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 Elizabeth Adekunle.
The Ramblers, the organisation which represents walkers, is launching a new scheme this week. It asks people to use a mobile phone app to record problems they encounter while out walking on rights of way - such as blocked paths or fallen trees - and then send them in. The idea is to build up a national picture of the state of the country's footpaths.
It's been a bad year for barn owls. The long cold spring set back their normal breeding season, and also meant there have been fewer voles around for food. Anna Hill visits the British Trust for Ornithology to find out whether barn owls could still make a come-back later in the year.
Growing crops in nutrient rich water, or hydroponics, is a technique which has been used by vegetable and salad producers for several years, but now systems are being developed to bring the technology into the home. Anna hears how you can use the water from a fish-tank to grow your own veg.
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Martin Hughes-Games presents the Redshank. Redshanks spend the winter on our estuaries and wetlands, taking food from the surface of the mud and probing the ooze for creatures which live beneath.
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.
Carlos Frenk, Ogden Professor of Computational Cosmology at the University of Durham, studies the universe, but not by spending nights looking out at the dark skies through telescopes. Rather he creates the cosmos on computers. He is also one of the Gang of Four of astrophysics who thirty years ago came up with one of the most important theories in their field. They worked out that the universe is full of cold dark matter. In 2011 Carlos Frenk and his colleagues were awarded the Gruber prize, one of the leading accolades in astronomy, for their theory.
Carlos Frenk discusses this mysterious missing mass, which is still mysterious and missing, with Jim al-Khalili. They talk about modelling the universe inside computers, and how Carlos persuaded his university to hire the architect Daniel Liebskind to design a building for creative thinking about the cosmos.
Selina Scott is intrigued and fascinated by the ghost stories she hears living in a rural community. She thinks she has her own ghost in her kitchen,an old 15th century farmhouse in North Yorkshire.
In the second of her three programmes for One to One, Selina talks to spiritual healer, Yasmin Ishaq who doesn't believe in ghosts but in Jinn, supernatural creatures in Islamic tradition. She explains this phenomena to Selina and the devastating impact it can have on Muslim communities.
Wrestling with notions of home and belonging, writer Malachy Tallack has set out from Shetland on a journey around the sixtieth parallel. Today, he arrives in Canada, bound for Fort Smith, just inside the Northwest Territories.
Marking a borderland between 'near' and 'far north', the sixtieth parallel wraps itself around the lower reaches of Finland, Sweden and Norway; it crosses the tip of Greenland and of South Central Alaska; it cuts the great spaces of Russia and Canada in half. The parallel also passes through Shetland, at the very top of the British Isles.
Tallack travelled to some of the places that share this latitude, beginning in Shetland, where he has spent most of his life. Focusing on the landscapes and natural environments of the parallel, and the way that people have interacted with those landscapes, Tallack explores themes of wildness and community, of isolation and engagement, of exile and memory.
Sara Khan, number 10 on the Woman's Hour Power List of influencers for 2015, talks to Jane about her work empowering women to challenge extremism and gender inequality.
We discuss Europe's most powerful women - how has Angela Merkel handled the Greek financial crisis and what does Europe make of her?
According to a recent international study the UK is one of the happiest countries for family relationships. We look at how family life has evolved and what makes a happy family?
Katy Wix stars in Robin Brooks and Jon Canter's zippy, loopy comedy about a woman who hits her 32nd birthday, and decides she has to finally choose between the men in her life.
Luckily, she's got a great app on her phone called Appiness, which allows you to switch between men instantaneously - with one swipe of your screen.
On a dinner date, during a run in the park, when out with friends - she can swipe from one boyfriend to another, and compare the experience with each one. It's a sort of 'go compare men'. But it's even better than that, because with this app, you can actually, you know .... touch the men.
This is obviously morally wrong, because basically it's cheating. And she really ought to make up her mind, and settle down with one of them. But somehow she can't bring herself to delete Appiness.
Karl Theobald (Twenty-Twelve, Green Wing), Colin Hoult (Nurse, Derek, Being Human), and Harry Hadden-Paton (In The Loop, Grantchester, No Naughty Bits, Posh) play the men in Lucy's life, and listen out for a special guest appearance by Clive Anderson.
It is hard to think of a more diverse and wonderful group of plants. They enchant us, poison us, make us feel sexy, give us hallucinations, heal us and feed us.
The screaming mandrakes in Harry Potter and the shamanistic dreams of tribal elders eating giant trumpet flowers testify to the magical powers of this group.
Its culinary properties enhance the ever intricate flavours of modern cuisine while its fatal attractions have been used by murderers, most famously Dr Crippen.
This is the group that contains mandrake, potatoes, chillies, aubergines, deadly nightshade and tomatoes. These are the plants that have entered our culture through food and medicine, drugs and love.
It is strange that the European plants in the group are mainly poisonous yet those that grow in the New World are often spicy and enriching.
Fearing anything that looked like nightshade the first plants that were brought here from the New World were regarded with suspicion, yet quickly we adopted them, so much so that it is impossible to conceive of Italian food without tomatoes or Friday night fish and chips, yet they are aliens in a strange land. We have a lot to thank this group for.
It soothed us before anaesthetics, sent our imaginations flying and tempted us with alluring flavours - and they are still pushing the frontiers of both medicine and food today.
The extraordinary story of a bizarre new percussion instrument, The Hang. Looking like a cross between a wok and a flying saucer, virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie explores the story of its global success.
Sometimes referred to as a Hang Drum, the Hang is not really a drum at all, but a tuned metal pan that produces a mellifluous, ethereal tone with echoes of the Trinidadian steel pan or Indian ghatam. Some argue that it is not even a musical instrument, but more a work of art, a sound sculpture.
The Hang (meaning Hand in the Bernese Swiss German dialect) was born in the Swiss city of Berne in the year 2000. Played with the hands and fingers, it has become a cult instrument across the globe and demand far outstrips supply. Prospective owners must go in person - by invitation only - to the PANArt workshop in Berne to get their Hang. Applications must be made by writing a letter, not an email. Second hand Hangs can fetch over $10,000 on eBay. Some Hang videos have over 11 million views from a vast online community of enthusiasts.
What makes the Hang so special? What's the appeal of making and playing new analogue instruments in this digital age of Pro Tools and plug-ins?
Evelyn looks for the roots of the Hang and meets up with steel pan master Sterling Betancourt MBE. She speaks to Hang virtuosos Manu Delago and Daniel Waples, as well as Kelly Hutchinson of Hang Out UK, a festival dedicated to the Hang and other handpans. She also talks to Kyle Cox and Jim Dusin of Pantheon Steel, makers of the Halo, a handpan inspired by the Hang.
After making around 7000 instruments, PANArt decided to stop production of the Hang in 2013.
Call You & Yours: How easy it is to get good quality care and accommodation for people with learning disabilities, autism or challenging behaviour?
It's four years since the BBC's Panorama programme highlighted serious physical and psychological abuse of patients at the Winterbourne View private hospital near Bristol. Six months ago, an official report recommended that assessment and treatment centres be closed, but it's claimed that since then little action has been taken to provide alternative community care.
What is your experience of finding care and housing for relatives with learning disabilities, autism or challenging behaviour? Was the right kind of care available? How well did it meet the needs of your relative? Was it near enough to home? Was there any choice?
If you work with people with learning disabilities, what are the challenges of providing quality care that's tailored for individuals? What is the best alternative to the in-patient care provided by assessment and treatment centres?
Email youandyours@bbc.co.uk and please leave a contact number so we can call you back.
We have context and analysis of the historic agreement between Iran and Western powers; after the SNP said they would defeat the government's plans to change the law in relation to fox hunting we get reaction from a pro-fox hunting MP and the Chief Inspector of Prisons tells us that prisons are in their worst shape for a decade.
A look at the world of contemporary fiction. In the company of leading contemporary writers, she considers a story and story writing from a different angle.
Marina speaks with writers as diverse as Julian Barnes, Michelle Roberts, Fanny Howe, Marlene van Niekerk, Alain Mabanckou, Lydia Davis, Edwin Frank, Elleke Boehmer, Wen-Chin Ouyang, Daniel Medin, Nadeem Aslam and Laszlo Krasznahorkai.
There are questions around the boundaries between fact and fiction which Marina believes are central to any consideration of storytelling, since readers' pleasure depends so much on trust built up between the storyteller or writer and the audience.
With discussions on the reasons for writing, writers as witnesses and political interaction.
Marina was Chair of the Man Booker International Prize 2015 and the series draws on the expertise of the International Booker judging panel, the views of the shortlisted writers, as well as other key literary talent.
Written by Nicola Baldwin.
4 Extra Debut. When architect Tony McGill returns to England from his home in Germany to attend his Aunt Ruth's funeral, he struggles to come to terms with the strange behaviour of his mother Rose.
Ruth and Rose, both widows, lived and looked after each other, so he thought. But Ruth had tried to protect Tony from the truth and it is only when Tony comes home for the funeral that he realises quite how ill his mother is - with dementia - and that he has little time to sort out what best to do for her.
At first it all seemed so straightforward - just take her back to Germany, to stay with him, his wife Monica and son, Karl Heinz. It soon dawns on Tony, however, that Rose's situation is far more serious than he can handle and he struggles with his decision not to leave her in England and put her in a home.
At the home, things go from bad to worse and Tony's conscience is tested as he watches all dignity being pulled away from her. Before it is too late he takes her on a journey that ultimately buys him a bit of time to come to terms with inevitability of what lies ahead.
This week Dr Rachel Hammersley from the University of Newcastle and Professor Robert Gildea from the University of Oxford discuss the Jacobite siege of Carlisle, the French Resistance, the radical history of Britain's only licensed cave and ghostly goings on in Wiltshire.
Listener Barbara Lambert has unearthed over 100 letters hidden away in her attic which were sent to, or written by, Dr John Waugh during the siege of Carlisle in 1745/1746. The letters detail the predicament of the city's population as it was taken over first by Jacobite and then Hanoverian troops. Fiona Watson meets up with Dr Keiran German from the University of Strathclyde to assess the importance of this new archive.
Robert Gildea has just finished a new book on the French Resistance called Fighters in the Shadows. Helen talks to Robert about his work, which is based on oral testimony, and showcases the myths that have grown up around this iconic struggle.
In South Shield,s Professor Ted Vallance from the University of Roehampton fulfils a long-held dream - a visit to Britain's only licensed cave where, it is said, the radical Thomas Spence first scrawled the phrase 'the Rights of Man' on the fireplace of a home blasted out of the cliffs by a husband and wife, forced out of their home after a dispute with their landlord.
Finally, to the dawning of the Enlightenment and a ghostly tale from Tedworth (now Tidworth) in Wiltshire which, as Professor Ronald Hutton explained to Tom Holland, came just at the time when everyday religious believe was being challenged by the rise of science.
The Human Zoo is the programme that looks at current events through the lens of psychology. From scandals to markets, elections to traffic jams, discover the nuts and bolts of human behaviour that link public life to our most private thoughts and motivations.
Are people led by the head or by the heart? How rational are we? And how do we perceive the world? We like to say that all human behaviour could turn up in The Human Zoo, including yours.
In the last episode of the series - how does advice work? The government tells us to cut down on sugar in our diets. Obama suggests Britain should remain committed to the EU. And poor Greece has been inundated. How, psychologically, do we receive this 'expert' advice? When do we accept it and when do we ignore it?
And what about advice from friends, especially the unasked-for kind? On relationships, how to live your life, what job to take - we find it annoying to hear and take on - but why? And at the same time, we can't resist dolling out what we think are our wise words of wisdom.
Michael Blastland investigates, with resident Zoo psychologist Nick Chater, professor of behavioural science at Warwick Business School, and roving reporter Timandra Harkness.
Special guests this week include Sir Christopher Meyer, former British ambassador to the USA; Prof Nigel Harvey, psychologist at University College London; Dr Stephan Dombrowski, psychologist at the University of Stirling; Professor Daniel Oppenheimer, psychologist at the UCLA Anderson School of Management; plus Daily Telegraph columnist Sally Peck.
Sanchia Berg uncovers the career of an MI5 agent who risked violence to expose British fascists and kidnap in postwar Vienna - only to find himself frozen out by his own Service.
Jo Brand and Naomi Alderman join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books, including 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell, 'Langrishe, Go Down' by Aidan Higgins and 'Fictions' by Jorge Luis Borges.
A deal has been agreed on Iran's nuclear programme, in return for a lifting of sanctions
Who would play Romesh Ranganathan in a film of his life? What's Christoper Biggins' proudest moment of his career? What would Katherine Ryan do if she was Beyonce for a day?
All these burning questions, and more, will be answered in the show hosted by Miles Jupp, where panellists are tested on how well they know their nearest and dearest.
In this case, comedian Katherine Ryan picks her best friend, comedian Romesh Ranganathan picks his brother, and Christopher Biggins picks an old showbiz pal.
Jennifer fusses as Debbie arrives. As Jennifer worries about the tense atmosphere between Brian and Adam, Brian says Debbie knows what to expect - she's coming to put a stop to Adam's plans. Debbie asks after Phoebe and they also discuss Roy's affair - poor girl.
Debbie has noticed the damage to the village from the flood. Brian implores her to help him nip Adam's plans in the bud. Adam asks what they're talking about. Adam and Brian argue. Before coming down on one side or the other, Debbie insists on reacquainting herself with the farm and having a look at the effect of the flood water.
Kate tries to reach out to Phoebe, wanting to give her advice at this 'precious' time in her life. But Phoebe storms off. Kate reminds Jennifer of her experience working in a Soweto HIV clinic. Kate goes to talk to Phoebe, but Jennifer points out she has already done so herself.
Kate's furious as Jennifer explains that she only advised Phoebe to go and visit a GP or clinic for sexual health advice. Kate assumes Phoebe will go on the pill, which she criticises. Angry Kate tells Jennifer she doesn't need her interference - Jennifer should keep her nose out!
John Wilson discusses Harper Lee's novel Go Set a Watchman, published for the first time today, with Bonnie Greer and Erica Wagner. How does it compare to To Kill a Mockingbird?
The discovery of Dickens' own copies of a periodical he edited reveal hundreds of previously anonymous short stories and poems to be by famous Victorian writers, including Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Gaskell. With Antiquarian book dealer Jeremy Parrott.
Photographer Eamonn McCabe reviews a new film about the Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, The Salt of the Earth, directed by Wim Wenders.
And artist Jenny Holzer, famous for LED signs, light projections and slogans talks about her career, as a major retrospective opens in Somerset.
Complaints against the police are running at a record high. The vast majority, nine out of ten, are rejected from the start. But when complainants appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, one in 2 cases is overturned. Others - disgruntled with the way they've been treated by the police - sue the force. File on 4 hears from people who've been battling for years to pursue a complaint and who claim the process is unfairly weighted in favour of the police.
In the Queen's Speech the Government confirmed its plans to overhaul the complaints system in order to restore public confidence. As part of the reform, Police and Crime Commissioners could be able to decide if they want to handle allegations against their local forces. The Commissioners themselves are divided on whether they want this additional role and critics say they would not have the resources to do it effectively.
So just what recourse do you have when you feel you've been dealt with unfairly by the police? And will the Home Office proposals make any difference? Claire Savage investigates.
Peter White talks to RNIB's Geoff Fimister about the impact of recent budget changes to benefits for blind and partially-sighted people.
David Aldwinkle from Action for Blind People talks about the launch of its new site 'Action Connect' and the training services provides for users. Tom Walker reports on this, and access to other social media platforms.
What is the evidence that taxing sugary drinks will help to tackle obesity? Low libido in women - what is Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder and where did the diagnosis originally come from? Is it a label that will liberate millions of women or a construct to market new drugs? Plus Mark visits Europe's largest robotic pharmacy at a brand new hospital in Bristol.
Paula Hawkins' international bestseller comes to BBC Radio 4 in this thrilling multi-voice narration starring Sally Hawkins, Lyndsey Marshal and Zoe Tapper.
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.
And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see: she's much more than just the girl on the train...
Rachel ..... Sally Hawkins
Megan ..... Lyndsey Marshal
Abridger ..... Neville Teller
Producer ..... Jenny Thompson.
Sean Curran reports on help for lorry drivers as 5,000 migrants are said to be living in Calais. A vote on fox hunting is put on hold. And the youngest MP - at just 20 years old - makes her maiden speech
WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 2015
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b061pyfn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b061qsdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b061pyfq)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b061pyfs)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b061pyfv)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b061pyfx)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0623fy9)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Elizabeth Adekunle.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b061qzyq)
Defra fines, Hunting ban, Rural farmworkers
Late rural farm payments are costing UK tax payers millions of pounds in EU fines. The latest developments on the government's attempt to amend the hunting ban.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Trish Campbell.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwvx5)
Barnacle Goose
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Martin Hughes-Games presents the Barnacle Goose. Yapping like terriers, skeins of barnacle geese leave their roosts on mud-flats and fly inland at dawn to feed in grassy fields.
WED 06:00 Today (b061qzzr)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 No Triumph, No Tragedy (b061r037)
Robert Halfon
In the first programme of this new series Peter meets the newly appointed Cabinet Minister Robert Halfon, who could be found sitting by the roadside holding up signs during the General Election campaign. His spastic displegia makes it too exhausting to canvass door to door and he says his crutches led to a hard fight at the original constituency selection level: "I had to convince people that I wasn't going to keel over on the doorstep!" Robert was appointed to the Cabinet on 11th May 2015 and became Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Peter White asks the questions others might be too embarrassed or politically correct to ask and in further programmes in this series he will be talking to one of Britain's most popular columnists, Melanie Reid, who was left paralysed in 2010 after a horse riding accident/ He also meets Giles Duley, a former fashion photographer who was injured after becoming what he describes as an anti-war photographer. He stepped on an improvised explosive device in 2011 in Afghanistan while embedded with American soldiers and lost both legs and an arm, but still continues his trade. Indeed, he returned to Afghanistan not long after his rehabilitation and is now documenting the effects of war across the world.
The last series received a terrific response from listeners and critics: hundreds of letters and calls generated by the achievements and attitudes of blind musician Raul Midon, Paralympic Gold medallist Sophie Christiansen and the former Chief Inspector of Schools, Sir Chris Woodhead. Chris has never ducked an issue in his life, and he's not ducking the ultimate one: how to face death. Diagnosed with the progressive condition of Motor neurone Disease in 2006, he was blunt with listeners about his right to die - when, how and where he chooses.
WED 09:30 Witness (b062sgt7)
James Salter: Writer and Pilot
The acclaimed American writer died in June 2015 aged 90. He was one of the most admired novelists of his generation. But in his youth Salter was a US fighter pilot, battling against Soviet MIGs in the skies above the Korean war.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b061r039)
Sixty Degrees North
Episode 3
Writer Malachy Tallack has set out from Shetland on a journey around the sixtieth parallel. Today, he reaches Alaska, America's self-proclaimed 'Last Frontier.
Marking a borderland between 'near' and 'far north', the sixtieth parallel wraps itself around the lower reaches of Finland, Sweden and Norway; it crosses the tip of Greenland and of South Central Alaska; it cuts the great spaces of Russia and Canada in half. The parallel also passes through Shetland, at the very top of the British Isles.
Tallack travelled to some of the places that share this latitude, beginning in Shetland, where he has spent most of his life. Focusing on the landscapes and natural environments of the parallel, and the way that people have interacted with those landscapes, Tallack explores themes of wildness and community, of isolation and engagement, of exile and memory.
Reader: Sandy Grierson
Writer: Malachy Tallack
Abridger: Laurence Wareing
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b062kqzq)
Joss Stone, Sara Paretsky
Joss Stone performs Stuck on You from her new album. Sara Paretsky tells us about her latest V I Warshawski detective novel - the 17th in the series - her alcoholic mother and breaking the gender barrier in detective fiction. New dragon Sarah Willingham on joining BBC Two's Dragon's Den. We discuss measures to tackle sexual harassment on public transport in France.
Presented by Jenni Murray
Produced by Jane Thurlow.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b061r0yj)
Appiness
Episode 3
Katy Wix stars in Robin Brooks and Jon Canter's zippy, loopy comedy about a woman who hits her 32nd birthday, and decides she has to finally choose between the men in her life.
She has to decide on The One.
Luckily, she's got a great app on her phone called Appiness, which allows you to switch between men instantaneously - with one swipe of your screen.
On a dinner date, during a run in the park, when out with friends - she can swipe from one boyfriend to another, and compare the experience with each one. It's a sort of 'go compare men'. But it's even better than that, because with this app, you can actually, you know .... touch the men.
This is obviously morally wrong, because basically it's cheating. And she really ought to make up her mind, and settle down with one of them. But somehow she can't bring herself to delete Appiness.
Or to put down her phone.
Perhaps she's a telesexual?
Karl Theobald (Twenty-Twelve, Green Wing), Colin Hoult (Nurse, Derek, Being Human), and Harry Hadden-Paton (In The Loop, Grantchester, No Naughty Bits, Posh) play the men in Lucy's life, and listen out for a special guest appearance by Clive Anderson.
Produced and Directed by Jonquil Panting.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b061r0yl)
Susan and Tom - You Lived in a Garden Shed
Fi Glover introduces friends who have supported each other through the very worst of experiences, recalling the bad times and how things have improved. Another 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.
WED 11:00 Another Time, Another Place (b05wq2bw)
For ten years, Crosby Beach near Liverpool has had some strange visitors - 100 figures by Angel of the North creator Antony Gormley. Based on casts from moulds of the artist's body, the sculptures are made out of cast iron and stand staring at the horizon along three kilometres of shore, stretching almost one kilometre out to sea.
The installation, called Another Place, was never meant to be permanent and there was opposition to it - from conservationists, yachtsmen and those who considered the naked form to be pornographic. But the locals came to love the figure and fought to keep them and, nearly a decade on, the sculptures are still there.
Unusually for a piece of art, Another Place is a favourite on the travel site Trip Advisor, with over six hundred reviews rating it an average of five stars. This is an artwork that speaks to people. Visitors dress the figures in hats and scarves. People leave flowers beside them.
Sara Parker meets Antony Gormley in his Kings Cross studio and discovers how the project was conceived out of both an artistic vision and an attempt at economic regeneration. She also visits the Birmingham foundry where the figures were cast and, of course, Crosby beach itself where she meets those whose lives have been touched by this haunting artwork.
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b03bdsny)
Series 3
Episode 4
John Finnemore, the writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-upper in things like Miranda, presents a third series series of his hit sketch show.
The first series was described as 'sparklingly clever' by The Daily Telegraph and 'one of the most consistently funny sketch shows for quite some time' by The Guardian. The second series won Best Radio Comedy at both the Chortle and Comedy.co.uk awards, and was nominated for a Sony award.
This time around, John promises to stop doing silly sketches about nonsense like Winnie the Pooh's honey addiction or how goldfish invented computer programming, and concentrate instead on the the big, serious issues.
This fourth episode of the series contains a sketch that is much, much too rude; advice on how to deal with bullies; and an accidental visit to Ambridge.
Written by and starring John Finnemore, with Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan.
Producer: Ed Morrish.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b061pyfz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Home Front (b061r0yn)
15 July 1915 - Norman Harris
The investigation into Police Constable King's murder gathers pace.
Written by Richard Monks
Directed by Lucy Collingwood
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b061r0yq)
Tooth decay, Catering conditions, Car hire
New research suggests parents are not taking their children to the dentist. Is this the reason why tooth decay in children is rising rapidly? Or is it the misinformation about snacks and what foods cause decay? Or is it simply that its hard to get appointments for NHS dentists?
We examine the underside of glamorous restaurants and fashionable sporting events. We talk to the chef who routinely works twelve hour days without a break and the waiter who felt the café he worked in cared more about the welfare of the meat in the dishes than the staff.
A European wide investigation of car hire practices has managed to get the leading companies involved to do better for their customers. Is this the end of the endless vehicle rental disaster stories we hear?
And promises to keep local bank branches open where there's a strong community need. Have we been let down?
WED 12:57 Weather (b061pyg1)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b061r0ys)
Greece deal unravels? An IMF report says the country needs far more debt relief.
New labour laws: what impact will the government's strike proposals have?
Nazi sentenced: Oskar Groening, dubbed the "Book-keeper of Auschwitz", has been sentenced to four years. But should he be sent to prison ?
WED 13:45 What Is a Story? (b061r0yx)
Speaking in Parables
Marina Warner looks at 'Speaking in Parables'.
A look at the world of contemporary fiction. In the company of leading contemporary writers, she considers a story and story writing from a different angle.
Marina speaks with writers as diverse as Julian Barnes, Michelle Roberts, Fanny Howe, Marlene van Niekerk, Alain Mabanckou, Lydia Davis, Edwin Frank, Elleke Boehmer, Wen-Chin Ouyang, Daniel Medin, Nadeem Aslam and Laszlo Krasznahorkai.
There are questions around the boundaries between fact and fiction which Marina believes are central to any consideration of storytelling, since readers' pleasure depends so much on trust built up between the storyteller or writer and the audience.
With discussions on the reasons for writing, writers as witnesses and political interaction.
Marina was Chair of the Man Booker International Prize 2015 and the series draws on the expertise of the International Booker judging panel, the views of the shortlisted writers, as well as other key literary talent.
Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio first broadcast in July 2015.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b061qzx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Curious Under the Stars (b061t43g)
Series 1
Llewelyn's Chair
By Annamaria Murphy
The second in a new series set in Glan Don, a wild and mysterious village perched on the Welsh coast.
Diane enlists local eccentric Matty Evans to help launch the new 'gastro' menu at The Druid's Rest, but her food has a curious effect on people. Meanwhile Gareth is concerned about a mysterious hound lurking in the sea mist.
Starring Elis James (Crims), Louise Ford (Chickens) and Ifan Huw Dafydd (Gavin and Stacey), Curious Under the Stars takes us deep into a Welsh landscape of myth, magic and mayhem.
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
WED 15:00 Money Box (b061t689)
Money Box Live: Personal and Small Business Tax
Doing your own taxes? Our tax team will be ready to help with your personal or small business questions on Wednesday. Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now.
George Osborne made a number of tax announcements in the Summer Budget including changes to the Tax Free Personal Allowance, Income Tax, Inheritance Tax, Divided Tax and Corporations Tax. If you're trying to work out how this affects you why not call in.
Whether you run a small business or you're taking care of your personal income, you may have a question about self-assessment, tax rates and allowances or capital gains tax.
Perhaps you want to ask about tax on savings income or you're thinking of selling shares or other assets, what are the rules?
If you let out a property for income, what can and can't you write off?
What can you do if you've paid too much or too little tax?
Whatever you need to know, joining presenter Lesley Curwen to take your calls will be:
Peter Davis, Tax Director at Baker Tilly.
Paula Tallon, Managing Partner at Gabelle Tax.
Jane Moore from The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail your question to moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b061qzxb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b061t68c)
Middle-class drug dealers, Globalisation of white collar work
Middle class drug dealers: Laurie Taylor discusses a study into suburban drug selling amongst well heeled teens in a wealthy suburb of Atlanta, USA. The author, Richard Wright, Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, reveals a world which provides a striking counterpoint to the devastation of the drug war in poor, minority communities. Instead, he found that middle class 'dealing' rarely disrupted conventional career paths or involved legal risks and violence. A British perspective is provided by
Richard Hobbs, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex.
Also, white collar jobs which move to the Global South. Shehzad Nadeem, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the City University of New York, charts the impact on emerging economies of the globalisation of IT and service sector work. Is it producing upward mobility in countries like India?
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b061t68f)
BBC's annual report, Chris Bryant on the 'BBC under siege', Alan Whicker award.
The BBC's Director-General Lord Hall has said it is up to licence fee payers to determine the size and shape of the BBC. It's Annual Report, out yesterday, shows how spending and staff numbers rose, despite cost cutting at the corporation. The Chairman of the BBC Rona Fairhead also said there are likely to be further cuts in "scope," prompting speculation that services would be cut. Steve Hewlett talks to Professor Lis Howell, Director of Broadcasting at City University, and the BBC's former Head of Strategy Mark Oliver, about the health of the BBC, where savings may be made, and how the corporation is positioning itself ahead of Charter renewal.
The Shadow Culture Secretary has warned that speculative government plans to scale back the BBC would see it becoming a 'national irrelevance by 2027'. Chris Bryant used a major speech last night to say the 'BBC is under siege' from the government, ahead of a Green Paper on the future of the corporation out on Thursday. Steve Hewlett talks to Chris Bryant about his role as 'critical friend', why he thinks it's important the BBC remains culturally significant, and what he would do to improve the organisation.
The presenter and documentary-maker Alan Whicker was best known for Whicker's World, a combination of travelogue and social commentary. In one of the longest running series in British television history he featured a range of people from despots, jet setters to eccentrics. A new foundation set up in his name has launched three documentary filmmaker awards - one for first time documentary makers over 50. Jane Ray, Consultation Artistic Director of the Whicker's World Foundation talks to Steve about the awards, and his style of documentary making.
WED 17:00 PM (b061t68h)
News interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b061pyg3)
Labour and Unions condemn government plans to tighten rules on industrial action.
WED 18:30 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b061t68k)
Series 2
Tobacco
Comedian Simon Evans continues his series about the economics of some of the goods - or bads - we are addicted to.
If you crave your daily coffee, can't get by without a cigarette, feel that mid-afternoon slump without your sugar-fix, or can't face an evening without a glass of wine, you are definitely not alone. But have you ever thought about the economics that has made your addiction possible? Who does it profit? And would you want to make some canny investments that take advantage of our human weaknesses?
Simon looks at the economics, history and health issues behind these oh-so-addictive commodities.
This time it's tobacco. It's been called the single biggest avoidable cause of death in the world today yet it has remained an investment goldmine, with a single pound invested in tobacco stocks in 1900 now being worth over 6 million pounds.
Simon speaks to Robert West, Professor of Health Psychology and Director of Tobacco Studios at University College London about current global trends in smoking. He is also joined by economics guru, More Or Less host Tim Harford and the Queen of investment know-how, Merryn Somerset-Webb, as he walks us around the economics of these very familiar commodities and pokes fun at our relationship with them.
Presented by Simon Evans, with Professor Robert West, Tim Harford and Merryn Somerset-Webb.
Written by Simon Evans, Benjamin Partridge and Andy Wolton.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b061t68m)
Caroline and Oliver are going away to Tuscany to escape their flood-damaged home and a few negative online reviews for Grey Gables. Roy eagerly accepts Caroline's offer for him to stand in as assistant manager, under Kathy, while they're gone.
Peggy helps Christine make muffins in the Lodge kitchen, for the fete and W.I tent. They make an amusingly confused double act in front of Caroline - she's pleased that Peggy and Chris have settled in so well together. Peggy admits there's no standing on ceremony - they understand one another's foibles.
Kate embarrasses Phoebe by asking all about Alex and their sex life. Phoebe's really pleased for Roy as he reveals his job news. Roy beams as they discuss Phoebe's plan to apply for Oxbridge. Kate talks to Phoebe about knuckling down and forgetting about boys - but Phoebe calls her a hypocrite. They argue. Roy overhears Kate mentioning Phoebe having had sex - he's shocked.
Roy offers to give Phoebe driving lessons. He explains that Kate really does care about her. Phoebe explains that Alex is lovely and caring - she feels safe and they know what precautions to take. Roy surprisingly empathises with Kate, who's watching her little girl grow up. Roy's so proud of Phoebe and she's grateful. He just wants Phoebe to stay safe and be happy.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b061t68p)
Rupert Goold, Francesca Simon and Cressida Cowell, Richard Cork, Eric Huntley
Theatre director Rupert Goold discusses True Story, his debut feature film starring Jonah Hill and James Franco, based on the story of a New York Times journalist who becomes involved in a murder case.
Francesca Simon, author of the Horrid Henry books, and Cressida Cowell, author of the How To Train Your Dragon series, are both saying goodbye to the characters who've been with them for many years. The writers discuss why they're bringing these favourites to an end, and what might follow.
On Saturday Douglas Gordon took an axe to a wall at the Home Theatre in Manchester after the show he's directed received bad reviews. He then doodled around it and signed and dated it. The theatre have insisted that he pay for repairs and yet there's speculation as to what might actually happen. Art critic Richard Cork joins John to contemplate whether it might become a work of art and to discuss other unusual things that have become done exactly that.
In 1968 Eric and Jessica Huntley created a London-based publishing house to specifically offer a place for black writers to get their work published. The book shop that followed quickly became a place of importance for Britain's Black community. That has now been re-created in an exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London and John Wilson talks to Eric Huntley about their mission to get recognition for black writers and artists.
Presenter John Wilson
Producer Rebecca Armstrong.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b061r0yj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b061t68r)
The BBC
No one has come up with a better or pithier definition of public service broadcasting than John, later Lord Reith. The purpose of the BBC is to "inform, educate and entertain." For Reith, the son of a minister, the creation of the BBC was a public service; an unambiguous moral good and ever since Reithian has become an adjective that symbolises a kind of broadcasting that promoted virtue to the nation and one that should not be sullied by commerce. To "inform, educate and entertain" are still part of the BBC's mission today, but for how much longer? And how should we define what public service broadcasting is in a global, digital world? This week the government will publish a green paper setting out the details of a fundamental review of the BBC, examining its future size, funding and purpose. The BBC is funded by what is effectively a universal tax so making sure everyone gets something out of it has always been an issue. Advocates of public service broadcasting often talk about defending cultural quality, making programmes that no one else would about issues that would otherwise be ignored. But some of the best, most talked about programmes in recent times have been on internet, subscription only services. And there are plenty of other organisations such a museums, galleries and charities offering their own public service content free of charge. As the lines between the internet and broadcasting blur what role should the state have in regulating what we chose to watch and how we pay for it? This is not simply a debate about the future of the BBC, but about the moral and ethical tensions between what benefits the individual and what benefits society as a whole.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b061t68t)
Questioning Success
Jennifer Kavanagh questions the value of success, arguing that it is the moral content of what we do, rather than doing it well or badly, on which we should judge ourselves.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 The Problem of Pain - A Slow Motion Catastrophe (b061t68w)
We are all living longer, but for many that means suffering chronic pain for longer too. Dr Sarah Goldingay explores new and groundbreaking research into relieving chronic pain.
Unlike acute pain - when we stub our toe or stand too close to a fire - chronic pain doesn't go away. Conventional medicine cannot cure chronic pain but can only give limited relief to the situation.
With longer life expectancies, it's estimated the NHS will need an additional £5 billion by 2018 to deal with chronic conditions. So a new approach is needed.
Dr Sarah Goldingay from the University of Exeter investigates these new approaches to dealing with chronic pain, which go well beyond traditional medicine. She explores how some researchers are considering the problem in a more holistic and radical way by looking at mind, body and spirit combined. She also investigates how our social interactions can dictate the ways we live with chronic pain.
Dr Goldingay speaks to world experts like Dr Miguel Farias, a neuro-psychologist who's innovative work has shown a link between belief and pain, and Dr Jen Tarr who offers insights into the importance of community on pain management. She also visits Lourdes to discover if the spiritual can offer relief from chronic pain.
Produced by Mark Sharman
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 21:30 No Triumph, No Tragedy (b061r037)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b061t7v9)
Greek parliament debates bailout deal.
We talk to the former finance minister who negotiated the first bailout five years ago.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b061t7vc)
The Girl on the Train
Episode 3
Paula Hawkins' international bestseller comes to BBC Radio 4 in this thrilling multi-voice narration starring Sally Hawkins, Lyndsey Marshal and Zoe Tapper.
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.
And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see: she's much more than just the girl on the train...
Readers:
Rachel ..... Sally Hawkins
Megan ..... Lyndsey Marshal
Abridger ..... Neville Teller
Producer ..... Jenny Thompson.
WED 23:00 Bunk Bed (b061t7vh)
Series 2
Episode 5
Two men in darkness, sharing a bunk bed and a stream of semi-consciousness about family, relationships, work and imagined life.
We all crave a place where our mind and body are not applied to a particular task. The nearest faraway place from daily life. Somewhere for drifting and lighting upon strange thoughts which don't have to be shooed into context, but which can be followed like balloons escaping onto the air. Late at night, in the dark and in a bunk bed, the restless mind can wander.
After an acclaimed reception by The Independent, The Sunday Telegraph, The Observer and Radio 4 listeners, Bunk Bed returns with its late night stream of semi-consciousness.
In this episode, Raymond Chandler and Ian Fleming argue over villains in archive, the hated word 'caveat' and hats in bed, and Peter Curran describes the attentions of an abusive priest from his childhood.
Elsewhere in the series, Patrick and Peter deal with therapy, Chas and Dave, children's happiness, JR Tolkien, Babysham, Aldous Huxley, and correction fluid - among a ragbag of subjects.
Written and performed by Patrick Marber and Peter Curran
Producer: Peter Curran
A Foghorn production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:15 I, Regress (b01rvpw6)
Series 2
Thunder
Matt Berry plays a a corrupt and bizarre regression therapist in this dark, Lynch-meets-Kaufman-style comedy.
Unsuspecting clients are taken on twisted, misleading journeys through their subconscious.
Each episode sees the doctor dealing with a different client who has come to him for a different phobia. As the patient is put under hypnosis, we 'enter' their mind, and all the various situations the hypnotherapist takes them through are played out for us to hear. The result is a dream (or nightmare-like) trip through the patient's mind, as funny as it is disturbing.
With:
Isabel Fay
Steve Furst
Sally Okafor
A compelling late night listen: tune in and occupy someone else's head!
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b061t7vk)
Susan Hulme reports on events at Westminster where David Cameron defends plans to tighten the laws on trade unions. Labour says the move is an attack on working people.
MPs angrily debate revised Government proposals for English Votes for English Laws. The SNP pours scorn on the 'mad plans' it says will lock Scottish MPs out.
A new agreement between world powers and Iran to limit the country's nuclear activity receives wide support from MPs. And the Home Secretary refuses to allow the use of water cannon in England and Wales.
THURSDAY 16 JULY 2015
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b061pygy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b061r039)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b061pyh0)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b061pyh2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b061pyh4)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b061pyh6)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0623fzq)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Elizabeth Adekunle.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b061t8kt)
Glyphosate debate, Lamb prices, Farm safety among older workers
Charlotte Smith debates calls to limit the use of of the weedkiller glyphosate. Peter Melchett of the organic pressure group, the Soil Association, is calling for a UK ban on certain uses of the chemical - for example its use on wheat as a pre-harvest weedkiller. It follows a decision this week by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to classify the chemical as a 'probable carcinogen'. However the Crop Protection Association, which represents the chemical companies, says fears over its use are unfounded.
We hear from sheep farmers at the Great Yorkshire Show, who explain that they're affected by a price slump for lamb, complaining that not all retailers have passed this drop on to customers.
And farm safety: what's being done to encourage better practices among older farm workers.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dww4v)
Bar-tailed Godwit
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Martin Hughes-Games presents the Bar-tailed Godwit. Bar-tailed godwits are waders which occur around the globe and are now known to make the longest non-stop journey of any migratory bird.
THU 06:00 Today (b061t8sw)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 Inside the Ethics Committee (b061tfmp)
Series 11
Amputation
A dilemma arises for a surgeon when a young woman called Sarah is referred to his clinic.
Six years earlier, Sarah injured her knee in a skiing accident and the intervening years have been dominated by operations to repair her knee, each followed by months of gruelling rehabilitation.
But despite all this, Sarah's knee remains unstable and painful and it's taking its toll on her mental health.
Various surgeons have refused to amputate her leg and recommend that she either accept her existing level of disability or agree to further operations.
But Sarah is adamant - she wants her leg amputated. She doesn't want to live as she is and has lost faith in the medical profession's ability to give her a knee that will enable her to be active.
The surgeon is caught in a dilemma - he appreciates how she feels but should he amputate her leg?
Joan Bakewell and her panel discuss the issues.
Producer: Beth Eastwood.
Photo credit: EITAN ABRAMOVICH/AFP/Getty Images
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b061tfmr)
Sixty Degrees North
Ravens and Wildness
Writer Malachy Tallack has set out from Shetland on a journey around the sixtieth parallel. Today, he arrives in St Petersburg, the most highly populated place on the parallel.
The sixtieth parallel marks a borderland between 'near' and 'far north', Tallack travelled to some of the places that share this latitude, beginning in Shetland, where he has spent most of his life. Focusing on the landscapes and natural environments of the parallel, and the way that people have interacted with those landscapes, Tallack explores themes of wildness and community, of isolation and engagement, of exile and memory.
Reader: Sandy Grierson
Writer: Malachy Tallack
Abridger: Laurence Wareing
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b061tvs0)
Period photos on social media, School skirts a distraction? Anti-extremism
An anti-extremism campaign has brought Yazidi Iraqi women to schools to talk about being captured by I.S. Baroness Nicholson, Founder of the Amar Foundation explains why she wants to help the women tell their story.
Poet Rupi Kaur on posting an image on Instagram of a fully-clothed woman who had a small menstrual stain on her trousers.
Distracting school uniform - A school has banned skirts because they are 'distracting' to male teachers and pupils. Jessica Ringrose, Professor of Gender at UCL talks to Jenni about the effect of telling girls their bodies are distracting.
Pig farming - In 2002, Tracy Mackness was sentenced to 10 years in jail for plotting to smuggle £4 million pounds worth of drugs into the UK. But after leaving prison, Tracy turned her life around and became an award-winning pig farmer. Leeanne Coyle reports.
The Green MP Caroline Lucas has presented a cross-party bill to Parliament which would make the teaching of personal, social and health education (PSHE) compulsory in all schools in England and Wales.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b061tfmt)
Appiness
Episode 4
Katy Wix stars in Robin Brooks and Jon Canter's zippy, loopy comedy about a woman who hits her 32nd birthday, and decides she has to finally choose between the men in her life.
She has to decide on The One.
Luckily, she's got a great app on her phone called Appiness, which allows you to switch between men instantaneously - with one swipe of your screen.
On a dinner date, during a run in the park, when out with friends - she can swipe from one boyfriend to another, and compare the experience with each one. It's a sort of 'go compare men'. But it's even better than that, because with this app, you can actually, you know .... touch the men.
This is obviously morally wrong, because basically it's cheating. And she really ought to make up her mind, and settle down with one of them. But somehow she can't bring herself to delete Appiness.
Or to put down her phone.
Perhaps she's a telesexual?
Karl Theobald (Twenty-Twelve, Green Wing), Colin Hoult (Nurse, Derek, Being Human), and Harry Hadden-Paton (In The Loop, Grantchester, No Naughty Bits, Posh) play the men in Lucy's life, and listen out for a special guest appearance by Clive Anderson.
Produced and Directed by Jonquil Panting.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b061tvs2)
Without Stability We Have Nothing
Context and colour behind the headlines. In this edition: mounting discontent in Algeria as the authorities try to restore order to a desert town where more than twenty people were killed last week. 'Mass incarceration,' according to President Obama, 'makes our country worse off.' We meet some of the prisoners, originally handed long sentences, who've now been granted clemency. What lessons can African leaders, and western democracies, learn from the rise and rise of Ethiopia? We're on a dance floor in Addis Ababa trying to work them out. With pilgrimages apparently proving more popular than ever, our man sets out on one a particularly demanding one, in southeastern Brazil. And four year long years of drought have hit the fruit farms of California hard. How can they maintain their levels of production while under strict orders to consume less water?
THU 11:30 In the Moment (b061tfmw)
Comedian Stewart Lee has a great private passion - musical, free improvisation. For over twenty years in diverse attics and cellars below pubs, hired rooms, concert halls and gig venues, Stewart has been immersing himself in this unique musical experience.
Now he sets out to answer a deceptively simple question: "What does it mean to play free - completely in the moment?".
Beloved by its fans and baffling to its detractors, free improvisation has grown from a group of disaffected 1960s jazz musicians playing to three men and a dog to a globally respected and influential form heard regularly at international concert halls and festivals.
Through encounters with some of the scene's most influential exponents - including Evan Parker, Maggie Nicols, Sarah Gail Brand, Steve Noble and John Edwards - Stewart Lee explores the remarkable reality of performing music without rules, without preparation, with no safety net and no idea of what's going to happen next.
A Resonance production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b061pyh8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Home Front (b061tfmy)
16 July 1915 - Juliet Cavendish
The Grahams' engagement party for Howard and Juliet proves more eventful than planned.
Written by Richard Monks
Directed by Lucy Collingwood
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b061tfn0)
Supermarket 'offers', Petrol theft, Pricey 'green' policies
A report from the think tank Policy Exchange says money added to our energy bills for 'green' policies has been wasted. It has calculated that the average household bill has increased by £120 in 6 years because of ill thought through climate change policies, and the cost of running energy networks. The former Energy Secretary Ed Davey responds.
Losses at petrol stations from people who fill up and drive off without paying have soared in recent years - according to the industry body that keeps track of it. Winifred Robinson speaks to a shop assistant who has been footing the bill when people drive off without paying for their petrol.
Plus the Competition and Markets Authority respond to a super complaint about supermarket offers.
Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Natalie Donovan.
THU 12:57 Weather (b061pyhb)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b061tvs4)
The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has said he will impose a contract on new hospital consultants in England that includes seven-day working -- if an agreement isn't reached;
The former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales has told this programme that the quality and speed of justice will suffer if there are further cuts in funding; And we discuss the future scope and funding of the BBC.
THU 13:45 What Is a Story? (b061tfn2)
Ghosts at Home
Marina Warner looks at 'Ghosts at Home'.
A look at the world of contemporary fiction. In the company of leading contemporary writers, she considers a story and story writing from a different angle.
Marina speaks with writers as diverse as Julian Barnes, Michelle Roberts, Fanny Howe, Marlene van Niekerk, Alain Mabanckou, Lydia Davis, Edwin Frank, Elleke Boehmer, Wen-Chin Ouyang, Daniel Medin, Nadeem Aslam and Laszlo Krasznahorkai.
There are questions around the boundaries between fact and fiction which Marina believes are central to any consideration of storytelling, since readers' pleasure depends so much on trust built up between the storyteller or writer and the audience.
With discussions on the reasons for writing, writers as witnesses and political interaction.
Marina was Chair of the Man Booker International Prize 2015 and the series draws on the expertise of the International Booker judging panel, the views of the shortlisted writers, as well as other key literary talent.
Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio first broadcast in July 2015.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b061t68m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b061tg7z)
Heading to Paradise
The stories of some of the victims of Flight MH17, shot down over the Ukraine one year ago. Joe Caffrey, Philip Franks and Tracy Wiles star in David Morley's factual drama.
Elsemiek de Borst, Daisy Oehlers, Bryce Fredriksz, Liam Sweeney and John Alder all perished in the attack on a defenceless passenger jet in July 2014. How did they come to be on that flight? This drama illuminates the paths that brought these ordinary people to be part of this dreadful event.
The drama portrays actual events, with some imagined scenes, based on discussion with victims' relatives, eyewitness accounts, texts and emails
Written by David Morley
Directed by Dirk Maggs
A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b061tg81)
Ospreys in Cumbria
Caz Graham goes in search of Cumbria's regular visiting ospreys at a selection of locations in the Lake District.
Once extinct in England, Ospreys are now thriving in the UK. Breeding pairs are well established in Scotland and for several years they have become regular visitors to the Lake District.
Caz travels to Foulshaw Moss, a nature reserve on the side of the busy A590, just south of Kendal, where a nesting pair have made their home and are raising three chicks. Whilst there she encounters a host of rare butterflies, dragonflies and moths, along with a big fat toad sheltering from the summer sunshine under a corrugated iron canopy. She also finds several slow worms trying to keep cool and unnoticed by predators that maybe roaming.
A few miles from Foulsahw Moss is Esthwaite Water and here Caz meets with Natalie Cooper from the National Trust. Natalie recounts the relationship Beatrix Potter had with the area and in particular Estwaite Water itself as it is just a short distance from Hill Top Farm, where she once lived.
Then Caz takes to the water, cutting through Jeremy Fisher's lily-pads as she goes in search of the lake's own resident Ospreys, and visits the parts of the lake that the birds are known to hunt. But will she find them?
Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b061pg7w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b061pqlh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b061tk96)
Michael Douglas, X + Y, The secrets of a storyboard artist
With Francine Stock
Michael Douglas discusses his first super-hero movie, Ant-Man, and explains why he's become the go-to guy for lengthy monologues
Director Morgan Matthews explains why he turned his documentary about a maths Olympiad, Beautiful Young Minds, into a feature film, X + Y.
Martin Asbury lets light in on the magic of the storyboard artist.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b061tk98)
Pluto: New Horizons
It's billed as the last great encounter in planetary exploration. For the past nine years the New Horizons spacecraft has travelled 5bn km (3bn miles) to get to Pluto On July 14th it performed its historic fly-by encounter with the dwarf planet.
Adam Rutherford examines the first images from the New Horizon's probe and hears the first interpretations from mission leaders and scientists at the NASA New Horizon's space centre as the data arrives back to earth. Expect new light to be shed on the Solar System's underworld as first impression s reveal Pluto to be a champagne coloured body with 11000 ft ice mountains and surprisingly smooth surfaces that suggests recent geological activity
For people who grew up with the idea that there were "nine planets", this is the moment they get to complete the set. Robotic probes have been to all the others, even the distant Uranus and Neptune. Pluto is the last of the "classical nine" to receive a visit. Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell discusses how this 2,300km-wide ice-covered rock was demoted in 2006 to the status of mere "dwarf planet", but as "Pluto killer" Mike Brown argues, this shouldn't dull our enthusiasm.
As Adam Rutherford reveals, nothing about this corner of the solar system has been straightforward. Little is known about Pluto's creation -but as the New Horizons probe passed Pluto for this first close up of the dwarf planet , scientists anticipate new insights into the evolution of our solar system and even earth's early history.
With contributions from mission scientists Alan Stern, Fran Bagenell, Joel Parker and astronomer Mark Showalter. Updates too as interpretations rapidly develop, from BBC correspondent Jonathan Amos and astrophysicist Chris Lintott.
Producer Adrian Washbourne.
THU 17:00 PM (b061tk9b)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b061pyhd)
Health Secretary warns consultants in England they must adopt 7 day working. Government announces 'root and branch' review of BBC. And a club calls time on a drunken squirrel.
THU 18:30 It's a Fair Cop (b061tk9d)
Series 2
Harassment
When a vulnerable young woman is being harassed, policeman turned comic Alfie Moore explores what the law can do to protect her.
When does harassment become stalking and what can you do about it?
Series in which the audience makes the policing decisions as Alfie takes them through a real-life crime scenario.
Written and performed by Alfie Moore.
Script Editor: Will Ing
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b061tr37)
Jill's concerned about the extent of David's support to the Fairbrothers - they mustn't take advantage. As Jill bakes for the fete, she and David also discuss Josh, who needs to apply himself more to his studies. Ruth's tired and stressed - and feeling guilty for not being there when Heather had a fall. Heather just wants to get out of hospital and into her own bed. But David feels they have to face facts when it comes to Heather - she needs to be in a care home.
Debbie's caught between Adam and Brian, both pushing her for an answer on the maize contract and where her support lies. Brian's convinced that Debbie's on his side, whereas Adam feels that Debbie must know that his way is the obvious solution. Adam and Debbie discuss Charlie, who sacked Debbie by email. She's intrigued to meet him, as Adam explains the effect Charlie has had on his own life and thinking. Adam's really happy that Debbie's around and back on the farm.
Debbie reveals to Brian that she's handing over her share of power - the arable - to Adam. She insists that Brian is not going to change her mind.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b061tk9g)
Jake Gyllenhaal, Stieg Larsson's former editor, Anthony Caro exhibitions
Jake Gyllenhaal discusses his role as a champion boxer in new film Southpaw. He explains how he trained to convincingly play a professional fighter and why his stunt double never appears in the film.
Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy became a global sensation after it was published in 2005 and has since topped best-seller lists worldwide. 10 years after the first book was first published in Sweden, author David Lagercrantz has been commissioned to write a fourth volume. Stieg Larsson's editor Eva Gedin discusses the decision to commission a fourth novel from another writer.
Caro in Yorkshire is a programme of exhibitions and events celebrating the work of the sculptor Sir Anthony Caro (1924-2013) across four Yorkshire galleries: The Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Hepworth Wakefield, the Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Art Gallery. Louisa Buck reviews.
Joseph Coelho was today announced as the winner of the CLiPPA Children's Poetry Award, for the best book of poems for children published in the last year. The poet discusses his first collection, The Werewolf Club Rules.
Presenter Kirsty Lang
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b061tfmt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b061tk9j)
Rwanda: Has Britain Been Beguiled?
On June 20th the head of Rwanda's external intelligence service, Lt. General Karenzi Karake, was arrested at Heathrow Airport. He is accused by a Spanish judge of war crimes committed during and after the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s. General Karake is now on bail awaiting an extradition hearing.
The Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, was furious when he heard about the arrest. He described it as a continuation of slavery and colonialism. General Karake is a senior member of the RPF, the party that took power in Rwanda in 1994 after its army, led by Paul Kagame, had put an end to the genocide. The general is also, intriguingly, seen as a potential rival to the president and was briefly sent to jail by Mr Kagame in 2010.
The arrest is indeed embarrassing for Britain. Successive governments under Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron have cultivated close ties with Rwanda. Part of the reason appears to be Rwanda's remarkable recovery from the dark days of the genocide. Rwanda has emerged as a country with a well-functioning economy and little corruption. Britain, one of its principal aid donors, can point to Rwanda as a success story in a way it cannot with most other countries in Africa.
But has Britain turned a blind eye to well-documented war crimes and human rights abuses perpetrated by senior government members? The accusations come from human rights organisations, as well as political opponents of the government. And even as British aid has continued to flow to Rwanda, there has been criticism of the country's human rights record from members of parliament and the Foreign Office itself.
Reporter: Simon Cox
Producer: Tim Mansel
Researcher: Phoebe Keane.
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b061tk9l)
Entrepreneurs and Education
Who needs qualifications for success? Three business leaders tell Evan Davis how they made it to the top after leaving school with just one A'Level between them all. Two of the guests explain how, having dyslexia and being labelled failures at school, made them even more determined to make a success of their lives. And they'll explore whether the skills to be an entrepreneur can be taught in the classroom.
Guests:
Jo Malone, CEO, Jo Loves
Gary Grant, CEO, The Entertainer
Mark Featherstone-Witty, CEO, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Producer:
Jim Frank.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b061tk98)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 Punt PI (b0495dsf)
Series 7
The Mysterious Death of Flying Millionaire Alfred Loewenstein
Steve Punt returns as Radio 4's very own gumshoe, examining the mysterious case of millionaire financier Alfred Loewenstein who fell out of his own aeroplane in 1928.
The suspicious death of this fabulously wealthy Belgian tycoon - then reportedly the world's third richest man - may well be Punt's most baffling investigation yet.
During that fateful flight across the English Channel, Loewenstein got up to go the loo - but somehow ended up falling out of the plane. What exactly happened to him remains a mystery to this day.
Was it just an accident, did Loewenstein jump - or was it murder? Punt reopens the case.
Producer: Laurence Grissell.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b061tn6w)
Government opens debate on the future of the BBC.
Ministers say they will ask "hard questions" about size and ambition of Corporation.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b061tk9n)
The Girl on the Train
Episode 4
Paula Hawkins' international bestseller comes to BBC Radio 4 in this thrilling multi-voice narration starring Sally Hawkins, Lyndsey Marshal and Zoe Tapper.
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.
And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see: she's much more than just the girl on the train...
Readers:
Rachel ..... Sally Hawkins
Megan ..... Lyndsey Marshal
Anna ..... Zoe Tapper
Abridger ..... Neville Teller
Producer ..... Jenny Thompson.
THU 23:00 Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation (b04gyp8k)
Series 10
How to Eat Food
Setting out to explain one of our most fundamental acts as human beings, Jeremy Hardy picks up the topic of food with the chopsticks of enquiry and then drops it on his trousers of former cleanliness.
Helping him tackle the subject will be special guests Vicki Pepperdine and Paul Bassett Davies.
The comedian engages in a free and frank exchange of his entrenched views. Passionate, polemical, erudite and unable to sing, Jeremy returns with another series.
Few can forget where they were twenty years ago when they first heard "Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation". The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. The Light Entertainment department was besieged, questions were asked in the House and Jeremy Hardy himself became known as the man responsible for the funniest show on radio since Money Box Live with Paul Lewis.
Since that fateful first series, Jeremy went on to win Sony Awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry. He was a much-loved regular on both The News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Written by Jeremy Hardy
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2014.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b061tk9q)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster where the Health Secretary says hospital doctors in England must work weekends and ministers launch a 'root and branch' review of the BBC.
The Transport Secretary tells MPs he was only told last month that rail electrification projects would have to be delayed. Labour accuses ministers of "conning" the public.
And peers debate alternatives to the Government's plan for English Votes on English Laws and global threats to the freedom of religion and belief.
FRIDAY 17 JULY 2015
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b061pyjd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b061tfmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b061pyjg)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b061pyjj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b061pyjl)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b061pyjn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0623g2w)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Elizabeth Adekunle.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b061v0ks)
Milk crisis, Rewilding, Tolpuddle Martyrs
Scottish dairy farmers face more cuts in what they're paid for their milk. One processor, Grahams Family Dairy, is paying
23.75 pence for milk it has agreed to buy on contract, but its 'B' price - for milk produced OVER the contract - could fall as low as 7 pence per litre.
A group called 'Rewilding Britain' was launched this week with the aim of reintroducing native species such as wolves and lynx into the countryside. NFU Scotland is demanding a clear steer from Government on any plans for future predator reintroductions - with farmers concerned that livestock could be threatened. They point to losses faced by ranchers around Yellowstone Park in Montana, where wolves were reintroduced 20 years ago. The wolves main prey is elk but they also attack cattle and sheep. Ranchers now have the right to shoot them if they're causing a specific problem. But some ranchers are looking for ways of living WITH the predators rather than killing them. We have a special report.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Trish Campbell.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwwg6)
Wader Roost
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Martin Hughes-Games tells the story of the flocks of waders which are drawn to the UK's estuaries. Britain's estuaries contain around 2,900 square kilometres of mud and sand-flats. Washed daily by the tides, these places are packed with food, molluscs, worms and crustaceans that support thousands of waders.
FRI 06:00 Today (b061tw0g)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b061pgrv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b061ttfm)
Sixty Degrees North
Episode 5
Only 200 miles from his home in Shetland, and his starting point, Malachy Tallack reaches the west coast of Norway, the final destination on his journey along the sixtieth parallel.
The sixtieth parallel marks a borderland between 'near' and 'far north', Tallack travelled to some of the places that share this latitude, beginning in Shetland, where he has spent most of his life. Focusing on the landscapes and natural environments of the parallel, and the way that people have interacted with those landscapes, Tallack explores themes of wildness and community, of isolation and engagement, of exile and memory.
Reader: Sandy Grierson
Writer: Malachy Tallack
Abridger: Laurence Wareing
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b061twpp)
Lib Dem and Labour leaderships, the Motherhood trap, Slum images of photographer Shirley Baker
With Tim Farron installed as the new Lib Dem leader and two men as favourites to lead Labour, women could lose out on representation at the top of political parties at Westminster. Does it matter? Hear Labour's Mary Creagh who pulled out the party's leadership contest in discussion with former Lib Dem MP Jenny Willott and Helen Lewis, deputy editor of the New Statesman. Plus do female politicians really face 'the Motherhood trap' whether or not they have children? Writer Michele Hanson on the gap left behind when a pet dies; we ask whether pet 'funerals' can help in coming to terms with the loss. We look at how photographer Shirley Baker charted rapid social change with her images of slum clearances in Manchester and Salford during the sixties and seventies.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Anne Peacock.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b061tppt)
Appiness
Episode 5
Katy Wix stars in Robin Brooks and Jon Canter's zippy, loopy comedy about a woman who hits her 32nd birthday, and decides she has to finally choose between the men in her life.
She has to decide on The One.
Luckily, she's got a great app on her phone called Appiness, which allows you to switch between men instantaneously - with one swipe of your screen.
On a dinner date, during a run in the park, when out with friends - she can swipe from one boyfriend to another, and compare the experience with each one. It's a sort of 'go compare men'. But it's even better than that, because with this app, you can actually, you know .... touch the men.
This is obviously morally wrong, because basically it's cheating. And she really ought to make up her mind, and settle down with one of them. But somehow she can't bring herself to delete Appiness.
Or to put down her phone.
Perhaps she's a telesexual?
Karl Theobald (Twenty-Twelve, Green Wing), Colin Hoult (Nurse, Derek, Being Human), and Harry Hadden-Paton (In The Loop, Grantchester, No Naughty Bits, Posh) play the men in Lucy's life, and listen out for a special guest appearance by Clive Anderson.
Produced and Directed by Jonquil Panting.
FRI 11:00 Who Wants to Be a Nurse? (b061tppw)
Episode 1
Professional nursing bodies have long debated how best to train our nurses so that they have the mix of skills they need to serve patients well. Jenny Clayton follows a variety of nurses in training - key issues and debate emerge.
Since 2013, everyone who wants to become a nurse in the UK must undertake a nursing degree. They spend half their time on placement working alongside trained nurses and dealing with patients, and the other half at lectures and tutorials. There are also essays to write and assignments to complete.
In this first programme, Jenny meets four students from the University of Essex and eavesdrops on their training - on the ward, at university, at home and in the community.
Charlee, who's in her second year, thinks nursing is changing: "Nurses are being given more and more responsibility, more and more is being asked of them so we have to grow with that. Personally I don't enjoy the academic side of it... but why should we just have to do the practical side?"
21-year-old Amy spends a lot of her time in the library. "As nurses, it's always important that as new literature is provided we keep up with it."
We follow Peter on a placement in the Burns Unit at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford. "I love patient contact, I love talking to people." But sometimes it's hard to be positive. "The pressures that are put onto nursing, and to doctors and the multidisciplinary team creates this funnel of negativity where mistakes can happen."
Kayleigh echoes his concerns, yet her motivation to complete her degree and become a qualified nurse is strong. "When I come on placement, it reminds me what I'm driving for... You walk away from it and you feel rewarded."
Producer: Hannah Marshall
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 Clare in the Community (b061tppy)
Series 10
Family Values
A family funeral reveals some uncomfortable home truths for the Barker family.
Brian meanwhile has enthusiastically embraced a new fitness regime.
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
Clare continually struggles to control both her professional and private life In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden.
Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ...... Alex Lowe
Nali ...... Nina Conti
The Celebrant ...... Richard Lumsden
Bernard ...... Andrew Wincott
Sarah Barker ...... Sarah Thom
Mrs Barker ...... Brigit Forsyth
Roxy ...... Alex Tregear
Producer: Alexandra Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b061pyjq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Home Front (b061tpq0)
17 July 1915 - Thornton Tulliver
In the last episode of Season Four of the drama series set in Great War Britain, expect fireworks at the grand opening of Hilary's latest venture.
Written by Richard Monks
Directed by Lucy Collingwood
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b061txyv)
Consumer affairs programme.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b061pyjs)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b061v0kv)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 What Is a Story? (b061tpq2)
As If: Dreams of Shelter
Marina Warner concludes her series with an episode titled 'As if: Dreams of Shelter'.
A look at the world of contemporary fiction. In the company of leading contemporary writers, she considers a story and story writing from a different angle.
Marina speaks with writers as diverse as Julian Barnes, Michelle Roberts, Fanny Howe, Marlene van Niekerk, Alain Mabanckou, Lydia Davis, Edwin Frank, Elleke Boehmer, Wen-Chin Ouyang, Daniel Medin, Nadeem Aslam and Laszlo Krasznahorkai.
There are questions around the boundaries between fact and fiction which Marina believes are central to any consideration of storytelling, since readers' pleasure depends so much on trust built up between the storyteller or writer and the audience.
With discussions on the reasons for writing, writers as witnesses and political interaction.
Marina was Chair of the Man Booker International Prize 2015 and the series draws on the expertise of the International Booker judging panel, the views of the shortlisted writers, as well as other key literary talent.
Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio first broadcast in July 2015.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b061tr37)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b061tqv5)
Rumpole
Rumpole and the Age of Miracles
Hilda’s distant relation, the Reverend Timothy Donkin, looks set to be defrocked as Canon of Lawnchester Cathedral unless Rumpole can convince an Ecclesiastical Court that adultery did not take place in the nearby Saint Edithna Hotel.
Timothy Donkin tells Rumpole that he is married with two sons and, to escape their noise, he writes his sermons in a room at the hotel. Six accusers complained to the Bishop about Timothy Donkin after a hotel maid saw him open his room-door to a woman. He is charged with conduct unbecoming a clerk in Holy Orders.
Rumpole uses his powers of cross-examination - and the portrayal of Hilda as a spooky apparition - to defend the Canon, who irritatingly initially refuses to discuss if, in fact, he did meet anyone in the hotel.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Rumpole in a story written by John Mortimer and adapted by Richard Stoneman.
Cast:
Horace Rumpole ….. Benedict Cumberbatch
Hilda Rumpole ….. Jasmine Hyde
Claude Esrkine-Brown ….. Nigel Anthony
Sam Ballard ….. Michael Cochrane
Rev Tim Donkin ..... Roger May
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
Produced by Catherine Bailey
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b061tqv7)
Bedford
Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from Bedford. Bunny Guinness, Anne Swithinbank, Matthew Wilson answer audience questions.
Matt Biggs reveals his favourite garden of all time and the panel share some topical tips.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 The Computer Speaks (b061tqv9)
Vox Humana by Timothy X Atack
The first in a series of three short stories about the intimate relationship we have with our computers and what they might say if they could talk.
A woman lies comatose in a hospital bed. A father yearns to hear his daughter's voice again. A computer begins to find its voice. But whose voice is it? An original short story for radio by Timothy X Atack.
Timothy X Atack is a writer, sound artist, composer and film-maker. He's worked with Bristol Old Vic, BBC Radio, Neil Bartlett, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Paines Plough, Arnolfini, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, Raucous Collective, BAC, Edgar Wright, Channel 4 TV and BBC Film Lab amongst others. He's an artist in residence at Pervasive Media Studios, Watershed, a member of the radiophonic pop group Angeltech and a co-founder of Sleepdogs with director Tanuja Amarasuriya. His afternoon play The Morpeth Carol won the Radio Academy Award for Best Drama 2014.
Producer: Mair Bosworth.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b061txyx)
Rev Joyce Bennett, Prince Saud al-Faisal, Burt Shavitz, Michael Oliver, Ian Allan
Matthew Bannister on
Joyce Bennett who was the first English woman to be ordained as an Anglican priest. It happened in Hong Kong in 1971.
Prince Saud al-Faisal, who was the world's longest serving foreign minister, representing the interests of Saudi Arabia for forty years.
Burt Shavitz, the American beekeeper who developed a popular range of beeswax products.
Professor Michael Oliver, the physician who demonstrated the link between cholesterol and heart disease.
And the publisher Ian Allan, whose books of locomotive numbers led to the hobby of trainspotting.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b061txyz)
The debate over the future of the BBC continues, with the size, structure, funding and remit of the Corporation now up for discussion. As the Department of Culture, Media and Sport open their twelve week public consultation on the future of the Beeb, Feedback listeners speak to Roger Bolton about their views.
Also, Feedback listeners celebrate some good news - the arrival of radio downloads. From this week, almost all radio content will be available for download onto smart phones and tablets via the newly updated BBC iPlayer radio app. Roger speaks to Mark Friend, the Controller of Multiplatform for Radio and Music, to find out about the changes and why downloads for radio have taken so much longer to introduce than the equivalent service for television programmes.
Last year, Tony Hall said he wanted to "break down the walls" between the corporation and the country's artists and artistic institutions. A new Radio 4 series, Will Gompertz Gets Creative, is attempting to go further by exploring the everyday artistic activity of normal people and encouraging all of us to 'get creative'. The first episode visited a life drawing class in Brighton in a bid to inspire people to engage with the arts. Did it work? Will Gompertz calls Feedback listeners to find out whether the programme has given them the artistic bug.
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b061tqvc)
Kate and Elizabeth - Getting the Grades Isn't Everything
Fi Glover introduces a mother and daughter's frank conversation about the reality of self-harm and the fear of talking about it. Another 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 (b061tqvf)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b061pyjv)
David Cameron under pressure to explain why British pilots have bombed targets in Syria
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b061tqvh)
Series 46
Episode 3
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis with Freya Parker and Mitch Benn present the week's news through stand-up and sketches. This week the cast are joined by Sarah Kendall, Andy Zaltzman and film critic Peter Bradshaw.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b061tsyk)
Brian's furious following Debbie's announcement and speaks to a disappointed Charlie. At the Home Farm barbeque Kate flirts with Charlie, who finally meets Debbie. Debbie points out how she was unceremoniously fired by Charlie - by email (at least Adam had the courtesy to cancel the maize contract face to face, she says). However, she thaws slightly as Charlie works some humble charm - he regrets the way he went about it.
Adam feels confident that he's effectively in charge at Home Farm - there'll be no more Brian standing in the way of change, as Adam develops his sustainable farming plans. Ian warns Adam to be careful - he has already put Brian's nose out of joint.
Kate tells Helen about her own business idea - a rural retreat. Brian says that Kate can do whatever she wants - as long as she buys her own land.
Jennifer and Kate argue over Phoebe. Peggy's unhappy to discover that Jennifer gave Phoebe advice about sexual health. Jennifer becomes defensive and criticises Peggy for not being so helpful as a mother when she was growing up.
Debbie tactfully suggests to Brian that he should consider retiring.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b061v0kx)
Sakari Oramo, MO Walsh, Witnesses, The creative process as art
Kirsty Lang talks to the BBC Symphony Orchestra's Finnish conductor, Sakari Oramo, as they celebrate the 150th anniversary of Finland's great composer, Jean Sibelius, in the First Night of the Proms.
As artists like PJ Harvey, Mike Figgis and FKA Twigs allow members of the public to observe their creative process, Front Row examines what both artist and fan get out of the experience.
Viv Groskop reviews Witnesses, a 6 part French police thriller set in Northern France.
In the brutally hot capital of Louisiana, Baton Rouge a terrible crime is committed. A 14-year-old boy turned detective stumbles across a sinister world hidden behind the peaceful façade of the white picket fences of suburbia. Kirsty talks to M. O. Walsh about his new coming of age novel, My Sunshine Away,.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b061tppt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b061tsym)
Peter Hitchens, Nicky Morgan MP, Frances O'Grady, Chuka Umunna MP
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from All Saints Parish Church in Leamington Spa with the Mail on Sunday columnist and author Peter Hitchens, the Education Secretary Nicky Morgan MP, the General Secretary of the TUC Frances O'Grady and the Shadow Business Secretary, Chuka Umunna MP.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b061tsyp)
Adam Gopnik: In Praise of Privacy
Although he loves to read collections of private letters by public figures, Adam Gopnik feels disturbed and offended by the lip-smacking ease with which people thumb through Hillary Clinton's or Amy Pascal's once private e-mails and asks what are the proper limits of privacy in the Internet age. Are we putting at risk part of the future historical record?
"The practice of showing what life is really like later depends on keeping some parts of life clandestine while they're happening".
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b061tsyr)
13-17 July 1915
In the final omnibus edition of Season 4, a wartime celebrity makes an unexpected visit to Folkestone.
Written by Richard Monks
Story-led by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Consultant Historian: Professor Maggie Andrews
Music: Matthew Strachan
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Directed by Lucy Collingwood
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b061pyjx)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b061v0kz)
What is the solution to the problem of care for the elderly in England?
The programme hears from former care minister Paul Burstow.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b061tt94)
The Girl on the Train
Episode 5
Paula Hawkins' international bestseller comes to BBC Radio 4 in this thrilling multi-voice narration starring Sally Hawkins, Lyndsey Marshal and Zoe Tapper.
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.
And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see: she's much more than just the girl on the train...
Readers:
Rachel ..... Sally Hawkins
Abridger ..... Neville Teller
Producer ..... Jenny Thompson.
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b061qzww)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b061v0l1)
Mark D'Arcy and the BBC parliamentary team report from Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b061tt96)
Sarah and Alison - Healing Yourself
Fi Glover introduces a conversation about how engaging with something her daughter found online has dramatically improved a mother's crippling arthritis. Another 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.