The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Jasdeep Singh, curator of the National Army Museum's Indian Army collection.
Defra faces deep funding cuts over the next four years, despite having already taken a financial battering since 2010. Where will the axe fall?
A petition is being handed in to the Scottish Parliament in support of a farmer facing eviction from his tenant farm in East Lothian.
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the Indian cuckoo found across much of South East Asia. A bird singing "crossword puzzle" - "crossword puzzle" over the woods is an Indian Cuckoo, a shy and slender bird, grey above and barred black and white below. These features are similar to those of a small hawk and when a cuckoo flies across a woodland glade, it's often mobbed by other birds. They're right to sense danger. Indian cuckoos are brood parasites and the females lay their eggs in the nests of other species including drongos, magpies and shrikes. The Indian cuckoo's song is well-known in the Indian sub-Continent and has been interpreted in different ways. As well as "crossword puzzle " some think it's saying "one more bottle" or "orange pekoe". And in the Kangra valley in northern India, the call is said to be the soul of a dead shepherd asking "... where is my sheep? Where is my sheep?".
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
"I'm determined to prove botany is not the 'Cinderella of science'". That's what Professor Kathy Willis, Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Garden in Kew, told the Independent in 2014.
In the two years since she took on the job at Kew she's been faced with a reduction in government funding. So, Kathy Willis has been rethinking the science that's to be done by the staff of the Gardens - and been criticised for her decisions.
But as well as leading this transformation, Kathy has a distinguished academic career in biodiversity. She is currently a professor at Oxford University and, during her research career, she's studied plants and their environments all over the world, from the New Forest, when she was a student in Southampton, to the Galapagos Islands where she studied the impact of the removal of the giant tortoises on the vegetation there.
David Schneider is terrified of death. In his two editions of One to One, he wants to try to overcome his fear by talking to those who have first-hand understanding of dying. In this programme, he talks to Palliative Care consultant, Kathryn Mannix. With almost forty years of clinical experience and witnessing over twelve thousand deaths, she believes that a 'good death' is possible even when you are seriously ill. She explains the process of dying to David. This, she believes, if accepted by the patient, removes much of the anxiety and fear surrounding the end of life.
To hear an extended version of this programme please visit the programme page.
The second programme in David's series in which he talks to writer and journalist, Jenny Diski, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, can still be found on the BBC iplayer.
The authorised behind-the-scenes biography of one of America's great and most under-rated man of letters, the cosmopolitan and wickedly satirical Vidal, from a devoted yet candid old friend.
In Episode 1, the author Jay Parini recalls his first encounter with Gore and describes a privileged, lonely childhood and the birth of the political, social and sexual interests that would last a lifetime.
What is groping? Jane looks at what it means to grope someone and how women can report any unwanted sexual attention.
Writer Marina Warner appears to move effortlessly between fiction and non-fiction. This month she publishes a new collection of short stories, Fly Away; she explains how she weaves her love of myths and fairy tales into her contemporary stories.
Jane visits the National Portrait Gallery to explore some of the pictures featured in a new publication, A Portrait of Fashion by Professor Aileen Ribeiro. Today it's back to the 17th century and the portrait of the actress and royal mistress, Nell Gwyn.
A new women's prize for politics and economics has just been launched by Virago and the New Statesman. The economist Ann Pettifor and the political journalist Anne McElvoy pick two female thinkers from the past who would certainly have been eligible for such a prize, economist Joan Robinson and social housing pioneer, Octavia Hill.
Last week we spoke to the star of The Bridge, the Swedish actress Sofia Helin, and she said that many Swedish women in their middle years were seriously stressed. Prof. Helene Sandmark from Stockholm University explains why this is the case in a country often held up as model for flexible work practices and gender equality.
by Amanda Whittington. Skye's home with her Mum for a week on a contact visit, and if everything goes well, Dexter will come on Thursday. Things are different now: there's furniture, food, and a new family member.
Throughout history, human fleas have been one of our closest companions; the irritating bedfellows of everyone from kings and queens to the poorest in society. Brett Westwood discovers how the flea has been a carrier of disease, causing suffering on an enormous scale. But, despite being a danger and a pest, their proximity has led to us to try to understand them and find humour in them.
The esteemed British naturalist Dame Miriam Rothschild was one of the world's leading experts on fleas and led an investigation into how they propel themselves to such speed and distance from their minuscule frame. As parasites, their ability to jump onto hosts to suck their blood led to fleas being charged with sexual energy in the 16th century. Poets wrote entertainingly intimate poems of their jealousy that the flea could jump onto areas of a beautiful woman that they themselves would be unable to reach.
The comedic role of the flea continued into the era of the flea circus when they pulled miniature metal chariots several times their weight and their role as performers didn't end there - leading on into early cinema and even tourism. They may have been often overlooked but fleas have had a stark impact on our lives.
Maddy Prior, lead singer of Steeleye Span, and her daughter Rose Kemp, who has made several doom metal albums discuss their totally different musical journeys.
Diaries are one of the longest-established and riches sources of social history. Why do many people feel so compelled to keep them? Why do they stop and who do they allow to read them?
Is the care system crumbling under the twin pressures of rising demand and falling funds?
David Cameron has set out his demands for a reformed European Union, insisting they do not amount to 'mission impossible.' But what do other EU Members think of his proposals, including plans to curb benefits? We have reaction from politicians in the UK and Europe.
In the second of ten programmes tracing a century of black British theatre and screen, Lenny Henry focuses on the evolving depiction of African Caribbean society on popular television across fifty years.
He charts the journey from the overt racism of TV sit-coms like Love Thy Neighbour (which nonetheless was a great hit amongst black Britons, simply because it was one of the few places in the 1970s where black Britain was regularly depicted on the nation's TV screens) to more sympathetic programmes like Empire Road. By the time Desmond's hair salon opened on Channel 4, with Norman Beaton and Carmen Munroe in the leading roles, a much more realistic picture of African Caribbean Britain was taking shape on British television.
As Louise recalls the loss of her mother as a young girl she finds herself remembering and reliving her childhood experiences and emotions - the overwhelming grief, isolation, and desperate desire for love and reassurance. Louise is a spirited girl with a vivid imagination and it is to her imagination she retreats to deal with the grief and loneliness she experiences. For there she can conjure up her favourite TV stars and musical heroes for company: Cheyene Bodie, Tommy Steele, Harry Secombe and Cliff Richard.
When her father introduces her to the beautiful Margaret to whom he will soon be married, Louise is delighted and imagines a perfect, happy future with her new family and her new mummy. But when tragedy strikes her family for a second time, Louise retreats further into herself and her imaginary world and comes up with a desperate plan; one she hopes will make what's gone wrong right and make her family happy once again.
A new two-part drama from Lucy Gannon (The Best of Men, Soldier Soldier, Frankie, Bramwell) starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Amy Beth McNulty.
Writer ..... Lucy Gannon
Producer ..... Heather Larmour.
From the sounds of the womb to fading memories - Josie Long hears stories of what we inherit from past generations.
Feat. Walter Murch
Feat. Sian Phillips
Peter Hadfield travels to Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam to investigate the illegal trade in Siamese Rosewood.
Rosewood is a hard wood that is highly prized because it can be carved into ornate items of furniture, but the appetite for the wood is so voracious that Siamese Rosewood is now becoming critically endangered.
The wood is traded on the black market and now the Siamese Rosewood tree is close to being totally eradicated. Not only that, those responsible for the smuggling are leaving a trail of death and environmental destruction in their wake.
He's on the trail of the smugglers and discovers the measures being taken to try and safeguard the surviving trees.
Senior judges, magistrates and politicians have criticised the criminal courts charge since it was introduced in England and Wales in April. Many say it is a threat to justice. In this week's edition of Law in Action, a serving magistrate tells Joshua Rozenberg how the charge has prompted him to think about giving up his role. Also in the programme: Britain's intelligence services commissioner, Sir Mark Waller, discusses the new Investigatory Powers Bill. And would the UK be able to scrap EU laws in the event of a "Brexit"? Sylvia de Mars of Newcastle University explains.
Harriett Gilbert is joined by comic novelist Jonathan Coe and Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney to recommend favourite books.
Jonathan's choice is the first part in a tragi-comic epic, 'The Complete Pratt',a semi-autobiographical novel by the late David Nobbs, creator of 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'. It's called 'Second From Last in the Sack Race'.
Gemma chooses a novel by Laura Dockrill, a vividly imagined story of mermaids and pirates, 'Lorali'.
Harriett dusts off a novel from the 1940s by Nevil Shute, 'Pied Piper'. Its subject matter is sharply topical: an elderly man leads a growing group of refugee children across Europe, attempting to avoid the Nazi invaders.
David Cameron has set out his key demands for a reformed EU.
A former member of the Parachute Regiment has been arrested by police investigating the Bloody Sunday killings.
Talk of a General Strike is in the air as Lionel and Ginny Fox pay a visit to Sizzlinghurst Castle to see Vera Sackcloth-Vest and Henry Mickleton.
Green-fingered Sapphist Vera Sackcloth-Vest shares a bijou castle in Kent with her devoted husband Henry, but longs for exotic adventures with nervy novelist Ginny Fox and wilful beauty Venus Traduces. It's 1921, the dawn of modern love, life and lingerie, but Vera still hasn't learnt how to boil a kettle.
Ginny is writing a new book and wants to pick Vera's brains about her aristocratic childhood. But all is not well. Henry thinks that Ginny is a bad influence on Vera because Ginny is so highly strung and Lionel thinks that Vera is too aristocratic and not socialist enough for Ginny.
Terrified that the oppressed people of Staplehurst will rise up and storm the castle, they flirt with a posh kind of socialism until the working class DH Lollipop pops in with his demi-mondaine Venus Traduces and tells them that he likes them just the way they are.
There has been a break-in at Grange Farm. In Oliver and Caroline's absence, Ed's called out in the middle of the night. Ed didn't see anything. Not much has been taken but the living room is in a state, with graffiti.
Clarrie wishes Ed had phoned her, but Susan explains she told Ed not to bother. Clarrie feels anxious and can't concentrate in the dairy - Kathy seems to be dropping hints about the Grundys leaving Grey Gables. Susan can't help talking about acting in Calendar Girls - she's been following Johnny intently to pick up a Yorkshire accent.
Rob has been into school to discuss Henry. Helen feels guilty following Henry's accident at the bonfire night, but Rob says it only happened because she has been pushing herself too hard - she should take things easy (we don't want any more accidents, do we?).
Helen mentions being offered a role in Calendar Girls. Rob's rather amused and says she can't seriously consider it - taking her clothes off in public? Helen says she'll reply to turn it down. Helen also shows Rob a job advert that Tom found - perhaps she and Rob could look at the application together? Maybe, says Rob, who's keen to carry on working on the farm shop.
Italian writer and public intellectual Umberto Eco takes a savagely satirical look at the media in his new novel, Numero Zero. Set in 1992, the plot revolves around a dummy newspaper, destined for blackmail not publication, and a vast international conspiracy surrounding Mussolini, a body double, and his escape abroad. He reflects on growing up under Fascist rule, the search for truth in a world of accelerating technological change and the future for Italy.
On the eve of Armistice Day, former Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters reflects on the impact losing his father in the Second World War had on his life and his signature work - The Wall.
The film Tangerine is a tale of friendship and solidarity between two prostitutes on Santa Monica's Boulevard. But there is a pioneering aspect to Sean Baker's comedy, since his two protagonists are trans-sexual, and the film was shot on mobile phones. The trans-gender critic and writer Juliet Jacques reviews the film and discusses the wider issues of the portrayal of trans-gender people in contemporary culture.
On the day that the hotly-anticipated role-playing video game Fallout 4 is released, film writer Adam Smith considers the ramifications for a possible strike by video game voice-over artists who are keen for more recognition in a market that is estimated to be worth 45 billion dollars.
An inside job: the Britons smuggling illegal immigrants into the UK.
File on 4 hears from Britons jailed for hiding people in their cars. They reveal why - and how - they did it.
They were paid to smuggle people across the Channel by gangs based in London and the North West.
This unofficial migrant taxi service - run from camps in Calais and Dunkirk - is believed to be netting criminal networks millions of pounds a year.
But even that is dwarfed by the money to be made by British criminals bringing migrants over by the lorry load. Jane Deith reveals how the trade is spreading along the coast of Northern Europe, to Belgium and Holland. And she hears from Europol's Chief of Staff about the extent to which criminal networks based in Britain are involved in people smuggling. He tells the programme that more than 800 people have been identified as suspects.
Talking Books is celebrating 80 years of bringing the written word to life for blind and partially sighted people. Now, the RNIB is making some important announcements which could affect you if you use the service. Peter White interviews Neil Heslop from the RNIB, and includes some questions from listeners.
The launch of the 2016 All in the Mind awards. Judge and novelist Matt Haig tells us what he will be looking for and 2014 finalists Pat Rose and Maya Pillay give their top tips for winning entries. Plus can we recreate the human brain? The latest results from two major neuroscience projects with very different approaches are giving fascinating insights into how the brain works.
David Cameron has written a letter, setting out his plans for reform of Britain's relationship with the European Union - but has he asked for enough to satisfy critics on his own side? We remember Germany's former Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, a formidable pro-European statesman. Asda cancels 'Black Friday' but from High School Proms to Halloween trick or treating, why are Britons so willing to adopt American traditions?
With McCarthyism reaching fever pitch in 1950s America, Peter Sargeant - a dashing PR man - is hired by the Grand St Petersburg ballet to fend off rumours that their star choreographer is a communist. But New York's ballet world is shocked when, on the opening night, the lead ballerina plummets to her death from a wire, maintaining her classical pose in the 'fifth position' as she hits the floor.
Gore Vidal's earlier novel The City and the Pillar was published in 1948 when the author was 23 years old. Its central story of a homosexual relationship caused such a scandal that the New York Times book critic refused to review any book by Gore Vidal. Others followed his lead and the author found himself at a loss as to how to continue to earn a living through his pen until a publisher suggested that he turn his hand to writing under a different name. Death In the Fifth Position was published in 1952 - the first of a trio of entertainments featuring Peter Cutler Sargeant II as a publicist turned private eye.
Our narrator, Peter Sargeant, is beginning to get to know the members of the Grand St Petersburg ballet company. Their complicated relationships have already come to his attention when he overheard the conductor Miles Sutton threatening to kill his wife, Ella, the lead ballerina in the new ballet.
Liam Williams - a two-time Edinburgh Festival Award nominated comedian - shares his teenage misadventures in the Yorkshire suburbs.
With evocative monologues by "Adult Liam" being interjected with flashback scenes from his teenage years, the four-parts series was recorded in Leeds and stars teens from Yorkshire.
Each episode delves into Liam's memories of his first fight, virginity loss, the best house party ever organised, and his marvellous outwitting of an entire teaching staff.
This is the New Labour, post-mining, aspirational heartland, meeting 50 Cent and Generation Y ennui, represented in a bourgeois radio format - by one of Britain's most exciting comedians.
Adult Liam ...... Liam Williams
Young Liam ...... Alfie Field
Lucy ...... Ella Garde
Craig Cheng ...... Ken Cheng
Chloe ...... Hannah Waring
Lucy's Mum ...... Amelia Lowdell
Liam's Mum ...... Debra Baker
Liam's Dad ...... Caolan McCarthy
Miss Peacock ...... Evie Killip
TIP: The government sets out its plans for renegotiated EU membership only for its own backbenchers to dismiss it as "thin gruel". Labour and the SNP unite to argue against plans to make it harder to call a strike. And in the Lords questions are asked about global airport security. Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.
WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2015
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b06nl5c5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b06q7mrg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b06nl5c7)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b06nl5c9)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b06nl5cc)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b06nl5cf)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b06phz3d)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Jasdeep Singh, curator of the National Army Museum's Indian Army collection.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b06nq0dh)
Rural policing, rural broadband, wildfires
Caz Graham has been out on the rural beat with the Cumbria Police force, which is facing budget cuts of more than £11 million. The Police and Crime Commissioner warns rural services will suffer.
Nancy Nicolson reports from a conference in Scotland looking at the increasing risk from wild fires. They cost an estimaged £55 million a year just to tackle, but also destroy biodiversity and carbon storage ecosystems like peatland and heathland, which are particularly susceptible to fire.
And the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones explains what the Prime Minister's announcement about a 'Universal Service Obligation' means for rural fast broadband.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sally Challoner.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04mlpj8)
Plumbeous Antbird
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the Plumbeous antbird in a Bolivian rainforest. When army ants go on the march in the Bolivian rainforest, they attract a huge retinue of followers; often heard but rarely seen. These include Antbirds. The Plumbeous Antbird is a lead-coloured bird; the males have a patch of blue skin around their eyes, whilst the females are bright russet below. Like other antbirds they are supreme skulkers, hiding under curtains of dense foliage and only betraying themselves by their calls and song, a particularly fluty call. But you'd think that with a name like antbirds, their diet is easily diagnosed, but surprisingly antbirds rarely eat ants. Instead, most species shadow the columns of army ants which often change nest-sites or raid other ant colonies. As the ants march across the forest floor, they flush insects and other invertebrates which are quickly snapped by the attendant antbirds.
WED 06:00 Today (b06p594w)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b06nq1dw)
Michael Portillo, Diana Melly, Yang-May Ooi, Polly Bagnall
Libby Purves meets former government minister and broadcaster Michael Portillo; Diana Melly, widow of George with a book about ballroom dancing and bereavement; writer and performer Yang-May Ooi and author and artist Polly Bagnall.
At the age of 76, Diana Melly decided to take up ballroom dancing after the death of her husband, George. In her new book, Strictly Ballroom - Tales from the Dance Floor, she sashays through tea dance etiquette, the perils of the Argentine tango and how to stay upright in rough seas on the QE2. Strictly Ballroom - Tales from the Dance Floor is published by Short Books.
Polly Bagnall is the co-author - with Sally Back - of Ferguson's Gang: The Remarkable Story of the National Trust Gangsters about a group of eccentrics who combined anarchic stunts and fine dining with saving the English countryside. To preserve their anonymity they wore masks and adopted pseudonyms including Bill Stickers, and Red Biddy. Polly's grandfather, John Macgregor, was the gang member known as the Artichoke. Ferguson's Gang: The Remarkable story of the National Trust Gangsters is published by The National Trust.
Yang-May Ooi is a writer and performer. Her play Bound Feet Shoes: A Life Told In Shoes is Yang-May's personal story set against the tradition of foot binding, as practiced by her great-grandmother. The play explores Yang-May's experiences of being a Chinese-Malaysian woman in the UK, her coming out story, cultural reflections of what it means to be a woman, and an exploration into mother-daughter relationships. Bound Feet Blues: A Life Told In Shoes is at Tristan Bates Theatre in London
Michael Portillo was an MP for nearly 20 years and held three ministerial positions in the Cabinet. He is now a broadcaster and is a regular guest on weekly politics show, This Week. He has made documentaries on subjects including music, wildlife and the Spanish Civil War. In the book Great Continental Railway Journeys he retraces the journeys from Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide. Great Continental Railway Journeys is published by Simon and Schuster.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b06qbv1w)
Every Time a Friend Succeeds Something Inside Me Dies: The Life of Gore Vidal
Episode 3
The authorised behind-the-scenes biography of one of America's great and most under-rated man of letters, the cosmopolitan and wickedly satirical Vidal, from a devoted yet candid old friend.
In Episode 3, despite commercial success, lacklustre reviews of The City and The Pillar send Gore in retreat to Europe where he meets Tennessee Williams - soon to become his great friend.
Written by Jay Parini
Read by Toby Jones
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b06nq1dy)
More girls in higher education than boys. Why? And what impact will it have on the future?
After years of sustained increase there are over 50,000 more women than men in full time higher education. Alison Wolf and Melissa Benn look at why this has happened, what the boys are doing instead and the impact of this change in the future. Latest statistics show that older working age women, 50 to 64, are more likely to be in employment now than at any time in the past 30 years. Pensions Minister, Ros Altmann talks to Jane about the kind of jobs they're doing and what's behind the increase . Plus Laura Gardiner, Senior Research and Policy Analyst at the Resolution Foundation and Paul Lewis, presenter of Radio 4's Moneybox discuss the issues. Late on Monday night, after a day of debate, the Scotland Bill finally made it through the House of Commons. The house voted to devolved powers that include control over abortion law - something Labour apposed, led by former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper MP. She joins us alongside the Scottish Nationalist Party MSP Linda Fabiani who represented the SNP on the Smith Commission on further devolution of Powers to the Scottish Parliament.
Presented by Jane Garvey.
Producer Beverley Purcell.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b06nq1f0)
Children in Need: D for Dexter: Series 2
Episode 3
by Amanda Whittington.
Skye's in the bath. There's hot water these days, and a plug.
Her mum can't understand why she's locked the bathroom door, but Skye doesn't want her newly- discovered Uncle Dean to come barging in.
Director...Mary Ward-Lowery.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b06nq1f2)
Matt and Melodie - My Life Just Changed
Fi Glover with friends who are both parents of disabled children, reflecting on their shock when it became obvious that there was a problem soon after their children's birth. Their children have been helped by Acorns Children's Hospice, which has received funding from Children In Need since 2011
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 Armistice Day Silence (b06nq1f4)
The traditional two-minute silence to mark Armistice Day.
WED 11:04 The Last Post (b06nq1f6)
How did a simple British Army bugle call from the 18th century become a sacred anthem of death and remembrance? And how did it spread to the rest of the world, played at the funerals of Gandhi and Nelson Mandela?
The Last Post started as just one of a couple of dozen bugle calls played every day in a British Amy barracks. Then, in the 1850s, it found a new role, played at soldiers’ funerals and from there it was extended to be used at memorial services for those who had died in conflict.
Gradually, it moved beyond the military, played at the funerals of many who had never been in the armed forces, such as Wallace Hartley, bandmaster of the Titanic.
But it was in the midst of the First World War that The Last Post had its greatest resonance, becoming the obvious soundtrack to remembrance.
Then, as the British Empire dissolved, it was invariably The Last Post that was sounded as the Union flag was lowered for the final time in former colonies across the world.
Somewhat bizarrely, it was played to mark the passing of Gandhi and Nelson Mandela; it is still sounded on both sides of the disputed border between India and Pakistan; it was the accompaniment to funerals for both the IRA and the UDA. And it spread beyond the British Empire, to countries like Portugal and Belgium and to their former colonies.
Now, The Last Post is played in its original incarnation only at the Tower of London, where it is still sounded nightly. But in its role as the music of loss, it has become almost a sacred anthem in an increasingly secular society.
Alwyn Turner tells the untold story of one of the most famous pieces of music in the world.
Prsenter: Alwyn Turner
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Andrew Smith
WED 11:30 The Lentil Sorters (b06nq1f8)
Standard Deviation
A sitcom set in the Office of Local and National Statistics which, depending on who you ask, is either where the real power of government resides, or the place where fun goes to die.
In this opening episode, the team uncover an unexpected statistical correlation between eyebrows, strawberries and dangerous dogs.
Meet the team:
Graham Quicks, Head of the People and Places Department of the LNS. There are three things in the world that Graham will always have faith in – statistics, the supremacy of filofaxes over computers and the idea that cardigans will never go out of style.
Audrey Carr is the Survey Researcher. She believes passionately that statistics should be used as a tool to help the man on the street. Fortunately for her, she’s never actually met “the man in the street”. She’s also passionate about Jane Austen, Les Miserables and pretending that she doesn't work in an office with Daniel.
Daniel Porter is the Data Analyst. He used to work in the City, until the City realised he was a colossal waste of space. Daniel divides his time between manipulating statistics to further his vision of capitalism, necking energy drinks and telling people his thighs are really, really strong. He’s terrible.
Mrs. Wilkins has worked as tea lady, archivist and maintenance guru for 15 years. She knows where the bodies are buried. We must stress that that is a figure of speech.
Graham Quicks ...... Vincent Franklin
Audrey Carr ...... Rebekah Staton
Daniel Porter ...... Kieran Hodgson
Mrs Wilkins ...... Julia Deakin
Special guests:
Spanner ...... Steve Brody
Candlestick ...... Phil Whelans
Terry ...... Charlie Quirke
Bookie ...... Morgan Jones
With Jo Unwin as The Narrator.
Written by Jack Bernhardt
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2015.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b06nl5ch)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 The Why Factor (b06nq1fb)
Series 2
Gardens
Why are so many people drawn to gardening? Helena Merriman speaks to a neuroscientist who's discovered that soil has some surprising qualities and she hears the extraordinary story of a prisoner in Guantanamo Bay who created his own garden.
Producer: Helena Merriman
Presenter: Helena Merriman
Editor: Andrew Smith.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b06p3xk5)
Lasting power of attorney, Low-cost campervan holidays
Very few people have made legal arrangements to nominate someone to make decisions on their behalf if they become incapacitated and no longer able to make decisions for themselves. Research published this week by YouGov suggests that only seven in every hundred people have made these arrangements, granting what is called a lasting power of attorney, to someone they trust to act in their best interests should the need arise. We hear from Justine Clowes, Chair of SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly), the national organisation representing legal professionals specialising in helping people of all ages plan for later in life. The government publishes guidance and forms which can be downloaded here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/make-a-lasting-power-of-attorney.
There are now more than half a million caravans and a quarter of million campervans in the UK, and over the last three years the number of new motor homes registered with the DVLA has steadily increased. We report on a new trend among campers for cut-price camping off the beaten track. They steer clear of traditional campsites and instead camp in pub car parks, on farms, or European style camping areas set up by local councils.
It's National Novel Writing Month, when people are encouraged to try to write a novel in a month. We debate the virtues of creative writing at speed.
Producer: Jonathan Hallewell
Presenter: Winifred Robinson.
WED 12:57 Weather (b06nl5ck)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b06p4j0m)
The former Labour Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has warned that planned tax credit cuts would leave Britain with "one of the biggest poverty problems in the western world". We get reaction from the Employment Minister Priti Patel. Our Europe Editor Katya Adler reports from Sweden, which has taken more migrants per head than any other country in Europe, as the continent struggles with its worst migration crisis since World War Two.
WED 13:45 Raising the Bar: 100 Years of Black British Theatre and Screen (b06nq1fd)
Othello Across the Ages
In the third of ten programmes tracing a century of black British theatre and screen, Lenny Henry uses Shakespeare's character of Othello to tell the story of how the Moor of the play has for nearly 200 years offered black actors a part to savour - and also provoked debates about who can play the role.
In 2009, Lenny himself took the role in a production by Northern Broadsides at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, and subsequently in London. It won him the Evening Standard newspaper's Newcomer of the Year award, and was generally acknowledged a triumph.
Yet nearly 200 years ago, in 1833, the black American-British actor Ira Aldridge (known as 'the negro tragedian') played Othello with the Covent Garden players for just two nights until deplorable racist reviews, objecting to "this wretched upstart", forced the management to close the production.
Even well into the twentieth century, those 19th century newspapers' complaints about Desdemona being 'pawed' by a black actor were echoed when the great Paul Robeson took the role, and white actors in blackface have regularly played Othello right up to the modern era.
Featuring an interview with Lolita Chakrabarti, whose award-winning play Red Velvet, depicted Aldridge's Othello.
Series Consultant Michael Pearce
Producer Simon Elmes.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b06np61s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Tommies (b06nq1fg)
11 November 1915
by Jonathan Ruffle
Series created by Jonathan Ruffle.
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
Through it all, we follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
Indira Varma, Lee Ross and Pippa Nixon star in this special story for Remembrance Day, set at La Gorgue on 11th November 1915. A day when Second Lieutenant Mickey Bliss finds himself in two meetings. One which might change the whole war for the Signal Service. And one which is about to change his life forever.
Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: Jonquil Panting.
WED 15:00 Money Box (b06nq26r)
Cohabiting
Is "move in with me" the new "marry me"? According to the Office for National Statistics, cohabiting couples are the fastest growing type of family - there are more than three million in the UK. But when it comes to personal finances, how does cohabiting differ from marriage or a civil partnership?
If you are thinking of moving in with your partner, Paul and panel can tell you what you need to know. E-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now or call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday.
More than 50% of respondents to the British Social Attitudes Survey wrongly believe that unmarried couples who live together for some time have the same legal rights as married couples. In Scotland, legislation has been in place since 2006 which offers cohabiting partners increased rights.
Perhaps you've got a question about what you can do to make sure things are fair and equal before you move in together, or how to maximise the scant protection that currently exists in England or Wales. Find out what your rights are if you and your partner split up, as well as what is being done in the rest of the country to catch up with Scotland.
The panel:
Joanne Edwards, Family Law Partner at Penningtons Manches LLP and the national chair of Resolution.
Sarah Pennells, founder Savvy Woman - the money website for women.
Robert Gilmour, director of family law specialists Sheehan Kelsey Oswald, based in Edinburgh.
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Producer: Lesley McAlpine
Editor: Andrew Smith.
WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b06np621)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b06nq26t)
Zoos explored, Funeral arranging
Zoos in the modern world: Laurie Taylor talks to David Grazian, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and author of 'American Zoo: A Sociological Safari'. Zoos blur the boundaries between culture and nature; animals and humans and separate civilisation from the 'wild'. They are centres of conservation, as well as recreation and reveal the way we project our desires on to the animal kingdom. So how do zoos juggle their many contradictory meanings and what is their future?
Also, funeral arranging. Isabelle Szmigin, Professor of Marketing at the University of Birmingham, explores 'consumption' choices which are forced through circumstance and can involve a competing range of sentiments, from love to obligation and regret.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b06nq26w)
BBC Worldwide CEO Tim Davie, The state of Welsh media, The BBC loses The Voice
Sherlock, Doctor Who and Dad's Army fans in the UK can buy and download episodes of their favourite programmes - as well as many other "lost gems from the BBC archive" - after the broadcaster launched a new online service: the BBC Store. The site features around 7,000 hours worth of content with more to come over the next year. BBC Worldwide - the commercial arm of the BBC - is behind Store. Steve speaks to CEO Tim Davie about the revenue Store will bring in, and asks him how important exploiting commercial opportunities like this is in securing the BBC's future.
Wales is facing a media "market failure" that will leave the nation with a deficit of reliable information, according to a report by the Institute of Welsh Affairs. Cutbacks in spending on broadcast programmes made for Wales, falling numbers of trained newspaper journalists and a weak commercial radio sector present a "major challenge" for the nation, it says. Steve speaks to report author Ruth McElroy and Professor Ian Hargreaves from Cardiff University about the current state of the media in Wales.
The BBC has revealed it's lost the singing show 'The Voice' to a rival broadcaster. It said on Saturday that the fifth series on BBC 1, which begins in January, will be the last. It's thought ITV has won the format - although it still hasn't confirmed this. So, what will this mean for the BBC, and for ITV? Steve asks Stephen Price from Broadcast what impact the change will have on ratings, and speaks to former BBC entertainment commissioner Jane Lush about how the BBC's future Saturday night schedule might look.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b06phz3n)
PM at
5pm - Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b06nl5cm)
11/11/15 Migrant summit held
European and African leaders discuss migrant crisis. Man guilty of murdering step-sister
WED 18:30 To Hull and Back (b06nq26y)
Series 1
It's My Party
Sophie finally comes in to some money. It's her chance to get away at last.
However, her mother Sheila's birthday is imminent and a surprise party takes precedence. But there's more of a surprise in store for Sophie...
Series 1 of the sitcom by BBC New Comedy Award winner, Lucy Beaumont.
Sophie still lives at home with her mum in Hull. They make a living doing car boot sales at the weekend. Except they don't really make a living because her mum can't bear to get rid of any of their junk. Plus, they don't have a car. As their house gets more cluttered, Sophie feels more trapped.
Starring Lucy Beaumont as Sophie and Maureen Lipman as Sheila.
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Radio Comedy Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b06nq270)
Justin grills Charlie over his performance at Berrow Farm and the PR disaster that was the public meeting about the cow crisis. Justin regrets the loss of Rob - a talented herd manager. Charlie admits to Adam he's worried about his position. He'd like to thank Adam for reassuring him with a drink, but Ian has something planned this evening.
Pip's sheep will be arriving at the weekend - she can't wait to get them out on the stubble turnips. She's excited about setting up a new beef herd with Adam. Ruth's cautiously encouraging. As they look forward to Jill being back at Brookfield, Pip reflects on where she'd be now if she'd stayed with Webster Agri. Pip mentions a scheme with the Felpersham Dairy Discussion Group, to visit New Zealand for two weeks taking in various operations. Pip's too busy to take up a place, though.
Kenton brings some money to Brookfield, keen to show David he's honouring his debt. Kenton tells Ruth he's aiming for the Bull to be reopened in early December to coincide with the Christmas Lights going on around the Green. They discuss Jill coming back to Brookfield. Kenton remarks to Ruth that after all the upheaval David has got what he wants in the end. Ruth says yes - he always does, doesn't he?
WED 19:15 Front Row (b06p41bj)
Nicholas Hytner, Peep Show, Winner of the Goldsmiths Prize, Waste review
Director Nicholas Hytner describes the filming of The Lady in the Van which tells the story of how Miss Shepherd, a cantankerous, homeless old woman, came to live in a derelict van in writer Alan Bennett's driveway for 15 years.
The Goldsmiths Prize is awarded annually and celebrates inventive writing. Previous winners include Eimear McBride and Ali Smith. As the 2015 prize is awarded this evening, we'll be announcing the result and talking to the winner from the ceremony.
Waste by Harley Granville Barker is, says Richard Eyre, one of the best English plays of the 20th century, despite being banned in 1907. It's a drama of political intrigue, scandal, power-broking by an elite and gender politics. Critic Sam Marlowe reviews the new production at the National Theatre, directed by Roger Michell.
Amid much hullabaloo the Bodleian Library in Oxford has acquired and put online Shelley's Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things. But this long-lost poem was discovered almost a decade ago. So why has it not been available until today? Michael Rosen offers his view on the background to the story.
Channel 4's longest-running comedy series, Peep Show, begins its final series tonight. Kirsty talks to its stars, David Mitchell and Robert Webb.
Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06nq1f0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b06nrjjg)
Drugs in Sport and Human Enhancement
The report from the World Anti-Doping Agency couldn't have been clearer. Russian athletes were involved in state sponsored cheating and the IAAF was involved in bribery and corruption. Admittedly it's not exactly the stuff of Chariots of Fire, but what are the real moral boundaries that have been transgressed? If you think elite sport is all about individual talent and dedication you're sadly mistaken. Top athletes in all sports are supported by multi-million pound programmes that ensure they get the best of everything - including scientists who maximise their nutrition and medical treatment. If you come from a country that can't afford to pay for it, you're already handicapped. And if your son or daughter is showing some sporting promise you better get them in to a private school quickly. Half the UK gold medal winners in 2012 were educated privately and the pattern is repeated in almost every sport outside football. Sport is many things, but fair is not one of them, so why single out performance enhancing drugs in sport when we positively embrace them in other aspects of our lives? Has anyone turned down Viagra because it might give them an unfair advantage? As science progresses the possibility of human enhancement is becoming an everyday reality. Drugs to enhance memory and attention and to enable us to be smarter? Why not? If this all sounds like some kind of dystopian nightmare don't fret because there's a growing interest in the field of bio-medical moral enhancement to make us better people as well. Human enhancement - physical and moral on the Moral Maze, but beware, listening could give you an unfair advantage. Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk with Giles Fraser, Claire Fox, Melanie Phillips and Anne McElvoy. Witnesses are Ellis Cashmore, Martin Cross, Dr Rebecca Roache and Nigel Warburton.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b06nrjjp)
Changing Laws of War
Muna Baig argues that forced displacement should be taken seriously as a war crime.
Muna is a lawyer who has spent time working with refugees and with international lawyers. She calls forced displacement the 'cinderella war crime' and argues that despite it being considered a war crime since at least the Second World War, there is little political will to enforce the law. She maintains that only by talking about forced displacement will that change.
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b06np61l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Midweek (b06nq1dw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b06pnkml)
European and African Leaders Meet to Discuss Migrant Crisis
European and African leaders meet to discuss the migrant crisis - what can be done? How unequal is Britain? A special report on the rise of ISIS in Jordan. And we discuss the EU decision to re-label products from the occupied territories - is it fair?
WED 22:45 Death in the Fifth Position by Gore Vidal (b06q79tr)
Episode 3
With McCarthyism reaching fever pitch in 1950s America, Peter Sargeant - a dashing PR man - is hired by the Grand St Petersburg ballet to fend off rumours that their star choreographer is a communist. But New York's ballet world is shocked when, on the opening night, the lead ballerina plummets to her death from a wire, maintaining her classical pose in the 'fifth position' as she hits the floor.
Gore Vidal's earlier novel The City and the Pillar was published in 1948 when the author was 23 years old. Its central story of a homosexual relationship caused such a scandal that the New York Times book critic refused to review any book by Gore Vidal. Others followed his lead and the author found himself at a loss as to how to continue to earn a living through his pen until a publisher suggested that he turn his hand to writing under a different name. Death In the Fifth Position was published in 1952 - the first of a trio of entertainments featuring Peter Cutler Sargeant II as a publicist turned private eye.
Episode 3:
It becomes clear that Ella Sutton’s death was not an accident. What is also clear is that one of the ballerinas is pregnant and the father of the child (as the whole company knows) is Miles Sutton, the conductor and widower.
Written by Edgar Box (Gore Vidal)
Read by Jamie Parker
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:00 The Pin (b06nrjk1)
Series 1
Episode 4
Join Alex Owen and Ben Ashenden in their weird twist on the double-act sketch show. Strap in for a 15 minute delve in to a world of oddness performed in front of a live studio audience.
The Pin are an award-winning comedy duo, and legends of Edinburgh festival. They deconstruct the sketch form, in a show that exists somewhere between razor-sharp smartness and utterly joyous silliness.
After a sold-out run in Edinburgh, and a string of hilarious performances across BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC 3, Channel 4, and Comedy Central, this was The Pin's debut solo show for Radio 4.
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2015.
WED 23:15 Warhorses of Letters (b03q59t3)
Series 3
Episode 2
By Robbie Hudson and Marie Phillips
Stephen Fry and Daniel Rigby star as Napoleon's horse Marengo and Wellington's horse Copenhagen, with an introduction by Tamsin Greig, in the world's first epistolary equine love story.
Still cruelly sundered by fate despite the war having ended, Marengo is put rather unwillingly out to stud and discovers the overwhelming and exhausting joys of parenthood, and Copenhagen finds a new way of passing the time - writing racy horse fan fiction, a genre for which he turns out to have a remarkable flair...
Produced by Gareth Edwards.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b06nrjk3)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster on today's debates in the House of Lords.
WED 23:45 The Listening Project (b06kb0g4)
Omnibus
Fi Glover introduces conversations from Aberystwyth, Birmingham and Grantham, celebrating rugby, community, and the mother-son relationship, 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
Producer: Marya Burgess.
THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2015
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b06nl5dk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b06qbv1w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b06nl5dm)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b06nl5dp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b06nl5dr)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b06nl5dt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b06p07bq)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Jasdeep Singh, curator of the National Army Museum's Indian Army collection.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b06nrqv6)
Bovine TB research, Council-owned farms, Warm autumn
New research carried out by Exeter University suggests that intensive farming may contribute to an increase in bovine TB in areas where incidence is already high. The study tracked the disease on more than 500 farms in the south west of England, where incidence of bovine TB is highest. It identified a series of factors, including herd size, which increased the chances of the disease being present on a farm including existence of hedges, and whether maize is grown on farm. It defined small farms as those with fewer than fifty cattle, and medium as those with up to a hundred and fifty.
We also hear from BBC and Met Office weather presenter Peter Gibbs what effect this unseasonably warm November might have on livestock.
And what future for council owned farms - are they a money-making asset, or something to be sold off by cash-strapped authorities?
Presented by Felicity Evans and produced by Sally Challoner.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04mlpll)
Bell Miner
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the bell miner of eastern Australia. The sound of a tiny hammer striking a musical anvil in a grove of gum trees signifies that bell miners are in search of sugar. More often heard than seen the bell miner is a smallish olive-green bird with a short yellow bill, with a small orange patch behind the eye. It belongs to a large family of birds known as honeyeaters because many have a sweet tooth and use their long bills to probe flowers for nectar. But the bell miner gets its sugar hit in other ways. Roving in sociable flocks, bell miners scour eucalyptus leaves for tiny bugs called psyllids who produce a protective waxy dome. Bell miners feed on these sweet tasting shelters. Some scientists suggest that Bell Miners actively farm these insects by avoiding over-exploiting of the psyllid colonies, allowing the insects numbers to recover before the birds' next visit. So dependent are they on these psyllids bugs that Bell Miners numbers can often fluctuate in association with any boom-and-bust changes in psyllid population.
THU 06:00 Today (b06phqgw)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b06nrqv8)
The Battle of Lepanto
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Battle of Lepanto, 1571, the last great sea battle between galleys, in which the Catholic fleet of the Holy League of principally Venice, Spain, the Papal States, Malta, Genoa, and Savoy defeated the Ottoman forces of Selim II. When much of Europe was divided over the Reformation, this was the first major victory of a Christian force over a Turkish fleet. The battle followed the Ottoman invasion of Venetian Cyprus and decades in which the Venetians had been trying to stop the broader westward expansion of the Ottomans into the Mediterranean. The outcome had a great impact on morale in Europe and Pope Pius V established a feast day of Our Lady of Victory. Some historians call it the most significant sea battle since Actium (31 BC). However, the Ottomans viewed the loss as less significant than their victory in Cyprus and, within two years, the Holy League had broken up.
With
Diarmaid MacCulloch
Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford
Kate Fleet
Director of the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies and Fellow of Newnham College, University of Cambridge
And
Noel Malcolm
A Senior Research Fellow in History at All Soul's College, University of Oxford
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b06qbvz7)
Every Time a Friend Succeeds Something Inside Me Dies: The Life of Gore Vidal
Episode 4
The authorised behind-the-scenes biography of one of America's great and most under-rated man of letters, the cosmopolitan and wickedly satirical Vidal, from a devoted yet candid old friend.
In Episode 4, Gore turns to writing for the small screen and becomes a star turn at churning out TV drama. Meanwhile, his novels continue to flow but his political ambitions are thwarted.
Written by Jay Parini
Read by Toby Jones
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b06nrqvb)
Nigel Slater, New HRT guidelines, Astronaut Sandra Magnus, Sloane Crosley
As the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) launches its first clinical guideline on diagnosing and managing menopause Jenni talks to Melanie Davies Clinical Director of the Guideline Centre and Consultant Gynaecologist and GP, Dr Sarah Jarvis about what the guidelines mean for women experiencing symptoms that impact significantly on their daily lives.
Nigel Slater cooks the perfect autumn cake and talks about his new seasonally inspired cookbook 'A Year of Good Eating'.
Professor Aileen Ribeiro deconstructs the portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft hanging in the National Portrait Gallery.
Astronaut Sandra Magnus talks about her life in engineering, ahead of speaking at the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) Awards.
Sloane Crosley made her name with essays about her own life as a young woman in New York. Now she's published her first novel, The Clasp, which is a comedy inspired by a tragic short story, The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Eleanor Garland.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b06nrqvf)
Children in Need: D for Dexter: Series 2
Episode 4
by Amanda Whittington. Dexter is coming for the night, for a contact visit, and Skye can't wait. Mum's even told Uncle Dean to stay away. Things are looking up.
Director...Mary Ward-Lowery.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b06nrqvh)
Norway and Russia: An Arctic Friendship Under Threat
In Norway, the sacking of a newspaper editor, allegedly after pressure from Russia, has caused a political storm over media freedom, and raised questions over what price the country should pay for good relations with its powerful eastern neighbour. Thomas Nilsen is a veteran environmental activist who edited a paper in the far north of Norway, in a region which has enjoyed a unique cross-border relationship with Russia. Now that's threatened by rising tension between Russia and NATO. And relations have been further strained by the flow of refugees, now coming through Russia into the far north of Norway. Tim Whewell reports on what it means for the Norwegian outpost of Kirkenes, where Norwegians and Russians work closely together in the oil and fishing business and where cooperation and friendship go back decades.
THU 11:30 The Lost Songs of Hollywood (b06nrqvk)
The classic film soundtracks of the Golden Age of Hollywood feature some of the most quintessentially American music you're likely to hear. But the music for King Kong, Casablanca, High Noon and many other movies was actually written by Europeans - exiled classical composers, many of them Jewish, arriving in the USA in the 1920s and 30s.
Opera singer Julia Kogan was forced to leave the Soviet Union with her parents. Fascinated by the impact of exile on other artists, she goes in search of the songs many of these composers wrote away from the Hollywood spotlight, which until recently remained unpublished, hidden away in family archives.
What can these songs tell us about the emotional impact on these musicians, of being uprooted from their homelands and starting anew in a culturally alien world?
Kogan visits Los Angeles, to unearth and perform songs by multiple Oscar-winning composer Dimitri Tiomkin and by Erich Zeisl, a little-known composer whose fortunes took a rather different turn after leaving Europe. And she meets the last surviving exiled composer in Hollywood, Walter Arlen. At his 95th birthday celebrations, Kogan asks how a lifetime away from his native Austria is reflected in the songs that are only now seeing the light of day for the first time.
We hear Julia performing Tiomkin's 'Sweet Surrender' (with Alan Steinberger at the piano), Eric Zeisl's 'Prayer', and 'Es geht wohl anders' and 'Wiegenlied' by Walter Arlen (all with pianist Edan Gillen).
For more information on the music and contributors, please visit juliakogan.com. For more information on Walter Arlen and Eric Zeisl, visit orelfoundation.org.
Presenter: Julia Kogan
Producers: Chris Elcombe, Dave King and Julia Kogan
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b06nl5dy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 The Why Factor (b06p0843)
Series 2
Trainers
Sneaker, trainer call them what you will. How did this product of the industrial revolution and a rising middle class become a global fashion item worth tens of billions of pounds a year? Especially when 85% of the purchases are never intended for the it's original purpose, health and fitness. Join Mike Williams for the Why Factor: Sneakers.
Presenter:Mike Williams
Producer:Julie Ball
Editor:Andrew Smith.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b06p0847)
Driverless cars, Mobile phone 'notspots', Stranded on holiday
Cars that can drive themselves will be tested on roads in England from January. We report from Tokyo on what it's like to be a passenger when no one's steering the wheel.
After the government promised to put an end to many of the 'not spots' where mobile phone coverage is non-existent, why are so many communities still without a signal?
And who is picking up the bill for holidaymakers stranded in Egypt?
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Jon Douglas.
THU 12:57 Weather (b06nl5f0)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b06phqgy)
An EU summit on migration has decided to give 1.8 billion euros to African countries to try to curb the numbers coming to Europe. One Swedish politician tells us there are no mattresses left in the country due to the influx.
NHS figures for England show that the number of people who are stuck in hospital because there's nowhere to go, has risen to the highest levels since records began. We ask why.
As the Indian Prime Minister arrives for a visit, we ask if foreign students should be included in the immigration target.
And we hear of a new liquid being developed by scientists in Belfast which has holes that can trap gas.
THU 13:45 Raising the Bar: 100 Years of Black British Theatre and Screen (b06nrs7t)
Caribbean Voices
In the fourth of ten programmes tracing a century of black British theatre and screen, Lenny Henry, himself the son of Jamaican immigrants who settled in the west Midlands, tells the story of Caribbean migration as reflected in the work of such playwrights as Errol John, and the poet Una Marson who first came to Britain from Jamaica in 1932.
With Michael Buffong, artistic director of Talawa Theatre Company, whose production of John's 1958 play, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, at the National Theatre was an acclaimed revival.
Series Consultant Michael Pearce
Producer Simon Elmes.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b06nq270)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b03bsb9p)
Nikolai Leskov - Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
This new dramatisation by Marty Ross of the classic 1865 novella by Nikolai Leskov tells the dramatic story of Katerina, whose provincial life in 19th century Russia, married to an older man she has never loved, is transformed by the arrival of attractive philanderer, Sergei.
Katerina embarks on a passionate affair and, in her state of heightened emotion, she is determined to destroy anything that stands in her way. With her husband working away, and her relationship with Sergei on the point of exposure in the close knit farming community, she begins by dispensing with her father in law, but soon it becomes inevitable that further murders will be necessary to sustain her ferocious desires.
Shakespearean in both its language and emotional intensity, Katerina is portrayed as an anti-heroine of compelling intensity. The story, perhaps best known as the source for Shostakovich's famous opera of the same name, is by a Russian writer less well known than the likes of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, but whose work was much admired by Chekhov and Gorki, a rural Russian 'film noir'.
Sound design.......Jon Calver
Writer..................Nikolai Leskov
Dramatist.............Marty Ross
Director................Cherry Cookson
Producer: Mariele Runacre Temple
A Wireless Theatre Company production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b06nrsrw)
The Macbeth Trail
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most enduring plays; a tragic tale of a Scottish king driven to his death as a consequence of the ruthless pursuit of power. However many are surprised to hear that there was a real king Macbeth of 11th century Alba who bears little resemblance to the character in the play. Mac Bethad mac Findláich or Macbeth as he's known in English, had a legitimate claim to the kingship and ruled relatively successfully from 1040 to 1057. It's possible to trace Macbeth's story through the landscapes he's associated with and where the significant events of this period of history occurred. Helen Mark journeys through Moray and south to Perthshire to visit places that are strongly connected to the life of Macbeth; landscapes in which it's also possible to discover the heritage of medieval Alba.
Presenter: Helen Mark
Producer: Sophie Anton.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b06nl72f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b06np877)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b06nrxb8)
Aaron Sorkin on Steve Jobs, How to make a movie on a smart phone
With Francine Stock
The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin discusses his biopic about Apple founder Steve Jobs and why the relationship between the character and the real person is the difference between a building and a drawing of that building.
Director Sean Baker reveals how he made a feature film, Tangerine, with two smart phones, and why he'd still prefer people to watch it on a big screen.
Documentary-maker Saeed Taji Farouky talks about his experiences of being embedded with the Afghan National Army in one of the most dangerous regions in the world.
And a sound editor responds to bird-watchers' complaints about birdsong being used in the wrong movie locations.
Image: Michael Fassbender portraying Steve Jobs. Image credit: Universal Pictures.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b06nrxbb)
Sex-change tree, Pluto's cryovolcanoes, Sellafield's plutonium, Ant super-organisms
Britain's oldest tree changes sex - The science behind the headlines - this week it was reported that the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire (known to be a male tree, over 2-5000 years old) had started to produce berries (female) on one of its branches. Dr. Max Coleman from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh explains that sexuality in plants is more fluid than in animals.
Cryo-volcanoes on Pluto
The latest observations from the New Horizons mission to Pluto show possible volcanic-type structures made from ice. The mountains have what appear to be caldera-like depressions in the top.
Unlike volcanoes on Earth, that erupt molten rock, the suspected volcanoes on Pluto, would likely erupt an icy slush of substances such as water, nitrogen, ammonia or methane.
Sellafield's plutonium
The nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria has amassed around 140 tonnes of plutonium on site. This is the largest stockpile of civil plutonium in the world. For now it is being stored without a long-term plan, which is costly and insecure. At some point a decision will need to be taken on how it is dealt with. The estimated clean-up costs are between £90-250 billion, which means the pressure to make the right decision is massive. Should we convert it into useable fuel or get rid of it? And how secure is it in its current state?
Ant super-organisms
Ants behave as a super-organism when under predation threat - complex chemical communication in rock ants are key to how they behave as a unit to different threats.
Producer: Fiona Roberts.
THU 17:00 PM (b06pj09j)
PM at
5pm - Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b06nl5f2)
Figures suggest the NHS is failing to meet key targets.
THU 18:30 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b01r0c5r)
Series 2
With Phill Jupitus and Lady Lykez
Comedy show hosted by Alex Horne and his five piece band and specially written, original music.
This episode explores the theme of 'the body' including songs on shampoo, beards and catarrh.
Guest starring:
Phill Jupitus who sings with the band and reads a poem
Plus a rap from Lady Lykez.
Alex's Horne Section are:
Trumpet/banjo .... Joe Auckland
Saxophone/clarinet ....Mark Brown
Double Bass/Bass .... Will Collier
Drums and Percussion .... Ben Reynolds
Piano/keyboard .... Ed Sheldrake
Producer: Julia McKenzie.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2013.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b06nrxbd)
Happy Pat engages Helen in baby talk - Helen's rather non-committal when Pat asks about her preference for a boy or a girl. Contrasting her happiness with this time last year, Pat remembers Tony's awful accident with Otto the bull. Pat also asks Rob about the job he's applying for (which Helen found). Modest Rob's not sure he's the right candidate.
Rob relies on Neil's precision work as he helps with shelving for the new shop. Rob proudly tells Neil about effectively being Henry's step-dad. Neil reports that Jazzer has had good news too - the new owner of Mike's business is keeping him on. Pat tells Neil she surprised that Helen doesn't seem to want to be in Calendar Girls. Neil only took on a role to support Susan.
Helen receives a surprise congratulations card from Rob's parents. Helen's really looking forward to finally meeting them. Meanwhile, Ian has got Adam to agree to a date for their wedding - 14th December.
Kathy has reluctantly told the Grundys they'll need to leave Grey Gables by Christmas. How on earth are Clarrie and Eddie going to break it to Joe?
THU 19:15 Front Row (b06p0849)
Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer, Vikram Seth, The Last Panthers
Masters of the Everyday: Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer at The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace is a new exhibition of masterpieces from the Royal Collection. Curator Desmond Shawe-Taylor explains the background to the show which includes works by Jan Steen and Pieter de Hooch, and which features Johannes Vermeer's A Lady at the Virginal with a Gentleman, The Music Lesson (above).
Vikram Seth, author of the international bestselling novel A Suitable Boy, discusses his substantial new publication, Collected Poems.
Samantha Morton and John Hurt star in the new TV drama series The Last Panthers, based on a real-life network of diamond thieves across Europe. Crime novelist Denise Mina reviews.
Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas - famous for his complex microtonal scores - discusses his bold new work Morgen und Abend for the Royal Opera House, featuring Out of Africa Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer.
Presenter Samira Ahmed
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06nrqvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 Law in Action (b06np61n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b06nrxbg)
Breaking the Mould
Rewriting the rules: what does it take to be a non-conformist? Evan Davis is joined by a banker, a brewer and a tech entrepreneur as they discuss how success can mean challenging the orthodox way of doing things.
Guests:
James Watt - Founder, Brewdog Ltd
Sarah Wood - Co-founder, Unruly Media
Anders Bouvin, CEO, Handelsbanken UK.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b06nrxbb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b06nrqv8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b06pj09l)
Suicide bombers kill dozens in Beirut
Attacks target stronghold of Hezbollah, which is fighting for President Assad in Syria.
THU 22:45 Death in the Fifth Position by Gore Vidal (b06q7fd9)
Episode 4
With McCarthyism reaching fever pitch in 1950s America, Peter Sargeant - a dashing PR man - is hired by the Grand St Petersburg ballet to fend off rumours that their star choreographer is a communist. But New York's ballet world is shocked when, on the opening night, the lead ballerina plummets to her death from a wire, maintaining her classical pose in the 'fifth position' as she hits the floor.
Gore Vidal's earlier novel The City and the Pillar was published in 1948 when the author was 23 years old. Its central story of a homosexual relationship caused such a scandal that the New York Times book critic refused to review any book by Gore Vidal. Others followed his lead and the author found himself at a loss as to how to continue to earn a living through his pen until a publisher suggested that he turn his hand to writing under a different name. Death In the Fifth Position was published in 1952 - the first of a trio of entertainments featuring Peter Cutler Sargeant II as a publicist turned private eye.
Episode 4:
At Peter’s suggestion, Jane Garden - his new girlfriend - has stepped in to take on the lead role played by the murdered ballerina, Ella Sutton. In the meantime, Detective Gleason has some questions to ask Peter about ‘the murder weapon’.
Written by Edgar Box (Gore Vidal)
Read by Jamie Parker
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
THU 23:00 Radio 4's Night of Comedy for Children In Need (b06nrxbj)
For one night only BBC Comedy takes over the Radio Theatre as Susan Calman hosts a top bill of stand up, sketches and music featuring comedy powerhouse Andrew Maxwell, News Quiz regular Sara Pascoe, 2015 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Nish Kumar, star of BBC Three's People Time Natasia Demetriou, Canadian Comedy award nominee Mae Martin, lyrical improviser Abandoman and BBC New Comedy Award finalist Tez Ilyas.
To donate five pounds text the word COMEDY to 70705. Text messages will cost £5 plus your standard network message charge and £5 will go to Children in Need. You must be 16 or over and please ask the bill payers permission. For full terms and conditions and more information, visit our website at bbc.co.uk/Pudsey.
THU 23:45 The Listening Project (b06bd7sj)
Omnibus
Fi Glover introduces conversations gathered during The Listening Project Booth's summer tour, about retirement and memories, learning, and the power of history to change lives, 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
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRIDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2015
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b06nl5g0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b06qbvz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b06nl5g2)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b06nl5g4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b06nl5g6)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b06nl5g8)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b06pcz7t)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Jasdeep Singh, curator of the National Army Museum's Indian Army collection.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b06nrzqm)
Glyphosate report, Tenant farming, The Farming Today cow
A new report from the European Food Safety Authority finds the weed killer glyphosate - present in the widely used product 'Round Up' - is not likely to be carcinogenic. The issue had been raised in a study by the World Health Organisation earlier this year, and its lead scientist disputes EFSA's findings. EFSA will however recommend new, lower safe limits for exposure to glyphosate both for those using it and for residues in food.
Caz Graham meets a farmer who has taken on a second day job to help fund his tenant farm. And we revisit the Farming Today cow - Alkerton Jeeves Sunblest - on farm in Gloucestershire.
The presenter is Charlotte Smith and the producer in Bristol is Sally Challoner.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04syygh)
Hawaiian Goose (Nene)
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the Nene, or the endemic and rare Hawaiian goose. Visit a Wildfowl and Wetland Trust centre in the UK and it is likely you'll be mobbed by the nasal calls of one of the world's rarest birds, the Hawaiian Goose or "Ne-Ne". In the late 18th century there were around 25,000 of these neat attractive geese, with ochre cheeks and black-heads, on the Hawaiian Islands. But by the early 1950s, due to development and introduced predators, a mere 30 or so remained. A few of these remaining Nene's were taken to Slimbridge, home of Peter Scott's Wildfowl Trust as part of a captive breeding programme. They bred successfully and now many generations of geese produced there have been returned to their native islands. Their future is still precarious in the wild, but as the state bird of Hawaii the Nene's outlook is more secure today than for the last seventy years.
FRI 06:00 Today (b06ns4gc)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b06nrzqp)
Lord Indarjit Singh
Kirsty Young's castaway is the broadcaster and religious leader, Lord Indarjit Singh.
Creator of The Sikh Messenger newspaper and co-founder of the Inter Faith Network he also has the distinction of being the first member of the House of Lords to wear a turban. He was appointed as a crossbench life peer in 2011.
He has contributed to Radio 4's Thought for the Day from a Sikh perspective for more than thirty years and arrived in Britain in 1933. He began his career as a mining engineer and in later life has been involved in inter-faith community work.
In the New Year Honours 2009 he was awarded the CBE for services to inter-faith and community relations.
Producer: Sarah Taylor.
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b06qbvnm)
Every Time a Friend Succeeds Something Inside Me Dies: The Life of Gore Vidal
Episode 5
The authorised behind-the-scenes biography of one of America's great and most under-rated man of letters, the cosmopolitan and wickedly satirical Vidal, from a devoted yet candid old friend.
In Episode 5, Gore finds his largest audience yet, with his ground-breaking novel Myra Breckinridge. He leaves the US and establishes a life in Italy in his dream home on the Amalfi Coast.
Written by Jay Parini
Read by Toby Jones
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b06pcz0b)
New Zealand Women MPs ejected from Parliament, School Refusal
Earlier this week a group of female MPs were ejected from the New Zealand parliament. We find out why.
Children who find school too emotionally distressing to cope with are often wrongly labelled as truants. A mother and daughter shed light on 'School Refusal'. Lucy Willetts, NHS consultant clinical psychologist, explains.
The Maasai tribe in Kenya are male dominated, and women have few rights. The practice of female genital mutilation on girls is very common. A group of young men from a remote part of the community have been fighting against the practice through their passion for cricket. Their story is the subject of a new documentary film 'Warriors'.
The WISE awards celebrate talented women who are leading the way in science, technology, maths and engineering, from the classroom to the boardroom. Jenni speaks to two nominees: Amrita Ahluwalia, Professor of Vascular Pharmacology at Barts University, and Dr Jennifer Walsh-O'Donovan, a Rehabilitation Bioengineer for NHS Lothian.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Kirsty Starkey.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b06nrzqr)
Children in Need: D for Dexter: Series 2
Episode 5
by Amanda Whittington.
It's the early hours of Friday morning. Dexter could sleep through a riot. In fact, he just has.
But Skye isn't going down to see her Mum, not this time.
Director...Mary Ward-Lowery.
FRI 11:00 Lives in a Landscape (b06nrzqt)
Series 21
13/11/2015
When pensioners Viv and Fred Morgan read about a teenager committing suicide clutching her teddy, they decided to act - turning their home into a school to help other bullied kids.
They took their Bed and Breakfast in Hatton, Warwickshire and turned rooms into classrooms and built recreation and therapy facilities in the grounds. Now they have 17 pupils attending, more than half of whom have tried to take their own lives in the past.
Children aged between 11 and 16 can be referred by their local authorities and most stay for about a year. At first they often struggle with the curriculum but gradually they join classes - with 22 full and part time teachers covering everything from Science and English through to Photography GCSE.
Fred was 90 when they founded Northleigh House School but even now, four years on, he has no interest in retiring and Viv agrees: "We're not people who sit back and do nothing. When we heard of the situation facing youngsters we just knew we should try and help."
Alan Dein meets pupils and also those who have successfully taken their GCSEs and moved back into mainstream for 6th form. Ruth was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when she was 12 and struggled so desperately with school that she wanted her life to end. When she eventually arrived at Northleigh it took her weeks to develop the trust and build up the energy needed to attend lessons. Now she has her sights set on applying to study law at University:
"When I first walked in here it was like being at a friend's house. I didn't know what to expect but I saw the fire in the grate and the welcoming feel of the place. It has been the best thing that has happened to me coming here and I wish others knew it existed and could help them as well."
Producer Susan Mitchell.
FRI 11:30 John Finnemore's Double Acts (b06nrzqw)
Series 1
English for Pony-Lovers
In a small town in Germany, Lorna is about to give Elke an English lesson.
Rebecca Front and Beth Mullen star in the fifth of six two-handers, written by Cabin Pressure's John Finnemore
Written by John Finnemore
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015. .
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b06nl5gb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 The Why Factor (b06nrzqy)
Series 2
Long Distance Sports Fans
Every week, hundreds of millions of people around the world surrender their emotions; leave them for a while in the hands of strangers. They might face dejection or, with luck, jubilation. The US National Basketball Association says that less than one percent of fans globally will ever watch a game live. While the Premier League is played in England and Wales, almost half of the fans 470 million of them live in Asia and Oceania. Another 260 million follow the game from sub-Saharan Africa. Mike Williams asks why do sports fans do it? With Eric Simons, author of the Secret Life of Sports Fans, Xinjiu Wang, Chinese fan of Swansea City, Stanley Kwanke, BBC Africa, Emily Clarke, fan of the Denver Nuggets, David Goldblatt, Author of The Ball is Round.
Presenter:Mike Williams
Producer:Bob Howard
Editor:Andrew Smith
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b06pcz0g)
Future fuels, University value for money, McDonalds revamp
If you've seen a TV advert for McDonalds recently, you'll know they're in the midst of a big push to remind everyone that their food is good quality. As well as promising 100% British and Irish beef in their burgers, and only breast meat in their chicken nuggets, the company recently committed to using 100% British potatoes for their fries. Why, after years of success in the UK, is the chain still unable to shake off its fast food image? The UK Chief Executive explains his vision for the brand.
Last week the Universities Minister, Jo Johnson, unveiled his plans for higher education over the next 5 years on You and Yours. Among them was a commitment to drive up standards of university teaching with something called the Teaching Excellence Framework. It prompted a heated response from listeners who told us they were concerned about how the system would work. Peter White hears from one, an academic, who got in touch to tell us what's wrong with the proposals.
First Direct - which calls itself the 'unexpected' bank - has been giving its customers some unexpected and unwelcome treatment. We hear from two long-standing customers who have been told their identity documents are no longer sufficient, one because she chooses to bank in her maiden name, and the other who uses his middle name. Why is the bank becoming more concerned about customer identity now, after more than 30 years in operation, and how does that compare with practice across the banking sector?
FRI 12:57 Weather (b06nl5gd)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b06nrzr3)
Mohammed Emwazi, the British man known as Jihadi John has been targeted in an American air strike --- the Prime Minister has said it was an act of self defence. We hear from a friend of one of the British hostages who was apparently murdered on camera by Emwazi.
What does this strike tell us about the battle against ISIL and our involvement in it? We talk live to Dominic Grieve, who chairs Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee.
The Labour MP Graham Jones tells us his party suffers a lack of authority under Jeremy Corbyn - and describes an atmosphere of vile abuse and venom. We talk to one of the Labour leader's allies in the Commons.
And we've the latest in our series on a family's journey from Syria to Northern Europe, which takes a dark turn on the borders of Macedonia.
FRI 13:45 Raising the Bar: 100 Years of Black British Theatre and Screen (b06nrzr8)
Pressure, Conflict and Creativity
To end the first week of Raising the Bar, in the fifth of ten programmes tracing a century of black British theatre and screen, Lenny Henry takes a journey back to the 1960s and 70s to catch the spirit of protest and violent anger that welled up as the result of years of overt or thinly-veiled racism.
With the advent of the Black Power movement, British African Caribbeans found a new and angry voice - it expressed itself on stage and on screen, notably in Horace Ové's film Pressure, that tells the story of a young black British boy growing up under powerful influences: his old parents' rectitude, his own desire to make his way in the society he's been born into, and the angry, uncompromising voices of his Black Power advocate brother.
Horace Ové talks to Lenny Henry about the world that inspired this famous first British feature film by a black director.
Series Consultant Michael Pearce
Producer Simon Elmes.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b06nrxbd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b03g937t)
Queens of the Coal Age
Maxine Peake dramatises the story of four miners' wives, who attempted to save pits from closure by occupying a mine.
Maxine says "I've always wanted to write about aspects of the miners strike that I felt had been under explored in British drama. How the women mobilized, became the backbone of the strike and why they kept on fighting. The 80s was the era women from mining communities became emancipated and found their voice. I was overwhelmed by their strength and courage."
In 1993, nearly 10 years on, Anne Scargill, Dot Kelly, Elaine Evans and Lesley Lomas tried to smuggle themselves down a Parkside pit, when the remaining 31 pits were threatened with closure. Maxine tells the story from their point of view.
"I'd had this idea for over eight years and this story was the first thing I wanted to write but, aware it was a hard sell, I sat on it. After my first radio play about the cyclist Beryl Burton, I felt more confident. As with Beryl's story, this is about ordinary women doing extraordinary things. It's a piece about friendship, camaraderie and perhaps surprisingly, much laughter."
Anne Scargill, Dot Kelly, Elaine Evans, Lesley Lomas also feature as themselves.
Musical Director / Guitarist: Alan E Williams
Humming Miners: Saddleworth Male Voice Choir
Female Singers: Cast, Original Women, Crew
Female Vocalist: Keeley Forsyth
Director / Producer: Justine Potter
Sound Engineer and Designer: Eloise Whitmore
A Savvy production for BBC Radio Four.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b06ns0r0)
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
Chris Beardshaw, Bunny Guinness and Christine Walkden are this week's panellists taking questions from an audience of local gardeners.
The questions range from how to create a sensory garden within an exposed playground, to how best to plant a massive bog garden, and how to keep sawflies away from your gooseberries.
Also, Chris Beardshaw visits the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park for a project called Wild Park 2020 whose aim is to eradicate invasive Rhododendrons and reintroduce the lovely red squirrel.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 New Writing from the Arab World (b06ns27g)
Playing with Bombs
A series which focuses attention on contemporary short fiction from the Arab World.
In Playing with Bombs by the Kuwaiti born Mai Al-Nakib, a fifteen year old Palestinian finally gets a girlfriend - the girl next door. Sharing notes and longing looks through a gap in the wall which divides their gardens, they begin to explore each other and discover their hopes and plans for the future.
Mai Al-Nakib holds a PhD in English Literature from Brown University in the US and teaches Post-Colonial Studies and Comparative Literature at Kuwait University. The Hidden Light of Objects was her first collection of short stories and it won the Edinburgh International Book Festival's First Book Award in 2014.
Written by Mai Al-Nakib
Read by Amir El-Masry
Abridged and Directed by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b06ns27j)
Helmut Schmidt, Pat Eddery, Julia Jones, Lord Noon and Nat Peck
Matthew Bannister on
Helmut Schmidt, the German Chancellor who helped to design the European Monetary System and agreed that US nuclear weapons could be sited in his country. His friend the former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger pays tribute.
Also the jockey Pat Eddery - Willie Carson remembers their rivalry on the course and their friendship off it.
The actress and TV scriptwriter Julia Jones, who wrote the sitcom Take Three Girls and the period drama The Duchess of Duke Street.
The businessman Lord Noon who made millions by selling authentic take away Indian curries to the British.
And the trombonist Nat Peck, last survivor of the Glenn Miller Band.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b06ns27l)
Local Radio Special
High level scrutiny and the need for further savings shines a light on every corner of BBC. This week Roger Bolton is in Sheffield to find out what listeners think about their BBC local radio stations.
He speaks to Sheffield listeners and hears how holding local figures to account, local knowledge, companionship and reflecting the local community are key to keeping listeners engaged.
But across England, listening figures are in a slow decline. David Holdsworth, who is in charge of all 39 stations, explains why that is and how local radio is moving with the technical times.
Is there such a thing as a free lunch? We join 120 lonely older folk at a free fish and chip lunch organised by BBC Radio Sheffield. It was inspired by the late Winnie Blagden, a fan of the station. Having no family, Radio Sheffield asked their listeners if they could send Winnie a card. She received 16,000 - and a pile of chocolates and flowers.
And we hear from the BBC Radio Devon's sports department who regularly cover four or five games every Saturday afternoon - and transmit each one of them with individual commentary on an individual transmitter.
Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b06ns27n)
Matt and Melodie - Support Structure
Fi Glover introduces friends who are both parents of disabled children, sharing their feelings about the relentless pressure their children's conditions put them under. Their children have been helped by Acorns Children's Hospice, which has received funding from Children In Need since 2011
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 (b06pcz0j)
PM at
5pm - Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b06nl5gg)
UK drone involved in the strike targeting Mohammed Emwazi. Kurds capture the city of Sinjar from IS fighters. Nathan Matthews to serve at least 33 years for murdering Becky Watts
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b06ns27q)
Series 47
Episode 1
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Freya Parker, Holly Walsh, Dr Phil Hammond, Grace Petrie and Jon Holmes for a comic romp through the week's news.
Written by the cast, with additional material from Gareth Gwynn, Sarah Morgan, Liam Beirne and Rose Biggin.
Produced by Alexandra Smith.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b06ns27s)
Dan has his 21st birthday party at Lower Loxley, as Brian does some research into which of the women of Ambridge will be 'taking their kit off' for Calendar Girls.
Brian wishes he could help the Grundys - Eddie was asking about renting a holiday cottage. Brian updates Usha on Kate's progress with her yurts and holistic retreat business - she's steaming ahead. Brian's putting up the money for the yurts. Brian's impressed at Phoebe's knowledge of current affairs and science. With her hair done beautifully, blossoming Phoebe also attracts plenty of admiring attention, notes Brian. Phoebe's nervous about getting an interview for Oxford, for which she'll need to show good all-round awareness. David joins in a discussion about gene modification, which David says Ruth would never go for - speaking of which, where is she?
Dan loves his birthday watch from Shula and is delighted to open a gift from Richard Locke - a St Christopher medal and chain. Dan sheepishly tells Elizabeth about his mates taking the deer's head and placing it in the roses. Elizabeth doesn't care - Nigel wouldn't have had it any other way! Dan points out a girl and says confidently and certainly that he's going to marry her. (and it's not alcohol talking).
Ruth tells Usha about her frustrations at Brookfield. Thinking about something Kenton said, Ruth wonders whether she and David aren't right for each other anymore.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b06pcz0l)
Tracy Chapman, Raymond Briggs, The Fear of 13
John Wilson talks to musician Tracy Chapman, who began writing songs at the age of 8, about her ambivalent attitude to fame.
Raymond Briggs, author of The Snowman and When the Wind Blows, publishes his first new book in a decade, Notes from the Sofa.
Mark Eccleston reviews The Fear of 13, a stylistically daring documentary film about a man on death row.
And as the British Museum teams up with Google to put its objects online, John talks to Amit Sood, director of Google's new Cultural Institute.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06nrzqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b06ns27v)
Arron Banks, Lord Falconer, John Nicolson MP, Amber Rudd MP
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Basingstoke in Hampshire with a panel including the businessman and UKIP donor Arron Banks, Shadow Chancellor and Justice Secretary Lord Falconer, the SNP MP John Nicolson and the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change Amber Rudd MP.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b06mv4js)
Roger Scruton: The Tyranny of Pop
Roger Scruton deplores the tyranny of banal and ubiquitous pop music. Young people, above all, need help to appreciate instead the great music of our civilisation.
"Unless we teach children to judge, to discriminate, to recognize the difference between music of lasting value and mere ephemera, we give up on the task of education."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Raising the Bar: 100 Years of Black British Theatre and Screen (b06ns27z)
Omnibus: Part 1
In April 1833, at the height of the anti-slavery debate, a young African-American named Ira Aldridge took to the stage of the Covent Garden theatre in London as the star of the latest production of Shakespeare's Othello. Two days later, the production closed, ostensibly as the result of illness, but amid howling reviews that decried, in deeply racist language, the elevation of a black actor to the role of Shakespeare's tragic hero. Yet Aldridge was a superstar, feted across Europe who settled in Britain and married a British woman.
In this first of two programmes, Lenny Henry traces the long and painful road that black British performers, playwrights and film-makers have travelled, from the overt racial discrimination of the 19th century, via the thinly veiled slurs that persisted through the first 70 years of the 20th, to today's more equal society. This week, Lenny talks to playwrights Mustapha Matura, Roy Williams, Lolita Chakrabarti and Kwame Kwei-Armah and actors and directors Carmen Munroe, Yvonne Brewster and Paulette Randall. As well as Aldridge's Othello, he hears how racial issues were reflected on TV from the Black and White Minstrel Show to Love Thy Neighbour and Desmond's, and in films like Horace Ové's Pressure.
Consultant: Dr Michael Pearce
Producer: Simon Elmes.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b06nl5gj)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b06pcz0n)
French police say at least 18 people have been killed in shootings in the centre of Paris.
Explosions have been reported close to the national stadium, the Stade de France.
FRI 22:45 Death in the Fifth Position by Gore Vidal (b06q7gwp)
Episode 5
With McCarthyism reaching fever pitch in 1950s America, Peter Sargeant - a dashing PR man - is hired by the Grand St Petersburg ballet to fend off rumours that their star choreographer is a communist. But New York's ballet world is shocked when, on the opening night, the lead ballerina plummets to her death from a wire, maintaining her classical pose in the 'fifth position' as she hits the floor.
Gore Vidal's earlier novel The City and the Pillar was published in 1948 when the author was 23 years old. Its central story of a homosexual relationship caused such a scandal that the New York Times book critic refused to review any book by Gore Vidal. Others followed his lead and the author found himself at a loss as to how to continue to earn a living through his pen until a publisher suggested that he turn his hand to writing under a different name. Death In the Fifth Position was published in 1952 - the first of a trio of entertainments featuring Peter Cutler Sargeant II as a publicist turned private eye.
Episode 5:
The story continues with the members of the Grand St Petersburg ballet anticipating the imminent arrest of the husband of the murdered ballerina. Not only had Miles Sutton been asking his wife for a divorce, he was also hiding a serious drug habit. Questions remain however over the murder weapon - the pair of shears found by our narrator, Peter, after the murder took place. The performances of the now sell-out ballet continue as does the investigation, and tonight a wealthy patron holds a party for the company.
Written by Edgar Box (Gore Vidal)
Read by Jamie Parker
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (m0008vxk)
Jonathan Coe/Gemma Cairney
Harriett Gilbert is joined by comic novelist Jonathan Coe and Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney to recommend favourite books.
Jonathan's choice is the first in a tragi-comic epic, a semi-autobiographical novel by the late David Nobbs, creator of 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'.
Gemma chooses a novel by Laura Dockrill, a vividly imagined story of mermaids and pirates, and Harriett dusts off a novel from the 1940s by Nevil Shute. Its subject matter is sharply topical, suddenly: an elderly man leads a growing group of refugee children across Europe, attempting to avoid the Nazi invaders.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery
FRI 23:27 Catacombs of the Mind (b04sxxsx)
Bruce Lacey has been a mischievous and radical presence in British culture for more than six decades. Now aged 87, he reflects on his life and work.
He's made an epic breadth of work as a satirical performer, assemblage artist, filmmaker and creator of earth rituals.
After studying painting at the Royal College of Art in the 1950s, he made props for TV comedy - combining a love of variety theatre and mechanical know-how to create effects like Footo the Wonder Boot Exploder for The Goons and Michael Bentine's performing fleas.
He became part of London's satire boom, performing with neo-Dadaist jazz band The Alberts in the hit madcap cabaret show, An Evening of British Rubbish. Lenny Bruce was so impressed he tried to become their manager.
Later Lacey created assemblages like The Womaniser, which expressed feelings about the dehumanising effects of Cold War society. His robot Rosa Bosom still has pride of place in his parlour - she was 'best man' at his wedding and was once crowned the Alternative Miss World.
Moving to Norfolk, Lacey concentrated on performance work from the late 70s, committing himself to becoming a transmitter of nature's force in almost shamanistic community arts and ritual action performances. He still lives in the same Norfolk farmhouse, surrounded by his extraordinary personal archive and collections.
Contributions from Jeremy Deller, Andrew Logan, Julian Spalding, Lynda Morris, William Fowler, Jonny Trunk and Ashley Hutchings of Fairport Convention, who wrote the song "Mr Lacey" about him.
Produced by Caroline Hughes
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b06ns3wn)
Matt and Melodie - Abseil for Acorns
Fi Glover with friends who are both parents of disabled children, considering the fund-raising lengths they need to go to in order to overcome compassion fatigue among donors to Acorns Children's Hospice, which has received funding from Children In Need since 2011. 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.