The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Johnston McKay.
Anna Hill meets a Norfolk farmer who's recommending old-fashioned seven-year crop rotation as a way to protect soil for the future. Poul Hovesen is farm manager at Holkham Hall and the Salle Estate in Norfolk. He's brought long-term rotations in to both sites, and believes this has improved the soils significantly.
The Port of Tyne is currently loading what they believe is one of the largest shipments of grain ever to leave the UK. The large bulk cargo vessel 'Rosco Poplar' will spend around seven days loading over 60,000 tonnes of barley which will go to various parts of the world - focussing on the middle east.
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Chris Packham presents the barn owl. As soft-plumaged birds which weigh very little Barn Owls avoid hunting in strong winds or heavy rain. Snow is a problem too because it allows voles and mice to tunnel beneath its blanket, out of the owls' reach. But in spite of seasonal perils, barn owls are a welcome sight over grassy fields and verges in many parts of the UK.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Jonathan Freedland examines current debates surrounding immigration and legislation in the light of the 1905 Aliens Act; the first act to introduce immigration and registration controls into Britain from areas outside the British Empire and seen chiefly as a response to East European Jewish immigration.
Jonathan is joined by Mary Riddell, columnist and political interviewer for the Daily Telegraph, Dr David Glover, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Southampton and the actor Henry Goodman.
John Harris of The Guardian talks to autism specialist, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen.
John is known for having two consuming passions: music and politics - and luckily he's developed a career that revolves round both. But five years ago, he acquired a third area of expertise and curiosity: autism.
His son James was born in 2006 and, when he was 3, it was discovered he was autistic. For John and his partner, the next two or three years passed in a blur of educational therapy, tussles with officialdom, James's successful entry to a mainstream school, and reading: lots and lots of it.
In these two editions of One to One, John talks to people who can give him greater insight into the condition and to discover how we can all become more accepting of it and those who are affected by it.
In this first programme, John talks to Simon Baron-Cohen, a professor at Cambridge University in psychology and psychiatry, and also the director of the University's Autism Research Centre. Over more than thirty years, his work has made a huge contribution to an increasingly nuanced, sophisticated understanding of autism, and helped a lot of people, including John.
Alexandra and Charlie's first trip ends, portentously, with an elephant attack.
In a follow-up to the award-winning memoir "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight", Alexandra Fuller charts her temptestuous marriage to the man she thought would save her from the eccentricities, chaos and dangers of life in Africa.
In 1992, after her parents had seen off all other suitors, Alexandra Fuller married Charlie Ross, a charismatic polo player, and the only man who seemed able to stand up to her parents. In this witty, frank and courageous memoir, Fuller charts their twenty tempestuous years together, from the brutal beauty of the Zambezi to the mountains of Wyoming - looking at what made her marry this man, and why in the end she had to save herself.
Revenging revenge porn: how best to fight back when you are the victim of revenge porn? Emma Barnett is joined in the studio by Emma Holten who had her email hacked and intimate images published globally. Find out tomorrow how she took control of the situation. A new film - Kicked out kids - explores what happens when children in care reach 18, the age they have to leave. We explore the impact of this on the lives of children, and discuss the best age for children to leave care. Also we have an interview with Carole White, founder of Premier Model Agency, on the fashion industry, perceptions of beauty and being a model matriach. And as a new report finds that women are underrepresented in digital industries, we ask why this is, and what needs to be done to change it? Plus a look at what election issues are concerning Welsh women.
Linda Marshall Griffiths' unflinching drama about betrayal and the power of money cracks open the impossibilities and difficulties of love.
Whilst the placebo effect is now recognised as a useful therapeutic tool, less familiar is its malign counterpart: the nocebo effect, the capacity of an inert or sham treatment to induce adverse physical and mental effects. Geoff Watts explores the science behind this remarkable phenomenon and its worrying implications.
Acknowledged for decades, the placebo effect only became the subject of serious scientific study in the last ten years. Not only can sham treatments improve clinical outcomes, sometimes as powerfully as pharmacological interventions, but the method of giving the treatment can itself determine a placebo's success. Perception is everything. But if a placebo can reduce symptoms and enhance treatment then presumably the opposite is true. Welcome to the nocebo effect.
Nocebo, meaning "I shall harm", is the wicked sibling of placebo, meaning "I shall please". First remarked on in the medical literature in 1961, it took nearly 40 years for hard evidence to emerge when, on a hunch, an Italian physiologist, Fabrizio Benedetti, conducted a cunning experiment. He injected subjects with two substances that he told them would induce pain. Neither actually would but one substance (unbeknownst to the patients) did in fact have the ability to inhibit anxiety. If there was a specific neurological pathway in the brain that was creating the nocebo effect, could the anti-anxiolytic block it? The answer was emphatically yes and provided the clearest evidence yet that a patient's mere perception of what they expect to happen could induce real, detrimental physical and mental symptoms - in this case anxiety and pain.
Other researchers have attempted to explore the phenomenon further. Studies in Germany and the Netherlands showed that nocebo could be induced merely by relaying verbal or visual information to the subjects. In the US, Parkinson's patients told that their brain pacemakers (for deep brain stimulation) were to be turned off experienced dramatically more negative symptoms even though the pacemakers were left switched on. Patients in a trial looking at lactose intolerance were falsely told they were given lactose when in fact they were given glucose and true to form, nearly half complained of stomach pains.
In some sense this seems obvious - one can induce fear and anxiety by telling scary stories. But the consequences of nocebo go beyond mere medical curiosity. A few years ago the effect hit the headlines when tens of thousands of people were seemingly affected by it in New Zealand, spurred on by alarmist media reporting about the negative side effects of a 'new' drug. Except it wasn't new at all - it simply had a branding re-launch. The pharmaceutical compounds were unchanged. Nevertheless, this lead to a 2000-fold increase in negative side-effect reporting. So what had caused this? We did - the media. News reports began incorrectly attributing side effects such as joint pain and depression to this so-called new drug. The effect snow-balled. Areas of the country with the highest number of media scare stories saw the highest number of complaints about the drug's side effects. It's not that patients were making it up - as far as they were concerned their symptoms were real but they were not related to the pharmacological effects of the drug but to nocebo. Their health had been hijacked by their expectation.
Nocebo is not only more powerful than placebo but it is likely to be more widespread and its implications are far more serious as it not only interferes with the existing treatments but it hinders the development of new drugs. And as clinicians and researchers become more aware of the consequences of nocebo, many reach the same uncomfortable conclusion - that patients are being given too much information about the risks of treatment - be it surgery or drugs - creating anxiety and fear which leads to physical distress. Doctors are caught between a rock and a hard place - First do no harm is the bedrock of medicine. As is informed consent. But what do you do when informed consent leads to harm? And can you even begin to control for what patients can discover for themselves on the internet or through the media?
The manuscript of Mozart's Requiem Mass may have had a starring role in the film Amadeus but in this opening programme of a new series of Tales from the Stave, Frances Fyfield and her guests reveal the equally extraordinary true stories behind the composer's final, unfinished, composition.
The film played fast and loose with the role of Salieri in the decline and death of the composer. In fact his role is relatively minor. But the score - or rather the scores, for Mozart's wife Constanza over-saw work on two separate volumes - tells of contributions, additions, edits and completions by at least two composers and probably more. And yet through these layers of development, a masterpiece of dramatic composition still manages to emerge.
Frances is joined by the music scholar Nigel Simeone, the Viennese conductor Manfred Huss and Jette Engelke, a member of the Wiener Singakademie choir. They help to unpick what is and what isn't in Mozart's own hand and why they believe the completed work is so close to a structure conceived by the composer.
The team is indebted to the host at the Austrian National Library, Dr Thomas Leibnitz, who allows few to see this extraordinarily valuable manuscript. "It is" he points out laconically "quite simply the most valuable piece in our entire collection".
On today's Call You & Yours we will be answering your questions on care. New laws covering care are coming into force across the UK. They give people who need care and the people looking after them new rights to help from local authorities. Next year in England, the Care Act will cap the cost of care at £72,000 for people who pay for themselves over their lifetime. So if you have any questions about care - we'll have experts on hand to help. We'd like to know what's worrying you about care now and in the future? Email us please - youandyours@bbc.co.uk.
Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority (2012-2017), brings to life the numbers conveying the big trends that have transformed the shape and scope of the British state.
He looks at what governments through the centuries have spent, borrowed, taxed, regulated and built; and he considers how we came to organise a national life that reaches into every corner of private life, from the delivery of pensions and healthcare to the surveillance of emails or rules about the temperature of a hot cup of tea.
By one measure, the modern British state is roughly 7,000 times bigger than the Tudor state. How and why did that happen?
The story of the state unfolds through muddy fields, smugglers coves and a Victorian village lock-up. Numbers become sound as we hear the dramatic scale of change that has occurred over the centuries.
The evolution of the state may be driven less by party politics than party politicians might like us to think. Although the state's size and functions are a natural subject of fierce political argument, the impetus for the biggest changes has often come from another source - such as war, economic growth, and the power that arises from knowledge.
Daniel Ryan and Jade Matthew (who won the 2015 BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Debut Performance for her role in A KIDNAPPING) play two British teachers who have kidnapped a 10-year-old child.
Having successfully extracted a ransom from the boy's father, a powerful Filipino politician, getting the money and themselves out of the country is proving more difficult than they had anticipated. On the run in Manila with the authorities closing in, they are haunted by one small detail about the politician - he keeps a pet tiger in his basement.
A fast-paced thriller and a grand, comic morality tale set and recorded in the Philippines.
Tom Holland is joined by archaeologist Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe and Tim Loughton MP, Vice Chair of the Archaeology All Party Parliamentary Group.
Dr Matt Pope reports from Shropshire where land close to Old Oswestry Hillfort might be allocated for housing which archaeologists fear will wreck its landscape context.
Tom talks to Professor Andy Beeby from the University of Durham about new research which is analysing ink on medieval parchments.
And Helen Castor joins food historian Pen Vogler in the kitchen to see how people prepared for Lent in medieval times.
Contact the programme by email: making.history@bbc.co.uk - or write to Making History, BBC Radio 4, PO Box 3096. Brighton BN1 1PL.
Iceland is warming faster than most countries, two to four times faster than the global average temperature rise. A quirk of geography means that the island's plants and animals are having to cope with rapidly rising temperatures whilst their neighbours in the rest of northern Europe warm much more gradually. Glaciers are melting, trees are growing much faster and arable farming is suddenly possible and profitable.
Tom Heap travels through Iceland to gauge the impact on the landscape and the people. Can the rest of the world learn lessons from Iceland's experience?
In this week's Law in Action we tell the cheesy story of the 6-year-old boy excluded from school because of the salted snack in his lunch box. We ask what the law has to say about this - can a child be excluded because of what his or her parents have done?
Also: a senior appeal judge says that the UK is way behind the times when it comes to online justice. He is ashamed, he says, by the piles of paper that accumulate in the British legal system, especially when he encounters sleek online systems overseas. A report out this week announces plans to overhaul the way civil disputes are handled by adopting the model pioneered by eBay - resolving them online. But how feasible is this and what's the timescale?
And: the man who spent 17 years in jail for a crime he says he didn't commit. The Court of Appeal freed him more than a year ago, but he's now been told he's ineligible for financial compensation for the years he spent behind bars. Victor Nealon tells us his story and we ask if the system for determining compensation for miscarriages of justice is fair.
Political editor turned Strictly contestant John Sergeant and Helen Lewis, Deputy Editor of the New Statesman, tell Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books. They include Sebastian Faulks' new Jeeves and Wooster novel, The Turkish Embassy Letters by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and children's classic The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford.
Nominated for Best Comedy in the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2015, Trodd en Bratt Say 'Well Done You' is a comedy sketch show written and performed by Ruth Bratt and Lucy Trodd, stars of Radio 4's Showstoppers.
This week there's a robbery in the Fings and Bobs shop, but Anja and Benjio are only too happy to help the robber find his way around. Meanwhile, Mary's dark secret threatens to ruin her church choir's concert; and Ruth tries to confront a colleague with a distracting verbal tick.
Kenton's excited about heading off for Australia, confident that Fallon can run things at the Bull.
Kenton plays Master of Ceremonies at the Bull's Shrove Tuesday events. George Grundy wins the pancake race. Jim and his SAVE comrades are there, armed with banners and petitions. The Borchester Echo and Radio Borsetshire are in attendance. Lynda's rather put out when Jennifer (aka the Boudicca of Borsetshire) gives her impassioned speech. Jim says let Jennifer have her moment - it's all good publicity.
Jim is also keen to know how Robert's doing with his tick chart, as their bird watching rivalry continues.
Mike tells Jennifer about his problems selling the house. Jennifer shares that Phoebe is staying on at Home Farm.
Ed's pleased to get a good price for his cows. He can now look to the future. Eddie believes Ed has done the right thing. Mike's pleased to get a cheque from Ed, and Eddie reminds him what fine looking beasts they've parted with.
Mike feels pulled in different directions, by Vicky and Beth on one side and the business on the other. Ed asks whether Mike really has to leave Ambridge. But Mike's adamant he can't change his mind. It would be like Ruth and David pulling out of moving. It's far too late now.
Jacqueline du Pre, Wilson Twins, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Report Findings on UK Arts
John Wilson looks back 50 years to Jacqueline du Pré's historic recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto, with cellist Steve Isserlis and record producer Andrew Keener.
Ahead of The Front Row Debate, "Does the state owe the artist a living?", the Wilson Twins discuss living off Thatcher's Enterprise Allowance as they made their name in the art world of the 1980s.
As a Charles Rennie Mackintosh exhibition opens at RIBA in London, the architect Amanda Levete assesses the man behind the Glasgow School of Art building that was destroyed by fire in May last year.
And is creativity and culture open to all of us? Vikki Heywood, who chaired a 12-month inquiry commissioned by Warwick University on the role of the arts in Britain, is here with her findings.
Satellite images reveal the extent to which sites of important historical interest have been looted in Syria. Some of these are in areas controlled by Islamic State where looters are believed to pay a tax to allow them to operate. Iraqi military say evidence from a senior IS member revealed the group is making millions of pounds from the trafficking of looted antiquities
Simon Cox investigates the global trade in stolen artefacts and traces smuggling routes through Turkey and Lebanon and onto the international antiquities market.
He hears concerns that dealers and collectors are not doing enough to verify the provenance of ancient works of art and asks whether the authorities in the UK and elsewhere are doing enough to prevent the trade.
Why, for example, does the UK remain the most significant military power not to have ratified a UN convention to protect cultural property during armed conflict?
The Disability Discrimination Act was introduced in 1995. Twenty years on we ask how effective the legislation, the Equality Act, is at preventing disability discrimination. Peter White hears from Jean French, Legal Manager at the RNIB, Disability Rights barrister Catherine Casserley and John Dickenson Lilley, a visually impaired man who has brought more than forty cases.
After recent headlines that running too much can be bad for your heart, Mark Porter talks to the Medical Director for the London Marathon to get an insider's perspective. A novel psychological approach to weight loss that asks why people are eating too much rather than just giving dietary advice. Plus new treatments for Hepatitis C and statistics showing a reduction in binge drinking in young adults.
Rebels surround hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers in strategic town of Debaltseve
Internationally acclaimed Australian author Elizabeth Harrower's novel was written in 1971 and was finally published in 2015.
This tale of love, class and freedom is set among the grand houses and lush gardens of Sydney Harbour just after the Second World War, following the lives of Zoe and Russell Howard.
Charismatic and confident, the children of affluent and loving parents, they welcome into their circle, Stephen and Anna, two orphans, whose lives until now have been very different from those of the Howards. The impact of this meeting will resonate for decades.
A message in a bottle, cast into the ocean, reaches a woman who needs it, a lifeboat adrift and isolated in icy waters and a crackling, radio connection offers a lifeline between friends. Josie Long hears tales of making contact.
WEDNESDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2015
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0520qx1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b052j0tt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0520qx3)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0520qx5)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0520qx7)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0520qx9)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b053r1m2)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Johnston McKay.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b052j5g6)
Milk Quotas, Crofting, Biodiversity, Methane
Europe is in denial about how serious things will be for the diary industry after the Milk quotas are removed in April. That's according to MEP Jim Nicholson who thinks Europe should be doing more to bolster dairy farmers. Scottish MPs are taking evidence on controversial plans to simplify the rules around the Right to Buy croft land. The government has proposed amendments to the twelve year old land reform act, to make it easier and less bureaucratic for crofting communities. MSP Rob Gibson who is chair of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee explained why crofting was so important for the survival of rural communities. Radio Wiltshire's Marie Lennon visits the Marlborough Downs.Its been part of a 3 year DEFRA scheme to fund wildlife friendly land management over large areas. It's the only farmer-led project and is now helping to inform the government on conservation policy. All this week Farming Today is taking a look at soil, Sally Challoner talks to Professor Richard Evershed a bio-geochemist at Bristol University. He's investigating ways to harvest a bacterium that occurs naturally in soil, and converts harmful methane into carbon dioxide. He told her that if the bacteria could be harvested and added to soils, it could be an important tool in the fight to control greenhouse gases. Presenter Anna Hill. Producer Ruth Sanderson.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03k21n6)
Blackbird
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs
Chris Packham presents the blackbird. Resident blackbirds are on the alert just now because their territories are under siege. Large numbers of Continental blackbirds pour in to the UK each winter to escape even colder conditions elsewhere.
WED 06:00 Today (b052j5n5)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b052j5n7)
Mark Strong, Maggie Alphonsi, Daphne Todd, Carol Grimes
Libby Purves meets actor Mark Strong; former rugby player Maggie Alphonsi; artist Daphne Todd and blues and jazz singer Carol Grimes.
Carol Grimes is a jazz and blues singer and songwriter. Her new show, The Singer's Tale, recreates her life story through spoken word and original music. Carol spent her early life as a busker in London before eventually coming to prominence in 1969 as a member of the band Delivery. The Singer's Tale is at St James Studio Theatre, London.
Mark Strong is a film, television and theatre actor. He plays Eddie Carbone in the award-winning production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge for which he was named best actor at the 2015 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards. His many television credits include Our Friends in the North and the Buddha of Suburbia. He also starred in Oscar-winning films Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Zero Dark Thirty. A View from the Bridge is at Wyndham's Theatre, London and will be broadcast live to over 550 cinemas across the UK as part of National Theatre Live.
Maggie Alphonsi MBE is a former England rugby union player and was part of the team which won the Women's Rugby World Cup in 2014. Following her retirement from rugby, Maggie is now focussed on her bid to compete in the shot put at the 2016 Rio Olympics. A former Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year, she is the first woman in 50 years to be awarded the prestigious Pat Marshall award, a sports personality award chosen by the Rugby Union Writers' Club.
Daphne Todd OBE is an artist who is part of the judging panel on BBC One series The Big Painting Challenge in which 10 artists compete to become Britain's best amateur artist. She also has a solo exhibition featuring portraits and landscapes inspired by the Kent and Sussex borders where she lives. The first female president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, she won the BP Portrait Award for a painting of her 100-year-old mother shortly after her death. The Big Painting Challenge is on BBC One. Daphne Todd's exhibition is at Messum's gallery in London.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b052j5n9)
Alexandra Fuller - Leaving Before the Rains Come
"A nice leg for a riding boot"
Alexandra looks to her family's colourful past in order to make sense of the present.
In a follow-up to the award-winning memoir "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight", Alexandra Fuller charts her temptestuous marriage to the man she thought would save her from the eccentricities, chaos and dangers of life in Africa.
In 1992, after her parents had seen off all other suitors, Alexandra Fuller married Charlie Ross, a charismatic polo player, and the only man who seemed able to stand up to her parents. In this witty, frank and courageous memoir, Fuller charts their twenty tempestuous years together.
Read by Tracy-Ann Oberman.
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b052j5ns)
Caring for the Elderly, Meryl Streep, Author Helena Coggan
According to pre-election research done for Woman's Hour the cost of caring for a family came out as the third most important issue for women. Jenni looks at the rising cost of caring for the elderly. This year Meryl Streep received her 19th Oscar nomination for her supporting role in 'Into the Woods'. From the Woman's Hour archive, the actress speaks to Sue MacGregor about coping with fame, how she never set out to be a movie star and the joys of motherhood. Viv Grant discusses leaving her job as a head teacher to provide leadership and support for people in her former profession. Fifteen year old Helena Coggan discusses her debut novel The Catalyst.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Claire Bartleet.
WED 10:40 15 Minute Drama (b052t1gz)
The Embrace
Episode 3
Grace's revelation pushes Charlie further towards Iona.
Linda Marshall Griffiths' unflinching drama about betrayal and the power of money cracks open the impossibilities and difficulties of love.
IONA.....LYNDSEY MARSHAL
CHARLIE.....WILLIAM ASH
GRACE.....OLIVIA HALLINAN
DAN.....BLAKE RITSON
TABBY.....OLWEN MAY
CLEM.....JONATHAN KEEBLE
Director: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b051s3g1)
Mark and Mayra - Remembering Andrew
Fi Glover with a conversation between Andrew's mother and a family friend, recalling the exceptional 15 year old who had already made a huge impact on all who knew him.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers 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. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
WED 11:00 Recycled Radio (b052j8v9)
Series 3
Recycled: Lawyers
Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio.
Gerald Scarfe introduces the subject of the law and lawyers.
Our journey to court includes contributions from Clive Anderson, Harry Potter, Tom Wrigglesworth, Moses and Douglas Hurd.
There's also a breakneck journey to the land where every other person is a lawyer, while retired judge Elizabeth Butler-Sloss reveals the advice her father gave her about succeeding in this most competitive of professions.
Fun, silly, thoughtful radio ... recycled.
Producer: Miles Warde.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
WED 11:30 Alun Cochrane's Fun House (b01s0dld)
Bedroom
Comedian Alun Cochrane has a 25 year mortgage which he can only pay off by being funny. In this series he takes us on a room by room, stand up tour of his house.
He has a fridge that beeps at him when he doesn't move quickly enough and a fire alarm he can't reach. His relationship with his house is a complicated one.
A hoarder of funny and original observations on everyday life, Alun invites us to help him de-clutter his mind and tidy his ideas into one of those bags that you hoover all the air out of and keep under your bed. This show will help Alun and his house work through their relationship issues and prevent a separation that Alun can ill afford; at least not until the market picks up anyway.
Starring ... Alun Cochrane and Gavin Osborn
Written by ... Alun Cochrane and Andy Wolton
Produced by ... Carl Cooper.
First broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b0520qxc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Home Front (b052j8vc)
18 February 1915 - Fraser Chadwick
Fraser's day is one of constant negotiation, and not just on union matters.
Written by Melissa Murray
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b052jk2j)
Housing
Now if you get your gas and electricity from one of the Big Six Energy suppliers - and most people do - then check if you're being charged their standard variable tariff. Most people are. If you are, you could almost certainly save between £159 and £234 a year. That's what the competition regulator, the Competitions and Markets Authority, has concluded so far in its investigation into the industry and whether competition works the way it should for customers. It's also looking at whether some of the rules imposed to try to get a grip on the Big Six energy companies have had unintended consequences and damaged competition.
The big 6 have more than 90 per cent of the market share. So how do smaller companies get a look in? One of them Spark energy has a tie in with letting agents. It pays them a fee in return for supplying power. The problem is some tenants then find it very difficult to swap to any other supplier. Our reporter Melanie Abbott has been looking into this
Some people who live in touristy places are making extra money renting out rooms or whole houses and flats through the website AirBNB.
There are 33,000 places in the UK offered for rent on AirBNB - two thirds of them are in London. Some councils in London thinks it's gone far enough and they're clamping down on it using old planning laws from the 1970s. These laws ban people renting their homes short term without planning permission. Not everyone is happy.
People don't use directory enquiries services much these days - they go online for numbers instead. But if you do have to telephone for help finding a number then beware because calling 118 can be extremely expensive. That's according to new research by Which? It's warned that some calls to 118 have cost people as much as seventy five pounds.
The budget for making public information films has shrunk drastically. They've been among the casualties of the downturn. The budget for all these films last year was a million pounds and you can't make many films for that.
Our reporter Bob Walker has been looking back at the heyday of the public information film with the help of Sue Woods, a curator with the British Film Institute and Dr Tessa Langley, assistant professor at University of Nottingham. And thanks to the BFI National Archive for allowing us to use those clips.
Parents in the UK spend a higher proportion of their income on childcare than parents in any other western country do.
Now some nurseries are adding to their costs by charging up to £125 for a place on their waiting lists. And the money is never refunded - even if the child never gets a place. It's really hard for parents in some areas where you have to get your name down on a lot of lists to have any hope of finding somewhere.
It's madness but house prices have continued to rise across the UK. They rose by nearly ten percent in 2014. The figures were released this morning by the Office for National Statistics. That's despite the fact that new mortgage lending rules are limiting the amount people borrow.
The prices are high because there are relatively few properties on offer. That's been the story since the start of the downturn and some market experts think it's the new norm.
Producer: Maire Devine
Editor: Chas Watkin.
WED 12:57 Weather (b0520qxf)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b052jk2l)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
WED 13:45 A History of Britain in Numbers (b052jk2n)
Series 2
War Makes The State
Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority (2012-2017), brings to life the numbers conveying the big trends that have transformed the shape and scope of the British state.
He looks at what governments through the centuries have spent, borrowed, taxed, regulated and built; and he considers how we came to organise a national life that reaches into every corner of private life, from the delivery of pensions and healthcare to the surveillance of emails or rules about the temperature of a hot cup of tea.
By one measure, the modern British state is roughly 7,000 times bigger than the Tudor state. How and why did that happen?
The story of the state unfolds through muddy fields, smugglers coves and a Victorian village lock-up. Numbers become sound as we hear the dramatic scale of change that has occurred over the centuries.
The evolution of the state may be driven less by party politics than party politicians might like us to think. Although the state's size and functions are a natural subject of fierce political argument, the impetus for the biggest changes has often come from another source - such as war, economic growth, and the power that arises from knowledge.
In this programme, Andrew discovers how war makes the state.
Producer: Michael Blastland
A Whistledown production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b052j57q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b050zy3q)
Hattie Naylor - A Northern Soul
Two men settle old scores, 35 years after their involvement in the Northern Soul scene.
It's 1978 and the Northern Soul scene is at its peak. UK Manufacturing is thriving, Unions are strong, and blue-collar labourers have money in their pockets. Working class black Americans have moved from the Deep South to work in the car factories of Detroit and what has emerged from them is a new kind of soul music - upbeat, rhythmic and aspirational. British car factory workers have also found that the music's mood and rhythm speaks for them and Northern Soul has become an exclusive music and dance scene with its own code and culture, focussing on Friday all-nighters.
Mark, a 17-year-old, middle class lad, gets his first job - in a car factory in Wolverhampton. Super cool factory worker Jerry introduces him to Northern Soul and Mark is hooked. He wants to be a part of it - the music, clothes, and all-nighters. Winning Jerry's friendship, he asks to go to Wigan Casino, voted the best club in the world - but Jerry questions Mark's authenticity and is undecided whether to take him.
35 years later and Mark, now a married father and a journalist living in London, interviews Jerry about the end of the Northern Soul scene. For Jerry, the memories recall a tainted time of union power and working class freedoms confronted by the rise of the political right. For Mark, the memories hold emotional confusions. Buried hurts resurface between the two men and old scores are settled about class, music and identity.
Jerry.................Craig Edwards
Older Mark........Patrick Baladi
Younger Mark....Tom Glenister
Maureen............Sally Orrock
Phil....................Ben Crowe
Stan..................Paul Currier
Sophie...............Jessica Hayles
Writer: Hattie Naylor
Director: Marc Jobst
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in February 2015
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b052jk2q)
Mortgages
Looking for a mortgage? Whether you're buying your first home or you need to remortgage, Ruth Alexander and guests answered your questions.
With fixed and variable rate mortgages charging less than 2% which is the better bet?
What are the associated fees and how much will you need to pay in Stamp Duty?
What are the best deals for first time buyers? Halifax say that there's been a 50% rise in first-time buyers in the past two years due to low interest rates and the greater availability of loans requiring smaller deposits.
How will you be assessed and how do you find the most suitable mortgage for you?
Whatever your mortgage question, joining presenter Ruth Alexander to share their experience were:
Melanie Bien, Mortgage and Property Finance Expert.
Ray Boulger, Senior Technical Manager, John Charcol.
Kevin Gardiner, First Mortgage.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b052j57z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b052jk2s)
Conservatism, Emotional Labour in a Care Home
Conservatism: Roger Scruton, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, London, talks to Laurie Taylor, about the intellectual roots of Conservative values and ideology.
Also, the emotional labour of care workers in a private residential care home. Eleanor Johnson, Researcher in Social Sciences at the University of Cardiff, talks about her case study of carer's practical and emotional work.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b052jk2v)
Do advertisers influence editorial?; British drama overseas; Immigration Street
The chief political commentator at the Daily Telegraph, Peter Oborne, has resigned from the paper, saying its lack of coverage of HSBC and allegations of tax avoidance amounts to a form of "fraud on readers" - a charge the paper strongly denies. Mr Oborne said there had been serious lapses of editorial judgement. It's raised questions about the extent to which advertisers influence editorial decision making, as newspapers come under increasing financial pressures. Steve Hewlett talks to Chris Blackhurst, former city editor of the Evening Standard and former editor of The Independent, about whether the balance of power is shifting.
British TV drama is becoming big business overseas. From the popularity of Downton Abbey, Sherlock, Parade's End and Doctor Who, to more recent exports like Broadchurch and Fortitude, a global audience is now enjoying home-grown productions. Steve Hewlett discusses what is driving the growing interest with Ben Donald, Executive Producer of International Drama at BBC Worldwide, Jane Millichip, MD of Sky Vision, and Mammoth Screen founder and producer Michele Buck.
A controversial documentary on immigration that was filmed in Southampton has been reduced from six programmes to one. Channel 4 has announced it will show "Immigration Street" as a one-hour documentary next Tuesday. The station originally commissioned six episodes of the Benefits Street spin-off, made by Love Productions. Steve Hewlett asks executive producer Kieran Smith what has led to the decision, and he speaks to Satvir Kaur, Southampton councils cabinet member for communities about the impact the documentary has had on residents.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b052jk2x)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0520qxh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Chain Reaction (b052jk2z)
Series 10
Adam Buxton talks to Reece Shearsmith
Comedian, actor, technophile and one half of 'Adam and Joe', Adam Buxton talks to the co-creator and star of The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville and Inside No. 9, Reece Shearsmith.
Chain Reaction is the long running hostless chat show where last week's interviewee becomes this week's interviewer.
Producer: Charlie Perkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b052jk31)
Shula has given up biscuits for Lent. She feels she has a lot to atone for. In confidence, Shula admits to Caroline that, for the sake of Rob and the hunt, she lied to PC Burns about what happened with the hunt saboteur. Rob started it and hit the man.
Tormented Shula has it out with Rob, who's simply pleased that no further action will be taken. Shula angrily tells him that he put her in an impossible position. She only did it for the hunt - and for Helen, who is family.
Shula reports back to concerned Caroline that she has seen another side to Rob and it was horrible.
Tom helps Helen at Ambridge Organics. The shop's looking better already for Helen's presence. Pat says well done.
Tom and Pat talk about Tony, who seems brighter - and poor Brian who's coping with Lilian staying at Home Farm. Tom mentions that Helen could go back to the shop permanently. Perhaps Tina has done them all a favour after all.
However, Rob mentions to Helen that he thinks Henry is playing up because he misses his mum. This makes Helen decide that she should put the shop behind her. Her life has moved on. Rob suggests getting rid of the shop altogether. Helen immediately agrees that it's the only option. It's obvious.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b052jkwy)
Marigold Hotel Director John Madden, The Museum of the Mind, Kwabs, Maidan
John Madden, director of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, discusses making a sequel with the all-star cast including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere, Maggie Smith and Dev Patel, and the power of older cinema audiences.
Curator Victoria Northwood and Psychiatrist Dr David O'Flynn on the re-opening of the Museum of the Mind at the Royal Bethlem Hospital. The museum explores the history of the hospital, which was known in the past as 'Bedlam' and was featured in Hogarth's Rake's Progress, and the relationship between art and mental health.
Maidan, a documentary filmed in Kiev during the anti-government protests in Ukraine, chronicles the unfolding events, filming the crowd as the situation deteriorates. Writer and former Eastern Europe correspondent Matt Potter reviews.
Ahead of next Monday's Front Row Debate 'Does the State owe the artist a living?', up and coming singer-songwriter Kwabs explains how an inspiring teacher at school led to his interest in music.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Olivia Skinner.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b052t1gz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:40 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b052jkx0)
Is it a Moral Duty to Vote?
Is it immoral to be apathetic about politics? The Bishops of the Church of England clearly think so. This week they sent a letter to parishes advising 'Christian men and women how to vote". So we all have a duty to join in the arguments and it's wrong to be a 'don't know'!
As the election gets closer, however, the prevailing view seems to be that politicians are a sleazy and self-serving bunch of hypocrites. Whatever the bishops say, at least a third of us won't be voting; half of young people aren't even registered to vote. But when politicians focus their efforts on ingratiating themselves with pensioners (the people who vote the most) we say that's cynical.
Party membership has fallen off a cliff. More of us belong to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds than to all our political parties combined. It was revealed last week that Russell Brand ('Don't vote it only encourages them') has three times as many Twitter followers as all our MPs put together.
Polls show that we hate the idea of state funding for political parties, but we also hate the idea of 'dodgy donors' buying political influence. We laugh at last week's Tory fund-raising dinner featuring an auction in which lots included 'a shoe-shopping trip with Theresa May'; we recoil from the idea of a Labour government in hock to its trade union sponsors. Some say that political donations from wealthy individuals are to be applauded - it's philanthropy, just like giving to charity. But do we really believe it's a coincidence that so many millionaire donors happen to have ended up in the House of Lords?
Should 16-year-olds have the vote? Should voting be made compulsory? Is it a moral duty to vote? Or are there other ways, just as morally cogent, to get involved in the political process?
WED 20:45 Why I Changed My Mind (b052jkx2)
Series 1
Sean O'Callaghan
Dominic Lawson asks Sean O'Callaghan about why he became an informer within the IRA.
Producer: Martin Rosenbaum.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b052j57f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Midweek (b052j5n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b052jkx4)
European Central Bank agrees to increase emergency funding to Greek banks
ECB raises limit to 68 billion euros, Athens preparing to ask for 6 month extension of bailout loan
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b052jkx6)
In Certain Circles
"This is not my life"
Anna strikes out on her own, and finds a new life.
Internationally acclaimed Australian author Elizabeth Harrower's novel was written in 1971 and was finally published in 2015.
This tale of love, class and freedom is set among the grand houses and lush gardens of Sydney Harbour just after the Second World War, following the lives of Zoe and Russell Howard.
Charismatic and confident, the children of affluent and loving parents, they welcome into their circle, Stephen and Anna, two orphans, whose lives until now have differed from those of the Howards in almost every way.
Reader: Penny Downie
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
WED 23:00 Irish Micks and Legends (b052jkx8)
Series 2
Diarmuid and Grainne
Aisling Bea and Yasmine Akram get romantic (not like that) to tell the tale of the famous young lovers Diarmuid and Grainne. It's an affair which ended like most Irish stories - terribly.
Series two of the duo's unique comedic, highly irreverent take on Irish folklore.
Still the very best pals, Aisling and Yasmine take their role explaining Irish legends to the British nation very seriously indeed. That said, it would appear that they haven't had the time to do much research, work out who is doing which parts, edit out the chat or learn how to work the sound desk.
With a vast vault of fantastical myths, mixed with 21st century references to help you along, prepare for some very silly lessons in life, love and the crazy shenanigans of old Ireland and modern Irish.
Producer: Raymond Lau
A Green Dragon Media production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
WED 23:15 Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme (b052jkxb)
Series 3
Love
In the first of a series, Tim Key grapples with the concept of love by telling the story of one man's romance with a beautiful cashier. Musical accompaniment is provided by Tom Basden.
Written and presented by Tim Key
With Tom Basden and Katy Wix
Produced by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production
The Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning comedian returns for a third series of his Late Night Poetry Programme. Since series two Tim has been busy touring his latest acclaimed live show, Single White Slut, thrilling audiences at the Old Vic in Daniel Kitson's Tree, as well as filming movies such as Steve Coogan's Alpha Papa and Richard Ayoade's The Double. But now he's back on late night Radio 4 doing what he does best - attempting to recite poetry whilst tormenting his friend and musician, the equally brilliant Tom Basden.
Praise for Tim Key
"...You never know when Key will suddenly toss you a fantastic joke or startlingly well-constructed line." Radio Times
"The show... has a kind of artistry and strange beauty that makes it unlike any other hour of stand-up you are likely to see." The Observer
"In any other sphere apart from comedy, we'd probably class this way of looking at the world as certifiable. Here it feels like genius." The Telegraph.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
WED 23:30 Short Cuts (b04lq28m)
Series 6
Behind the Curtain
Secret telephone discos for cold calling salesmen, moral dilemmas which emerge behind the scenes on a reality television show and Joe Dunthorne attempts to gain access to the OULIPO.
Josie Long peers behind the curtain to reveal stories from behind the scenes.
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
THURSDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2015
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b0520qy7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b052j5n9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0520qy9)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0520qyc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0520qyf)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0520qyh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b053r1ph)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Johnston McKay.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b052ln51)
Beef Code, Precision Ploughing, Common Land, Vehicle Wrist Tags
A voluntary code has been introduced which aims to give more stability and improve relationships between beef farmers and meat processors. Stephen Rossides from the Meat Processors Association told Anna Hill that it was a moral code which built on systems which were already in place, but aimed to bring greater transparency across the whole supply chain. All this week Farming Today has been looking at the issue of soil, how its used, what is good for it and how it can be improved. Sarah Falkingham reports on how improved precision ploughing can also improve soil nutrition and yield. The Hawk and Owl Trust have taken management of common land in North Norfolk. The trust say that many communities don't quite realise the scale of work and conservation effort needed, and also lack the skills to maintain the land. A midlands company has introduced a wrist band which means only the wearer can operate tractors and quad bikes, its in a bid to lower the figures of farm machinery theft. Presenter by Anna Hill. Produced by Ruth Sanderson.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03k279n)
Fieldfare
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Chris Packham presents the fieldfare. Fieldfares are thrushes, and very handsome ones. They have slate-grey heads, dark chestnut backs and black tails and their under parts are patterned with arrows. Although birds will stick around if there's plenty of food available, fieldfares are great wanderers and are quick to move out in freezing conditions.
THU 06:00 Today (b052ln53)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b052ln55)
The Wealth of Nations
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Adam Smith's celebrated economic treatise The Wealth of Nations. Smith was one of Scotland's greatest thinkers, a moral philosopher and pioneer of economic theory whose 1776 masterpiece has come to define classical economics. Based on his careful consideration of the transformation wrought on the British economy by the Industrial Revolution, and how it contrasted with marketplaces elsewhere in the world, the book outlined a theory of wealth and how it is accumulated that has arguably had more influence on economic theory than any other.
With:
Richard Whatmore
Professor of Modern History and Director of the Institute of Intellectual History at the University of St Andrews
Donald Winch
Emeritus Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Sussex
Helen Paul
Lecturer in Economics and Economic History at the University of Southampton
Producer: Thomas Morris.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b052ln57)
Alexandra Fuller - Leaving Before the Rains Come
"They didn't roar and battle and laugh"
Alexandra struggles to keep afloat, when her safe and risk-fee life in the US turns out to have been an illusion.
In a follow-up to the award-winning memoir "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight", Alexandra Fuller charts her temptestuous marriage to the man she thought would save her from the chaos of life in Africa.
In 1992, after her parents had seen off all other suitors, Alexandra Fuller married Charlie Ross, a charismatic adventurer and polo player, and the only man who seemed able to stand up to her parents. In this witty, frank and courageous memoir, Fuller charts their twenty tempestuous years together.
Read by Tracy-Ann Oberman.
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b052ln59)
DSK, what do French women think? Why do parents keep quiet about their children's mental ill-health?Jean Harrod
The ongoing trial of the former head of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn for pimping prostitutes has been headline news inside and outside France. Since 5 out of 6 plaintiffs dropped their cases against him earlier this week, it looks increasingly likely that he will be acquitted, as the prosecutor has advised the judge to do. Guilty or innocent - do French women care about the outcome? Jenni is joined by French journalist Agnes Poirier to discuss. A study carried out by a children's charity has found that almost a third of parents of children aged 5 - 18 years old admit they would feel embarrassed if their child wanted counselling in school. Jenni is joined by Dr. Fiona Pienaar Clinical Director at Place2be and from Allie who suffered mental health problems as a child.
Former diplomat Jean Harrod spent her working life travelling the world. She has now published her first novel, "Deadly Diplomacy," which tells the story of a British consul caught up in a murder investigation in Australia. So, how much did her real life experience influence her fiction? And how did Jean's local coffee shop in Yorkshire help her get into print? Modern day slavery in the UK, Jenni hears from a domestic worker who escaped from an abusive employer and from Marissa Begonia who helps rescue women from forms of modern day slavery. A feminist, satirical drama The Last of the De Mullins set in 1908 which dealt with working, single mothers who refused to be tied to the institution of marriage, is being revived in London. How did such a controversial play slip through the censors then and why it is still relevant today?
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Caroline Donne.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b052t1z3)
The Embrace
Episode 4
Tabby attempts to hide the truth but Iona plays her at her own game.
Linda Marshall Griffiths' unflinching drama about betrayal and the power of money cracks open the impossibilities and difficulties of love.
IONA.....LYNDSEY MARSHAL
CHARLIE.....WILLIAM ASH
GRACE.....OLIVIA HALLINAN
DAN.....BLAKE RITSON
TABBY.....OLWEN MAY
CLEM.....JONATHAN KEEBLE
Director: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b052ln5c)
Please Mick! Not Boring.
The correspondent's trade: memories of the late Ian McDougall who filed for the BBC from more than 40-countries and once told this programme he'd broadcast from the only radio studio in the world equipped with a bidet! Also in this edition: Steve Evans on perceptions of the north/south divide in Korea; Linda Yueh asking if American workers will really countenance a return to the factory floor; James Hassam on a surprise at the dinner table in Ethiopia and Chris Bockman meets 144 new French citizens in Toulouse.
THU 11:30 Writing a New South Africa (b052ln5f)
Johannesburg, City of Recent Arrivals
Writing a new South Africa
A picture of South Africa now, as seen by a new generation of writers and poets.
In programme 1 Thabiso talks to Johannesburg-based writers and poets about the changing cityscape and how the past impacts on the present in their work. He takes a walk through the bustling University district of Braamfontein with Ivan Vladislavic, who has documented the city in his novels and non-fiction work 'Portrait with Keys', and they explore writing about Hillbrow, the troubled inner city district, where the social integration and dynamic culture looked in the early 1990s as though it might be a positive future vision of the country. He talks to the prominent poet Lebo Mashile, an inspiration to the younger poets coming through now, about the emergence of the black female voice in the past twenty years, and the legacy of the past. And he meets Niq Mhlongo, whose most recent book 'Way Back Home' looks critically at the struggle against apartheid, and the way those who went into exile to fight for the movement are haunted by their experiences.
In a three part series, street poet 'Afurakan' Thabiso Mohare explores the major cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town, talking to 'Born Frees', writers of the freedom generation - those born under apartheid but whose adult years have been spent in a new democracy, and gaining insights from an older generation who only began to publish their work in the new democratic era.
Thabiso looks at South Africa two decades after the fall of apartheid, through the themes writers are choosing to engage with in their work. These authors, poets and playwrights are exploring the past and present, from apartheid's legacy to political corruption, and the chaos of the inner city; some are exorcising ghosts, and some tackling current issues, or looking to an imagined future. There is plenty to write about after the end of the struggle.
Thabiso talks to new voices who are just making their names, and those who are already established, addressing the problems they face, causes for optimism, and the way conditions and opportunities have changed for writers in the past two decades. He looks at what they feel to be their literary heritage, and who they take inspiration from in a culture still feeling the inequalities of the educational legacy of apartheid. Literacy issues and the lack of a culture of reading more widely mean that the market for books is small, and the road to the arts truly blossoming into normalcy in South Africa after the end of apartheid has been uneven and complex. Other outlets for storytelling too - poetry and spoken word events, plugging into older traditions - are supporting the flowering of a diversity of voices as hoped for when the political landscape changed so radically in 1994, with writers of all ethnicities pitching in to the fray. Radio 4 explores the range of voices now being heard and the picture they present.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b0520qyk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Home Front (b052lntr)
19 February 1915 - Luke Lyle
Luke has low expectations of an assignment, until he meets Esther O'Leary.
Written by Melissa Murray
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
THU 12:15 Face the Facts (b052lntt)
Britain's Legal Slaves
As Parliament passes a new law to abolish modern slavery, John Waite tracks down victims whose lives as slaves in Britain will continue unabated.
We hear from domestic workers, who come to the UK on visas "tied" to their employers - meaning their right to be here is solely at the behest of their employers. As it stands campaigners say it's a charter for cruelty and abuse.
Protection is even less for similarly employed domestic workers who come here to clean, cook and childmind for diplomats. Even when their working conditions are deemed unacceptable by an employment tribunal - the employer need only cite "diplomatic immunity" to defeat their claim. One worker tells us that the long, unpaid hours she worked, were, in effect defended by our own Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as being within the scope of "diplomatic immunity."
Finally we hear how a "transit visa" is being used to bring in recruits to the fishing industry who (they are told), have no right to set foot on dry land. Instead the workers spend weeks at a time out at sea, sleeping in cramped conditions. As a final insult, they can find they haven't been paid at all by the Filipino agent who fixed the job for them.
Face the Facts asks why the new legislation has failed to address the dismal lives of these hidden but perfectly legal slaves who've been tricked and trapped into a life of exploitation.
Presenter: John Waite
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare
Editor: Andrew Smith.
THU 12:57 Weather (b0544f16)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b052lntw)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
THU 13:45 A History of Britain in Numbers (b052lnty)
Series 2
Tax
Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority (2012-2017), brings to life the numbers conveying the big trends that have transformed the shape and scope of the British state.
He looks at what governments through the centuries have spent, borrowed, taxed, regulated and built; and he considers how we came to organise a national life that reaches into every corner of private life, from the delivery of pensions and healthcare to the surveillance of emails or rules about the temperature of a hot cup of tea.
By one measure, the modern British state is roughly 7,000 times bigger than the Tudor state. How and why did that happen?
The story of the state unfolds through muddy fields, smugglers coves and a Victorian village lock-up. Numbers become sound as we hear the dramatic scale of change that has occurred over the centuries.
The evolution of the state may be driven less by party politics than party politicians might like us to think. Although the state's size and functions are a natural subject of fierce political argument, the impetus for the biggest changes has often come from another source - such as war, economic growth, and the power that arises from knowledge.
In this programme, Andrew explores tax.
Producer: Michael Blastland
A Whistledown production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b052jk31)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b05126z7)
Shamed
Shamed by Furquan Akhtar.
Shabana's son has been arrested for a very serious crime. She feels shunned by her community. Yet she believes that the son she has lovingly nurtured cannot be capable of such a callous crime. She determines to be supportive and to clear his name. Hard hitting drama by the 2014 winner of the Alfred Bradley Bursary Award for new writers.
Director/Producer Gary Brown
Furquan Akhtar is a Broadcast Magazine Hot Shot (2014) and Guardian Newspaper "One to Watch" (2012). He cut his creative teeth in the Coronation Street Editorial Department and currently works as a Script Editor for Hollyoaks. This is his first drama for radio.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b052lpl5)
Series 29
Bonding Walks: Stiperstones, Shropshire
In this new series of Ramblings, Clare Balding explores the way walking can help us bond with other people, the countryside and our history. In this first programme she's invited to take part in the 20th annual walk up to the top of the Stiperstones in Shropshire with a group of men who came together to bond as fathers. Quentin Shaw started the tradition when his sons were at primary school as a way of encouraging the men to get to know each other.
The group has grown from the original five fathers to about fifty men, from teenagers to some in their seventies: fathers, colleagues, friends, sons, friends of sons. The aim is now to keep the group as diverse as possible, introducing men who would not otherwise meet: men working in mental health, children's services, housing, health, education, ex-army, scouting, craftsmen, tradesman etc. Quentin explains to Clare that overall ethos has always been to celebrate fatherhood and friendship in a low key way, and to give men a reason for a day off when they are stressed out just before Christmas.
Clare is the first woman ever to be invited to join the group, who end their morning walk with a large cooked breakfast at a local pub.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b0520t2k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b0520thx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b052lryw)
Dreaming of Oscar
Antonia Quirke talks to three Oscar nominees as they head off to the Academy Awards for the first time.
Anthony McCarten, the writer and producer of The Theory Of Everything, is up for two awards - best adapted screenplay and best film. He reveals why he's turned down an invitation to Madonna's after-party.
Production designer Suzie Davies is nominated for her work on Mr Turner, and confesses to behaving like a star-struck fan at the nominees lunch, and has the photographs to prove it.
Mat Kirkby, who got the nod for best short film, admits that he wouldn't have made it to the ceremony if it wasn't for the generosity of a Radio 4 listener.
Critic Tim Robey assesses the chances of British success at this Sunday's ceremony.
Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b052lryy)
Alzheimer's Disease, False Memory, Diamond Light Source, Twins in Space
Alzheimer's disease is becoming increasingly common as the global population ages. It is estimated that currently 44 million victims of Alzheimer's dementia exist in the world and that this will grow to more than 100 million cases by 2050. The announcement this week of the creation of the Drug Discovery Alliance - a network of labs to fast track dementia treatment aims to address the urgent need to identify drugs that prevent, slow the progression, or improve the symptoms of Alzheimer's. But what are the scientific hurdles and what's missing in our knowledge in fuelling an ambition to achieve a disease modifying therapy for dementia? Adam Rutherford speaks to Cambridge University neuroscientist Rick Livesey, and to Eric Karran, Director of Research at Alzheimer's UK
How is it possible to remember something initially and then change your account of the experience later on? Possibly, giant swathes of your own personal history are partially fictional if not completely false. The problem isn't that our memory is bad, but that we believe it isn't. Adam talks to forensic psychologist Julia Shaw whose astonishing new research examines the ability to implant completely made-up rich false memories into ordinary people in a lab setting and points to circumstances under which police officers can extract false confessions.
There's a visit to the UK's synchrotron light source at Harwell in Oxfordshire which since it started operations in 2007 has illuminating research on subjects ranging from Egyptology to virology and this year is opening its doors to the public
Adam meets Mark Kelly, one of NASA's twin astronauts taking part in a year-long space experiment to examine the impact of space travel using identical twins as subjects. With one twin orbiting on the International Space Station whilst the other remains confined to Earth, the aim is to examine how individuals with the same genetic profile respond to radically different environments - in particular the genomics of humans as they prepare to move away from their home planet.
Producer: Adrian Washbourne.
THU 17:00 PM (b052lrz0)
With the latest news interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0520qym)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Britain Versus the World (b04wjsvk)
Series 1
Episode 3
The comedy panel show pits two British comedians against a team of comics from overseas to find out which side is superior.
Joining the British captain, Hal Cruttenden, is the English comedian Holly Walsh while the captain of the Rest of the World - Henning Wehn - is teamed with Swedish stand-up Fredrik Andersson. The contest is overseen by Irishman Ed Byrne who does his very best to stay impartial.
Host
Ed Byrne
Guests
Hal Cruttenden
Henning Wehn
Holly Walsh
Fredrik Andersson
Programme Associate Bill Matthews
Devised and produced by Ashley Blaker.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b052lrz2)
Clarrie measures Emma for her wedding dress and starts to pin the material.
Jill worries about exhausted David, who is very busy lambing while Ruth gets everything sorted with Hadley Haugh. He's snappy with Jill and then apologises. Yes, he's tired but he has to just get on with it.
Jill remembers how pleased Phil was when David set up the Hereford beef herd.
Watching the Herefords graze, David finds himself talking to them - apologizing for the upheaval of the move and wrestling with his conscience. In this moment, David can hear the voice of his father, Phil, who had to face the prospect of Brookfield going in a very different direction. Phil spoke of how committed David was to the farm. Hearing Phil's voice, David becomes emotional.
David is suddenly desperate to get to the jumble sale before it ends. Susan and Clarrie are sorting through what's left of the jumble. David asks desperately after a toy farm that was for sale. Clarrie mentions that a lady called Janice, or Janet, from Grange Spinney may have bought it. Susan knew her from coming into the shop a few times. It's David's old toy farm.
Jill understands why he's so keen to not lose it. They set off to track it down. David is so grateful. He wants to keep his farm.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b052lrz4)
Johnny Vegas, Alan Howard remembered, novelist Javier Marías, Julianne Moore looks ahead to the Oscars
Ahead of next Monday's Front Row Debate 'Does the State owe the artist a living?', Johnny Vegas explains how he made his way in the traditionally unsubsidised world of comedy.
The actor Alan Howard, celebrated for his portrayal of kings in Shakespeare's history plays at the RSC, has died aged 77. The company's former Artistic Director Terry Hands remembers his close friend.
As part of Radio 4's Reading Europe series, Spanish writer Javier Marías discusses his book Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me, which is being dramatised on Radio 4.
And John looks ahead to Sunday's Oscars talking to Best Actress favourite Julianne Moore.
Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Ellie Bury.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b052t1z3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 Law in Action (b052j57j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b052lt1l)
Inventors
Artificial snow, a plastic hairbrush and a non-spill baby beaker: How do you turn an idea into a successful business? Three entrepreneurs discuss with Evan Davis the process of designing a product and getting it onto the market. How do you finance the project and what's the best way to protect your design from copycats? We'll hear how one inventor risked everything in a legal battle against a company that stole her design. And discover how to create more than 200 types of fake snow.
Guests:
Shaun Pulfrey, Founder and CEO, Tangle Teezer
Mandy Haberman, Founder, Haberman Products
Darcey Crownshaw, Founder and MD, Snow Business
Producer: Sally Abrahams.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b052lryy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b052ln55)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b052lt1n)
Berlin rejects request from Athens for a six-month assistance package
German, Greek leaders speak for nearly an hour on phone in attempt to reach compromise
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b052lt1q)
In Certain Circles
"He's not easy"
After the death of her beloved mother, Zoe makes an unexpected choice.
Internationally acclaimed Australian author Elizabeth Harrower's novel was written in 1971 and was finally published in 2015.
This tale of love, class and freedom is set among the grand houses and lush gardens of Sydney Harbour just after the Second World War, following the lives of Zoe and Russell Howard.
Charismatic and confident, the children of affluent and loving parents, they welcome into their circle two orphans, Stephen and Anna. the impact of this meeting will resonate for decades.
Reader: Penny Downie
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
THU 23:00 Brian Gulliver's Travels (b01m5n7s)
Series 2
Gravinia and Plumpf
Brian Gulliver, a seasoned presenter of travel documentaries, finds himself in a hospital's secure unit after claiming to have experienced a succession of bizarre adventures.
More memories as Brian relives his adventures in Gravinia, a land where the military are revered above everything.
Brian Gulliver ..... Neil Pearson
Rachel Gulliver..... Mariah Gale
Fillick ..... Marcus Brigstocke
Chaplain ..... Adrian Scarborough
Guest ..... Tracy Wiles
Host..... Patrick Brennan
Stegga ..... Barunka O'Shaughnessy
Barista..... Harry Livingstone
Dragit ..... Nick Mohammed
Glugas Hold ..... Dan Tetsell
Producer: Steven Canny
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.
THU 23:30 Short Cuts (b04mcp9f)
Series 6
After Dark
Love found after a blackout, telephone counselling for bereaved rock star managers and erotica for the elderly. Josie Long presents tales of blackouts, late nights and bedtime stories.
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
FRIDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2015
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b0520qzk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b052ln57)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0520qzm)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0520qzp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0520qzr)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0520qzt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b053r1sl)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Johnston McKay.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b052lzn5)
Neonics in Soil, Rural Payments Agency
We debate whether neonicotinoid pesticides can persist in the soil for years, as claimed by a leading biologist. Professor Dave Goulson of Sussex University describes his research into the half lives of pesticide residues being retained in the soil, sometimes years after usage ended. Nick von Westenholz of the
Crop Protection Association responds. He represents the agrichemical industry, manufacturers of pesticides.
Farmers are still reporting problems completing their on line forms for the new EU subsidy system, the Basic Payment Scheme. Richard Betton is a farmer and senior case worker at UTASS, the Upper Teesdale Agriculture Support Service. He tells us that his colleagues are rushed off their feet helping local farmers make their applications from the charity's computers. The Rural Payments Agency responds.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Mark Smalley.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03k2gq8)
Teal
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Chris Packham presents the teal. Teal are our smallest duck and the drakes are striking birds, heads burnished with chestnut surrounding a green mask fringed with yellow. They whistle softly in a piping chorus which sounds, from a distance, like the chime of tiny bells. That sound of the male's call is probably the origin of the bird's name, teal.
FRI 06:00 Today (b052m59j)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b0520t2t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b052m59l)
Alexandra Fuller - Leaving Before the Rains Come
"It's not supposed to happen this way"
A tragic accident threatens to change everything.
In a follow-up to the award-winning memoir "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight", Alexandra Fuller charts her temptestuous marriage to the man she thought would save her from the chaos of life in southern Africa.
In 1992, after her parents had seen off all other suitors, Alexandra Fuller married Charlie Ross, a charismatic adventurer and polo player, and the only man who seemed able to stand up to her parents. In this witty, frank and courageous memoir, Fuller charts their twenty tempestuous years together from brutal beauty of the Zambezi to the mountains and plains of Wyoming.
Concluded by Tracy-Ann Oberman.
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b052m59n)
Family Fertility Donors; Eliza Haywood; Beth Orton; Playing with Children
Mary Portas made headlines this week when she announced that they had turned to Mary's brother Lawrence to be a sperm donor for the child she has with her wife Melanie Rickey. What's the reality of asking a relative to become an egg or sperm donor and does that muddy the waters of parenting? Joining Jenni are sisters Eleanor and Alice, Eleanor has a 22 month old daughter who was conceived thanks to Alice donating her egg, and Laura Witjens, the Chief-Executive of the National Gamete Donation Trust and herself an egg donor.
'The Female Spectator' was written and edited by Eliza Haywood at the end of the 18th century. It's believed to be the first magazine by women, for women. An early proto-feminist, she was writing romances well before Jane Austen. The Female Spectator only lasted for 4 volumes, but it was extremely popular and marked the beginning of magazines written by women, for a female audience. Jenni will be talking to Dr Holly Luhning about Eliza Haywood's extraordinary life.
In its 18-year history the Mercury Prize has only been awarded to five women. Beth Orton has been nominated twice, but has not yet won. This week she has been leading a week-long all-women musical residency in Manchester, due to culminate in a live show on Friday night. She'll be joining Jenni in the studio with one of the musicians involved, Josephine Oniyama, to talk about women in music and the equality gap they still face and they'll both be performing a new song live.
Playing games with her daughter is dull, repetitive and even on occasion humiliating, so says journalist Esther Walker. But does refusing to play with a child make a bad parent? Jenni will be speaking to Esther and to an expert in child development and play, Dr Amanda Gummer.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b052t2yv)
The Embrace
Episode 5
As the repercussions of Tabby's betrayal unfold, Iona and Charlie come to understand the price of their love.
Linda Marshall Griffiths' unflinching drama about betrayal and the power of money cracks open the impossibilities and difficulties of love.
IONA.....LYNDSEY MARSHAL
CHARLIE.....WILLIAM ASH
GRACE.....OLIVIA HALLINAN
DAN.....BLAKE RITSON
TABBY.....OLWEN MAY
CLEM.....JONATHAN KEEBLE
Director: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
FRI 11:00 A Country Practice (b052m59q)
In the Lake District village of Coniston, the small GP practice that treats the rural community is losing a third of its core funding and faces closure. The patients and doctors there say it's an essential service for both locals and the millions of tourists that visit the area each year.
If it has to close down, it will effectively merge with a surgery in the next town. But locals say that poor public transport and the natural barriers of lakes and fells would make it a false economy - leading to more ambulance call outs and more hospital admissions. But NHS England - the body that commissions GP services - argues patients will get better care from larger practices.
Caz Graham joins the doctors at work to discover the realities of running a rural practice in a climate of NHS cuts and talks to campaigners as they try to save their surgery. She also hears from NHS England about whether small rural practices like this are practical and sustainable in the long term.
Producer/Presenter: Caz Graham.
FRI 11:30 Cleaning Up (b052m59s)
1. New Recruit
Every night, as time is called and people are spat out onto the streets and squeezed into rides home to dream -tossed beds - others are hard at work. Teams of cleaners are in office spaces scrubbing, vacuuming and cleaning up.
And right at the bottom of the food chain we find our gang - Spit n' Polish tackling the floors of a plush tower block in Manchester city centre.
In the first of four episodes, a new cleaner reports for duty. Turns out he and his boss have met before.
Written by Ian Kershaw and with a top hole Northern cast, this is a funny, sometimes dark comedy about people who always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop.
Julie ..... Julie Hesmondhalgh
Nobby ..... Paul Barber
Dave ..... John Thompson
Shiv ..... Lauren Socha
Nita ..... Bhavna Limbachia
Our Bri ..... Jack Deam
Produced at BBC Salford by Alison Vernon-Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b0520qzw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Home Front (b052m59v)
20 February 1915 - Edie Chadwick
Johnnie Marshall's attentions to Edie don't go unnoticed.
Written by Melissa Murray
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b052m59x)
Parking Fines; Hydrogen Cars; eBay ID Theft
Drivers could be paying millions of pounds in parking fines that wouldn't hold up in court. Ahead of a test case in the High Court, You & Yours has found a 31% increase in requests to the DVLA for driver information from private parking firms, in order to issue fines.
Hydrogen car technology has been in development for more than twenty years, but it's claimed that a new fuel cell going on sale this year could transform the market for them.
And like many people, Joe Burrows just used eBay to buy and sell items occasionally, until a demand for a £2000 refund revealed that his identy had been copied for fraudulent selling. What impact would ID theft have on someone's credit rating?
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Joel Moors.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b0520qzy)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b052m59z)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 A History of Britain in Numbers (b052m5b1)
Series 2
Public Spending
Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority (2012-2017), brings to life the numbers conveying the big trends that have transformed the shape and scope of the British state.
He looks at what governments through the centuries have spent, borrowed, taxed, regulated and built; and he considers how we came to organise a national life that reaches into every corner of private life, from the delivery of pensions and healthcare to the surveillance of emails or rules about the temperature of a hot cup of tea.
By one measure, the modern British state is roughly 7,000 times bigger than the Tudor state. How and why did that happen?
The story of the state unfolds through muddy fields, smugglers coves and a Victorian village lock-up. Numbers become sound as we hear the dramatic scale of change that has occurred over the centuries.
The evolution of the state may be driven less by party politics than party politicians might like us to think. Although the state's size and functions are a natural subject of fierce political argument, the impetus for the biggest changes has often come from another source - such as war, economic growth, and the power that arises from knowledge.
In this programme, Andrew looks at public spending.
Producer: Michael Blastland
A Whistledown production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b052lrz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b052m6dm)
Bridge
By Donna Franceschild.
A witty and moving real-time drama. A woman's sitting on a bench when a stranger approaches her and nothing she says will make him leave.
Cast:
Davy ... Iain Robertson
Woman ... Eilidh McCormick
Directed by Kirsty Williams.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b052m6dp)
Galleywood, Essex
Eric Robson is in the village of Galleywood, Essex. Chris Beardshaw, Christine Walkden and Matthew Wilson join him to answer the questions from local gardeners.
Also, Chris Beardshaw explores the gardens of Great Chalfield Manor used in the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall and the team visit RHS Hyde Hall to share some topical tips.
Produced by Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Sitters' Stories (b052mbjl)
Strandgade 30 by Elizabeth Kuti
Captured in a moment in time with faces forever staring at them and fingers ever pointing, the sitters from some well-known paintings get a chance to escape from the canvas, set the story straight, or tell us their particular version of the story behind the image.
Characters from famous paintings finally get a chance to tell their story in this series of readings from Elizabeth Kuti, Sophia Hillan, and Niall Williams.
Strandgade 30 by Elizabeth Kuti
Painting: Hammershoi’s Interior, 1899, National Gallery London.
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/vilhelm-hammershoi-interior
Vilhelm Hammershoi’s sparse interior of the home he shared with his wife Ida – Strandgade 30 - shows Ida with her back to us. But could it be that she is holding something, something obscured from our view? Writer Elizabeth Kuti ponders the secret that Ida is hiding from us – and her husband.
Writer ..... Elizabeth Kuti
Reader ..... Trine Garrett
Producer ..... Heather Larmour
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b052mbjq)
Michele Ferrero, Lady Platt of Writtle, John McCabe, Louis Jourdan, Anne Naysmith and Lesley Gore.
Julian Worricker on
Michele Ferrero - confectioner, creator of Nutella, Tic Tacs and Kinder Eggs and Italy's richest man. He was famously shy and died having only given one newspaper interview.
Beryl Platt, a wartime aeronautical engineer, who went on to promote women in science and engineering as chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Commission.
The composer and pianist John McCabe, who was responsible for more than 200 compositions during his lifetime.
Louis Jourdan, the French film actor blessed with what were described as 'incredible good looks', who became famous for his role in Gigi.
And Anne Naysmith, who enjoyed a promising career as a pianist in the 1960s before she fell on hard times and lived rough on the streets of west London.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b052mbjs)
The allied bombing of Dresden was one of the most controversial episodes of the Second World War - but was Radio 4's coverage of the 70th Anniversary too one-sided? The editor of Radio 4's Today programme, Jamie Angus, discusses how the BBC reflected on this historic event with a senior lecturer in War and Media at King's College London, Dr Peter Busch.
And the story behind how the BBC obtained a startling piece of audio from the shootings in Copenhagen. Toby Castle was duty editor in the BBC Newsroom at the time and he talks to Roger Bolton about why he decided the shocking audio could be put on air.
Also, an epic tale of endurance and self-sacrifice - listeners tell us how they managed to hear ten hours of War and Peace in one sitting.
Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b051w4dp)
Debbie and Beth: I Just Want My Child to Be Happy
Fi Glover hears two mothers celebrate the individual qualities of their children with Down's Syndrome and manage their own and society's expectations for their children's prospects, in another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers 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. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b052mgr7)
With the latest news interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0520r00)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b052mjzd)
Series 86
Episode 1
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, who is joined by Susan Calman, Samira Ahmed and Phill Jupitus, alongside regular panellist Jeremy Hardy.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b052mjzg)
Hayley is back at Willow Farm to see Roy. He begs her to come back properly. But Hayley has thought long and hard. She's sorry, but she wants a divorce.
David and Jill knock on a door in Grange Spinney and speak to a rather bemused lady called Janet. They ask desperately whether she bought a toy farm from the jumble sale. Janet finds the farm set she bought, but it's not the one David is looking for. David's ready to give up, but Jill says no way.
Susan reveals that Hilary Noakes threw out an old toy farm. David starts rummaging through the bins. Here it is! David recognizes several pieces, like the tractor that Kenton snapped the buckrake off. Best of all, there's a written tag: "Happy Birthday, David. From Mum and Dad with love". Phil never wrote the labels usually, so why this one, wonders David?
David tells Jill about hearing his dad, clearly, earlier. Nothing strange there, says Jill, who admits she hears Phil all the time. Jill knows that it's not just the toy farm that David is thinking about. David knows that he can't sell Brookfield. But he's left it so late. Nothing's impossible, says Jill. But how on earth is David going to tell Ruth?
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b052mjzj)
Iestyn Davies, Sheila Hancock, Kumiko, London Fashion Week
Countertenor Iestyn Davies discusses playing Farinelli alongside Mark Rylance at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse; actress Sheila Hancock looks back on the support she received in her career; Japanese film Kumiko the Treasure Hunter is reviewed by Sophia McDougall; and production designer Es Devlin and set designer Simon Costin go behind the scenes at London Fashion Week
Presenter Kirsty Lang
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b052t2yv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b052mjzl)
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Lumen Christi College in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland. On the panel: the former Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, Jim Gamble; Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Michelle Gildernew; writer and political commentator, Simon Heffer; and Democratic Unionist Party MP for North Antrim, Ian Paisley.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b052mjzn)
The Power of Fiction
Will Self reflects on the power of our relationship with fictional characters. "People need people whose lives can be seen to follow a dramatic arc, so that no matter what trials they encounter, the people who survey them can be reassured that when the light begins to fade, these people - to whose frail psyches we've had privileged access - will at least feel it's all meant something."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b052mjzq)
16-20 February 1915
The country may be at war, and the factories at peak production, but there's time for romance in industrial Tynemouth.
Written by Melissa Murray
Story-led by Shaun McKenna
Consultant Historian: Professor Maggie Andrews
Music: Matthew Strachan
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b0520r02)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b052mjzs)
Bomb and gun attack on a hotel in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu.
Ten people killed -- Somali jihadist group, Al Shabaab, claims responsibility
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b052mjzv)
In Certain Circles
'I'm marvellously happy'
The unlikely marriage between Zoe and Stephen continues to raise eyebrows.
Internationally acclaimed Australian author Elizabeth Harrower's novel was written in 1971 and was finally published in 2015.
This tale of love, class and freedom is set among the grand houses and lush gardens of Sydney Harbour just after the Second World War, following the lives of Zoe and Russell Howard.
Charismatic and confident, the children of affluent and loving parents, they welcome into their circle two orphans, Stephen and Anna. It's a meeting that will resonate for decades.
Reader: Penny Downie
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b052j57l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:27 Short Cuts (b04nrwp4)
Series 6
The Double
Josie Long hears stories of seeing double.
Tales of doppelgangers, identity theft and a woman who offered a living counterpart to dead composers. Featuring a new 'documentary song' from Gaggle.
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b051w4fd)
Helen and Virginia - Marriage and Mistakes
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between friends who have both been married twice, but with totally different results, in in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers 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. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.