell
Director: Celia De Wolff
A Pier Production For BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b01kdpwl)
Series 21
Pen Farthing on Dartmoor
Clare Balding is walking with dogs (and their owners) throughout this series of Ramblings.
Prog 5: Pen Farthing on Dartmoor
Pen Farthing is a former Royal Marine; while serving in Afghanistan he rescued an Afghan fighting dog which he named NowZad after the village where his unit was based. He brought NowZad back to the UK (which in itself required military-style planning) and when he left the Marines started a charity which runs a shelter in Afghanistan for stray and abandoned animals. The central aim of the charity is to catch, neuter and release stray dogs to prevent the population growing yet further.
Pen lives in Tiverton in Devon and, for this edition of Ramblings, he takes Clare Balding on a wild walk across Dartmoor. Accompanying them is Patchdog (a massive Afghan Kuchi) and Maxchap (rescued from Iraq). Sadly Nowzad is a little old for such a long walk, but his story is central.
Producer Karen Gregor.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b01jwfpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b01jwfwx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b01jxtdw)
Francine Stock meets with actor, screenwriter and puppeteer, Jason Segel to discuss his new film The Five Year Engagement and the box-office success, The Muppets.
Critic Scott Jordan Harris dissects Carol Reed's IRA drama from 1947, Odd Man Out, starring James Mason.
Director Nadine Labaki on her new film, Where Do We Go Now?, which puts the religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon under the microscope.
Veteran British director Stephen Frears talks about his gambling comedy, Lay the favourite, starring Bruce Willis and Rebecca Hall.
Producer: Craig Smith.
THU 16:30 Material World (b01jxtdy)
So You Want to Be a Scientist - the finals
The culmination of the BBC's Amateur Scientist of the Year. Adam Rutherford presents the finals of 'So You Want to Be a Scientist?' recorded in front of an audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival.
This year's finalists are:
- Izzy Thomlinson, an 18 year old student from Shropshire, is trying to find out why sounds like nails scratching a blackboard make some people squirm
- Dara Djavan Khoshdel, a 25 year old mature student from Bournemouth, has been measuring whether our emotional reaction to art is correlated to its financial value
- Val Watham, a 53 year old management consultant from Berkshire, has designed a study to investigate whether horizontal or vertical stripes are more flattering to wear
- William Rudling, a 69 year old caricaturist from Leeds, wants to know whether people who look the same also sound the same
The four finalists present their results to a panel of judges - solar scientist Dr Lucie Green from UCL, evolutionary biologist Dr Yan Wong from Bang Goes the Theory and science journalist Mark Henderson.
After deliberating the merits of each experiment in terms of design, methodology and conclusion, the judges will choose the person they think deserves to become the next BBC Amateur Scientist of the Year.
Producer: Michelle Martin.
THU 17:00 PM (b01jxtf0)
Eddie Mair presents full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01jvd24)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 The Simon Day Show (b01jxtf2)
Series 2
Tony Becton
Simon Day and his characters welcome listeners to The Mallard, a small provincial theatre somewhere in the UK. Each week one of Simon's comic characters come to perform at The Mallard while the staff struggle with rivalries, self-doubt and the new owner's vision for the theatre's future.
This week reformed violent offender Tony Becton returns to The Mallard Theatre with stories of his rehabilitation and new life in a park.
Cast list:
Tony Becton ..... Simon Day
Emanuel Akinyemi ..... Felix Dexter
Pat Bennet ... Morwenna Banks
Ron Bone / Wozak ..... Simon Greenall
Written by Simon Day
Produced by Colin Anderson.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b01jxtf4)
David is dismayed that the escaped bullocks made front page news. Josh's assertion that the picture is 'just a photograph' bothers him even more. He sees it as a lasting image that will affect the farm. Ruth points out the truth - that it was indeed a very frightening incident. David has to agree. Josh is worried he'll have to give evidence, but Ruth reassures him. David apologises for being irritable, and Josh tells them they don't need to worry about him.
Later, as David and Adam chat about the cricket team which is missing Neil and Tom, conversation inevitably turns to the farm. Adam shares David's concern. David assures Adam he'll be there in court to help nail the culprits.
Amy's had a hard day at work. It's put her own problems into perspective. Alice wants to make Chris's birthday special and seeks Amy's opinion. Amy observes wistfully that Alice is lucky to have Chris. She blames herself for the situation with Carl, and can't believe she was prepared to let him abandon his family for her. She concedes that Usha was right all along. She's treated Usha badly, and doesn't feel she can face her. Alice advises her to get it done, as soon as possible.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b01jxtf6)
Prunella Scales, Jenny Saville, Coogan and Iannucci on TV
With Mark Lawson.
On the eve of her 80th birthday, Prunella Scales discusses acting roles from Basil Fawlty's wife Sybil in the British comedy Fawlty Towers, to Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution, and reveals secrets of family life with fellow thespians husband Timothy West and elder son Samuel West.
Steve Coogan returns to TV in a one hour special, Alan Partridge: Welcome to The Places of my Life, and his occasional writing partner Armando Iannucci launches Veep, a new TV political sitcom about a woman senator - played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus from Seinfeld - who unexpectedly becomes vice-president (Veep) of the United States. Both are reviewed by Boyd Hilton.
Artist Jenny Saville became known in the mid-1990s for monumental and distorted paintings of nude women - after Charles Saatchi bought up her entire post-graduate show. Saville discusses about her first ever solo exhibition in a UK public gallery, which opens at Modern Art Oxford this week and includes works inspired by Leonardo da Vinci.
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01k07kd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 Law in Action (b01jwkh8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b01jxtfb)
The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. The programme is broadcast first on BBC Radio 4 and later on BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News TV and BBC News Channel TV.
Evan Davis asks his executive guests how they spend their time each day. What does the activity of running a company really involve, and what do the guests' diaries tell us about the nature of their jobs? They also swap thoughts on the so-called Shareholder Spring - how investors are rebelling against corporate pay.
Joining Evan in the studio are Jackie Hunt, chief financial officer of insurance giant Standard Life; John Vincent, entrepreneur and co-founder of Leon Restaurants; Harriet Green, outgoing chief executive of Premier Farnell who takes up her new role as chief executive of travel company Thomas Cook in July.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Stephen Chilcott.
THU 21:00 Sniffing Out Danger (b01jwk3c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Tuesday]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b01jxtd7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b01jvd26)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b01jxtvv)
Should GCSEs be scrapped, the latest from Egypt, and the impact of the financial crisis on the 'green economy'. National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01jxtvx)
Salvage the Bones
Episode 9
By Jesmyn Ward. As the hurricane rages, Esch's family are forced out of their flooded home and must attempt a dangerous journey to higher ground where they will be safe. This is not the best time for Esch's father to discover that his daughter is pregnant.
It is 2005. Fifteen-year-old Esch is the narrator of the novel. She lives in poverty with her brothers and her father in the Mississippi woods near the small town of Bois Sauvage. Skeetah's beloved pit-bull China is a fighting dog and her puppies will be trained to fight too, if they survive. Esch's mother died giving birth to her youngest brother Junior. The only other people in Esch's world are her father, her older brother Randall and her brother's friends. They include Manny, who she worships and gives herself to freely without getting any love or respect in return. The story takes place against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina forming out at sea, then descending on the country with terrifying force.
Salvage The Bones won the 2011 National Book Award in America. It is Jesmyn Ward's second novel and is based on her own experience of Hurricane Katrina and growing up black and in a poor family in rural Mississippi. She is currently the Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi.
Abridged by Jeremy Osborne
Read by Cush Jumbo
Producer: Rosalynd Ward
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 Living the Dream (b01jxtvz)
Pilot sitcom about two young women trying to live sustainably on a canal boat, starring Olivia Hallinan, Victoria Elliott and Phil Cornwell. In this opening episode, Kate and Sam embark on some guerilla gardening and dumpster diving, whilst Jim continues to ply all-comers with his home-brewed gin.
Written by Madeleine Brettingham.
Produced by Simon Mayhew-Archer.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01jxtw1)
Sean Curran with the day's top news stories from Westminster .
Tonight: The Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, addresses both Houses of Parliament.
In a speech in Westminster Hall she appealed to Britain today "as friend and an equal" to
support the people of Burma in their drive for democracy.
FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2012
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b01jvd31)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b01k07kb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01jvd33)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01jvd35)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01jvd37)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b01jvd39)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01k88b9)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Ranjit Singh Dhanda.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b01jxvnn)
Caz Graham visits the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh to hear how Scottish agriculture is faring. With beef bringing billions into the economy, she asks what Scotland is looking for in reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and tries her hand at preparing Highland cattle for the showring.
The presenter is Caz Graham and the producer is Moira Hickey.
FRI 06:00 Today (b01jxvnq)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by John Humphrys and Evan Davis, including:
07:30 Will the government go ahead with the high speed rail link?
07:40 Sarah Montague reports on Liberian hip-hop.
08:10 Labour admit people have "legitimate concerns" on immigration in Britain.
08:20 Clive James talks to the BBC's John Wilson.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b01jwfpz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b01k0b0y)
Beauty and the Inferno
The Ghosts of Nobel
Essays by Roberto Saviano. Translated by Oonagh Stransky.
Saviano visits the Swedish Academy, where he has been asked to speak alongside Salman Rushdie, a fellow victim of threats to his literary freedom, about their common situation and their writing. He draws inspiration not only from Rushdie but from the many authors who have stood in the same place, defending the power of the written word.
This series of essays are by the celebrated author of Gomorrah - a sensational book exposing the inner workings of the Italian Mafia. Journalist Roberto Saviano explores a range of his passions, both light and dark, sharing common themes of David vs Goliath and the power of art and talent to overcome difficulties, while offering a compelling insight into his life in hiding and under permanent police protection since Gomorrah's publication in 2006.
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Reader: Nicholas Murchie
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01jxvnv)
Presented by Jenni Murray. In 1895 Elizabeth Cady Stanton published the first volume of the Woman's Bible, which challenged the religious doctrine of women's inferiority to men. As the General Synod prepares to approve the ordination of women bishops what relevance does Cady Stanton's work have today? Professor Richard Cooke, the man in charge of caring for the Walton sextuplets is retiring after forty years in neonatal care. He explains how how far we've come in the treatment of premature babies and the ethical dilemmas it has created. Singer Songwriter Jessica Hoop talks about her latest album. And did you do your courting in a car away from the prying eyes of your parents? We explore how the car changed the attitudes and sexual behaviour of young couples.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01k0b10)
An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk: Series 1
Episode 5
A slice of daily life in a village in the wild, mountainous Pak-Afghan borders, based on PACT Radio's existing daily soap, made by and for the Pashtun people.
In the final episode Akbar Khan lends money to his son to bet on their own dog Lucifer in a dogfight. Akbar Khan's other son, Wisal, is disappointed to learn that young Zarlakhta is being withdrawn from the household because she is too mature to work where there are young men.
Finally, there is a knock at the door. The jirga is here in pursuit of justice. They have questions for Akbar Khan about the recent murder in the village.
English listeners must leave An Everyday Story of Afghan Folk on this cliffhanger. But the programme is ongoing in Pashtun.
Cast:
Akbar Khan, the wealthy landowner ....... Sagar Arya
Shah Bibi, his wife ..... Shaheen Khan
Durranai, his mother ...... Sudha Bhucher
Wisal, his elder son ....... Donald Slack
Mashal, his younger son ....... Muzz Khan
Kashmala, his widowed daughter-in-law ....... Betsabeh Emran
Lashkar, Mashal's friend, the outlaw ........ Narinder Samra
Mewa Gul, the poorest farmer ...... Vincent Ibrahim
Bakhtawara, his wife ....... Meera Syal
Zarlakhta, his daughter ...... Balvinder Sopal
Taza Gul, his son ..... Sagar Arya
Sardar Aka, the shopkeeper ...... Madhav Sharma
Gulnara, his first wife ....... Pooja Ghai
Sakina, his young second wife ...... Rakhee Thakra
Mullah Sahib ...... John Butt
Based on a PACT Radio production led by John Butt
Written and directed in the UK by Liz Rigbey
Sound design by David Chilton
Music by Olivia Thomas
Producer: Anne-Marie Cole
An Above the Title production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:00 United Irishmen (b01jxvnx)
Tim Brannigan was the only black son in a family of five boys, the only black kid in his school and, for many years, in his world. Born in West Belfast, the result of an affair his mother had with an African doctor, Tim fought hard to blend in.
Northern Ireland may have a history of 'us and them' but in this case it wasn't catholic or protestant - it was Tim in a class of his own.
Brought up in a republican family on the Falls Road his credentials as an Irishman are solid, yet he is constantly asked where he is from. When he says Belfast, he is invariably asked where he is REALLY from.
The conflict of the last 40 years means some social changes that took place in the rest of the UK simply didn't happen in Northern Ireland. As different ethnic groups moved in to England and parts of Scotland and Wales, few moved over the Irish sea and those who did mostly went south of the border.
In the 2001 census Northern Ireland's population was
99.15% white. The expectation is that that figure will change quite radically in the 2011 results. Northern Ireland already looks very different. But what kind of reception is it offering?
Tim talks to Joseph and Lisa. Both are black and have made Northern Ireland their home for decades, but not without some struggle. Lisa has four boys with her Northern Irish husband. What identity will they be allowed to choose for themselves?
There's a lot of talk about a 'shared society' but Tim considers the reality in Northern Ireland is that housing and schooling are still segregated along catholic and protestant lines. Anyone outside those two confines exists in a kind of social limbo. Tim and others like him are a challenge to these boundaries.
Producer: Rachel Hooper
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 Births, Deaths and Marriages (b01jxvnz)
Series 1
Episode 5
In this episode, Malcolm loses his registrar mojo when his ex-girlfriend Emma comes into the office to register her marriage while Lorna tries to introduce themed weddings.
'Births, Deaths and Marriages' is a new sitcom set in a Local Authority Register Office, where the staff deal with the three greatest events in anybody's life.
Written by David Schneider ('The Day Today', 'I'm Alan Partridge'), he stars as chief registrar Malcolm Fox who is a stickler for rules and would be willing to interrupt any wedding service if the width of the bride infringes health and safety. He's unmarried but why does he need to be? He's married thousands of women.
Alongside him are rival and divorcee Lorna who has been parachuted in from Car Parks to drag the office (and Malcolm) into the 21st century. To her marriage isn't just about love and romance, it's got to be about making a profit in our new age of austerity.
There's also the ever spiky Mary, geeky Luke who's worried he'll end up like Malcolm one day while ditzy Anita may get her words and names mixed up occasionally but as the only parent in the office, she's a mother to them all.
Cast:
Malcolm ....... David Schneider
Lorna ....... Sarah Hadland
Anita ....... Sandy McDade
Luke ...... Russell Tovey
Mary ...... Sally Bretton
Richard, Male Dalek Voice, Bride's father .......Simon Greenall
Emma, Mrs Crawley ....... Jane Whittenshaw
Bride, female guest ....... Gina Peach
Producer: Simon Jacobs
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b01jxvp1)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme with Peter White. We ask is Ebay doing enough to protect buyers from fraud? Villagers on the Isle of Wight say they are being cheated out of hundreds of years worth of free bills from Southern Water and what do the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo, the Occupy anti-capitalist movement and fans of an American soccer team have in common? They've all got their own tartan. Has it become too easy to create and register a new tartan design?
FRI 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01jxvp3)
Laurence Olivier
The New Elizabethans: Laurence Olivier. To mark the Diamond Jubilee, James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.
Laurence Olivier is considered by many to be Britain's most important and revered actor of the 20th century. Most famous for his classical roles, as a Shakespearean actor of breadth and panache, and as the driving force behind the development of the National Theatre, his later film career included roles such as the sadistic Nazi dentist in Marathon Man, with Dustin Hoffman, and in Sleuth with Michael Caine.
Olivier's private life and his three marriages were equally fascinating to his audiences, and particularly the great romance played out in public with Vivien Leigh, who he directed in many films and co-starred with in others. Olivier is one of only a handful of actors whose final resting place is Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, London.
The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.
Producer: James Cook.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b01jvd3c)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b01jxvp5)
Shaun Ley presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
FRI 13:45 Honest Doubt: The History of an Epic Struggle (b01jxvp7)
Tears in the Rain
In the final programme in his series of personal essays, Richard Holloway concludes his reflections on the tensions between faith and doubt over the last 3000 years. Author and former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway focuses on the Judeo-Christian tradition as he takes the listener from the birth of religious thinking, through the Old and New Testaments, to the developments in subsequent centuries and their influence on thinkers and writers, up to the present day.
Summing up the journey he has undertaken over the previous four weeks, Richard describes the 'human animal' as 'a riddle': 'Whence came our creations, our amazing discoveries? How did all this meaning, all this purpose, all this beauty, emerge from the void?' He concedes that there are 'neither negative nor positive conclusions about the mystery that besets us' but accepts that our moments will be lost 'like tears in the rain'.
Talking to him about that mystery are the writer and psychoanalyst Adam Phillips, the theologian and author Professor Don Cupitt, and the poet Sir Andrew Motion.
Producer: Olivia Landsberg
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b01jxtf4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b01jxw4j)
Amours de Voyage
A new play by Mike Walker updating Arthur Hugh Clough's Victorian poem sequence of missed opportunities and moving the action from the Rome of 1848 to Egypt last year. Claude is a cynical travel writer unimpressed by everything he sees. Merry is an American on a modern version of the Grand Tour, visiting the great sights of Egypt with her parents. Circumstances throw them together and both surprise themselves by discovering that despite the worlds that separate them they might have growing feelings for each other. Meanwhile the streets of Cairo are erupting into angry life with protestors and government troops clashing. Claude is resolutely disengaged until he find himself caught in the crowd. The things he sees makes him realise he has stood on the sidelines of life for too long. But is it too late to do anything about it.
Claude: Stephen Noonan
Merry: Fenella Woolgar
Dan: Peter Marinker
Producer: Tim Dee.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01jxw4l)
Postbag Edition
Eric Robson and the panel are in the potting shed at Sparsholt College, answering the questions you've sent in by post and e-mail.
Questions answered in the programme:
Can compostable nappies be composted in the garden?
Planting suggestions for indoor window boxes.
Suggestions included: Aluminum (Pilea cadierei), Busy Lizzies, Winter Cherry, Cyclamen, Pelargonium, Cacti and succulents, Fuchsia, "Poor Man's Orchid" (Schizanthus pinnattus), Persian Violet (Exacum affine).
What is attacking the leaves of my grapevine - making them look lumpy and blistered?
How can I encourage my one flower Peony to thrive?
How can I tackle the sawflies that are attacking my roses?
Suggestions for Clematis varieties to cover an ugly red brick wall?
Suggestions included: Daniel Deronda, Clematis armandii, Clematis cirrhosa, Akebia quinata (Chocolate Vine), Clematis triternata.
Online auction sites are an increasingly popular place to buy seeds, many of which seem to be for obscure foreign varieties of common British flowers and vegetables. Is there any reason to be concerned about this, for example are there risks in planting such species into British gardens?
What edible crops will survive in boggy conditions?
Suggestions included: watercress, blueberries.
How to tackle an over grown lawn?
Is Pippa Greenwood aware that systemic insecticides (the use of which she suggested on a previous show) contain neonicotinoids that are highly toxic to bees?
Can dead Leyland Cypress trees by stripped back and used as posts to make a fence - or is there a chance they may come back to life?
Produced by Robert Abel
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Are You Inexperienced? (b01jxw4n)
Episode 3
For many people, California's Chateau Marmont is a byword for luxury. But when the writer and stand-up performer AL Kennedy visits, in the course of desperately trying to finish her latest novel, she's all too aware of the great and the good who've undone themselves there, from John Belushi to Jim Morrison and Helmut Newton. For her, it's more akin to the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick's horror film, The Shining.
Producer: Mark Smalley.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b01jxw4q)
Rodney King, Teofilo Stevenson, Gitta Sereny and Victor Spinetti
Matthew Bannister on:
Rodney King whose beating by police sparked the LA riots. In an interview recorded three weeks ago he talks about his troubled childhood and battles with alcoholism.
Also the Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson who won three Olympic Gold Medals and turned down millions of dollars to fight Muhammed Ali because he preferred the adulation of the Cuban people.
Gitta Sereny who wrote controversial but acclaimed books about evil.
And Victor Spinetti, raconteur and actor who appeared in all three films made by the Beatles. His friend Barbara Windsor pays tribute.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b01jxw4s)
Does Radio 1 have too many celebrity presenters? Are they too old? And is Chris Moyles going to leave the Breakfast Show? In this week's Feedback two listeners meet controller Ben Cooper and quiz him about his station. Plus, as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend music festival comes to East London, Roger finds out what Radio and 1Xtra are doing to encourage new radio talent. Presenter Chantelle Jones tells him why she thought someone from her background could never be on the radio.
Last weekend Radio 4 had a Bloomfest to mark Bloomsday, celebrating James Joyce's novel with a five and a half hour dramatisation. Was it awesome or awful? We put your reactions to the commissioning editor for drama, Jeremy Howe, and ask him if he plans to give any other novels the one day treatment.
Plus, we launch Drop Out Watch. Many listeners feel the number of programmes dropping off air or correspondents disappearing mid-sentence is increasing. Is it? If so, what's the cause? Send us any examples from any BBC network and we will attempt to diagnose the condition.
Presented by Roger Bolton
Producer: Kate Taylor
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b01jxw4v)
Oby and Rebekah: Life After The Truth
Fi Glover presents Radio 4's series capturing the nation in conversation: today, in celebration of BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend we hear from Hackney residents Oby and Rebekah. Now in their 20s, both young women were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses. Now they discuss what that meant, and how their lives have panned out after their exposure to The Truth.
The Listening Project is a new initiative for Radio 4 that aims to offer a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Many of the long conversations are being archived by the British Library which they will use to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b01jxw4x)
Carolyn Quinn presents coverage and analysis of the day's news.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01jvd3f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b01jxw4z)
Series 37
Episode 3
Greco-German Wrestling: In the week that Jimmy Carr's tax arrangements made front page news, while Greece swore in a coalition government, David Cameron went to the G20 and an inflatable Stonehenge toured the country as part of the 2012 festival, Marcus Brigstocke, Lloyd Langford, Mitch Benn and Laura Shavin join Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, as they dissect the week in their indomitable style. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b01jxw51)
Ian describes in detail the quality and surroundings of the restaurant he's chosen for Adam's birthday. But when Adam arrives home later exhausted, Ian directs him to his evening wear: swimming shorts. Their evening is to consist of steak and a dip in the hot tub instead.
Alan's making the final preparations for Usha's birthday party, and he's bowled over by how fantastic she looks. He gives her a beautiful necklace, telling her to enjoy her night without worrying about Amy. As Usha's about to take to the dancefloor Amy arrives. She's contrite, and the two of them hug tightly.
Pip gets a nasty shock when an anonymous caller informs her they're watching her family. Shaky Pip summons Ruth home, and Ruth questions Pip closely. They ascertain that Josh and Ben are safe, and Ruth calls the police. She tells David she can't possibly go to Usha's party. She wants everyone to stay inside. David tries to reassure her. He'll get advice from the police on how to deal with the situation. And he'll speak to Ben's teachers. None of this is good enough for Ruth. She thinks David's being too relaxed about it. She wants him to pull out of testifying. This has to stop now.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b01jxw53)
Crow with Handspring puppets, guitarist Milos, Mark Wallinger
With Kirsty Lang.
The Handspring Puppet Company, the creators of the award-winning War Horse horses, have turned to Ted Hughes' sequence of Crow poems for their new show, combining puppetry, music, dance and extracts of the verse. It's part of the London 2012 Festival. Bidisha reviews.
In the week that Jimmy Carr has apologised for taking part in tax avoidance schemes, the comedy critic Stephen Armstrong explains why successful comedians have always been rich and why they've always needed to hide it.
Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger has a large-scale solo show Site opening at the Baltic in Gateshead this week, to be followed next month by a film commission at Turner Contemporary in Margate, and a collaboration with the Royal Opera House and the National Gallery in London on a new ballet based on paintings by Titian. In his studio Wallinger takes stock of his workload and has the latest news on his plan to erect a 50-metre high statue of a white horse in the Kent countryside.
Gordon Ramsay goes to Brixton prison in his new TV series Gordon Behind Bars, as he attempts to set up a successful food business with the prisoners, giving himself a deadline of six months. Rebecca Nicholson reviews.
Milos Karadaglic is a classical guitarist from Montenegro. Generally known as just Milos, he was the UK's best-selling classical recording artist last year, and Gramophone magazine's Young Artist of the Year. With a new CD of Latin American music and a BBC Proms concert this summer, he talks about his love for the guitar and the importance of looking after his nails.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01k0b10)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b01jxw55)
Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House
Jonathan Dimbleby presents a live discussion of news and politics from the Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House, London. On the panel: Shadow Welsh Secretary, Owen Smith; Conservative MP, Rory Stewart; Columnist for the Mail on Sunday, Peter Hitchens and Director of the Southbank Centre, Jude Kelly.
Producer: Victoria Wakely.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b01jxw57)
What to do about a bad review
Adam Gopnik ruminates on how to handle a bad review.
He ponders the various options. The first is to ignore it and claim the high moral ground, "the Big Ignore" he calls it. The second is to write a late night letter - or three - to the offending publication. But he now has a third option - passed on by a friend just the other evening - which he promises will produce delightful results.
An amusing guide on how to get your own back on your critics.
Producer:
Adele Armstrong.
FRI 21:00 Honest Doubt: The History of an Epic Struggle - Omnibus (b01jxw59)
Episode 4
Author and former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway concludes his series in which he considers the tensions between faith and doubt over the last 3000 years. In the final omnibus edition, he focuses on writers and thinkers of the 20th and 21st Centuries.
He talks to Sir Anthony Kenny, literary executor and biographer of the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, about Wittgenstein's view that 'even when all possible scientific questions are answered, the problems of life have still not been touched at all'. In response, Kenny offers a rare poem by Wittgenstein, and Holloway charts the debate to the present day citing the ideas of Richard Dawkins and Roger Scruton.
He explores the work of three inter-war writers - James Joyce, Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene and their contrasting views on the role of doubt and disloyalty before moving on to the literature of the Holocaust which aims to 'say the unsayable' and throw light on one of the biggest questions in the story of doubt: how can we reconcile the idea of God when there's so much suffering in the world?
Holloway tackles the paradox that God can be experienced as both a presence and an absence, discussing the work of three post-war poets - Philip Larkin, John Betjeman and RS Thomas - with the help of Larkin's friend and literary executor, Sir Andrew Motion, Betjeman's biographer AN Wilson and an archive recording of R S Thomas himself. Holloway concludes that we 'can reach neither negative nor positive conclusions about the mystery that besets us.'
With further contributions from theologian and author Professor Don Cupitt, author and psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and Revd. Professor David Jasper from Glasgow University.
Producer: Olivia Landsberg
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b01jvd3h)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b01jxw5c)
Robin Lustig presents national and international news and analysis.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01jxw5f)
Salvage the Bones
Episode 10
By Jesmyn Ward. Esch and her friends survey the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina while Skeetah searches for China. Big Henry gives Esch hope for her baby's future. She will not be alone.
It is 2005. Fifteen-year-old Esch is the narrator of the novel. She lives in poverty with her brothers and her father in the Mississippi woods near the small town of Bois Sauvage. Skeetah's beloved pit-bull China is a fighting dog and her puppies will be trained to fight too, if they survive. Esch's mother died giving birth to her youngest brother Junior. The only other people in Esch's world are her father, her older brother Randall and her brother's friends. They include Manny, who she worships and gives herself to freely without getting any love or respect in return. The story takes place against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina forming out at sea, then descending on the country with terrifying force.
Salvage The Bones won the 2011 National Book Award in America. It is Jesmyn Ward's second novel and is based on her own experience of Hurricane Katrina and growing up black and in a poor family in rural Mississippi. She is currently the Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi.
Abridged by Jeremy Osborne
Read by Cush Jumbo
Producer: Rosalynd Ward
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b01jxrd5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01jxw5h)
Mark D'Arcy with the day's top news stories from Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b01jxw5k)
Ashley and Raj: Lawnmower racing
Fi Glover presents Radio 4's series capturing the nation in conversation: today, as part of BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, we hear from Hackney. Ashley and Raj both grew up there and became friends at school. They're still friends today, and plan a future as neighbours, competing in lawnmower races in their shared garden.
The Listening Project is a new initiative for Radio 4 that aims to offer a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Many of the long conversations are being archived by the British Library which they will use to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.