The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
"These stories are an exercise in imagination and compassion.. a trip around the world.."
Edith Pearlman has been writing stories for decades and is in her mid seventies. Recognition duly arrived in America with various awards, but only recently has her collection, Binocular Vision, been acclaimed in Britain. Now there's chance to hear three of the tales on radio, and be acquainted with a voice that is compelling and new to us..
1. Binocular Vision
across the road. There are surprises in store..
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
Church bells from St. Edward's, Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire.
Mark Tully investigates the fascinating power of dragons in Eastern and Western culture.
‘Here Be Dragons’ is the traditional description of any creature or place that remains unexplained. It conjures images of batwinged, eagle footed reptilian firebreathers destroying all before them. It also brings to mind extraordinary beauty and ethereal power.
In a programme that contrasts good and bad dragons, West and East, fact and fantasy, we hear from Seamus Heaney and Lam Sik Kwan, George Elgar and Margaret Toms, John Milton and Marianne Moore. A geographical and cultural feast in celebration of the greatest mystical animal of all.
Though often seen as wild and unforgiving places the peat bogs of Ireland are important and special habitats for wildlife and they are a natural sponge to store water. In 1996 when this Living World was recorded, the extraction of peat for a number of purposes was still common place.
Lionel Kelleway visits Fallahogy Bog in Northern Ireland and is joined by Valerie Hall and Roy Anderson from Queen's University to explore one of Northern Ireland's great peat bogs.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
As the situation with migrants in Calais escalates, what is the wider picture across Europe? William speaks to Doris Peshke, General Secretary for the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe.
If you are a fan of something, say Lady Gaga or Harry Potter does that mean it's your religion? That's a question that was explored at Leicester University this week at the Fandom and Religion Conference. Trevor Barnes reports.
With the Olympic Games in Brazil just over a year away, Bruce Douglas reports on Rio de Janerio's Catholic Churches and their different views on the long term benefits of the games.
The Pew Research Center says there are 102 countries where Christians face harassment and persecution - the highest number for any religion. For the next three weeks, Sunday hears from BBC correspondents about some of the worst places. This week, Stephen Evans reports on North Korea.
The French broadcaster and journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet updates us on the right to die case of Vincent Lambert in France and the moral questions it raises.
Over the next four weeks, our reporter Bob Walker will be walking around the country taking in the scenery and history of some of Britain's pilgrim walks. His first trek takes him to St Hilda's Way in North Yorkshire - England's newest pilgrimage route.
Kyoko Gibson, the daughter of a Japanese survivor of the Hiroshima bomb talks to William about her family story ahead of the 70th anniversary of the bombings.
Is building a female managed mosque the way to influence the participation of women in mosques? Bana Gora from the Muslim Women's Council and writer and broadcaster Khola Hasan discuss.
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope 'Special Olympics Great Britain'.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Fifty years ago the Corrymeela Community of Reconciliation was established in Northern Ireland. Sunday Worship from the Community's Centre at Ballycastle marks its anniversary.
In 1965, before the "Troubles" began, a small group led by the Rev Dr Ray Davey, then the Presbyterian Chaplain at Queen's University in Belfast was deeply concerned about the tensions existing in Northern Ireland society. They established a Christian Community to work for and promote reconciliation. It took its name, Corrymeela, meaning "Hill of Harmony", from the site of the centre they obtained near Ballycastle on the beautiful North Antrim Coast.
Sunday Worship, live from the Corrymeela Centre, during the Community's Aperture Festival, marks and celebrates half a century of work in the frequently difficult and sometimes misunderstood field of reconciliation, not just over religious differences, but across many of the areas where people are divided.
The service is led by the Leader of the Corrymeela Community, Padraig O'Tuama and the preacher is a former Leader, Bishop Trevor Williams. The music is led by "Voices Together", directed by David Stewart.
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the sand martin. The flickering shapes of sand martins over a lake or reservoir are a welcome sign of spring. After winging their way across the Sahara Desert, the first birds usually arrive in the UK in March. They're smaller than house martins or swallows, and they're brown above and white below with a brown band across their chest. Often you can hear their dry buzzing calls overhead before you see them.
As the the British and French Government release a joint statement on the situation in Calais, we've a report on how the people of Calais are reacting to the crisis.
The voice of the supermarket checkout is changing - we've been holding auditions.
Tweeting about Cecil the Lion - pointless self affirmation, or an essential part of moral discourse.
On the papers, Dame Esther Rantzen, Barry Cryer, and Helen Lewis of the New Statesman.
Born in America, she has become one of the UK's most celebrated cooks. Despite not being a trained chef, she set up The River Café with her business partner, the late Rose Gray, in 1987. The focus was on high quality, seasonal produce cooked the Italian way. Many of today's top chefs including Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Theo Randall, Sam Clark and Allegra McEvedy began their careers in their kitchen. The café was awarded a Michelin star in 1997.
The youngest of three children, Ruth Rogers' parents were both immigrants and very political. In the late sixties, she left America and moved to London where she joined other Americans protesting against the Vietnam War. In 1969 she met the architect, Richard, now Lord, Rogers and they married in 1973. The couple moved to Paris when Richard Rogers and his partners won the contract to design the Pompidou Centre. There she learned the importance of seasonality: subsequent visits to Italy shifted her passion to Italian cooking.
The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a visit to the Alban Arena in St Albans. Regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Omid Djalili, with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell provides piano accompaniment. Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
Staying sober on a night out can be a limiting experience with the soft drinks choice on offer in many places. But with an increasing number of 16-24 year olds staying teetotal, demand is increasing for more interesting, varied and healthier choices. Dan Saladino explores the traditional, quirky and novel drinks putting some fizz back into the market.
Reports say a resistance to heavy sugar and artificial sweeteners has seen soda sales drop off in the USA. 'Craft sodas' are making a play for some of the market by offering alternative flavours and drinks flavoured with cane sugar rather than corn syrup. Tristan Donovan heads on a mission to scour the soda fountains of the US and find some of the wackiest drinks available. How about a lactart or phosphate?
But in the UK too those with brewing skills are applying their knowledge to create soft drinks low on sugar and strong on flavour. Dan looks into the future of fizzy pop to see what the future might hold for those who still sparkle at the thought of a refreshing glass of pop.
The American saxophonist Archie Shepp has spent much of his life in Paris and it was there in January that he and his French wife heard about the shootings at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. They had friends among the staff and the killings shocked them deeply.
As a foreigner in France, an artist with long-standing political convictions and a man who'd grown up among the violence and prejudice of a black ghetto in the States, Archie knows - on a profound personal level - the mechanisms of anger, fear and frustration.
He knows the realities of segregation, the feeling of being trapped in a deprived neighbourhood and the difficulties of not seeing a way out. For Archie, education and music offered an escape route. Looking through the lens of his own experiences, he considers life now in his adopted city of Paris.
Peter Gibbs hosts the GQT Summer Garden Party from the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
Fi Glover with three chats about commitment: A farmer's wife now realizes she married the herd, retired friends recognise the charity depends on them, and the music never dies... All in the Omnibus edition of 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
"She wouldn't lie in court to save her sister's life - so she had to find another way. "Mike Harris' fast paced adaptation of Walter Scott's most gripping, most contemporary novel.
'Heart of Midlothian' begins with a trial for child murder, and then never lets the tension drop with disguises, thwarted love, hazardous journeys, kidnappings, riots, rescues - and a shy, retiring, heroine who will stop at nothing to undo the terrible damage her virtue has done.
A. M. Homes discusses her poignant and funny book May We Be Forgiven. Academic and Nixon obsessive Harold is our companion in this whirlwind of a novel when his dull life is ruptured by his super successful brother George, who having caused a terrible road accident, commits an even more heinous crime within his own home.
May We Be Forgiven won the 2013 Women's Prize for Fiction (now known as the Bailey's Prize).
Interviewed guest : A.M. Homes
Clive James talks to Paul Farley and reads his new staring-death-in-the-face poems. The Echo Chamber returns with new poems on the old subjects. Clive James has been a poet throughout his life as well as a literary critic, memoirist and television pundit. He didn't expect to be alive to see his new collection Sentenced to Life after illness and old age took him in their grip a couple of years ago. But, against the odds, he's still with us. And his recent poems are extraordinarily clear-eyed and fearlessly moving. He manages to be light throughout whilst remaining, as one critic put it, deadly serious. Producer: Tim Dee.
In the summer of 2014 HSBC dispatched a batch of identical letters to several prominent Muslims telling them that their accounts would be closed. The bank said that it no longer had the "risk appetite" to handle their money. But it failed to explain why or to offer a right of appeal. So what happened?
Pursuing this story led journalist Peter Oborne to resign his job as Chief Political commentator of the Daily Telegraph: the paper had refused to publish an article he had written which was critical of HSBC's decision.
Footloose and temporarily freelance, Oborne embarked on an intriguing journey to discover the cause of the bank's decision. Were the Muslims targeted by mistake or were they targeted because they are Muslims? Was Peter naive to think the accounts would be closed without good reason? And, given the fact that many of those cut off by the bank had links to the Muslim Brotherhood, could the HSBC's actions have anything to do with David Cameron's announcement of a government review of this Islamist network?
Helen and Rob are so happy, as Rob proudly calls her 'Mrs Titchener'. Rob becomes passionate but they laugh as they're interrupted by Henry. Rob and Helen tell Pat, Tony, Tom and Johnny about having married on the Isle of Wight. Pat and Tony are happy but taken by surprise. It was such a romantic idea of Rob's, says Helen who has never felt happier. Tony raises a toast.
Ambridge win their cricket match - Johnny has really improved under Rob's coaching guidance. Adam's wary of Rob - saying no one's bigger than the team.
Ian enjoyed his day out at the cricket Test Match with Adam and Charlie. But he asks Adam what's wrong. Adam needs to make a decision about Brian's share farming proposition. Ian suggests that Adam could call his bluff and take that job with Debbie in Hungary - Ian would happily move and get a job there if it made Adam happy.
Charlie listens to Adam and encourages him to accept Brian's offer. Ian's gobsmacked when Adam reveals that's what he's doing - that wasn't what they agreed?! But Ian shows his support. Adam's determined to show everyone he's his own man.
Gyles Brandreth presides as Natalie Haynes, Michael Rosen, Arthur Smith and Paul Sinha vie for supremacy in the ring.
Wordaholics is clever, intelligent, witty and unexpected. There are toponyms, abbreviations, euphemisms, old words, new words, cockney rhyming slang, Greek gobbledegook, plus the panellists' picks of the ugliest and the most beautiful words: the whole world of words.
Recently arrived from Ireland, Triona takes as a job as a teacher in a Norfolk prison and finds herself at the sharp end of the refugee crisis.
She must balance her roles as sympathetic mentor and authority figure to the prison's population of migrant detainees, many of whom are traumatised by their experiences before coming to the UK.
But when a relationship with a Vietnamese inmate threatens her new life, she must decide which immigrant she will save: the prisoner or herself.
Sue Healy's short story selected from thousands of entries for the BBC Opening Lines 2015 initiative, our annual open submission window for writers new to radio.
Roger Bolton explores religious broadcasting on radio. As the UK becomes more spiritually diverse and increasingly secular, how should the BBC approach religious news and worship?
Since its birth in the 1920s, the Corporation has always produced religious content, with programmes focussed primarily on Christian worship during the early days. Ninety years later, the religious makeup of the country is far more diverse and complex, so is the BBC keeping up with the times when it comes to spiritual matters? We ask listeners whether they think religion still has a place on the BBC, and how a national broadcaster should reflect faith and worship across different religions.
For some Feedback listeners, religious output is extremely important - for others, it is outdated and inappropriate. Roger discusses these views with Religious Affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt, Editor for Religion and Ethics in BBC Regions, Ashley Peatfield, and Head of Radio for BBC Religion and Ethics, Christine Morgan.
The subject of Religion is not just confined to specialist programming. Outside of people's personal worship, religion plays a significant role in social and political affairs both on the international and domestic stage. So how well does the BBC tackle religion when it comes to news and current affairs?
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the UK, but while coverage and debate around the Islamic faith is fairly common on Radio 4, Muslim worship is rarely heard. So how well does wider BBC Radio serve its Muslim listeners? Feedback visits BBC Radio Sheffield, which runs Ramadan programmes during the Holy month.
The Reverend Owen Chadwick, the distinguished ecclesiastical historian who was vice Chancellor of Cambridge University during student protests in the 1970s and chaired an influential commission on Church and State.
Also Jon Vickers the operatic tenor best known for playing muscular roles like Samson, Otello and Peter Grimes.
Yoichiro Nambu, the theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize for his ground-breaking work on sub atomic particles.
Nova Pilbeam, the leading lady in early Hitchcock films who later turned her back on stage and screen.
And Nick Ryman who made his fortune by building up the family stationery firm and then moved to France to become a successful wine maker.
As the race to develop driverless cars hots up around the world, the UK is determined not to be left in the slow lane. Government money is being invested to help test vehicles and 'pods' over the next three years.
It's not just the robotic technology which is being developed- building the trust of the public in vehicles which eventually won't need drivers behind the wheel is crucial
There's still a long way to go, and Peter Day talks to those involved in this brave new world of transport.
Dennis Sewell of The Spectator looks at how the papers are covering the biggest stories.
Fifty years after winning his first award for his film work, Sir Tom Courtenay talks about his latest role, in 45 Years, for which he won the Silver Bear at this year's Berlin Film Festival. The actor talks about his relationship and rivalry with Albert Finney and how he persuaded Omar Sharif to become a life-long fan of Hull City FC.
MONDAY 03 AUGUST 2015
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b063y5vc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b0639xmq)
Prison gangs in US, Millionaire children
Prison gangs in the USA. Laurie Taylor talks to David Skarbek, Lecturer in the Department of Political Economy at King's College, London, about his research into the hidden world of convict culture, inmate hierarchy and jail politics. He finds sophisticated organisations, often with written constitutions, behind the popular image of chaotic violence. They're joined by Jane Wood, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Kent.
Also, what would children do with an unexpected windfall of a million pounds? Sally Power, Professor of Education at Cardiff University, asked this question in order to explore children's values and priorities. Would they spend, save or give it away?
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b0638ry8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b063y5vf)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b063y5vh)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b063y5vk)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b063y5vm)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0651f4d)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Andrew Graystone.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b063znwy)
Harvest 2015, Rural crime, The green belt
Harvest 2015 is underway but it's been a stuttering start in parts of the UK because of cold and damp weather. Farming Today looks at the prospects for this year and the key components of a good harvest. For farmers revving up the combines, we have that all important Farming Today Five Day Forecast from the BBC Weather Centre.
Scottish farmers at Stirling Market tell us that they're scared to go into their fields for fear of encountering cattle rustlers. Nancy Nicholson reports on a campaign against rural crime running in Scotland this summer.
And it's Happy 60th Birthday to the Green Belt! But with a housing shortage, will the countryside encircling our towns and cities survive?
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sybil Ruscoe.
MON 05:56 Weather (b063y5vp)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwxfp)
Siskin
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 Siskin. Siskins are visiting our gardens as never before. These birds now breed across the UK and cash in on our love of bird-feeding. They are now regular visitors to seed dispensers of all kinds.
MON 06:00 Today (b063zt9m)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 The Listening Project (b063zt9p)
The Listening Project Live
From the Booth parked on the historic walls of Derry/Londonderry, Fi Glover talks to best-selling author, Brian McGilloway, about the Irish facility with words and the lyricism of the conversations gathered in Ulster. She meets Victor and Finola, who had one of those conversations, and listens again to The Key of Heaven. And she meets members of the Verbal Arts Centre, who are hosting the Booth's visit.
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.
MON 09:30 Under the Mushroom Cloud (b063zt9r)
A dramatic eye-witness account of the events in Hiroshima just over seventy years ago.
On 5th August 1945, Shuntaro Hida was a 28-year old doctor working at the Hiroshima Military Hospital - the epicentre of the atomic bomb dropped by the Enola Gay. After a dinner for visiting dignitaries, where a lot of sake had been consumed, he was woken by a man who had come to ask him to treat his sick grandchild. Strapped to the back of the man's bike, they cycled 6 km to the village of Heseka, where he spent the night treating the child.
This chance event saved his life.
Dr Hida's personal and professional story is such a remarkable and extraordinary one it makes compelling listening. As he was preparing to give the child a syringe, he happened to look up into the clear blue sky on the morning of 6th August and saw the American bomber flying over Heseka. Then he saw the blinding flash over Hiroshima and, a few seconds later, was thrown through the air by the force of the blast.
Clawing his way from under the rubble of the collapsed building, he saw the growing mushroom cloud.
Dr Hida's immediate instinct was to rush back to the hospital - but he describes encountering so many horrendously injured and burnt people fleeing the city, some crawling on their hands and knees with burnt flesh dropping off their bodies like molten wax, he couldn't get through.
So he jumped into the river and swam to the city centre, where he found complete and utter devastation. He made his way back to Heseka and did what he could - with only a few bandages and little else - to set up a treatment centre for the victims. Now aged 98, Dr Hida has dedicated the rest of his life to treating Hiroshima survivors.
Produced by Ruth Evans
A Ruth Evans production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b063zt9t)
Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells
Episode 1
Marine biologist Dr Helen Scales tells the story of seashells; from the molluscs that create them to the humans who have used them as jewellery, symbol and even currency.
Episode 1
Helen Scales defines 'molluscs', one of the most ancient and successful animal groups on the planet.
Written and read by Helen Scales
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Helen Scales' doctorate involved searching for giant, endangered fish in Borneo; she's also tagged sharks in California, and once spent a year cataloguing all the marine life she could find surrounding a hundred islands in the Andaman Sea. Helen appears regularly on BBC Radio 4 on programmes such as 'Inside Science' and 'Shared Planet' and has presented documentaries on topics such as whether people will ever live underwater, the science of making and surfing waves and the intricacies of sharks' minds.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b063zt9w)
Men and relationships, Amnesty International sex work debate, Penelope Mortimer
Men and Relationships: in the first in a special four week series Suzi Godson hears from men in their twenties through to their eighties, beginning with young men's attitudes to commitment.
We speak to jockey Hayley Turner about women in horse racing and competing alongside men.
As Amnesty International prepares to review an internal policy document on the sex trade, we look at the debate around decriminalisation.
And, Penelope Mortimer's novel The Pumpkin Eater is the subject of our drama this week. Rachel Cooke, explains why it's such an important work.
Presenter: Emma Barnett
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b063zt9y)
Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater
Episode 1
Helen McCrory and Paul Ready star in Penelope Mortimer's stark portrait of marriage and motherhood from 1962.
Dramatised in five parts by Georgia Fitch.
Mrs Armitage is encouraged by her successful screenwriter husband, Jake, to talk to a psychiatrist about her apparent compulsion to keep having children.
Mrs Armitage.....Helen McCrory
Jake Armitage.....Paul Ready
Doctor.....Chris Pavlo
Father.....Stephen Critchlow
Mother......Sheila Reid
Philpot/Dinah.....Rhiannon Neads
Bob Conway.....Mark Edel-Hunt
Beth Conway.....Alex Tregear
Giles.....Sam Dale
Journalist.....Neet Mohan
Director: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
MON 11:00 Mind Changers (b063ztb0)
Carl Rogers and the Person-Centred Approach
Claudia Hammond presents the history of psychology series which examines the work of the people who have changed our understanding of the human mind. This week she explores Carl Rogers' revolutionary approach to psychotherapy, led by the client and not the therapist. His influence can be seen throughout the field today.
Claudia meets Rogers' daughter, Natalie Rogers, who has followed in her father's footsteps and developed Expressive Arts Person-Centred Therapy, and hears more about the man from Maureen O'Hara of the National University at La Jolla, who worked with him. Richard McNally of Harvard University and Shirley Reynolds of Surrey University explain how far Rogers' influence extends today, and Claudia sees this for herself in a consulting room in downtown San Francisco, where she meets Person-Centred psychotherapist, Nina Utigaard.
Producer: Marya Burgess
Three Approaches to Psychotherapy (1965): film clips courtesy of Sharon K. Shostrom, Psychological & Educational Films.
MON 11:30 Secrets and Lattes (b063ztb3)
Series 2
Home and Away
It's Spring in Edinburgh with new beginnings are on the horizon for the staff of Cafe Culture.
Trisha is now engaged to her long-distance lover Richard and her big sister Clare is gradually working her way through her divorce. Laid-back Glaswegian chef, Callum, is struggling to let the reins go as his autistic son Max turns 18 while Lizzie is enjoying helping the officially-adult Max spread his wings.
Nobody quite seems to know where home is at the moment - including the stray dog that Lizzie has acquired.
Things come to a head when Max's birthday party doesn't quite go according to plan and an unwelcome encounter for Lizzie results in trauma all round.
Series two of Hilary Lyon's caffeine-fuelled sitcom.
Trisha ...... Hilary Maclean
Clare ...... Hilary Lyon
Lizzie ...... Pearl Appleby
Callum ...... Derek Riddell
Richard ...... Roger May
Max ...... Scott Hoatson
Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producers: Gordon Kennedy and Moray Hunter
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2015.
MON 12:00 News Summary (b063y5vr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 A History of Ideas (b063zv12)
How Can I Know Anything at All?
A history of ideas. Presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices.
Each week Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking 'How can I know anything at all?'
Helping him answer it are physicist Tara Shears, lawyer Harry Potter, philosopher Clare Carlisle and neuropsychologist Paul Broks.
For the rest of the week Tara, Harry, Clare and Paul will take us further into the history of this idea with programmes of their own. Between them they will examine: David Hume's debunking of miracles; Wittgenstein's attempt to prove that other people have minds; Karl Popper's idea of falsification, which underpins the scientific method; and George Berkeley's approach to a famous philosophical problem - If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Producer: Melvin Rickarby.
MON 12:15 You and Yours (b063zv14)
Pitching a novel, Criminal courts charge, Action fraud
The You and Yours Literary Agency is open! We speak to Rebecca Ritchie of Curtis Brown, the agent who is taking one line pitches over Twitter! And you can get one to her, send a very short one line pitch to us via the hashtag #youandyours or to youandyours@bbc.co.uk and you may get a verdict live on air!
Also, the Criminal Courts Charge is intended to make convicted criminals pay for the money the courts spend in dealing with them. We speak to Bob Hutchinson, a magistrate who has resigned saying it is unfair and will not generate much money.
Following the financial worries of Broadcasting Support Services, the private company which runs the Action Fraud helpline, we speak to the City of London Police about the record of the Fraud Reporting Hotline.
The Census is changing and John Pullinger the National Statistician can tell us how he will oversee pens and paper being replaced by mouse clicks.
And the consumer report which finds the people of Northern Ireland are being let down when it comes to online deliveries. Meanwhile, our reporter Pete Ross is on the streets of Glasgow, finding that there's controversy when it comes to bars' efforts to promote European-style cafe culture.
MON 12:57 Weather (b063y5vt)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b063zv16)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
MON 13:45 The Misogyny Book Club (b063zx16)
The Price of an Apple
Why was it Eve who was first tempted by the forbidden fruit - often characterised as an apple? And why is the maggot of misogyny still eating away at the core of society?
In this series, Jo Fidgen and a selection of readers take a fresh look at some of our most read books to discover how writers have distilled and influenced the hatred of women over centuries.
From the Bible to Fifty Shades of Grey, via Hamlet, Sons and Lovers, and fairytales, each episode takes as its starting point a text which has informed our culture, and contains misogynistic sentiments. Writers and other people with a personal connection to the texts discuss how these ideas have developed, and speak openly about how their own lives have been affected.
In the first episode, Jo and company read Genesis and consider Eve's role in the Fall of Man.
Why did the Early Fathers of the church put all the blame on her? And can a line be traced from their depiction of Eve all the way to modern-day attitudes to women? They consider the philosophical tradition of linking men with the mind and women with the body; how we condemn women for dressing seductively; and the resistance to women holding positions of authority.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b063zkxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b063zx18)
Silk: The Clerks' Room
Episode 1
By Mick Collins
Following the cuts to Legal Aid the pressure is mounting on Shoe Lane barristers' chambers. Head Clerk Billy Lamb (Neil Stuke) anticipates that they are on the brink of financial collapse and makes a desperate bid to secure work from an unscrupulous solicitor. But his wheeler-dealing creates unease in the Shoe Lane clerks' room and he soon finds himself at loggerheads with his star-performing barrister Rose Parker (Alex Tregear).
The drama series is inspired by the BBC One legal drama Silk and features the same core cast and characters from the TV show's clerks' room: Neil Stuke, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Amy Wren and John Macmillan.
As Billy Lamb would have it known, the Clerks' Room is the epicentre of everything that happens in a successful set of chambers like Shoe Lane. Barristers' clerks act as their agents; they get the cases, distribute the work, and can make or break careers. To some, they're a gang of wide-boys with an inflated sense of their own importance. To others, they're an essential pillar that dates back to the beginnings of the Inns of Court.
The television show Silk is created by Peter Moffat.
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko.
MON 15:00 Counterpoint (b063zx1b)
Series 29
Heat 9, 2015
(9/13)
Competitors from the North of England join Paul Gambaccini for the ninth and last heat in the 2015 tournament of the wide-ranging music quiz.
In which 20th century choral work would you hear the 'Song of the Wood-Dove'? And which jazz violinist claimed to have been born on board a ship carrying his Italian emigrant parents to the United States?
Today's trio of competitors will have to answer questions such as these in their attempt to win a semi-final place. They'll also have to choose a musical topic in which to specialise, from a list of five of which they've had no prior warning. Every musical genre and era is fair game, all the way from medieval music to opera, jazz, film and TV music and contemporary rock and pop.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b063yqpy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 With Great Pleasure (b063zx1d)
John Finnemore
Comedy writer and star of R4's Cabin Pressure John Finnemore presents his favourite funniest readings, with the help of his readers Stephanie Cole & Geoffrey Whitehead. Recorded in front of an audience at the BBC Radio Theatre. Great words from Julian Barnes, Kurt Vonnegut, Dorothy Parker, Philip Larkin, Jack Handey, Shakespeare and PG Wodehouse, and comedy archive from Chris Morris and Peter Cook contribute to a hilarious and warm-hearted show.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b063zx1g)
Series 12
Speed
The Need for Speed
The Monkey Cage returns from its tour of the USA, as Brian Cox and Robin Ince take to the stage of the BBC Radio Theatre to look at the science of speed. They are joined by comedian and former motoring correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, Alexei Sayle, Land Speed Record Holder Andy Green and Professor Danielle George from the University of Manchester. They'll be looking at the engineering challenges of creating the fastest vehicle on the planet, and whether the limits to human speed are engineering or the laws of physics themselves.
MON 17:00 PM (b063zx1j)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b063y5vw)
City trader found guilty of Libor rate rigging. Police appeal for anyone sexually abused by Sir Edward Heath, to come forward. Government to begin process to sell stake in RBS.
MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b063zxkx)
Series 63
Episode 4
The antidote to panel games pays a return visit to the Alban Arena in St Albans. Regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Omid Djalili with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell attempts piano accompaniment. Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b063zxkz)
Charlie offers Rob his congratulations before they sit down - at Charlie's request - to discuss the figures at Berrow. Charlie has noticed some anomalies and suggests that he'd better have a thorough look through the figures himself. Rob's defensive and annoyed but keeps his cool.
It seems it's time for Heather to move into long term care - Ruth will need to break this to Heather, who still seems to be looking forward to going home. Meanwhile, Ruth is organising the interviews for a contract milker at Brookfield - three people are lined up.
Helen's concerned about Rob, who's out of sorts after his meeting with Charlie. However, a visit from Peggy cheers them up. Peggy's happy for Helen and Rob as Helen shows off her 22 carat ring - there'll be confusion in the village, says Peggy, as the couple married in secret. Peggy gives Helen and Rob a cheque for £10,000 to start their married life with. She makes it out to 'Mr and Mrs Titchener'. Rob says it's far too much - they can't accept. However, Peggy insists. Charming Rob says they can soon sort out a joint bank account.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b063zxl1)
Sir James MacMillan, Penny Woolcock, The Gift, Road movies
Sir James MacMillan discusses his 4th Symphony - his first for 13 years - premiering at tonight's Prom, and how it was inspired by ritual and the work of Renaissance composer Robert Carver. He also talks about his close relationship with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra and his recent knighthood.
Award-winning film-maker Penny Woolcock discusses her new installation, Utopia, created in collaboration with designers Block 9. Woolcock spent months uncovering the stories of members of the public to produce complex soundscapes that paint a portrait of contemporary London and cover issues from inequality to education, crime, housing and social media.
Dreda Say Mitchell reviews psychological thriller The Gift, in which an acquaintance from one man's past brings him mysterious gifts and a horrifying secret to light after more than 20 years.
As families across the land pack their bags and load up the car for the summer holidays, Adam Smith reflects on that cinematic staple 'the road trip', and what lessons we could learn from the big screen before setting off.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b063zt9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 Women of Terror (b063zxl3)
From Russia's 19th century Nihilists to contemporary Sri Lanka and the Middle East women have played central roles in terror organisations. Attacks planned or executed by women certainly attract more attention and seem to inspire a different kind of fear.
Why are we still shocked by women who bomb, kidnap and kill? Why are they so effective? How can women be dissuaded from joining terrorist organisations? BBC Diplomatic Correspondent Bridget Kendall investigates the motives that drive these women and considers the response of the media and the public to those who have planted bombs, hijacked planes and killed innocents in their quest for political change.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b063cxn8)
A Mediterranean Rescue
In one of the largest operations of its kind, thousands of migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were pulled off cramped, unseaworthy boats in the Mediterranean in June. Gabriel Gatehouse has had rare access to the operation. He follows two young men as they try to find a new home in Europe, from the moment they board a privately-funded search and rescue ship, to their attempts to evade the Italian police.
MON 21:00 Natural Histories (b05w9b6j)
Dinosaurs
Our collective imaginations go wild at the thought of lumbering, ferocious beasts that were so powerful they once ruled the earth. T Rex scares us witless and diplodocus was an astonishing creature of breath taking proportions. It is no wonder then that dinosaur books, especially for children, appeared in the early nineteenth century and are still flying of the shelves today.
Dinosaur exhibitions always draw throngs of people. From the Crystal Palace dinosaurs in London built in the mid 19th Century to the wonderful animatronic models in today's modern museums, these ancient beasts speak to us of a different planet earth, lost in deep time, gone for ever. Yet they have left us bones and teeth that are still revealing amazing facts. Recent science shows most dinosaurs were not cold bloodied reptiles but warm blooded, feathered and colourful. They lived for 160 million years, occupying a warm humid planet rich in vegetation.
When we use the world 'dinosaur' we mean it as a derogatory term for someone who can't adapt but nothing could be further from the truth. These were supreme rulers that were brought down by an Act of God that defies imagination. So huge was the impact of the meteorite that the earth went cold and dark. Dinosaurs though will never leave us, we will take them with us into the future, in our stories, films and science and we will learn from their old bones ever more details about life on earth, and how even the most successful creatures on earth are, in reality, so fragile.
MON 21:30 The Listening Project (b063zt9p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b063y5vy)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b063zz86)
Former City trader jailed for 14 years over market rigging.
Court heard that Tom Hayes manipulated the key rate almost daily for nearly four years.
MON 22:45 Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void (b063zz88)
Episode 6
After Igor and Paul's disastrous help in Claude's pursuit of Ariadne, the writer has a new idea to court the waitress, and it's all to do with Claude's wealth.
Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.
Continued by Peter Serafinowicz.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Music: Money by The Flying Lizards and Je Veux by Zaz
Producer: Jenny Thompson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
MON 23:00 Short Cuts (b05r3w3l)
Series 7
Adaptation
Josie Long hears stories of adaptation.
A former ghost writer describes adapting someone else's life for the page, a woman who left Damascus considers how her city has changed in the last few years and we hear two stories of adapting to extraordinary circumstances - members of the Arctic 30 adjust to their new life inside a Russian prison, and a researcher perched on top of a Hawaiian volcano tests her psychological capacity to live on another planet.
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
The items featured in the programme are:
Invisible Ink
Feat. Mark McCrum
Produced by Olivia Humphreys
Martha's Mars
Feat. Martha Lenio
Produced by Tim Hinman
The Sound of Damascus
Feat. Sarah Dadouch
Produced by Fiona Clampin
Patience
Feat. Frank Hewetson and Dima Litvinov.
MON 23:30 New Wave at Westminster (b061017f)
Arcane and bewildering - that's how new members often find the House of Commons. Following the General Election there are 182 of them, who have been adjusting to their new life at Westminster.
Over the past few weeks, BBC Radio 4 has been following six of the new intake, recording their experiences, exploring their hopes and seeing whether this class of 2015 are going to make a difference.
Johnny Mercer was the unexpected Conservative winner for the seat of Plymouth, Moor View. A former captain in the British Army, he completed three combat tours of Afghanistan.
Maria Caulfield is the Conservative MP for Lewes, and until the election was a nurse at the Royal Marsden Hospital and a part-time shepherd.
Tulip Siddiq kept the seat of Hampstead and Kilburn for Labour by the slimmest of majorities. She is the granddaughter of the first President of Bangladesh and niece to the current Bangladeshi Prime Minister.
Jess Phillips is the Labour MP for Birmingham, Yardley, with a background of working with victims of domestic and sexual violence.
Tommy Sheppard is the new SNP MP for Edinburgh East and one of the older newbies at 56. He was previously Scottish Labour's Assistant General Secretary but more recently a comedy club owner.
Natalie McGarry is the SNP MP for Glasgow East and was a founder member of Women for Independence in 2012.
Martha Kearney looks at how these MPs from very diverse backgrounds are coping with the pressures of Westminster life and asks whether the class of 2015 is making an impression in the new parliament.
Producer: Kate Dixon.
TUESDAY 04 AUGUST 2015
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b063y5ww)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b063zt9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b063y5wy)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b063y5x0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b063y5x2)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b063y5x4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0651f5m)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Andrew Graystone.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b0640dr2)
Calais chaos hits Scottish fish, Tweeting farmers, Flowers to tempt bees
The chaos in Calais is hitting Scottish fishing - orders are 80 per cent down and one company has lost £100,000 of business.
Harvest 2015 is underway. Farming Today meets the media savvy farmers sharing their harvest with the world.
And floral food for busy bees. We discover the best flowers to attract and feed bees.
Presenter: Caz Graham. Producer: Sybil Ruscoe.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwy14)
Black-Headed Gull
Martin Hughes-Games presents the Black-Headed Gull.
Black-Headed Gulls are our commonest small gull and throughout the year you can identify them by their rather delicate flight action, red legs and the white flash on the front edge of their wings.
TUE 06:00 Today (b0640j57)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather, Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (b0640j59)
Geoff Palmer on brewing
Jim al-Khalili talks to botanist Geoff Palmer, the UK's only professor of brewing and distilling, about revolutionising the malting industry and his unusual scientific career after arriving from Jamaica in 1955 as a 14 year old boy. When he went for an interview for an MSc in 1964 the representative from the Ministry of Agriculture suggested he go back home and grow bananas. Why? Because he didn't know the difference between wheat and barley. Undeterred he went on to become a world authority on barley, brewing and distilling and Scotland's first black professor. His research on how malt could be made more quickly saved the brewing industry millions. But he says, it's only through good luck and with the help of good Samaritans that his career took the course it did, helping him get to university and even to finish school. Now at the age of 75, he's still fighting to make education and a scientific career available to everyone, regardless of their background.
TUE 09:30 One to One (b0640j5c)
Adrian Chiles speaks to Kerstin Rodgers
Adrian Chiles talks to Kerstin Rodgers, aka Ms Marmite Lover, food writer, cook and pioneer of the supper club movement.
It's well known that TV and radio presenter Adrian Chiles loves football. What's less well known is his real passion: food, both eating and cooking it. Adrian believes in the power of food to change lives, to improve society and to bring people together.
At this year's Bristol Food Connections festival, he recorded two editions of One to One in front of an audience with guests who have extraordinary life changing food stories to tell.
Kerstin's love of preparing, cooking and sharing food started early in life but a visit to Cuba and their paladar restaurants which are set up in people's homes, inspired her to try it here. She guides Adrian through the pleasures and pitfalls of cooking for strangers in your own house and charging them for the experience.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b064m621)
Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells
Episode 2
Marine biologist Dr Helen Scales tells the story of seashells; from the molluscs that create them to the humans who have used them as jewellery, symbol and even currency.
Episode 2
The author considers the human use of shells - from jewellery via fertility symbol through to their link with a dark episode in human history.
Written and read by Helen Scales
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Helen Scales' doctorate involved searching for giant, endangered fish in Borneo; she's also tagged sharks in California, and once spent a year cataloguing all the marine life she could find surrounding a hundred islands in the Andaman Sea. Helen appears regularly on BBC Radio 4 on programmes such as 'Inside Science' and 'Shared Planet' and has presented documentaries on topics such as whether people will ever live underwater, the science of making and surfing waves and the intricacies of sharks' minds.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0640j5f)
Lianne La Havas, Reverse ageism, Paulette Brown
Singer songwriter Lianne La Havas talks about striking up a musical friendship with Prince and about her new album, Blood.
Can being younger, or just looking younger, hinder your success at work?
A new novel, Motherland, is about a young girl growing up in the Midlands in the 1970s as the only teenage communist in town. The author talks about how fact meets fiction in her book.
Paulette Brown is the first black woman to lead the American Bar Assocation. She talks about her career and what she aims to focus on during her presidency.
Has snacking among young children increased? And if so, why and is it a problem?
Presenter: Emma Barnett
Producer: Lucinda Montefiore.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0640j5h)
Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater
Episode 2
When Jake returns from a shoot in Africa, Mrs Armitage throws a party for his film colleagues.
Helen McCrory and Paul Ready star in Penelope Mortimer's stark portrait of marriage and motherhood from 1962.
Dramatised by Georgia Fitch.
Mrs Armitage.....Helen McCrory
Jake Armitage.....Paul Ready
Doctor.....Chris Pavlo
Father.....Stephen Critchlow
Mother......Sheila Reid
Philpot/Dinah.....Rhiannon Neads
Bob Conway.....Mark Edel-Hunt
Beth Conway.....Alex Tregear
Giles.....Sam Dale
Journalist.....Neet Mohan
Director: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
TUE 11:00 Natural Histories (b05w9b64)
Meteorites
For thousands of years we have marvelled at the stones that fell from the sky. They were mysterious messages from the heavens; omens of luck and favour. Ancient Egyptians buried them in their tomb and Terry Pratchett put meteorite iron into his home made sword to enhance its mystical properties.
Myths and legends about meteorites abound in all cultures. In religious art they are visions in the sky foretelling of the apocalypse. Interest in them rocketed when it was finally accepted, as late as the 1970s that they did kill the dinosaurs, a scientific debate that took many years to settle and was hard fought. Meteorites are marvels; they are fragments of other worlds come to our home to remind us we are not alone and that above the sky there is a dynamic, restless universe.
Today people still believe meteorites contain magical minerals. The bizarre plants, Venus flytraps, only grow in the areas meteorites are found (by coincidence) and were thought to be plants brought down from another planet. We are all touched by the mystery of meteorites and today they are helping unravel the mysteries of our own solar system - and beyond.
TUE 11:30 The Great Songbook (b0640j5k)
Italy
In search of the musical heart of the nation, Cerys Matthews discusses the songs of Italy and pieces together her own Great Italian Songbook, with the help of literary scholar Francesco Durante, cultural historian Rachel Haworth and music journalist Federico Vacalebre.
Recorded in Naples at the Conservatorio di Musica San Pietro a Majella.
Producer: Martin Williams.
TUE 12:00 News Summary (b063y5x6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 A History of Ideas (b0640mxk)
Lawyer Harry Potter on Eyewitness Testimony
Barrister Harry Potter asks whether we can believe the evidence of our own eyes. It's a vital question for the justice system today and Harry traces it back to the work of 18th century Philosopher David Hume. Hume, a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, wrote about miracles, arguing they were most likely the product of wishful thinking and faulty perception. His arguments are still important for barristers, judges and juries still reliant on eye witness testimony to decide guilt or innocence.
To find out how our eyes deceive us, Harry meets professor Amina Menon, expert in eye witness evidence at Royal Holloway, University of London. And Harry visits professor of philosophy Peter Millican at Oxford University to ask whether Hume's methods can help us overcome our inbuilt biases.
Producer: Melvin Rickarby.
TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b0640mxm)
How has the Calais migrant crisis affected you?
Winifred Robinson asks how has the Calais migrant crisis affected you?
There have been thousands of attempts by migrants to access the Eurotunnel terminal in the last week. There have been severe delays on cross-Channel services. Labour has said people and businesses should get compensation and not bear the cost for "border security failures".
What's your experience of the problem? Have you seen what's happening in Calais first hand? Have your travel plans or business been affected?
TUE 12:57 Weather (b063y5x8)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b0640mxs)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
TUE 13:45 The Misogyny Book Club (b064khpq)
Sex and Silence
Are men afraid of women's sexuality? And if so, why?
Jo Fidgen and company look for clues in Shakespeare's Hamlet, in the second in a series of programmes exploring misogyny in some of our most read books. When the young prince attacks his mother over starting a new relationship in middle age, he reveals an age-old fear that women have insatiable sexual appetites, and a patriarch's urge to control them.
Actor Charlotte Cornwell, who played Gertrude in the RSC production of Hamlet, talks about how she identifies with the character and how it felt to be on the receiving end of Hamlet's insults.
The contributors discuss how women gained a reputation for licentiousness and whether they have ever shaken it off. Their conversation takes in the invisibility of older women in society; the subtle ways in which women are silenced; and the way women police themselves.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b063zxkz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b0640mxx)
Silk: The Clerks' Room
Episode 2
By Mick Collins
A rift at Shoe Lane causes prosecution to be pitted against defence, with Billy Lamb and his deputy John Bright vying for control of the clerks' room. Junior barrister Amy Lang risks becoming a pawn in their game as John makes promises that he can't keep.
As Head Clerk Billy Lamb (Neil Stuke) would have it known, the Clerks' Room is the epicentre of everything that happens in a successful set of chambers like Shoe Lane. Barristers' clerks act as their agents; they get the cases, distribute the work, and can make or break careers. To some, they're a gang of wide-boys with an inflated sense of their own importance. To others, they're an essential pillar that dates back to the beginnings of the Inns of Court.
The dramas feature the same core cast and characters from the TV show's Clerks' Room: Neil Stuke, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Amy Wren, John Macmillan.
The television show Silk is created by Peter Moffat.
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko.
TUE 15:00 Making History (b0640mxz)
Tom Holland is joined by Dr Francis Young and Dr Charles Insley to discuss Aethelwold's rebellion, the cult of Saint Edmund and how Catholic martyrs turned execution into theatre.
TUE 15:30 Random Radio (b0640my1)
Marcus du Sautoy
A series which encourages guests to "think with the heart and feel with the intellect." This week, Murray Lachlan Young invites mathematician Marcus du Sautoy to combine his favourite sounds and his most passionately held ideas in unexpected ways by feeding them into an electronic device. Murray has not prepared an interview but, instead, he and Marcus respond spontaneously to what the device returns to them in the form of short audio snippets. Neither of them knows which of the sounds, music and speech the device will select, nor how it will combine them. The idea is to throw up connections that might not have occurred to guests otherwise, and to encourage them to think and feel about their concerns and passions in a different way. Marcus's sounds include evocations of the moment he discovered his passions for maths and for playing the trumpet, Indian and Ghanaian musical rhythms, and a 1930s speech by a German mathematician ending with the words "Wir mÃ1/4ssen wissen. Wir werden wissen." ("We must know. We will know."), which he takes issue with. These, and Marcus's other sounds, are knitted together with audio suggested by his passion for prime numbers, proofs and contradictions. The result is unpredictable and far ranging, taking Murray and Marcus into areas of doubt, faith, infinity and the possibility of knowing the unknowable. The unpredictability increases as the device introduces some audio of its own, drawn from the BBC Radio archives, to create even more unusual associations between apparently disparate material, and to alter perspectives on familiar issues. Producer: Adam Fowler An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 16:00 The Move (b04md4np)
A Move into the Unknown
In a brand new series aims to satisfy our fascination with moving, as Rosie Millard charts the progress of people across the UK as they take the plunge and look for a new home - whether out of necessity or just for a change.
Whether contemplating a mansion or a shoe-box, all her subjects have one thing in common - it's a jump into the unknown, somewhere where there is no network of friends waiting for them, no family and no preconceptions.
In the first programme we follow Hannah and John, cycling fanatics, who are hoping to buy a live/work space in a converted mill in the Yorkshire dales. It's a big step for them both as Hannah has always lived in the far South of England, and now contemplates a new life in the North, whilst John, Cumbrian born and bred has, like so many 30 somethings, still kept his room on at his parent's house. Most of the time he just lives out of a kit bag as he travels the world as a cycle guide, and he certainly never contemplated having a mortgage.
Trudi, meanwhile, is facing eviction for the second time in two years, as her run-down flat in Islington has dramatically turned into prime London real estate. "There was a two bed flat across the road went on the market for £770,000. It was sold in a week!"
The notice to quit has arrived, and as a wheelchair user she's facing life on the streets or in sheltered accommodation, something she's none too pleased to contemplate at the age of 55 - "It's like God's waiting room..."
But as Rosie finds out, things don't always turn out for the worst, or the best, in the moving business.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b0640p3r)
Series 37
Ian McKellen on Edmund Hillary
On May 29 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest. Both men immediately became famous worldwide. The actor Sir Ian McKellen, then a young teenager in Burnley, was clearly struck by the achievement. In later life he met Hillary in New Zealand and has strong memories of a modest man whose first job was beekeeping. "I did a good job on Everest," Hillary once said, "but have always known my limitations and I found being classified as a hero slightly embarrassing."
Joining Sir Ian McKellen to discuss the life of this fascinating man - he took a tractor to the South Pole in 1958 and became High Commissioner to India in 1985 - is the author of Everest 1953, Mick Conefrey. He reveals the epic story of the first ascent, plus discusses Hillary's work with the Himalayan Trust.
The presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer Miles Warde.
TUE 17:00 PM (b0640pnv)
News interviews, context and analysis.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b063y5xb)
Police are investigating child sexual abuse claims made against the former Prime Minister
TUE 18:30 It's Not What You Know (b0640pnx)
Series 3
Episode 6
Who does Susan Calman often get mistaken for? What does Vernon Kay consider his career lowlight? What's the naughtiest thing Sara Pascoe did as a child?
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 Susan Calman picks her friend, presenter Vernon Kay picks his old university pal, and comedian Sara Pascoe chooses her mum.
Producer: Matt Stronge.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b0640rql)
Susan's excited about the shop reopening on the green soon. Helen shows off her wedding ring to Elizabeth. Jill and Elizabeth discuss Bert, who's feeling keen (with his marrows) ahead of the Flower and Produce Show. They also discuss Hester -a friend of Carol's in Bristol, whose husband has died.
Jill looks forward to the W.I Centenary on Sept 16th - but they'll need a venue for Ambridge events as the Village Hall is out of use. Carol has been helpful in doing research about the origins of the W.I.
Shula mentions that Alistair's important work meeting (which made him miss catching up with Dan at Lulworth) didn't come to anything. Shula shares that she has pondered the idea of moving way - just a silly idea really, but she has pictured getting a little place abroad.
Jill suggests a joint birthday party on Sunday for Shula and Kenton, and offers the Stables to host it. Kenton makes it clear to Jill he's not interested in a big family occasion - it'd be sheer hypocrisy. Kenton eventually caves in and accepts Shula's suggestion. Anyway, he's feeling pretty upbeat - they'll be hearing from the insurers soon and plan to start the refurbishments on the Bull.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b0640rqn)
Li Cunxin, Playing William Shakespeare, How art responded to the atomic bomb
Former ballet star and stockbroker Li Cunxin discusses growing up during Mao's Cultural Revolution in China, and bringing his Australian ballet company to the Coliseum in London to perform La Sylphide.
This week marks 70 years since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where more than 200,000 people were killed. To consider how popular culture has responded to the atomic bomb, Front Row brings together documentary maker Simon Guerrier, science-fiction novelist Kim Newman, and journalist Jon Savage to discuss work from ranging from Stanley Kubrick's film Dr Strangelove, to Frankie Goes to Hollywood's song Two Tribes.
Plus actor and writer Gareth Somers discusses creating a new one-man show opening at the Attic Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in which Shakespeare re-lives his own life story.
Presenter Samira Ahmed
Producer Ella-mai Robey.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0640j5h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Experiments in Living (b0640sp5)
Social historian Juliet Gardiner questions the 1930s dream of a semi-detached home in the suburbs, where 'a man's home is his castle' to live in splendid isolation with his nuclear family.
This ideal was born out of the raw memory of the over-crowded slums which had only recently been cleared, making the idea of a home of one's own so precious. But Juliet argues this dream is doing us no favours at all when facing the challenges of how to live today. She asks if we really want or need as much privacy as we think we do.
Today we are in the throes of an acute housing crisis and people are being forced to experiment with new ways to live to put a roof over their head. Juliet draws parallels with the housing crisis after World War Two, when slum clearances and bombs led to a huge housing shortage. What ideas and lessons can she bring from the experiments of the past to the experiments of the present?
Juliet shares her knowledge of the post-1945 period when people began to live more communally. While they were glad to be out of the shelters, many wanted to retain the greater sense of community, camaraderie and communal living. Big country houses were sold off cheaply and bought by groups of families, sharing resources and child-care.
She meets participants in 'Home Share' an initiative which matches older people who live alone and want company, with younger people who are struggling to afford rents. She also hears about 'property guardian' schemes, whereby participants live in an empty property for a low rent, matching their need for affordable housing with the owner's need to protect the security of their property.
Do any of these experiments present an answer to the housing crisis?
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b0640spc)
Uveitis, Airport assistance, Professor John Hull
Dr Maria Dawson, from RNIB, explains why the charity is considering legal action following NHS England's decision to refuse funding for the Anti TNF drugs, used to treat patients with a rare eye condition, Uveitis.
Diane Roworth, CEO of York Blind & Partially-Sighted Society, tells of her recent experience returning from a sailing holiday in Greece when, having requested assistance, she was provided with a wheelchair, rather than a guiding arm by airport staff. Apologies all round from those involved.
And In Touch pays tribute to Professor John Hull, a longtime friend of the programme, who died recently aged 80.
Producer: Cheryl Gabriel.
TUE 21:00 Rock, Paper, Scissors (b0640tzr)
We've all played Rock, Paper, Scissors, and first sight it looks like a simple game of chance. But, says Jolyon Jenkins, there is far more to it than meets the eye.
In a bar in Philadelphia, hardened players meet four times a week to battle it out in an eight week tournament that will net the winner $1000. For them it's "poker without the cards", predicting what the other person is going to throw, at the same time as they are trying to predict your move.
The economic discipline of "game theory" says that this is a waste of time. The only "rational" way to play rock, paper, scissors, is to make your moves randomly. If you manage to do this, you are guaranteed a draw, and this is the best you can hope for. In fact, most people are very bad at playing randomly, which means that the best players, who can spot their patterns, consistently win.
But even if you can predict someone's next move correctly, you need to take account of the fact that they might change it to take account of your prediction. So you need to second guess them. And they are trying to second guess you. So you third guess them. But how far ahead can you, or should you, think? The question goes far beyond rock, paper, scissors: whether you're the leader of a country at war trying to work out what the enemy is doing (while they try to do the same), or a motorist trying to decide whether to avoid motorway congestion by coming off at a junction, we're all trying to second guess (and third guess...) each other's actions.
As Jolyon discovers, most game theory assumes that we are perfectly rational, guessing infinitely far ahead about each other's moves. But the experimental evidence suggests most of us only think about one and a half steps ahead. Or to put it another way - although people may be thinking about what you are thinking, they are unlikely to be thinking about what you are thinking they are thinking.
TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (b0640j59)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b063y5xd)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b0640tzt)
Ted Heath child abuse allegations investigated by five police forces.
We hear from a former aide to the late PM and discuss the reporting of the allegations and Ted Heath's sexuality.
TUE 22:45 Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void (b0640tzw)
Episode 7
Claude and Ariadne are united by their love of French philosophy until he learns she is in love with another.
Meanwhile Paul looks for investment in a business for the lovesick.
Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.
Read by Peter Serafinowicz.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Producer: Jenny Thompson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
TUE 23:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b063zx1g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Monday]
TUE 23:30 Wireless Nights (b01ghc56)
Series 1
Night Manoeuvres
Jarvis Cocker continues his prowl through the dark in the last of his new series Wireless Nights.
This evening he invites you on a curb crawl around the seamy side of town as he explores the theme 'night manoeuvres'. Driving through London he weaves his way in and out of the lives of other night riders who are always on the move. He joins a private invstigator in Nottingham on a car chase and stake out on the trail of a man suspected to be having an affair; he finds a minicab driver lost in the Mersey fog between fares, haunted by an eerie bell; and is encircled by street skaters who spin around the neon-lit West End and dark car parks seeking thrills on wheels.
The ride might get a bit hairy at times, but he promises to drop you off safely at the end.
Produced by Neil McCarthy and Laurence Grissell
WEDNESDAY 05 AUGUST 2015
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b063y5y7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b064m621)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b063y5y9)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b063y5yc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b063y5yf)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b063y5yh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0651f7v)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Andrew Graystone.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b06418l1)
New protests about low lamb and milk prices
Farmers are taking new action against low lamb and milk prices. Farming Today is at Wigton Market in Cumbria to hear what farmers think, and we hear from the British Retail Consortium which represents supermarkets.
In our Harvest 2015 special, we hear about an unusual harvest near the M25 in north London.
Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Sybil Ruscoe.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwy1y)
Golden Plover
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 Golden Plover. If, among a flock of lapwings circling over a ploughed field, you see smaller birds with wings like knife-blades and bell-like calls ... these are golden plovers.
WED 06:00 Today (b06418l3)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather, Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 What's the Point of...? (b06418l5)
Series 7
The Met Office
NOTE: This programme is no longer available following the outcome of a finding by the BBC Trust. Follow the link at the bottom of this page to read the full report.
PROGRAMME SYNOPSIS:
Quentin Letts begins a new series casting a critical but amicable eye across institutions at the heart of British life, asking the question 'What's the Point Of...?
From its origins after a sea disaster 150 years ago, its importance during World War II, to its daily weather predictions, the Met Office has been part British life for a long time but, as Quentin finds out, its future is part of a complex debate involving a £97 million super-computer, the accuracy of long term weather predictions and the science of climate change.
Is the Met Office a valuable national asset providing essential and possibly life-saving information about severe weather or an expensive liability, dropping forecasting clangers like the barbecue summer and missing the Great Storm of 1987?
With help from Met Office veterans, independent weather forecasters and a word or two or advice from those trusty weather folklore experts - the farmers, Quentin asks "What's the point of the Met Office. 1/4
Producer: Vince Hunt
Series Producer: Amanda Hancox.
WED 09:30 Witness (b06418l7)
The Fall of Saigon
In 1975 US troops airlifted hundreds of people out of the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon as North Vietnamese troops closed in. They were the final days of the Vietnam war and although most American soldiers had long since left the city, there were some left who helped desperate people escape to aircraft carriers waiting off the coast. Hear from Stu Herrington and Vern Jumper, two former American servicemen.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b064mb5t)
Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells
Episode 3
Marine biologist Dr Helen Scales tells the story of seashells; from the molluscs that create them to the humans who have used them as jewellery, symbol and even currency.
Episode 3
Helen Scales investigates the bizarre world of the hermit crab and uncovers the truth behind the near-mythical substance 'sea silk'.
Written and read by Helen Scales
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Helen Scales' doctorate involved searching for giant, endangered fish in Borneo; she's also tagged sharks in California, and once spent a year cataloguing all the marine life she could find surrounding a hundred islands in the Andaman Sea. Helen appears regularly on BBC Radio 4 on programmes such as 'Inside Science' and 'Shared Planet' and has presented documentaries on topics such as whether people will ever live underwater, the science of making and surfing waves and the intricacies of sharks' minds.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b06418l9)
Andy Burnham MP, the pill and endometrial cancer, male muses
Andy Burnham Labour leadership contender speaks to Emma Barnett ahead of his manifesto launch; new research reveals the impact of the combined contraceptive pill on preventing endometrial cancer, with author of the study Dame Valerie Beral from the University of Oxford; historian Bettany Hughes on her new TV series about three giants of philosophy, the Buddha, Socrates and Confuscius all who, she says, have remarkable views on women and the role of women; males muses: the image of the female muse is a familiar one but can a man be a muse and an inspiration for creative women? With writer Kim Devereux and poet Clare Pollard.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b06418lc)
Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater
Episode 3
Mrs Armitage makes a confession.
Helen McCrory and Paul Ready star in Penelope Mortimer's stark portrait of marriage and motherhood from 1962.
Dramatised by Georgia Fitch.
Mrs Armitage.....Helen McCrory
Jake Armitage.....Paul Ready
Doctor.....Chris Pavlo
Father.....Stephen Critchlow
Mother.....Sheila Reid
Philpot/Dinah.....Rhiannon Neads
Bob Conway.....Mark Edel-Hunt
Beth Conway.....Alex Tregear
Giles.....Sam Dale
Journalist.....Neet Mohan
Director: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b06418lf)
Robin and Anne – Doing More
Fi Glover introduces a conversation recorded in the mobile Booth at Sutton House in Hackney, where a son admits to his mother that growing up in a politicised home has left him feeling he should probably be taking a firmer stand. 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 Three Pounds in My Pocket (b06419cw)
Series 2
Episode 1
In the second series Kavita Puri picks up the story of the early pioneers from the Indian subcontinent in 1968: the year of a significant Race Relations Act and Enoch Powell. She charts the years to 1976 when the make-up of the South Asian community in Britain was changing. Young single men came after the Second World War with as little as £3 because of strict currency exchange rules. By the 1960s family reunions had already taken place for many Sikh and Hindu families. By the 70's, as Pakistani men became more settled, their wives joined them too. Increased numbers of Bangladeshi men came over following the war of Independence in 1971, but most of their wives would not come over until the following decade. Asians also came from East Africa in the late 60's and early 70's. Against this new tide of migration, this programme charts how the three pound generation - many here for two decades - responded to the new arrivals. With increased numbers, the community became more visible. We see how the atmosphere on the street was changing towards them - in contrast to the post-war years - where many had been greeted with curiosity. Racist abuse became commonplace as immigration became a charged political issue.
Producer: Smita Patel
With help from Dr Florian Stadtler, University of Exeter.
WED 11:30 In and Out of the Kitchen (b06418ms)
Series 4
The Supplement
Damien is offered the chance to present his own television series all about "street food", something which doesn't initially appeal, particularly as he is busy editing the food supplement for a Sunday newspaper - territory which is far more familiar.
But when he is forced to become more populist to placate the paper's editor, perhaps this is the time to finally take the plunge into the murky world of "TV".
And Damien's boundaries are further tested when his kitchen is commandeered by Anthony and Mr Mullaney, who are in the midst of planning a property renovation company together.
Damien Trench ...... Miles Jupp
Anthony ...... Justin Edwards
Ian Frobisher ...... Philip Fox
Mr Mullaney ...... Brendan Dempsey
Livi Hollinshead ...... Alex Tregear
Paula, the Editor ...... Jessica Turner
Arlo Chance ...... Stephen Critchlow
It was written by Justin Edwards.
The producer was Sam Michell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b063y5yk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 A History of Ideas (b0641bg2)
Physicist Tara Shears on Falsification
Science is based on fact, right? Cold, unchanging, unarguable facts. Perhaps not, says physicist Tara Shears.
Tara is more inclined to follow the principles of the Anglo-Austrian philosopher, Karl Popper. He believed that human knowledge progresses through 'falsification'. A theory or idea shouldn't be described as scientific unless it could, in principle, be proven false.
Raised in a Vienna in thrall to Marxism and Freudianism, Popper bristled against these 'sciences' which could adapt and survive to prevailing political and social conditions. They could not be proven false and so they were not science. The ideas of Einstein, by contrast, could be tested scientifically and might one day be proven false.
An interesting principle certainly, but potentially demoralising for a scientist who could see her life's work dissolve in front of her eyes. Tara joins her colleagues at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva to ponder the implications of Popper's work. She also meets Popper's former student, John Worrall and string theoretician David Tong.
This is part of a week of programmes asking how we can know anything at all.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b0641bg4)
Hire car charges, Adoption stories, Rubbish cars, Puppy trade
Consumer news including:
The car rentals that cost hundreds of pounds more for an airport pick-up.
The criminal gang given prison sentences for selling sick and dying puppies.
The drivers who still love cars that gave the British motor industry a bad name.
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Jon Douglas.
WED 12:57 Weather (b063y5ym)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b0641bg6)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
WED 13:45 The Misogyny Book Club (b064kjm4)
Unhappily Ever After
What do fairy tales teach girls about what a woman should be?
In the third in a series of programmes exploring misogyny in some of our most read books, a young primary school teacher and an Oxford professor who specialises in fairy stories join Jo Fidgen to discuss the messages encoded in these well-loved morality tales, and the effect they can have on women's sense of worth.
They engage in a revealing discussion about their depiction of violence against women. In the witch hunts of the 17th century, women were targeted for resembling the witches of fairy tales. Today, one woman talks about her experience of tolerating abuse in the hope of living happily ever after.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b0640rql)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b0641bpt)
Silk: The Clerks' Room
Episode 3
By Mick Collins
Time is running out for Billy Lamb as he struggles to save Shoe Lane. With days remaining for him to secure a guaranteed income, his only option is to force the hand of an unscrupulous solicitor. But where will he find the leverage? A suspicious alibi in a GBH trial provides a clue.
As Head Clerk Billy Lamb (Neil Stuke) would have it known, the Clerks' Room is the epicentre of everything that happens in a successful set of chambers like Shoe Lane. Barristers' clerks act as their agents; they get the cases, distribute the work, and can make or break careers. To some, they're a gang of wide-boys with an inflated sense of their own importance. To others, they're an essential pillar that dates back to the beginnings of the Inns of Court.
The dramas feature the same core cast and characters from the TV show's Clerks' Room: Neil Stuke, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Amy Wren, John Macmillan and Jessica Henwick.
The television show Silk is created by Peter Moffat.
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko.
WED 15:00 The New Workplace (b063zn9h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
WED 15:30 Rock, Paper, Scissors (b0640tzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 The Business of Film with Mark Kermode (b0536932)
Development Hell
Film critic Mark Kermode reveals the economic realities behind the film industry. In the first part of the series, Mark finds out about the journey from script to screen - a path littered with obstacles.
Many films languish in so-called "Development Hell", where producers turn in scripts, listen to conflicting opinions and resubmit their storylines hoping for a magical green light. Some will make it, such as Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin which took 13 years to get to the screen. Others, like Lynda Obst's film about an Ebola outbreak in the late 1980s, may finally see the light of day, in some form, twenty years on.
Away from the art and artifice lie the financial barriers to getting a film made. For some, the movie industry in 2015 is little more than the 'branded carnival business'. The Hollywood studio system seeks success, replication, and reliability. Has an industry that was built by risk takers now become risk averse? Independent movie makers struggle to raise the finance for their films while the big studios produce movies that they know will turn a profit.
We hear from the BFI, Channel 4 and BBC Films on the support they are offering. Experts within film finance describe their model, but Lock Stock and Kick Ass producer Matthew Vaughn, who has turned a profit on every film he has made, believes there is no such thing as a British film industry and movies should not be subsidised with tax breaks, adding that the industry is just a 'glamorised service provider'.
Producers: Barney Rowntree and Nick Jones
A Hidden Flack production for Radio 4.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b0643t5x)
Media bans for sports journalists, Vice's new women's channel, Clarkson on Amazon Prime
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called on the Football Association to act on a "worrying trend" among its member clubs of handing out media bans. It comes days after Scottish football columnist on The Times, Graham Spiers, along with a BBC journalist, was banned from Rangers. Andrea Catherwood talks to Graham Spiers, who explains how his journalism has impacted on relationships with football clubs; NUJ President Michelle Stanistreet about her concerns over clubs having this power, and Professor Tim Luckhurst from the University of Kent about how the rise in clubs' own TV channels, websites and blog sites are increasing the control they yield.
The expanding digital media brand Vice has launched a new women's interest channel. "Broadly" says it will cover stories affecting women that the mainstream media fails to cover properly. It will run in partnership with the multi-national consumer goods company Unilever and cover subjects including politics, sex and fashion. Andrea Catherwood speaks to Editor in Chief Tracie Egan Morrissey about the channel's editorial remit, and what she thinks women want from a news provider.
Former BBC Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have been signed up to present a new show on Amazon's streaming video service. They'll front a new motoring programme on Amazon Prime - with the first season available in 2016. Andrea Catherwood talks to Michael Underhill, TV analyst at Enders Analysis, about the platform's market position and how it hopes the trio will boost its offering. And Mark Wells, former ITV controller of Entertainment, discusses how the deal marks a moment that sees top talent no longer beholden to free to air broadcasters like ITV and the BBC.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b06555ll)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b063y5yp)
Kids Company founder blames rumour-mongering civil servants for its closure
WED 18:30 Sketchorama (b06172dj)
Series 4
Episode 1
The Twins Macabre, Massive Dad, and The Penny Dreadfuls.
Award winning actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit
Every show spotlights three up and coming groups featuring character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.
There are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch groups on the British Comedy scene but with no dedicated broadcast format. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves.
Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2015.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b0643t5z)
Pat's keen for she and Tony to get out more and enjoy their retirement. They discuss Helen - Rob has made her so happy. Pat slightly regrets the nature of the wedding, but Tony says the important thing is that they're happy and did it their way.
Emma and Fallon are doing the catering for the Lower Loxley Opera. Meanwhile, Jim is teaching Christine Italian. Emma's miffed that she and Fallon won't get to be Helen's maids of honour following the secret wedding. Susan gossips about why they felt the need for a 'shotgun' wedding. Ed distracts Emma by asking about her birthday meal - Emma wants Ed to surprise her. Emma reminds Ed to call Eddie about getting some store cattle for the Primestock show. Ed borrows Tony's trailer and asks him to come along with him next week to advise. Tony's chuffed and flattered - proud to be able to pass on his knowledge.
Susan has been trying to contact Hazel about the village shop reopening, but hasn't had an answer (how rude!). Susan calls a meeting of the shop committee and announces that they're moving with the times - she wants the staff to wear tabards with captions.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b0643t61)
Noah Baumbach, Playwright Helen Edmundson, Spanish thriller Marshland
Film screenwriter and director Noah Baumbach discusses Mistress America, another New York hipster film starring his writing partner and real-life girlfriend Greta Gerwig, with whom he also wrote Frances Ha.
Playwright Helen Edmundson talks to Kirsty about her new play The Heresy of Love at Shakespeare's Globe which deals with the extraordinary 17th century nun and playwright Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz, who was one of Mexico's leading intellectuals who was silenced by the Church.
In a new Spanish thriller Marshland (La Isla Minima), two homicide detectives have to bury their differences to find a serial killer on the loose. Ryan Gilbey reviews the film.
As the University of East Anglia - home of the late Malcolm Bradbury's Creative Writing course - launches its British Archive for Contemporary Writing, its founder Chris Bigsby discusses the importance of the collection which features unseen correspondence and work by writers such as Doris Lessing, JD Salinger, Nadine Gordimer and WG Sebald.
Presenter Kirsty Lang
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06418lc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b0643t63)
666 Evil
Looking back at some of the stories that have been in the news during this series of Moral Maze you could be forgiven for despairing of humanity. The suspected firebombing by Jewish settlers killing a Palestinian baby, the white supremacist who shot dead nine people at a church in South Carolina and where to start with so-called IS? Public stoning, mass executions and lessons in beheading for school children are just some of their stock-in-trade. Faced with such a litany of horrors it's tempting to reach for the word "evil" - nothing else quite does justice to the enormity of this kind of barbarity. If we can comfortably categorise an action as evil, what about the people who carried them out? Are they evil too? The problem of evil has long exercised theologians and moral philosophers. As our understanding of psychology and the neurosciences has developed what role should the notion of evil have in our moral, political, and legal thinking? Is evil an out-dated, redundant superstition which should be abandoned? Are we all, given sufficient provocation or circumstance, capable of committing evil acts? And if that is the case is there no horror which cannot be explained away? If we abandon the concept of evil what does that do to the idea of free will? Without evil would we drift into moral relativism? Or is the charge of being evil an easy get out for us all? By suggesting that evil is something alien and other, something of which we are possessed, that takes us over, it conveniently absolves us of the deeply unpleasant task of recognising that these people are part of our world. On the six hundredth and sixty-sixth edition of the programme the Moral Maze looks at the problem of evil.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b0643t65)
The End of the Age of Ideas
Robert Rowland Smith argues that we are coming to the end of the Age of Ideas. He examines how different 'ages' - of superstition, religion, reason and ideas - have emerged and gradually been eclipsed. And he hints at the age we may be about to enter.
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton.
WED 21:00 Rewinding the Menopause (b0643vfl)
Dr Aarathi Prasad looks at how new research into women's fertility may help stave off the menopause, improving health and quality of life.
The conventional wisdom is that a woman has a finite number of eggs which begin dying off before she is even born. Researchers in the 1950s counted the number of healthy eggs in human ovaries over the course of a life time. After the menopause none remain.
In 2004, Dr Jonathan Tilly's lab at the Massachusetts General Hospital challenged this assumption when they identified cells they believed could replenish a woman's bank of eggs. The research is controversial as it has yet to be convincingly replicated, although scientists like Dr Evelyn Telfer - once sceptical of Dr Tilly's claims - have isolated the cells and already produced some promising results.
Meanwhile, medical colleagues in Edinburgh have been freezing ovarian tissue, harvested from patients who - either through illness or medical treatment such as chemotherapy - face an early menopause. The aim is to use the patient's ovarian tissue at a later date to reverse the menopause and restore their fertility.
In the long-term, such research could have implications for all menopausal women. However, obstetrician Dr Susan Bewley warns that benefits could come at a cost. She believes the menopause is a natural part of aging and there are risks in trying to reverse it.
So what might the future hold for the application of this new research?
Producer: Sara Parker
A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 21:30 What's the Point of...? (b06418l5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b06552y0)
MH370: Debris found in Indian Ocean confirmed as coming from missing plane.
The flight went down 17 months ago, with 239 people on board
WED 22:45 Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void (b0643vfn)
Episode 8
Paul tries to interest Claude in his waitress surveillance business when he meets his former editor who mistakes Claude for Paul's lover.
But who knows where the charade will lead?
Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.
Read by Peter Serafinowicz.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Producer: Jenny Thompson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
WED 23:00 Terry Alderton's All Crazy Now (b0643vfq)
Chicken Pole Vault
There's a pole vaulting chicken, a racing cow, a dancing bear and several confused inner voices. Street Kid is back with Morgan the Free Man and an ironic Australian - or is it an ironic Englishman? Irony is harder than it looks.
Let Terry take you on a sonic journey through comedy and possible madness. Prepare to be surprised, shocked and delighted.
Written by and starring Terry Alderton.
Additional material by Johnny Spurling, Boothby Graffoe, Richard Melvin, Julia Sutherland and Owen Parker.
Sound designed by Sean Kerwin
Producer: Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2015.
WED 23:15 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b01s8mpr)
Series 2
About Careful Driving
Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing - tells the story of young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who after becoming the first in his family to graduate from University, opted not to use his architecture degree but instead to try his hand at being a full-time stand-up comedian, much to his family's annoyance who desperately want him to get a 'proper job.'
Each episode illustrates the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his disapproving family as he tries to pursue his chosen career.
The series is a mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.
Janet a.k.a. Mum is probably the kindest and most lenient of the disappointed family members. At the end of the day she just wants the best for her son. However, she aint looking embarrassed for nobody!
Martin a.k.a. Dad is clumsy and hard-headed and leaves running the house to his wife (she wouldn't allow it to be any other way).
Shirley a.k.a. Grandma cannot believe she left the paradise in the West Indies and came to the freezing United Kingdom for a better life so that years later her grandson could 'tell jokes!' It's not the good Christian way!
So with all this going on in the household what will Nathan do? Will he be able to persist and follow his dreams? Or will he give in to his family's interference?
About Careful Driving
Nathan Caton acknowledges that his Dad loves his car more than him.
Nathan ..... Nathan Caton
Mun ..... Adjoa Andoh
Dad ..... Curtis Walker
Grandma ..... Mona Hammond
Sue ..... Chizzy Akudolu
Police Officer ..... Don Gilet
Police Officer 2 ..... Ola
Written by Nathan Caton and James Kettle.
Additional Material by Ola and Maff Brown.
Produced by Katie Tyrrell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2013.
WED 23:30 Wireless Nights (b04lpyj1)
Series 3
Reaching for the Moon
Jarvis Cocker attempts to fly to the moon, with the aid of astronaut Chris Hadfield - famous for his rendition of David Bowie's Space Oddity on the International Space Station.
En route he hears stories of those touched by the moon in its many manifestations.
Producer: Laurence Grissell
THURSDAY 06 AUGUST 2015
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b063y5zj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b064mb5t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b063y5zl)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b063y5zn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b063y5zq)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b063y5zs)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0651fb3)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Andrew Graystone.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b0643x5x)
Sea bass, Harvest, Broadband
The Fisheries Minister George Eustice announces new measures to help save sea bass stocks, which are at their lowest levels for 20 years. However, it means a financial hit for some fishermen. Andrew Pascoe catches bass off the Cornish coast and says the new rules mean his business will have to shrink by about 15%.
Wiltshire farmer Richard Guy has come up with a novel way of getting around the lack of good broadband. He's been tapping in to the 4G signal that crosses his farm, and by using a home-built wooden tower, a couple of plastic tool boxes, and a thousand yards of fibre optic cable he's built himself some superfast broadband. Now he's setting up a business offering advice to other farmers on how to do it. Emma Campbell visits his farm on Salisbury Plane to find out more.
As harvest is being brought in all around the UK, Caz Graham talks to Alan Taylor who works as a contract farmer near Penrith. He lets her have a look around a brand new hi tech harvester.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Ruth Sanderson.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwyv9)
Common Crane
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 Common Crane. Common Cranes were extinct in the UK in the 17th century. Now, they are being re-introduced to the Somerset Levels and Moors. The aim is to release a hundred birds into the wild over five years and establish a strong population.
THU 06:00 Today (b0643x5z)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather, Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 Inside the Ethics Committee (b0643x61)
Series 11
Teenager Refuses Chemotherapy
Ashley is 14 years old when doctors discover a brain tumour. Tests reveal that it's highly treatable; there's a 95% chance of cure if he has a course of radiotherapy.
Ashley begins the treatment but he has to wear a mask which makes him very anxious and the radiotherapy itself makes him sick. He finds it increasingly difficult to bear and he starts to miss his sessions.
Despite patchy treatment Ashley's cancer goes into remission. He and his mother are thrilled but a routine follow-up scan a few months later shows that the cancer has returned.
Ashley is adamant that he will not have the chemotherapy that is recommended this time. He threatens that he will run away if treatment is forced on him. Although Ashley is only 15 he is 6'2" and restraining him would not be easy.
Should the medical team and his mother persuade him to have the chemotherapy? Or should they accept his decision, even though he is only 15?
Joan Bakewell and her panel discuss the issues.
Producers: Beth Eastwood & Lorna Stewart
Photo Credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b064md1q)
Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells
Episode 4
Marine biologist Dr Helen Scales tells the story of seashells; from the molluscs that create them to the humans who have used them as jewellery, symbol and even currency.
Episode 4
Helen Scales explores the impact of fossilised shells on agriculture and geology, and peeks into the driven world of the shell collector.
Written and read by Helen Scales
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Helen Scales' doctorate involved searching for giant, endangered fish in Borneo; she's also tagged sharks in California, and once spent a year cataloguing all the marine life she could find surrounding a hundred islands in the Andaman Sea. Helen appears regularly on BBC Radio 4 on programmes such as 'Inside Science' and 'Shared Planet' and has presented documentaries on topics such as whether people will ever live underwater, the science of making and surfing waves and the intricacies of sharks' minds.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b065541l)
Hiroshima atomic bomb 70th anniversary
On the 70th Anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, we hear the story of one survivor Setsuko Thurlow.
Queens of Crime; Dorothy L Sayers, best known for her amateur sleuth character Lord Peter Wimsey. We discuss her life and legacy with the writer Jill Paton Walsh and Seona Ford, Chairman of the Dorothy L Sayers Society.
Three weeks ago Iran agreed to reduce its nuclear capability for the next 10 years in exchange for the gradual lifting of sanctions by the US and other world powers (EU and UN). The historic agreement was brokered by a particularly high number of female diplomats. Suzanne Kianpour, a BBC reporter in Washington, spoke to America's under-secretary of state for political affairs Wendy Sherman, who lead the negotiating team over many rounds of talks since 2011. And in the studio, Jenni speaks to former Diplomat and Ambassador Julie Chappell about what it's like to be a woman working in the predominantly male diplomatic world.
We continue our series looking at the male experience of family, fatherhood and relationships across the generations with Suzi Godsonis the relationship columnist for The Times. Today we're looking at men in their twenties and hear from 24 year old Amil from Birmingham, and Ryan from Bedford who is 22.
Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer Beverley Purcell.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0643x63)
Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater
Episode 4
Mrs Armitage has consented to an abortion and a sterilisation.
Helen McCrory and Paul Ready star in Penelope Mortimer's stark portrait of marriage and motherhood from 1962.
Dramatised by Georgia Fitch.
Mrs Armitage.....Helen McCrory
Jake Armitage.....Paul Ready
Doctor.....Chris Pavlo
Father.....Stephen Critchlow
Mother.....Sheila Reid
Philpot/Dinah.....Rhiannon Neads
Bob Conway.....Mark Edel-Hunt
Beth Conway.....Alex Tregear
Giles.....Sam Dale
Journalist.....Neet Mohan
Director: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b0643x65)
China's Ketamine Fortress
Celia Hatton goes undercover to The Fortress, the Chinese village at the centre of the world's illicit ketamine problem. She hears how China is a top maker and taker of the drug. Celia visits karaoke bars where ketamine is snorted regularly; she hears from those trying to wean themselves off their addiction; and hears from police who took part in a major raid on a village accused of producing vast quantities of illegal ketamine. A local farmer complains that his land and his crops have been destroyed by the drug gangs and Celia discovers how Chinese ketamine has led to the problem known as "Bristol bladder" back in the UK. John Murphy producing.
THU 11:30 Decoding the Masterworks (b0643y64)
Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergere
Dr Janina Ramirez introduces the first in a new series on BBC Radio 4 in which three great masterworks are examined in minute detail. Recorded in the galleries in which the pictures hold pride of place, Janina is joined by experts who can provide context, biographical background and artistic insight, all combining to decode these masterworks for today's audience.
The series begins at the Courtauld gallery in London with Edouard Manet's 'A bar at the Folies-Bergère'. Joining Janina are Professor Griselda Pollock of the University of Leeds and Dr Karen Serres of the Courtauld Institute who explain why the girl at the centre of the picture was more than just a reflection of a moment in Parisian cultural history, and why British Beer plays an important part in the painting. There are also insights into the figures making up the background to the waitress standing at the bar on the upper-floor of the Folies.
Listeners are invited to look the painting up, if they can, on their computer or tablet, with the best webpage being:
http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/collections/paintings/imppostimp/manet/foliesbergere/index.shtml
Producer: Tom Alban.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b063y5zv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 A History of Ideas (b0643y66)
Philosopher Clare Carlisle on Reality and Perception
If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
That's the kind of head-scratching question that's popularly believed to occupy the time and brains of philosophers. It relates to the ideas of immaterialism proposed by Bishop George Berkeley who asserted that the only things that exist are minds and ideas in those minds. He said that matter didn't really exist and that, in any case, it was unnecessary to complicate things with such a concept. For Berkeley, "to be perceived is to be".
But what happens to "things" when they are not being perceived? Did Bishop Berkeley really believe that his bed disappeared when he gets up in the morning and left the room? The answer is no, because there is the over-arching mind of God and God is always perceiving all things even when we are not. When Berkeley leaves the room God is still perceiving the bed so it doesn't pop out of existence.
To try and get to grips with this Clare Carlisle talks to Dr John Callanan, a lecturer in philosophy from Kings College London and hears a neat limerick on the subject by Robert Knox. She also talks to the filmmaker Carol Morley whose documentary, Dreams of a Life, explored the story of a 38 year old woman, Joyce Vincent, whose body was found in her flat amongst half wrapped Christmas presents, the tv switched on. She had been dead for 3 years and nobody had noticed she wasn't there.
The reader is Peter Marinker.
Producer: Natalie Steed.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b06554dj)
The Great You and Yours Bake-Off
A Derby-based company called The Hearing Clinic is the first claims management company to be fined by the Claims Management regulator for making nuisance calls.
We hear from the petrol station manager who has to spend his earning paying for customers who drive off without paying.
We'll look at why companies are spending more on advertising, plus why Sheffield Council is offering ten thousand pounds to people who want to start a business in an empty shop.
And You and Yours gets involved in its own Great British Bake-Off.
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Louise Clarke.
THU 12:57 Weather (b063y5zx)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b064xdp3)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
THU 13:45 The Misogyny Book Club (b064kk6j)
Mother Love
Why does the character of the devouring mother have such force? Jo Fidgen and company discuss D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, regarded by many critics as a classic depiction of Sigmund Freud's Oedipus Complex. Gertrude Morel has a passionate and controlling relationship with her son, Paul.
At the same time as Lawrence was writing, Freud was making a splash with his theories about women's sexual fantasies and penis envy. Detractors say he gave a modern legitimacy to age-old misogyny by giving support to the belief that women are less rational than men.
In the fourth in a series of programmes exploring how some of our most read books have distilled and influenced negative attitudes to women, writers Blake Morrison and Lisa Appignanesi defend Lawrence and Freud and discuss how we should interpret them. Are women still facing the consequences of their school of thought?
THU 14:00 The Archers (b0643t5z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b037d18g)
Christopher William Hill - Hush! Hush! Whisper Who Dares!
1969. Ernest Shepard looks forward to a V&A retrospective of his drawings for Winnie-the-Pooh. But then, in an imagined meeting with the now grown-up Christopher Robin Milne, some painful truths emerge. By Christopher William Hill.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b064418t)
Thomas Hardy's Dorset
Thomas Hardy is one of England's most enduring writers. 175 years after his birth a new film of 'Far From the Madding Crowd' has recently been released and like the original version from 1967 it features scenes shot in the beautiful Dorset countryside. For Hardy the heathland, forests and rivers which surrounded his birthplace at Higher Bockhampton near Dorchester were more than a backdrop. Landscape in Hardy's novel is central to the narrative and it is his vivid descriptions of the stunning setting in which he grew up that lend authenticity and magic to what he wrote. Helen Mark visits Dorset to discover the countryside which Hardy disguised as 'Wessex' in novels such as 'Tess of the D'urbervilles', 'Return of the Native', 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' and 'Jude the Obscure' and hears how this landscape is now inspiring new writers in their work.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b063ybdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Bookclub (b063yqqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b064xd1j)
Jonny Greenwood on There Will Be Blood
With Antonia Quirke
Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood discusses his score for There Will Be Blood, which he will be performing live in August. He also tells Antonia why he wouldn't like to score a Bond movie or any other blockbuster.
Antonia starts the search for people who saw Buster Keaton's tour of British theatres and music halls in 1951, and consults historian Kevin Brownlow.
Writer Nat Segnit discusses the changing voice of Al Pacino. Hoo ha !
Prop makers FBFX reveals the tricks of their trade, making armour, space suits and creature costumes for the film industry.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b064mjp9)
Hiroshima radiation, Anthropocene, Bonobo noises, Physicist Henry Moseley
In the 70 years since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, what are the long term effects of exposure to radiation? Adam Rutherford talks to Professor Richard Wakeford who has been studying radiation for many years about his research following the nuclear bombings as well as nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima. Marnie Chesterton talks to one of the short-listed entries for the Royal Society Winton book prize, Gaia Vince for her book, Adventures in the Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart of the Planet we Made. Other short-listed entries are:
*The Man Who Couldn't Stop by David Adam - a scientific and personal memoir of a life with OCD.
*Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology by Johnjoe Mcfadden and Jim Al-Khalili
*Alex Through the Looking-Glass: How Life Reflects Numbers and Numbers Reflect Life by Alex Bellos
*Smashing Physics by Jon Butterworth - an insider's account of the discovery of the Higgs boson
*Life's Greatest Secret: The Story of the Race to Crack the Genetic Code by Matthew Cobb
Also, Adam talks to Zanna Clay about research into our closest relatives, the bonobos and the unique 'peep' noises they make and why they could provide clues to the evolution of human language. Roland Pease reports on one of Britain's great yet little known physicists, Henry Moseley. He died in the First World War but in just 18 months of research transformed ideas about X-rays and the atom and the Periodic Table of elements.
THU 17:00 PM (b06554rb)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b063y5zz)
There are claims that serious incidents at Kids Company were not handled properly.
THU 18:30 Meet David Sedaris (b064418w)
Series 5
Stepping Out; The Vigilant Rabbit
Two stories from one of the world's best storytellers, David Sedaris, doing what he does best:
How a quest for fitness can become an obsession in "Stepping Out".
An anthropomorphic tale of over zealous security in "The Vigilant Rabbit".
Plus some questions from the studio audience.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2015.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b064418y)
Lilian gives Kate some feedback on the business plan Kate has written for her rural retreats - she's impressed that it all looks very polished. When Debbie has also given hers, Kate will then need to show it to Brian. Kate and Lilian are interrupted by Adam as they practice some meditation. Adam and Lilian tell Kate to have some self-belief - then others (such as Brian) will believe in her too. Chatting to Adam, David feels uncertain about the future - Pip's leaving, there's Heather to care for, and they're still faced by the prospect of Route B. To top it all, the Fairbrothers have installed a caravan at Hollowtree. David plays this down to Ruth, insisting they're not bad lads. More happily, Pip gets her University results - a 2:1.
Adam feels much freer now, in charge of things more at Home Farm, although he suspects that Brian won't stop until he drops.
Ruth's in a panic - Heather has gone missing. David and Ruth need to depart for Prudhoe urgently, leaving Pip in charge of the farm. She'll have to get some help in - Josh, Bert, Eddie and Ed could help. Pip tells them to get going - the most important thing now is to make sure Heather's safe.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b064kbws)
Guy Ritchie, China Mieville, George Cole remembered
Guy Ritchie's latest project is a reworking of the 1960s classic TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and he's given it a glossy, big-budget, action-packed makeover. The director discusses the appeal of revisiting the Cold War period and the attraction of its two protagonists Napoleon Solo and his nemesis Ilya Kuryakin.
Fantasy fiction writer and academic China Miéville discusses social anthropology, superstition, and fancying the word 'vector', as he talks about his new collection of short stories, Three Moments of an Explosion.
George Cole, who played Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder, has died aged 90. The BFI's Dick Fiddy reflects on the actor's long career.
As US TV comedy The Last Man On Earth comes to UK screens, Fisun Guner discusses the appeal of post-apocalyptic films and TV shows.
Presenter Samira Ahmed
Producer Jack Soper.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0643x63)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b0644190)
Kids Company: What's Going On?
The charity Kids Company and its charismatic founder Camila Batmanghelidjh have endured weeks of negative headlines. Reporter Simon Cox investigates the accusations of mismanagement.
Kids Company was founded in 1996 by Camila Batmanghelidjh and has aimed to deliver practical and emotional support for vulnerable children and young people.
The charity has attracted support from celebrities, investment banks and successive governments.
But last month, it was revealed that an intended £3 million of government funding would not be released unless Ms Batmanghelidjh relinquished her role as chief executive. In documentation released by the Government, the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office voiced his concern that money given to Kids Company would not be wisely spent.
Camila Batmanghelidjh has since announced that the search for her successor has begun she and that she will move into a new role focusing on the clinical side of the charity's work.
In the meantime, further concerns about the charity have emerged in the media.
Simon Cox investigates the truth behind the headlines: Do the charity's claims of positive outcomes and helping tens of thousands of vulnerable young people stand up to scrutiny? Are the accusations of mismanagement justified? Or is the government's change of attitude to Kids Company politically motivated?
Reporter: Simon Cox
Producer: Hannah Barnes.
THU 20:30 In Business (b0644192)
The Californian Drought
California has some of the world's most productive agricultural land. It puts fruit and vegetables on America's tables and exports huge amount of produce too; nearly all of the almonds we consume come from here. But the state is also endured a severe drought, now into its fourth year. Farm land is being fallowed, farm workers are losing their jobs and thousands of wells are drying up. Some farmers believe that this year is the tipping point. If rain does not fall in the winter, they'll be out of business next year. But other farmers have had some of their best years during these testing times. Peter Day explores what happens when water becomes the most valuable commodity there is.
Producer: Rosamund Jones.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b064mjp9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 Punt PI (b04c9dfn)
Series 7
Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?
Steve Punt turns detective to investigate a mystery from the Midlands.
In 1943, in a small wood in the village of Hagley, the body a woman was found inside a Wych elm tree. She had been put in feet first, alive or just recently dead. The police issued a good photo fit but, despite extensive enquiries, a match could not be found and no one reported her missing.
Punt hunts first for the files and then for the body. But things are not where they should be. He heads into those unsettling woods, rustles up tangled leads, and ends up barking up the occasional wrong tree.
He tracks down the 101-year-old forensic biologist on the case and investigates witchcraft and spying in his attempt to separate conspiracy from the truth.
And Professor Norman Fenton, expert witness in major criminal trails, subjects Punt's findings to analysis, building a unique model especially for the programme.
Producer: Sarah Bowen.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b06554vt)
Japan marks 70 years since atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima
We discuss modern day attitudes towards nuclear weapons - and whether multi-lateral disarmament might ever happen.
THU 22:45 Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void (b0644194)
Episode 9
To Claude's bafflement Paul still resists writing a new novel.
At the Bank of Torabundo trader Howie has worked out how to monetize failure but the market will have its say...
Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.
Read by Peter Serafinowicz.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Producer: Jenny Thompson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
THU 23:00 Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation (b04kf60f)
Series 10
How to Be Better
Stand by your radios! Jeremy Hardy returns to the airwaves with a broadcast of national comic import!
Using just the Bible, the Monarchy and Audrey Hepburn, Jeremy Hardy promises to build a whole new you.
Welcome to "Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation", a series of debates in which Jeremy Hardy engages in a free and frank exchange of his entrenched views. Passionate, polemical, erudite and unable to sing,
Few can forget where they were 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 p - and 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 2014.
THU 23:30 Wireless Nights (b04mc6sn)
Series 3
Lava and Ice
Jarvis Cocker wanders the lava fields of Iceland in search of the unseen forces of night. In the midnight shadow of Snaefellsjokull, the volcano featured in Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Jarvis considers the timelessness of the landscape, until he discovers sheep time. His sheep guides only lead him further into the unknown, through a hole in the lava floor and on a journey through a magma underworld, finding there a symphony orchestra, human seals and a wake.
Producer Neil McCarthy.
FRIDAY 07 AUGUST 2015
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b063y60x)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b064md1q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b063y60z)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b063y611)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b063y613)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b063y615)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0651fmn)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Andrew Graystone.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b06488sb)
Dairy protests, Barley, Harvest round-up
The dairy industry is in meltdown. Can farmer protests make a difference? Dairy analyst Ian Potter says that it's a global problem which will continue into 2016, and that the protests will have little effect.
All this week, Farming Today has been keeping track of harvest across the UK. Farmers from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland report on what's happening in their fields.
Meanwhile, Sarah Swadling reports on how this year's UK barley harvest will go to make ale and beer in Cornwall.
We preview an On Your Farm special with Prince Charles. Charlotte Smith travels to Transylvania to meet him and talk about wild flower meadows and biodiversity.
Presenter: Caz Graham. Producer: Ruth Sanderson.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwz7f)
Linnet
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 Linnet. Linnets gather in large flocks to feed on weed-seeds and the seeds of oilseed rape and flax left behind after harvesting. You can often identify the flocks from a distance as the birds circle over a field, by their tight formation and bouncing motion.
FRI 06:00 Today (b06488sf)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather, Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b063yqpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b064mg4p)
Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells
Episode 5
Marine biologist Dr Helen Scales tells the story of seashells; from the molluscs that create them to the humans who have used them as jewellery, symbol and even currency.
Episode 5
Molluscs continue to surprise as researchers pursue medical advances, while scientists look to them as bellwethers of our impact on the seas.
Written and read by Helen Scales
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Helen Scales' doctorate involved searching for giant, endangered fish in Borneo; she's also tagged sharks in California, and once spent a year cataloguing all the marine life she could find surrounding a hundred islands in the Andaman Sea. Helen appears regularly on BBC Radio 4 on programmes such as 'Inside Science' and 'Shared Planet' and has presented documentaries on topics such as whether people will ever live underwater, the science of making and surfing waves and the intricacies of sharks' minds.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b06488sh)
Jamaican Pride, Mabel Normand, Ros Barber
Once named the world's most homophobic country, Jamaica's first Gay Pride festival took place this week. Latoya Nugent of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians tells us about it. And Jenni is joined by S Chelvan, a barrister at No 5 Chambers who specialises in asylum claims and PJ Samuels, who faced persecution due to her sexual orientation, to discuss the challenges still facing the Gay community.
As part of our series on men and relationships, Suzi Godson speaks to 21 year old father Joe about starting a family while he's still a student.
Ros Barber discusses religion, the mind and her new book, Devotion.
We hear about the Italian grandmothers preparing for their first holiday by the sea.
And with a revival of musical Mack and Mabel this summer, we find out all about the life of Mabel Normand from her great nephew Stephen Normand, archivist of the Mabel Normand Family Estate and Dr Rebecca Harrision, lecturer in British cinema at the University of East Anglia.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Ruth Watts.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b06442qc)
Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater
Episode 5
Having discovered Jake's affair with Beth Conway, Mrs Armitage takes refuge with her former husband, Giles.
Helen McCrory and Paul Ready star in Penelope Mortimer's stark portrait of marriage and motherhood from 1962.
Dramatised by Georgia Fitch.
Mrs Armitage.....Helen McCrory
Jake Armitage.....Paul Ready
Doctor.....Chris Pavlo
Father.....Stephen Critchlow
Mother.....Sheila Reid
Philpot/Dinah.....Rhiannon Neads
Bob Conway.....Mark Edel-Hunt
Beth Conway.....Alex Tregear
Giles.....Sam Dale
Journalist.....Neet Mohan
Director: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
FRI 11:00 Seth Lakeman and the Newport Folk Festival (b06442qf)
Seth Lakeman explores the cultural impact of the Newport Folk Festival, one of the world's most acclaimed musical celebrations, where 50 years ago Bob Dylan famously 'went electric' and dramatically changed the course of popular music.
As a fan of the history of folk music Seth is keen to discover how Dylan's iconic performance in July 1965 helped establish the Newport Folk Festival's reputation as a barometer for cultural change, where key artistes at the forefront of the civil rights movement were provided with a platform to voice their political views to a wider audience. Having the so called 'voice of a generation' perform such an outrageous act as playing an amplified electric set of songs was viewed by many purists at the time as a betrayal of the honesty and purity of Folk music while others saw it as a radical rejection of the old guard and the key musical turning point of the 60's.
Seth talks with musicians, fans and festival organisers some of whom were there with Dylan in 1965 to discover why his now iconic appearance at Newport had such a momentous political and musical impact, re-defining the boundaries between pop and folk.
FRI 11:30 Clare in the Community (b06442qh)
Series 10
This Is a Man's World
Nali's ex-husband arrives unexpectedly and Clare takes it upon herself to intervene. Simon has some bad news about Brian's vitamin supplements.
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
Simon ...... Andrew Wincott
Justin ...... Dustin Demri-Burns
Thomas ...... Stefan Ramsden
Producer: Alexandra Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b063y617)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 A History of Ideas (b06442qk)
Neuropsychologist Paul Broks on Wittgenstein
Paul Broks looks at the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the problem of "other minds". How do I know you are not a zombie who behaves like a human but actually has no consciousness? Even if you are conscious, how can I tell that what I experience as red, you do not experience as blue? I know what's going on in my own mind, but I can never have direct access to what's going on in yours.
Such questions have troubled philosophers for centuries, but Wittgenstein thought that most of these tough problems were caused by nothing more than a "bewitchment by language". He didn't claim to be able to solve them; rather, he invented a method which he thought of as a kind of philosophical therapy that would cause the problems to melt away. The aim, he said, was to "show the way out of the fly bottle". In the case of the "other minds" problem, he imagined trying to invent a "private language" to describe one's own private mental states, and then showed (he thought) that such an idea was incoherent.
Is the fly out of the fly bottle? Paul Broks suspects not, and psychologist Nicholas Humphrey argues that philosophy took a disastrous turn in the 20th century when it started focusing on language. Humphrey argues that the privacy of our individual minds is a stark and unpalatable fact about human existence which has driven much of our culture.
Presenter: Paul Broks
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b0648b9n)
Healthcare jobs, Pensions warning, Private ombudsmen
A new kind of health care job is proposed for the NHS in England, to plug a perceived gap between healthcare assistants and graduate nurses. For some, it could provide a stepping stone towards a career in nursing. But how could it improve the quality of patient care?
Citizens Advice in England and Wales is warning that many over-55s are repeatedly being targeted by criminals trying to get access to their pensions. A staff survey suggests that criminals are adapting their scams in response to recent pension reforms.
The launch of a new system of private ombudsmen, to resolve disputes between companies and their customers has been delayed until the autumn. We hear claims that privately-run complaint handling firms will not do enough to protect the interests of consumers.
And entertainment from scam emails. The comedian, having fun at the expense of people who are trying to steal your money.
Producer: Jonathan Hallewell
Presenter: Peter White.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b063y619)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b0648cc8)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Norman Smith.
FRI 13:45 The Misogyny Book Club (b064kk77)
Hands Up, Misogynists!
What does the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey say about how women see themselves?
This is the final programme of a series exploring misogyny in our most read books, including the Bible, Hamlet, fairy tales and Sons and Lovers. Jo Fidgen and company discuss how E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey reflects or subverts the hatred of women depicted in these earlier texts.
The conversation ranges over violence towards women; the taboo of sexual curiosity; and broaches an uncomfortable question: can a feminist also be a misogynist?
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b064418y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b037jfmy)
Lenny Henry - Miss You Still
Lenny Henry plays Charlie, a Midlands bus driver, who has shut himself off from the world. Joyce, who works at the bus garage, is a newly appointed lay preacher. She sends Charlie her feisty teenage daughter to help him clean up his life. Joyce's daughter is a wannabe-singer with a gym-obsessed boyfriend. The last thing she wants on her hands is a smelly old man who hears voices.
Directed by Claire Grove
Lenny Henry stars in his second original play for Radio 4. Set in the Midlands Miss You still is a ghost story and a love story. It's about facing the truth. Only by admitting responsibility for the past can Charlie begin to deal with the present. There are four vibrant characters: Charlie, the reclusive bus driver, Joyce, a lay-preacher who works in admin at the bus depot, Roxanne, Joyce's feisty 16 year old daughter and Kulvinder, Roxanne's gym-obsessed boyfriend.
Lenny Henry is currently starring in Fences in the West End, Clare Perkins is Ava Hartman in EastEnders, Bunmi Mojekwu is in Romeo and Juliet at the National Theatre, and Amit Shah is currently filming The Smoke for Sky 1. This is thirteen year old Tranae Sinclair's radio debut and she is also in Fences in the West End.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b064447x)
Dalston
Eric Robson and the team are at Dalston Eastern Curve Garden.
Produced by Howard Shannon
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Joe Smith and His Waxworks (b0644481)
The Living Ghosts
An extraordinary account of a showman's life drawn from his memoirs about touring a rough waxworks show around the southern counties of England in the 1840s. Read by Tony Lidington.
Published in 1896, Bill Smith's memoirs recall his early life working for his Uncle Joe, whose touring waxworks show was well-known at country fairs in the south of England in the middle of the 19th century.
It's an extraordinary story of the hardships of an itinerant performer's life, in an age when the great historical characters from kings to vagabonds, and famous scenes from the Bible, literature and fairy tales were brought to the towns and villages of England by the showmen and storytellers of the travelling fairs.
In today's episode we learn of Uncle Joe's skill in crafting and displaying his waxwork figures to advantage. He becomes known to visitors and show folk alike as 'The Waxy'un'.
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b0644485)
Cilla Black, Michael Kidson, APJ Abdul Kalam, Evelyn Gillan, George Cole
Matthew Bannister on
The singer and TV presenter Cilla Black - we go behind the scenes to discover the secret of her success on Saturday night TV.
Michael Kidson who taught history at Eton for thirty years, delighting his pupils by his maverick behaviour.
The Indian scientist and reluctant politician APJ Abdul Kalam, known as the "People's President".
The Scottish public health campaigner Evelyn Gillan who targeted domestic violence and fought for minimum pricing for alcohol.
And the actor George Cole, best known for playing Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b0648ccb)
Quentin Letts' wry critique of the Met Office has had listeners contacting Feedback in droves. The programme was the first episode of a new series of What is the Point of...? and while a few felt the programme exercised a healthy scepticism about climate science, many more felt it allowed controversial opinions to go unchallenged. Roger Bolton hears some of the reaction.
Earlier in the series, Feedback considered the BBC's coverage of migrants and heard concerns about the use of terms such as 'illegal immigrant' and 'swarm' - but now there are suggestions that the Today programme is too soft on migrants. The Editor of Today, Jamie Angus, discusses the BBC's approach to reporting the situation in Calais - and also talks about the future presenter line up on the programme, with Nick Robinson set to replace James Naughtie.
The new interview series Flexagon Radio has had some listeners flummoxed. The programme has guests reacting to sounds and archive randmonly generated by a machine, The Flexagon. Does the device provoke intelligent conversation, or has it just provoked the the ire of listeners? Roger speaks to the series producer, Adam Fowler.
After last week's Feedback special on religious programming, we hear from listeners who are concerned that humanists and atheists are not represented on Thought for the Day. Christine Morgan, the Head of Religion and Ethics for BBC Radio, answers their criticisms.
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b0644487)
Tiggy and Sarah - Digging Deeper
Fi Glover introduces friends who have both ended up caring for their husbands and who now confide, in a conversation recorded in the mobile Booth outside the British Library, how they've had to find resources they never knew they had. Another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b0655zkx)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b063y61c)
7/8/15: UN warns Britain and France on migrants
The UN has criticised European countries for their treatment of newly-arrived migrants
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b064448c)
Series 46
Episode 6
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches along with Laura Shavin, Alice Lowe, David Quantick, Jake Yapp and Harry The Piano. Sports journalist Tom Peck discusses the prevalence of doping in professional sports.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b064448h)
Kenton and Jolene get bad news from the insurers - they have to cover repairs to the foundations before other work can take place. It'll cost them a fortune and it seems to spell the end for the Bull. Jolene's also worried about poor Ruth, as she finds out about Heather. Jill thanks Jolene for helping to persuade Kenton to come to the birthday party on Sunday.
David and Ruth are stuck up in Prudhoe so will have to miss the party - and postpone Pip's results celebration. Heather had a fall at her house. Ruth feels so guilty - Heather wouldn't have tried to leave if she wasn't so frightened of going into care. Pip reassures Ruth, and decides to go ahead with the interviews for a contract milker, with Jill by her side and an agency person there to advise and consult with. Pip makes her decision - a guy called Matthew. Jill's full of praise for Pip, who once again has kept things going (just like she did during the flood). Jill surprises Pip by opening some fizz and makes a little toast to Pip - they're really going to miss her.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b0648ccd)
War Book, Eric Whitacre, Denise Mina, Edinburgh
Kirsty Lang reviews the drama War Book, about a civil service nuclear bomb scenario, starring Antony Sher, Sophie Okonedo and Ben Chaplin.
Composer Eric Whitacre on his new choral work inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Crime writer Denise Mina on her latest book, Blood Salt Water, set not in her usual Glasgow, but in the Victorian town of Helensburgh.
Neil Cooper reports on the opening of this year's Edinburgh Festival.
And Tim Robey reviews Manglehorn, a new film starring Al Pacino.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06442qc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b06445xf)
Bonnie Greer, Jennie Johnson, Anthony Seldon, Toby Young
Shaun Ley presents political debate from the BBC Philharmonic Studio in Salford with playwright and author Bonnie Greer; founder of northwest childcare company Kids Allowed Jennie Johnson; political historian and outgoing master of Wellington College Sir Anthony Seldon; and columnist and Associate Editor of the Spectator Toby Young.
Producer: Emma Campbell.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b06445xh)
Adam Gopnik: Long-Form Television
Adam Gopnik reflects on the reason for our obsession with long - form television series and sees a link to the current brevity of all our other forms of discourse.
"As communication, public and political and spiritual, becomes ever more condensed - as newspapers close and are replaced exclusively with Instagram feeds, as texting becomes ever more enciphered and as the demotic slang of teens, which we will all speak sooner or later, becomes ever more abbreviated then we can expect, or dread, ever longer compensatory popular narratives."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 A History of Ideas (b06445xk)
Omnibus
How Can I Know Anything at All?
Melvyn Bragg asks 'How can I know anything at all?' Bishop Berkley, Karl Popper, David Hume and Ludwig Wittgenstein provide the answers.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b063y61f)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b0648ccg)
UNHCR brands Greece's treatment of migrants "shameful and chaotic"
Nearly 50,000 migrants arrived in the EU via Greece in July alone, compared with 41,700 in all of 2014. Humanitarian groups say reception centres in Greece are totally inadequate.
FRI 22:45 Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void (b06445xm)
Episode 10
The bank fails, a heist is attempted and Claude the Everyman banker makes a choice that will change everyone's lives...
Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.
Concluded by Peter Serafinowicz.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Producer: Jenny Thompson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b0640p3r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:27 Wireless Nights (b04n31d8)
Series 3
Bright Nights
In the second part of his nocturnal Icelandic adventure, Jarvis goes on a journey through the long, light summer night. He meets Megas, the island's best known poet and rock and roll legend, who warns of wandering demons as he embarks on an overnight road trip.
Along the way he stops to hear ghost stories in Reykjavik's oldest cemetery, meets an elf seer in a lava field and is led to a sacred waterfall, behind which he makes a wish. But will he make it back before the hour of the wolf?
Producer Neil McCarthy.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b06445xp)
Tiggy and Sarah - Broken but Better
Fi Glover with a conversation recorded in the mobile Booth outside the British Library, between friends who have both found themselves caring for their husbands. It's been a challenge, but both feel they are better people as a result. 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.