SATURDAY 26 MARCH 2016

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b07414qz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b0745xkq)
The Onlooker

Paris at the outbreak of World War Two. Hugo is a classic dandy in the European tradition. He spends his time dining with aristocrats, enjoying all the delicacies and fine art Paris has to offer. But he is an outsider, an American with an international heritage. It's a status he enjoys and that he believes - along with his wealth - insulates him from the imminent war. But that war eventually comes to get him.

Irene Némirovsky is best known for her novel Suite Francaise. She was also a highly accomplished short story writer, and this is an example of her mastery of the form. A story of exquisite taste with a sting in its tale, made even more poignant in the knowledge that Némirovsky herself perished in a Nazi death camp.

Author: Irene Némirovsky
Reader: David Suchet
Translator: Bridget Patterson
Abridger: Lisa Martinson
Producer: Simon Richardson.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07414r2)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07414r4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07414r6)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b07414r8)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0746914)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b0746916)
They'd clearly been hit by smoke

Ambulance convoys, fluorescent uniforms and complete focus, Cailin Mackenzie describes her day volunteering with the Red Cross in the aftermath of the Brussels attacks.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b07414rb)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b07414rd)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b0745gt3)
Series 32

Eyam, Derbyshire

Clare Balding walks to Eyam this week - the Derbyshire village best known for its heroic approach to the bubonic plague in the 17th century. She rambles along the brand-new Peak Pilgrimage long distance footpath, devised to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the plague, during which Eyam famously put itself into quarantine to stop the disease spreading further.

Producer: Karen Gregor.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b074vrns)
Farming Today This Week: Coastal Farming

Sybil Ruscoe is at the newly created Steart Marshes on the Severn Estuary to talk about coastal farming. With our coastline under threat of erosion and flooding, we find out what farmers and others are doing to manage the land. At Steart Marshes the Environment Agency and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust have worked together to allow some of the farmland to flood, creating wetland habitat for birds, and salt marsh grazing for cattle and sheep.
We also hear from farmers in Lincolnshire who are only now re-planting their land following the tidal surge three years ago; and Sybil Ruscoe meets the people of Fairbourne in Mid Wales: it's a village that will eventually be lost to the rising sea level when flood defences are no longer maintained.
The producer is Sally Challoner.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b07414rg)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b074vrnv)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b074vrnx)
Dexter Fletcher and Shazia Mirza

Presented by Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein. Dexter Fletcher's big break came as a child actor when he was cast a BabyFace in Bugsby Malone. He talks about his acting career, move into directing and the technical challenges of making his latest film Eddie the Eagle.
Shazia Mirza is an award winning stand-up comedian, a writer and columnist. Brought up in a strict Muslim household, she trained as a science teacher, while honing her stand-up act in secret. Toby Little and his mother Sabine talk about his mission to write a letter to every country in the world. JP Devlin meets Saturday Live listener Ann Ward, to hear how a letter about the great-great grandfather inspired her to volunteer for the lambing season in his home village. Tim Birkhead describes why a bird's egg is the most perfect thing. And businessman Theo Paphitis shares his Inheritance Tracks: Nobody Does it Better, sung by Carly Simon; and Over the Rainbow, performed by Eva Cassidy.

Eddie the Eagle is out on 1 April.
Shazia Mirza is on tour with her show The Kardsahians Made Me Do It.
Dear World, How Are You? by Toby Little is out now.
The Most Perfect Thing, by Tim Birkhead is published on 7 April.

Producer: Louise Corley
Editor: Karen Dalziel.


SAT 10:30 Laura Barton's Notes from a Musical Island (b074vrp1)
Series 1

Episode 4

The music writer Laura Barton visits four corners of Britain and listens closely to the music found in different landscapes. In this final programme, Laura explores two aspects of musical life in the capital.

Musical migrants, such as the Nigerian-born guitarist Femi Temowo, found a route into London's music scene via the church, whereas the American composer Nico Muhly has been adopted by the city's cosmopolitan contemporary music and arts milieu.

Their experiences contrast with archetypal London musicians Chas 'n' Dave, who made a point of singing in their own accents and created 'rockney' - a hybrid of cockney rock.

Laura examines immigrant and indigenous music within the landscape of London.

Produced by Alan Hall.
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b074vrp7)
Peter Oborne of the Daily Mail looks behind the scenes at Westminster and examines the fallout from the resignation of Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith. How serious are the consequences for the party and what is the future now of the universal credit system .
The chair of the Foreign affairs Select Committee, Crispin Blunt, explains his committee's inquiry into political Islam in the context of the horrific events in Brussels this week. Andrew Tyrie Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition reports on his committee's progress on this issue.
The editor is Marie Jessel.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b07414rk)
Memories of Murder

The lives behind the headlines. In this edition: forty years in prison for the former Bosnian Serb Leader Radovan Karadzic, found guilty of war crimes. Does it send a signal to those in positions of power that they will, ultimately, be held accountable? Brussels -- not just a city of Eurocrats, but one where people and families live and grow up and where's there's been a phlegmatic response to Tuesday's bomb attacks there; Mexicans are increasingly angry about the level of corruption in their country - organised crime's now said to be deeply embedded in the country's legal and political establishment and the police can't be trusted either; the nine hundred-plus clumps of rock which make up the Solomon Islands may now be independent but, we find, old ties with Britain have not been entirely severed. And while some might regard Cantonese cooking as a little old hat, our correspondent says it is in fact one of China's most exquisite cuisines, with many of its delights unknown to outsiders.


SAT 12:00 News Summary (b07414rm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (b07414rp)
Smart Energy Meters

On Money Box with Lesley Curwen: new improved energy smart meters will be rolled out later this year. We'll see our energy use and its exact cost - doing away with the need for estimated bills. But just who benefits from the £11bn project? The costs will be borne by consumers who in return get projected savings of £26 a year off their energy bills. It's expected there will be new tariffs as well - called Time of Use tariffs. We are likely to be paying far more for our energy during peak periods in the early evening. Meanwhile energy will be cheaper overnight and during the morning. Will customers be flexible enough to radically change when they use gas and electricity to save money? Lesley Curwen and a panel of experts discuss the issues. Smart meters - smart or dumb?

Joining Lesley Curwen are: Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Smart Energy GB; Stephen Thomas, Emeritus Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Greenwich; and Rosie McGlynn, director of new energy service from Energy UK.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b07466lj)
Series 48

Episode 4

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Ellie Taylor, Jon Holmes and Mitch Benn to present the week in news through stand-up and sketches.

This week the gang take a look at the fallout from Iain Duncan Smith's surprise resignation, Ellie Taylor explains why Millennials are so anxious, Jon lets his appreciations for the Great British public be known in no uncertain terms and Punt and Dennis discuss the lack of sound opposition in the House of Commons with the Assistant Editor for The Spectator Isabel Hardman.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b07414rr)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b07414rt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b07466ln)
Laura Bates, Minette Batters, Frederick Forsyth, John King

Ritula Shah presents topical debate and discussion from the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House, London, with Laura Bates from the Everyday Sexism Project; Deputy President of the National Farmers' Union Minette Batters; the authors Frederick Forsyth and John King. They explore whether we're more secure in or out of the EU; the possible causes of terrorism; whether they would vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump; the nature of celebrity; and the right to strike for junior doctors.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b07414rw)
Security, US elections, Junior doctors

Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?
Will the security risk for Great Britain increase if we leave the European Union?
Assuming Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton get their party's nominations in the US election, would you vote for either of them and why?
When, if ever, do doctors have the right to strike?
Presented by Anita Anand
Producer Beverley Purcell
Editor Karen Dalziel.


SAT 14:30 Drama (b074vrpd)
Samuel Beckett - All That Fall

A playful, mysterious journey of words and sounds - one of Samuel Beckett's most naturalistic plays, inspired by memories of his native Foxrock in Ireland.

A tale of about faltering journeys - an old woman sets out to greet her husband at the station on his birthday, only for events to take a deeply unsettling turn...

Tony Award-winner Bríd Brennan leads the cast as the unforgettable Maddy Rooney - crotchety and funny, self pitying and self-important, and defiant in her small, strained act of love. Beckett described his radio plays as "coming out of the dark".

Mrs Rooney ...... Brid Brennan
Tommy ...... Killian Burke
Miss Fitt ...... Tara Flynn
Christie ...... Frank Laverty
Mr Rooney ...... Gary Lilburn
Mr Slocumb ...... Ciaran McIntyre

Internationally acclaimed director Max Stafford-Clark takes us on a rare radiophonic journey. This production was created for the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival and is now brought to radio.

Written by Samuel Becket

Sound Design by Dyfan Jones
Directed by Max Stafford-Clark

An Out of Joint Theatre production and produced for radio by Catherine Bailey.

A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2016.


SAT 15:30 The Women Who Wrote Rock (b07428bt)
Kate Mossman tells the story of the long-overlooked female pop and rock writers of the 1960s.

As a music journalist herself, when Kate entered the profession she found herself surrounded by men - men who had very definite ideas about how it should be done... writing for monthly magazines that were aimed at men and covering artist who were mainly men. The whole industry of writing about 'serious' popular music seemed to have been established in the late 1960s and the mid-1970s with the writer-characters of Rolling Stone and our own New Musical Express.

But there was a time before all this - a time when the newly invented teenagers were finding their feet... and a new kind of journalism was emerging to chronicle the rapidly changing time. A journalism spearheaded by women.

There was Nancy Lewis, who wrote for Fabulous and the NME; June Harris, who wrote for Disc, then went to New York and contributed to Rave (as well as marring legendary rock agent and promoter Frank Barsalona); Maureen O'Grady who began her career as a music journalist at Boyfriend and progressed onto Rave, where she also joined Dawn James. And the doyennes of them all was the Evening Standard's Maureen Cleave, to whom John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus.

Kate Mossman meets them and celebrates the tone of their writing that was so fascinatingly different from rock journalism as we came to know it, and yet captured all the confusion, excitement and social changes of the time.

Producer: Paul Kobrak.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b07414ry)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan talks about her career

Oscar winner Jenny Beavan talks about her career designing costumes for films such as Mad Max: Fury Road, A Room with a View, The Kings Speech and Lolita.

The acclaimed writer Jackie Kay has just been announced as the next Scots Makar - Scotland's national poet. She tells Jenni about the plans she has for her new role.

From 1999 Jayne Senior managed a youth project in Rotherham called Risky Business - working with girls at risk of and experiencing sexual abuse. She befriended the girls, and fought to expose the scandal of child sexual exploitation. Yet still the authorities failed to act. Jenni talks to her about her memoir, Broken and Betrayed, and her long and committed struggle to help the girls being abused.

Betty Jackson CBE is a British fashion designer with an extraordinary CV and joined Jane to talk about a life in fashion.

The National Theatre's play People, Places and Things takes an unflinching look at addiction. Denise Gough stars as its recovering addict talked to Jane about the demands of the role.

On Tuesday we devoted a whole programme to the issue of Teeth. Rachel Bairsto, Curator at the British Dental Association Museum told us why a lovely pair of pink vulcanite dentures were a good investment for young women in the past And we hear from Nicole Mowbray who had cosmetic work done on her teeth and urges those who don't really need it to steer well clear.

And as the in and out camps argue over what a vote to remain or leave the EU would mean for women's rights, we hear from key figures on each side of the referendum debate. Remain campaigner Yvette Cooper MP joins Leave campaigner Suzanne Evans of UKIP, together with Catherine Barnard, Professor of European Union law, University of Cambridge.

Presented by Jane Garvey
Producer: Sophie Powling.
Editor Beverley Purcell.


SAT 17:00 PM (b07414s0)
Saturday PM

Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (b0745q4l)
Life after a Blockbuster

Whether it's creating Angry Birds, the best-selling mobile app, or developing the best-selling Alzheimer's drug or discovering one of the world's biggest oil fields in recent years, every company dreams of blockbuster success.

But what happens after you hit the jackpot? How do you sustain that level of success? And what's needed to adapt from small start-up to big business?

Evan Davis and guests share the secrets of success and explore their experiences of trying to maintain their market position.

Guests:

Kati Levoranta, CEO, Rovio Entertainment (creators of Angry Birds)

Dr David Jefferys, Global Senior Vice President, Eisai Pharmaceuticals

Jón Ferrier, CEO, Gulf Keystone Petroleum

Producer: Sally Abrahams.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b07414s3)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b07414s5)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07414s7)
A man's been charged with terrorist offences over the bombings in Brussels on Tuesday.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b074vrpg)
Clive Anderson, Jim Cartwright, James Cartwright, Tom Allen, Vinette Robinson, Courtney Pine, Soweto Kinch

Clive Anderson is joined by Jim Cartwright, James Cartwright, Vinette Robinson, Tom Allen and Ioan Grillo for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Courtney Pine & Zoe Rahman and Soweto Kinch.

Producer: Sukey Firth.


SAT 19:02 Profile (b074vs18)
Nick Denton

n 2002 the British journalist Nick Denton created Gawker in the US, a website which made its name breaking news and celebrity gossip.

Last week a US court ordered the site to pay Hulk Hogan $140 million in damages, after Gawker ran a clip from a sex tape involving the wrestling star.

Mark Coles profiles the man friends describe as being "ahead of his time" and a "visionary".

But Mark also discovers how, as a journalist, Nick Denton reveals other people's secrets, while carefully guarding his own.

Producers: Katie Inman and David Rhodes.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b07414s9)
Hamlet, Paul Strand, Hot Milk, Court, Undercover

Paapa Essiedu is the first black actor to play Hamlet for the RSC in a new production opening in Stratford directed by Simon Godwin.
Booker short listed writer Deborah Levy explores the complex emotional dynamics of the mother / daughter relationship in her new novel Hot Milk.
Court is Mumbai born Chaitanya Tamhane's feature film debut - an Indian courtroom drama film which explores the limitations of Indian legal system through the trial of an elderly folk singer at a Sessions Court in Mumbai.
Paul Strand: Photography and Film for the 20th Century at the V&A in London shows how the pioneering American photographer defined the way in which fine art and documentary photography is understood and practised today in the first major retrospective of his work for 40 years.
And barrister turned writer Peter Moffat's new political thriller Undercover on BBC One, stars Sophie Okonedo as Maya, who is about to be appointed as the first black Director of Public Prosecutions. Adrian Lester plays her husband Nick, an under cover police officer with a complex past.
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Arts Editor at the New Statesman, Kate Mossman, novelist Patrick Gale and writer Susan Jeffreys.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b074vs1b)
The Art of the Lyricist

Actor and singer Clarke Peters explores the career and legacy of 'My Fair Lady' lyricist Alan Jay Lerner.

Alan Jay Lerner often said that he sweated for weeks to write a lyric for a song. His words highlighted the struggle that he and the other legendary wordsmiths of musical theatre had as they sought to hone the right words to fit their collaborator's music - words which would sometimes translate into the vernacular and speech of generations afterwards - expressions like "Get me to the Church on Time" (Lerner) or "Everything's Coming Up Roses" (Sondheim).

Clarke explores the art of Alan Jay Lerner as well as other musical theatre lyricists which fill the BBC archives.

Many of the songwriting greats are there - Yip Harburg, writer of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", Dorothy Fields (lyric writer of the hit show "Sweet Charity") and the great Oscar Hammerstein. Also the artists who delivered both words and music - like Irving Berlin and Stephen Sondheim Plus surprises like PG Wodehouse who, as well as writing the famous "Jeeves" books, also wrote lyrics for musical theatre.

Fresh interviews feature with lyricist Charles Hart (writer of words for "Phantom of the Opera" and more recently "Bend it like Beckham"), Millie Taylor, Professor of Musical Theatre at Winchester University and Alan Jay Lerner expert Dominic McHugh.

Clarke Peters presents this journey of crafting the words for the perfect musical theatre song. Discover the pleasures and pitfalls of a lyricist's life as he takes us through from first thought to the opening night.

Producer: Emma Kingsley.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016 to mark the 60th anniversary of the musical "My Fair Lady.


SAT 21:00 Drama (b07419gj)
John Fowles - The Magus

Episode 1

Nicholas Urfe, a young British graduate runs away from his monotonous life to take up a teaching post on the small Greek island of Phraxos.

There he meets the enigmatic figure of Maurice Conchis and slowly gets drawn into a world full of strange encounters and elaborate tricks on Conchis’s estate at Bourani. When Conchis introduces Nicholas to the enchanting and mysterious Lily Montgomery who bears a striking resemblance to Conchis’s long dead fiancée, reality and illusion begin to intertwine, but what strange game is Conchis playing with Nicholas?

Moreover, in this world coloured by artifice and deception, who is really telling him the truth?

First published in 1965 John Fowles’s novel ‘The Magus’ soon achieved cult status, but has only been dramatised once before in a film of 1968.

Now acclaimed dramatist and screenwriter Adrian Hodges (My Week with Marilyn, The Go-Between, Peter and Wendy, The Musketeers, Survivors, Primeval,) has adapted the novel for this fresh three-part dramatisation starring Tom Burke (War and Peace, The Musketeers) as Nicholas Urfe, Charles Dance (And Then There Were None, Game of Thrones) as Maurice Conchis, and Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter, Brideshead Revisted) as Lily.

Tom Burke ….. Nick
Charles Dance ….. Conchis
Hayley Atwell ….. Lily
Anna Skellern ….. Alison
Josie Taylor ….. Margaret
David Seddon ….. Mitford
Chris Pavlo ….. Meli
Lynsey-Anne Moffat ….. Rowena

Harpsichordist ..... Maggie Cole
Recorder player ..... Martin Feinstein
Writer ..... John Fowles
Adapted by ..... Adrian Hodges

Producer/Director ..... Heather Larmour

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b07414sc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b0742mqj)
Brussels Bombing

The fact that the Belgian authorities had been expecting an attack doesn't diminish the shock of yet another bombing with mass casualties in a European capital. Belgium's foreign minister said on Sunday that Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect in the Paris attacks, could have been plotting more operations. Tragically, he was proved right. That Salah was able to hide in Brussels, under the noses of the Belgian police, for more than four months raises uncomfortable questions for them - and also for us. The UK government is still fighting to get its Investigatory Powers Bill onto the statute book. Its supporters believe it will enable the police and security services to fight terrorism and crime more effectively. Opponents say it will destroy our fundamental right to privacy and believe their arguments have been given more force by the revelations of Edward Snowdon about the extent of secret surveillance. The Brussels bombs came on the day that the FBI in America said they'd found a way to get round Apple's security and unlock the phone of an Islamist terrorist who killed 14 people in California last December. Apple had refused to co-operate, saying it would have security implications for millions of iPhone users all over the world. When we're faced with ruthless terrorists, intent on committing mass murder, how much privacy do we have a right to demand? And who should police it? These bombs were in the city that is the symbolic heart of the European Union and that has - for many - come to symbolise the hard-won freedoms and values we cherish in the West. What price do we place on those freedoms and values? And how much are we willing to compromise them to ensure our safety? How free do you want to be? Witnesses are Professor Anthony Glees, Mike Harris, Douglas Murray and Inayat Bunglawala.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b0741lvb)
Heat 11, 2016

(11/17)
The All England club at Wimbledon officially caters for tennis and which other sport? What are the first two prime numbers you come to when counting upwards from 100? Which border is the setting for author Cormac McCarthy's so-called 'Border Trilogy'?

These are just three of the questions the competitors have to face in the penultimate heat of this year's Brain of Britain contest. Russell Davies is in the chair, at Media City UK in Salford. The winner will go through to the semi-finals next month.

There's also a chance for a listener to 'Beat the Brains' and win a prize with devious questions of his or her own.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 Lord Byron and the Hebrew Melodies (b0741b8w)
Michael Rosen explores why some of Byron's best loved works, including She Walks in Beauty, first appeared not as poems but as lyrics to Jewish melodies by composer Isaac Nathan.

He visits a Synagogue in Central London to hear the songs performed and meets some of those who've recently brought this little known story to public attention. How did Lord Byron become associated with such an important document in the history of Jewish music?

In 1815, Lord Byron published one of his most famous pieces, She Walks in Beauty. But it didn't appear as part of a collection of poems - in fact it was produced as one of a number of songs in the collection Hebrew Melodies. Byron, tiring of the formula that had brought him huge success in earlier works like Childe Harold's Progress and The Corsair, was approached by Jewish composer Isaac Nathan, who asked him to write religious lyrics to musical settings that were a mixture of contemporary and ancient Synagogue tunes.

Excited by the prospect of examining the Hebrew culture and putting his own deep knowledge of the Old Testament to good use, Byron took up the challenge. He was also keen to impress his future wife, a deeply religious woman who disapproved of his insalubrious lifestyle.

Byron and Nathan struck up a strong relationship and, over the course of the collaboration, produced 29 songs.

Unfortunately for Nathan, Byron's standard publisher, John Murray, wasn't keen to lose their grip on the poet whose work was funding their expansion and, as Michael Rosen discovers, took steps to minimise public recognition of the musical venture, leaving Nathan out of pocket and - for a long time - written out of the Byron story.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.



SUNDAY 27 MARCH 2016

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b074vt71)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Modern Welsh Voices (b03pdhks)
The Abergorki Long Veg Growing Society

The Abergorki Long Veg Growing Society by Rachel Tresize.

Selwyn's passion is cucumbers. But when he's beaten in Abergorki's annual vegetable growing competition, his life begins to unravel. The final of five original stories by writers from Wales.

Read by Ruth Jones

Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b074vt73)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 02:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b074w18k)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b074vt75)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b074vt77)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b074vvvn)
St Mary's Church, Abergavenny

From St Mary's Church in Abergavenny. There have been bells in the church since the 16th Century. In 1947, the current ring of 10 was installed in thanksgiving for the end of the Second World War. This week: Spliced Surprise Royal.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b074vs18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:02 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b074vt79)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b074vvvq)
Hunger for the New

A Hunger for the New - or "the life value of everlasting change" - is said to be one of the few constants in life. In the week following the vernal equinox and on an Easter Day coinciding with the first weeks of Spring, the human appetite for new adventures, new environments - even new objects or technologies - is piqued.

Mark Tully examines the hunger for new experiences of all kinds with readings from the work of American adventurer John Krakauer, the great German playwright Bertolt Brecht, and novelist and poet Helen Dunmore.

There's music too from Arvo Part, Tracey Chapman and Leos Janacek.

The readers are Polly Frame, Francis Cadder and Jasper Britton.

Producer: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 Sunrise Service (b074vvvs)
Fire and Light: the Gothic Revival splendour of Augustus Pugin's personal Church in Ramsgate on the Kent coast is now the Shrine of St Augustine of Canterbury, from where the Rector, Fr Marcus Holden, lights the Paschal Candle from the Easter Fire and leads a Sunrise Service for Easter Day. The Shrine is famed for its Gregorian Chant and Renaissance Polyphony, and Director of Music, Thomas Neal, leads The Victoria Consort in Easter hymns and seasonal music and chant. Plus, a specially-composed sonnet by Sister Mary Stephen. Producer: Rowan Morton-Gledhill.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b074vt7c)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b074vt7h)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b074vt7k)
Whitby's date with Easter, Religion and the ash tree, The Belgian state and religion

Religious and ethical news.


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (b074vvvv)
BRAC

Jonathan Pryce presents The Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of BRAC
Registered Charity No 1115482
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope 'BRAC'
- Cheques should be made payable to 'BRAC'.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b074vt7m)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b074vt7p)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b074vvvx)
Easter Sunday Worship: Pilgrim Living

Easter Sunday Eucharist live from Worcester Cathedral with Celebrant the Right Reverend John Inge, Bishop of Worcester. The preacher is the Dean, the Very Reverend Peter Atkinson with festive hymns and other Easter music from the Cathedral choir directed by Peter Nardone. The organ is played by Christopher Allsop. The Lay Clerks and girl choristers sing Haydn's Little Organ Mass and David Willcocks' arrangement of Sydney Carter's Lord of the Dance as well as Mediaeval chant unique to the Worcester Cathedral.

On the day that the Church marks the Resurrection of Jesus, an opportunity to reflect on the need to search for a sacred space in daily life.
Producer: Katharine Longworth.


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b03zdbr0)
Willow Warbler

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Kate Humble presents the willow warbler. The first willow warblers return from Africa in late March. Willow warblers were once the commonest and most widespread summer migrant to the UK but in the last two decades numbers in the south and east of England have dropped by two thirds. Fortunately in Scotland, Ireland and the west, numbers seem to be holding up.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b074vt7r)
News with Paddy O'Connell including Easter Rising commemorations. Following calls for West End stars to take their theatrical skills around the country we hear of an actor's life on tour with Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Penelope Keith, Miriam Margolyes and Tim Pigott-Smith. Reviewing the papers: actress Joanna Scanlan, journalist Lisa Markwell and Digby, Lord Jones. Plus a live Easter egg hunt.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b074vw92)
Please see daily episodes for a detailed synopsis.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b074vw94)
John Timpson

Kirsty Young's castaway is the businessman, John Timpson.

He is chairman of his eponymous high street retailers and the business is in his blood: started by his great-grandfather in 1865 it is now run by one of his sons.

Although he fulfilled his family's expectations by running the family firm, he's a man who ploughs his own furrow as all his staff are given the day off on their birthday, and can use the company's holiday homes for free. A proponent of what he calls 'upside down management', his employees, all of whom are called 'colleagues', enjoy an unusual degree of autonomy in the running of the individual shops and 10% of the company's employees have spent time in prison.

Married to his late wife Alex for over 47 years, together they fostered 90 children. He has written several books on leadership and pens a weekly business advice column.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.


SUN 12:00 News Summary (b074vt7t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (b0741n3y)
Series 74

Episode 5

Nicholas Parsons asks Gyles Brandreth, Esther Rantzen, Paul Merton & Tim Rice to speak on the topic of his choosing, without deviation, repetition or hesitation for Just a Minute.

This week's topics include: Bubble & Squeak, A Leap Year and A Mission to Mars.

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b074vw96)
Food Is Mad - The Update

From the guerilla gardener Ron Finley in South Central LA fighting the law to grow vegetables to the project training children in Brazilian favelas to train as chefs, Dan Saladino has shared some inspiring and life changing food projects shared at the MAD symposium in Copenhagen in 2014. But what's happened since then? He wants to hear what those projects have gone on to achieve.

MAD (the word for food in Danish) was founded by the celebrated chef of the restaurant Noma, Rene Redzepi. In his own words, it's curated by a group of "chefs, waiters, a former banker and an anthropologist". To some it's a festival of ideas, to others it's like listening to a "food mix tape", over two days an audience of 600 chefs, writers and food obsessives hear a series of presentations about cooking, restaurants, food history and activism.

But that was just the start. Ron Finley, a gardener from Los Angeles was prosecuted for growing food in a patch of land in front of his house. He took on the authorities and changed the law. His story has inspired people all over the world. Now his story has been made into an award-winning feature film, showing how other gardeners in South Central LA - gang-members Spicey and Kenya, 9 year old Quimonie and a man just released from a 30 year prison term are changing their lives simply by growing food. Meanwhile FruitaFeia, a Portuguese project to save ugly fruit from going to waste, has 2000 people on their waiting list and is looking to expand while GustoMovida, the Brazilian project training disadvantaged young people is preparing for the Olympics.

Presented by Dan Saladino
Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b074vt7w)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b074vt7y)
Global news and analysis.


SUN 13:30 1916: A Letter from Ireland (b074vx8y)
Irish Times journalist Fintan O'Toole takes a look at some of the 2,000 letters crowdsourced by Maynooth University as part of a special project in Ireland, marking the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising.

The correspondence paints a unique portrait of Irish people coming to terms with monumental events but, at the same time, getting on with everyday life. This isn't the Ireland of 1916 as seen through the history books - it's the Ireland of 1916 seen through the writings of the people as they lived it.

There are love letters penned by a couple starting a romance amid the backdrop of the troubles in Dublin, there are letters from soldiers on the Western Front confused at the events back home, there are lost letters and there are last letters from people eventually condemned for their part in the Rising.

It was a time when letter writing was at its height. But with the main Dublin post office building at the centre of the Easter Rising, there was a temporary hiatus and some post couldn't be sent for days. As a result, people turned their letters into diaries as they added to their correspondence with updates on events as they happened.

Postcards also took an interesting turn following the Easter Rising. Suddenly photographs of the mayhem were being sent around the world - a bit like Twitter or Instagram today.

Meanwhile, we discover, life went on. Soldiers worried about the welfare of their children back home and George Bernard Shaw was at the height of his playwrighting fame.

Producer: Ashley Byrne
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b074vx93)
Teesdale

Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from Teesdale. Pippa Greenwood, Matt Biggs and Christine Walkden answer the audience questions.

This week, the panel recommend some 'must have' vegetables for a Victorian kitchen garden, how to get parsnips to grow in tricky conditions, and what best to replace a climbing rose with.

Also, Eric Robson meets with Margaret Bradshaw, a local botanist who has been documenting the plants of Teesdale for the past sixty years.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b074vx95)
Sunday Omnibus - Changes in Working Life

Fi Glover with conversations between GPs, students, and a graduate employee and his line manager, about the shift to focus on data, and the significant changes in expectation, all in the Omnibus 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.


SUN 15:00 Drama (b074w040)
John Fowles - The Magus

Episode 2

Entranced by the charms of Lily, Nick struggles with his feelings for Alison, while things become increasingly dark and ominous at Bourani as Conchis continues his story.

John Fowles’ cult novel dramatised by Adrian Hodges.

Starring Tom Burke, Charles Dance and Hayley Atwell.

Nicholas Urfe, a young British graduate runs away from his monotonous life to take up a teaching post on the small Greek island of Phraxos. There he meets the enigmatic figure of Maurice Conchis and slowly gets drawn into a world full of strange encounters and elaborate tricks on Conchis’s estate at Bourani.

When Conchis introduces Nicholas to the enchanting and mysterious Lily Montgomery who bears a striking resemblance to Conchis’s long dead fiancée, reality and illusion begin to intertwine, but what strange game is Conchis playing with Nicholas? Moreover, in this world coloured by artifice and deception, who is really telling him the truth?

Tom Burke ….. Nick
Charles Dance ….. Conchis
Hayley Atwell ….. Lily
Anna Skellern ….. Alison
Josie Taylor ….. Margaret
Maarten Dannenberg ….. Anton
Bodo Friesecke ….. German Colonel
Andreas Karras ….. Greek Resistance Fighter

Harpsichordist ..... Maggie Cole
Written by ..... John Fowles
Adapted by ..... Adrian Hodges

Producer/Director ..... Heather Larmour

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b074w044)
Stories inspired by Jane Eyre

Two hundred years after the birth of Charlotte Bronte, Mariella Frostrup talks to Nadifa Mohamed and Joanna Briscoe about their new stories, inspired by her most famous of literary lines: 'Reader, I married him' from Jane Eyre.

Novelist Susie Steiner, whose own sight is deteriorating, reflects on the impact of visual impairment for both writers and fictional characters, Jeffrey Archer reveals the Book He'd Never Lend and journalist Anna James chooses some of her Spring literary highlights.


SUN 16:30 The Horses (b074w046)
A group of survivors rebuild their lives on a small island that's been spared from global nuclear apocalypse, "the seven days war that put the world to sleep". They've turned their backs on technology. Tractors, abandoned in fields, turn to rust; radios sit silent and ignored in the houses.

Then, late one evening, the islanders hear hooves on the road. Strange horses arrive from nowhere, "stubborn and shy, as if they had been sent/ By an old command to find our whereabouts". They offer themselves in service to the humans, to bear loads and pull their ploughs, restoring a lost relationship between man and beast.

Edwin Muir's career was bookended by two poems with almost the same title - 'Horses' and 'The Horses' - and these two poems encapsulate Muir's life and work. 'Horses' was published in his debut collection in 1925 and evokes Muir's childhood home on the tiny island of Wyre in Orkney. 'The Horses', his post-apocalyptic fable, comes from his final collection published in 1956. Yet both poems highlight the same theme: a lost paradise.

In this programme Kenneth Steven visits Wyre to explore the fears and dreams Muir distilled into those two poems. At the age of fourteen, Muir was forced to leave Orkney as his father sought work in Glasgow. The shock of encountering Glasgow, in his eyes an industrial Hell, had a profound effect on him. Worse still, his parents and his two brothers died in quick succession within a few years of moving to the city. Muir saw Glasgow as part of a fallen world and it brought about a breakdown from which he never fully recovered.

This programme is the story of Edwin Muir's Orkney, real and imagined, and how it came to symbolise the lost Eden which was the recurring theme throughout his work. Kenneth Steven visits Wyre and Glasgow to unravel the two Horses poems and, through them, Edwin Muir's life. Kenneth talks to poets, theologians and a psychologist. And we hear the voices of Orkney - including Muir's childhood home on the island of Wyre - reading his masterpiece, The Horses.

Presenter: Kenneth Steven
Reader: Paul Young
Producer: Jeremy Grange.


SUN 17:00 The Returnees (b0742hlf)
On an August bank holiday in 2014, Shiraz Maher at the International Centre for Study of Radicalisation at Kings College London received an email sent by a disillusioned British jihadist from Syria.

"We came to fight the regime and instead we are involved in gang warfare. It's not what we came for but if we go back to Britain we will go to jail. Right now we are being forced to fight - what option do we have?"

The man in his twenties claimed to represent dozens of other jihadists' desperate to return to the UK but fearing long prison sentences.

Gordon Corera explores the British government's response to managing returnees. In the last two years Britain has brought in temporary exclusion orders and is able to confiscate passports to prevent people preparing to travel to Syria.

France has gone one step further - since the Paris attacks in November police has placed over 400 citizens under house arrest and can strip French born dual nationals of citizenship. Denmark and Germany have taken a different approach and instead try to rehabilitate rather than imprison; helping young men and women get jobs, housing and education.

The Home Office estimates that around 800 British nationals have travelled to Syria since the start of the conflict and that around half of those have returned, though experts say these are conservative figures. What's the best way to deal with this growing threat, particularly when returnees are responsible for attacks such as those in Paris last November?

Gordon Corera speaks with Shiraz Maher, Rashad Ali of the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, solicitor Gareth Peirce, Hanif Qadir of the Active Change Foundation and counter-terrorism officer DAC Helen Ball. We also hear from a returnee.

Producer: Caitlin Smith.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b074vs18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:02 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b074vt80)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b074vt82)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b074vt84)
President Assad hails recapture of the ancient city of Palmyra from Islamic State group


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b074w048)
Janice Long

The best of BBC Radio in the last week with Janice Long featuring the pioneering female pop and rock writers of the 60s, our most successful duo, The Pet Shop Boys and Rick Astley all turn up alongside some very funny drama.
There's a tale from a totally fascinating Environmental Scientist who helps solve murders and believe it or not cookery on the radio. There is also a moving account from a man in Bosnia clutching a school photograph and we hear from a very old and gorgeous lady in Norfolk.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b074w04b)
At the fair at Lower Loxley, Lilian badgers Elizabeth to court the press in the run up to the Borsetshire Businesswoman of the Year event. Lilian and Richard talk over a drink in the beer tent. Richard compliments Elizabeth on her successful event: "Fairground, falconry, food stalls, folk music - all the fs!" They agree to meet at the play tomorrow together - "it's a date".
Henry is enamoured with a soft toy rabbit Helen gave him for Easter. Peggy thinks he is too old for soft toys - it might be different if he were a girl. Pat points out that the "meet baby animals" stall was all Rob's idea, and praises him. Peggy says Rob is "more than just a pretty face", and Helen agrees that he is more than that... Peggy and Pat discuss the tentative plans to send Henry to boarding school. Helen says they made an exception about Henry having chocolate for Pat's Easter egg. Ursula gave him a bigger one. Helen insists she is eating and sleeping enough. Driving home from the fair, Peggy and Pat worry about Helen.


SUN 19:15 Wordaholics (b01sdmd2)
Series 2

Episode 6

Gyles Brandreth presides over the comedy panel game where, this week, Susie Dent and Lloyd Langford compete against Dave Gorman and Natalie Haynes to find out which team is the most passionate and knowledgeable about words.

This week Susie Dent reveals two of her favourite now-defunct words from Samuel Johnson's Dictionary are 'pandiculation' (to stretch while yawning) and 'snirtle' (to laugh in a quiet and restrained manner); Dave Gorman comes up with a new cliche to replace 'Curiosity Killed the Cat'; Natalie Haynes tells us what the Cockney rhyming slang 'a Basil' refers to and Lloyd Langford is asked the meaning of 'dumpoke' from the 1903 dictionary, 'Hobson Jobson - A Glossary of Anglo Indian Colloquial Words and Phrases' (a book which Susie Dent claims is 'a very good read').

Writers: Jon Hunter and James Kettle
Producer: Claire Jones.


SUN 19:45 Reader, I Married Him (b074w04d)
Reader, I Mended Him

To celebrate the bicentenary of Charlotte Bronte's birth three writers provide their own take on the famous ending to Jane Eyre, 'Reader, I Married Him'.

Isy Suttie has Jane do battle with the ghost of Bertha, Philip Hensher sends her into the capitalist clamour of nineteenth-century Manchester and Elizabeth Kuti introduces an extra gothic twist with the appearance of another famous Victorian novelist.

Writer ..... Elizabeth Kuti
Reader ..... Olivia Hallinan
Producer ..... Heather Larmour.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (b07466ld)
The Archers, From T20 to PM

The Archers' plot of Rob abusing Helen has been a source of constant discussion among the Ambridge faithful. Is it too painful to continue? Is it too important to lose? And, is the depiction of domestic abuse true to life? Polly Neate, CEO of Women's Aid, a charity that advised the programme makers on the reality of abuse, joins Roger Bolton to explain whether she feels that the storyline provides a believable picture of a coercive, controlling relationship.

And at 5:30 on 18th March, Radio 4 Longwave listeners were eagerly anticipating the climactic moments of one of English cricket's greatest ever comebacks. But they were whisked away from Mumbai and into the middle of Eddie Mair's PM programme, denying them the game's thrilling finish. Feedback's Rob Crossan finds out why.

A recent edition of the Today programme included a feature from the School Report, in which a 12 year old reporter informed the audience about the introduction of Combined Cadet Forces into his school, part of a wider initiative to bring the CCF into more deprived areas. But we hear from listeners who were incensed by the piece.

Finally, Roger is joined by Mohit Bakaya to discuss Radio 4's latest foray into using visual accompaniments to its traditional radio programming - The Global Philosopher, a high tech debate format hosted by Michael Sandel. But why should Radio 4 even want to go visual? And does adding a visual element mean accepting compromises in the radio programme?

Producer: Kate Dixon.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b07414nb)
Vlasta Dalibor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Dr Robert Acland, Asa Briggs, Barry Hines, Johan Cruyff

Julian Worricker on:

Asa Briggs, social historian and university administrator, who wrote a five-volume history of the BBC.

Austrian conductor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, famed for his pursuit of authenticity in both early and modern music.

Vlasta Dalibor, co-creator of Pinky and Perky.

Professor Robert Acland, a pioneer of microsurgery in both Britain and America.

Barry Hines, the author and screenwriter, who adapted his novel A Kestrel for a Knave into the film 'Kes'.

And....one of football's greatest players and most successful managers, Johan Cruyff.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b07414rp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b074vvvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Analysis (b0741nql)
Corporate Amnesia

Phil Tinline finds out what happens when institutions lose their memory and how they can best capture and share the lessons of the past.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b074vt8b)
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.


SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b074w0zc)
Kevin Maguire of The Mirror analyses how the papers are covering the big stories.


SUN 23:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b074c3rc)
Series 2

London Calling - with Crossfire, and a Vampire

True stories told live: Sarah Austin Jenness introduces four tales celebrating all things British. With writer Neil Gaiman.

The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.

The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.

Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.


SUN 23:50 A Point of View (b07466lq)
Allergic to Food

Finding himself on a restricted diet, Will Self reflects on the rise of food allergies and intolerances which used to fail to invoke his sympathy.

"It's not so much that I doubt the physiological component of all this tummy rumbling and grumbling, it's more that the social and cultural aspects of the malaise have grown still louder in the past half decade.".



MONDAY 28 MARCH 2016

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b074vtbk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b0742mqb)
Eviction, Self-build

Evicted: Laurie Taylor explores the lives of people who are compelled to leave their homes. Matthew Desmond, Associate Professor in the Social Sciences at Harvard University, went into the poorest neighbourhoods in Milwaulkee to tell the stories of people on the edge of a rapidly expanding form of hardship in America. They're joined by Kirsteen Paton, Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Leeds, who provides a British perspective on evictions.

Self Build: creating a home of their own in the absence of 'Grand Designs' style budgets. Michaela Benson, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, discusses her research amongst people who are determined to make affordable housing for themselves and their families.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b074vvvn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b074vtbm)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b074vtbp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b074vtbr)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b074vtbt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b074xc0s)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b074w1xz)
Forty Years of Farms for City Children

Michael Morpurgo is best known as a successful and much-loved children's author and the creator of 'War Horse'. Yet he describes his "greatest story" as the rural charity he set up with his wife Clare in 1976. This year Farms for City Children celebrates its 40th anniversary and to mark the occasion we visit Michael and Clare on the isolated Devon farm where the project began. Over the last four decades almost 100,000 children from urban schools have pulled on their wellies to experience the 'muck and magic' of life on a working farm and discovered what it means to feed and care for livestock. Now there are two other farms, one in Pembrokeshire and another in Gloucestershire, providing week-long residential stays. But what challenges face the charity today and what are the prospects for the next 40 years? Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Vernon Harwood.


MON 05:56 Weather (b074vtbw)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b02tt1kv)
Yellowhammer

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Steve Backshall presents the yellowhammer. The yellowhammer is a member of the bunting family and its name comes from "ammer" the German for bunting. It's one of the few British birds to have its song transcribed into words and seems to be saying ..a little bit of bread and no cheese".


MON 06:00 Today (b074w30h)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b074w30k)
Existentialism and Ways of Seeing

On Start the Week Kirsty Wark asks how we make choices about freedom and authenticity - questions that preoccupied Paris intellectuals in the 1930s. Sarah Bakewell looks back at one of the twentieth century's major philosophical movements - existentialism - and the revolutionary thinkers who came to shape it. Sartre and de Beauvoir may have spent their days drinking apricot cocktails in café's but Bakewell believes their ideas are more relevant than ever. The historian Sunil Khilnani reveals the Indian thinkers who didn't just talk about philosophy but lived it, and the photographer Stuart Franklin, famous for the pictures of the man in Tiananmen Square who stopped the tanks, discusses the impulse to record and preserve these moments of action. The art historian Frances Borzello looks at the female artists who chose the freedom to present themselves to the world in self-portraits.
Producer: Katy Hickman.


MON 09:45 This Orient Isle (b074w30m)
Episode 1

Professor Jerry Brotton, one of the UK's leading experts on cultural exchange, examines Queen Elizabeth I's fascination with the Orient. He shows that England's relations with the Muslim world were far more extensive, and often more amicable, than we have ever appreciated, and that their influence was felt across the political, commercial and domestic landscape of Elizabethan England.

Derek Jacobi reads the captivating account of how Britain sent ships, treaties and gifts to the royal families of Morocco and Turkey, including a gold carriage and a full-size pipe organ.

In this episode, we discover the origins of our taste for Oriental imports – including the sugar which rotted the teeth of our sovereign.

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2016.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b074vtby)
Spring gardening, Succulents, Botanical cocktails

Jane Garvey visits RHS Hyde Hall in Essex with horticulturalist and Guardian writer, Alys Fowler to discuss spring flowers, growing vegetables and foraging.

Matthew Oliver is in charge of planting plans for Hyde Hall's Global Growth Vegetable Garden - he tell how he hopes to inspire young people to grow their own. And Karen Robbirts who works on plant trials at RHS Wisley explains how they decide which ornamental plants and vegetables to test for their Award of Garden Merit.

Heather Cutmore is in charge of propagation at Hyde Hall and talks about succulents for indoors and out. And horticulturalist and mixologist, Lottie Muir mixes a couple of cocktails from her book Wild Cocktails from the Midnight Apothecary.

Presented by Jane Garvey
Produced by Jane Thurlow.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b074w7h3)
Hollywood Endings - Doubles

Episode 1

Kim and Boyd are a pair of wannabe actors living in the unfashionable part of Venice Beach, Los Angeles. They struggle to make the rent and keep themselves busy working out and doing the endless round of auditions for commercials and bit-parts in films. So it comes as a surprise when Kim is mistaken for the Hollywood 'A Lister' Faye Dexter, to whom she bears a passing resemblance.

Kim at first tries to explain to her admirer, Danica, that there has been a mistake, but Danica will not be dissuaded. So to keep her happy and to get her out of her hair, Kim agrees to have a selfie taken with Danica and gives her an autograph.

She little knows this will become the worst day of her life.

A Big Fish production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 11:00 The Untold (b06yr7v7)
Sanjeev - Saviour of Steel?

The British steel industry is in meltdown. But one person believes he has worked out how to make it profitable, and he's investing millions. Grace Dent and her producer zoom in on events to try and discover his secret. At stake are thousands of jobs, so does Sanjeev have what it takes to make British steel rise again?

Producer: Melvin Rickarby.


MON 11:30 Boswell's Lives (b074wb57)
Series 2

Boswell's Life of Marx

Boswell attempts to write a biography of Karl Marx, but before he can start must help Marx pen his meisterwerk Das Kapital.

Jon Canter’s sitcom sees James Boswell become a time-travelling biographer - doing for other celebrities what he did for Dr Johnson.

James Boswell ..... Miles Jupp
Karl Marx ..... Julian Rhind-Tutt

Producer: Sally Avens

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


MON 12:00 News Summary (b074vtc0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 Witness (b07500xw)
Romania's Orphans

After the fall of the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, camera crews were allowed inside Romania's state-run orphanages and children's homes for the first time. The appalling conditions shocked the world and a wave of charity workers and volunteers streamed into the country to help improve children's lives. Hundreds of children were adopted by western families. Izidor Ruckel grew up in a Romanian home for 'irrecoverable' children.


MON 12:15 You and Yours (b074vtc2)
The Psychology of Trust - are we all susceptible to a confidence trick?

Melanie Abbott investigates the story of a man, she is told, who has the ability to gain the trust of individuals who say they then gave him their money. What made them believe him? Would any of us be taken in by a clever con?
She'll follow a trail of victims from an Australian nurse on the trip of a lifetime to a retired British couple living in France, who all say he managed to win their trust. How do they say they found him out? She talks to the hotelier who says she rumbled him and the woman who says she was so taken in by him that she wouldn't believe warnings. With the help of forensic psychologist Mike Berry and science writer Dr Maria Konnikova, she'll unravel the psychology of confidence tricksters. What might help people to see them for what they are?


MON 12:57 Weather (b074vtc4)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b074x71q)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.


MON 13:45 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b07457jx)
Rock Pools

What looks a sponge, smells like a volcano and is found in rock pools?

Well, the answer can be found in this series of programmes in which Brett Westwood joins naturalist Phil Gates on the coast of Northumberland and with the help of recordings by wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, they offer a practical and entertaining guide to the wildlife which you’re most likely to see and hear in different coastal habitats beginning with probably everyone’s favourite childhood haunt, the rock pool.

These are home to shore crabs and hermit crabs, as well as sea anemones, breadcrumb sponges and sea squirts. We learn how sea squirts which appear to be little more than bags of fluid clinging to the rocks might be our evolutionary ancestors, we hear how a school teacher invented glass shells to study the reproduction and subsequently house-moving antics of hermit crabs, and discover how when it comes to building, it’s the breadcrumb sponges which have mastered the art with some clever self-assembly scaffolding tricks!

Producer: Sarah Blunt


MON 14:00 The Archers (b074w04b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b074x71s)
Rumpole

Rumpole on Trial

By John Mortimer. Adapted for radio by Richard Stoneman.

Following in the footsteps of several distinguished former Rumpoles - Leo McKern, Maurice Denham, Timothy West and Benedict Cumberbatch - Julian Rhind-Tutt, one of Radio 4's most popular actors and much loved star of TV's Green Wing and The Hour, now dons the wig and white bands of the most erudite, astute, and seldom defeated of barristers in the annals of the Old Bailey.

After waking up with a raging tooth-ache, Rumpole finds himself in no mood to listen to his boring client Reginald Tring, who's accused of the manslaughter of his wife. As Reginald drones on with his mind-numbing evidence, Rumpole suffers throughout the trial, and argues even more angrily than usual with Mr Justice Gwent-Evans. And, when Rumpole accuses the judge of deliberately misleading the jury, Gwent-Evans warns him in no uncertain terms about his future conduct.

Rumpole finds himself on trial, with the end of his career in sight.

But, luckily for Horace, he has Phillida on his side. She goes searching for the truth, and galvanises not only Rumpole's defending counsel - Soapy Sam Ballard QC - but also Rumpole's wife.

Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b074x71v)
Heat 12, 2016

(12/17)
What's the better known name for the Flavian Amphitheatre? Which football stadium has the smallest capacity in Premier League history? And which 19th century composer's third symphony is known as the 'Rhenish' because it was inspired by a Rhine excursion?

Contestants from Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Liverpool and York face Russell Davies' notoriously challenging questions, in the final heat of 2016. The programme comes from Media City UK in Salford. Only one automatic place remains in the semi-finals which begin next week. Will any of the runners-up today score enough points to qualify too?

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b074vw96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 'Down With Skool': The Art of Molesworth (b074x71x)
Philip Hensher explores the art of the gloriously eccentric Molesworth books.

Nigel Molesworth is one of the immortal characters of British literature - a 1950s prep-school boy, the 'goriller of 3B' and the 'curse of st custard's'.

Molesworth's diaries, written by Geoffrey Willans, first appeared in Punch and were later developed into four books, Down with Skool! (1953), How to be Topp (1954), Whizz for Atomms (1956) and Back in the Jug Agane (1959). Illustrated by Ronald Searle as a boy's school sequel to Searle's St Trinian's drawings, they are still in print today.

The books are a kind of satire of 1950s Britain as, after the war, the upper middle classes faced the onslaught of irreverence, the Welfare State and a new generation that didn’t see why authority should be respected. Molesworth’s cynical yet naive outlook on life made him popular with young and old readers in the post-war world. He was a very long way from the clean-cut school fantasies which had entertained the British before the advent of the atomic bomb.

Author Geoffrey Willans had worked as a schoolmaster and understood the cheerful cynicism of boys, while Ronald Searle's illustrative style was dark, Gothic and seething with half-hidden obsessions. Searle had spent much of the war in a Japanese concentration camp where he documented the horrors he encountered, and elaborate psychological points come through with concise and economic observation in his drawings.

With contributions from Steve Bell, Wendy Cope, Max Hastings, Mike Leigh, Chris Riddell, Martin Rowson, Gerald Scarfe and Posy Simmonds.

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald

A Blakeway production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b074x71z)
Apparitions of Mary

Since 2010 a Vatican commission has been investigating the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina. An announcement is expected soon, amid concerns that the supernatural claims of six visionaries are getting out of the Vatican's control. Beginning in 1981, the apparitions purportedly continue daily, and thousands of pilgrims from all over the world travel to the small town each month to meet the alleged seers. What exactly are Marian apparitions and how have they been explained? What are some of the stories associated with them? Why have they become such a powerful tool for conversion over recent decades? Are they always an aid to religious devotion or can they lead to unhealthy superstition?

Producer: Dan Tierney
Series Producer: Amanda Hancox.


MON 17:00 PM (b074vtc6)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b074vtcc)
The group which killed more than 70 in Pakistan is threatening to carry out more attacks.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b074x721)
Series 74

Episode 6

Nicholas Parsons hosts the perennially popular panel game, where contestants must speak for 60 seconds without deviation, hesitation or repetition. This week the guests are Paul Merton, Stephen Fry, Jenny Eclair and Nish Kumar.

Topics on the cards this week include Homer, Russian Dolls, and My First Love.

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b074x4tk)
The Grundys head to the re-opening of the Village Hall. Ed is surprised that Alf left without saying goodbye. George has saved up and bought a nice Easter Egg for Emma. Clarrie and Alan discuss the total amount raised for the curtain fund - it's about four hundred pounds. Lynda stresses over the final preparations for the pageant - is a celebrity definitely coming to cut the ribbon? Lynda is on the phone to Jean Harvey, her back-up... when Anneka Rice walks in!
Anneka reminisces about the last time she was in Ambridge. She praises them for their community spirit in the face of floods and other troubles. She declares the refurbished Village Hall open. Justin frets that his character in the pageant is the villain of the piece. He wants to drop out but Lilian insists that would look even worse.
It's time for the pageant! While Justin is onstage, Lynda whispers to Anneka that she tried to reflect local power relationships in the casting. Afterwards, just as Alan is about to announce the total of the curtain fund, he finds the money has gone.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b074vtcf)
Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe

In 1986, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe released their first album as Pet Shop Boys.

30 years on, the most successful British pop duo of all time look back over three decades of stardom and electronic dance music as they prepare for a four-night residency at the Royal Opera House in London in July, and the release of their 13th studio album, Super, this week.

Presenter John Wilson
Producer Jerome Weatherald.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b074w7h3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 Ireland: Looking Beyond the Border (b074x874)
Irish Republicans once looked towards the centenary of the Easter Rising as the date by which they hoped Ireland would be one country. In 2016, the Irish border is still in place. But Republicans say their political strategy will deliver what IRA violence could not: a united Ireland. Unionists, though, say Northern Ireland's status within the UK has never been safer. In this programme, the BBC News Ireland Correspondent Chris Page examines the state of play within Irish nationalism and unionism 100 years after 1916.

The "Irish Question" has perplexed politicians, diplomats and academics in Britain and Ireland. But as Northern Ireland and the Republic approach their second century, the Question is changing. Ulster's Troubles are receding further into history. A new generation of political leaders are coming forward. Nationalists believe the peace process has provided them with the opportunity to persuade unionists to join the united Ireland project. But unionists are looking beyond the border too - But unionists are looking beyond the border too - perhaps to a hybrid political identity that transcends ideas of Britishness, or Irishness in favour of Northern Irishness. Chris has been asking the new voices in Irish politics - north and south - to explain their vision for the future. As the dimensions of the debate evolve, Chris investigates the economic arguments - and considers what, if anything, could bring another seismic shift in Ireland.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b074lmsm)
Romania: The Shepherds Revolt

Lucy Ash asks why thousands of angry Romanian shepherds recently stormed the parliament in Bucharest. Sparked by an amendment to Romania's hunting law, the unprecedented protest was over plans to limit numbers of sheepdogs and restrict grazing rights. The increasing size of flocks is leading to growing conflict with both hunters and conservationists over land use. Romania has an influential hunting lobby - around two thirds of MPs are hunters - and they accuse shepherds dogs of scaring off or sometimes even killing their quarry. They also claim overgrazing is damaging the natural habitat of the deer, the boar and other wild animals they hunt. Environmental campaigners are concerned that winter grazing by ever larger flocks is having a catastrophic effect on biodiversity. At heart this is an argument about what the countryside is for. Is its main purpose an economic one? Is it primarily for leisure? Or should it be about the people who live there? Shepherds insist the law is an attack on centuries of sheep-rearing and their culture and traditions.


MON 21:00 The Horns of a Dilemma (b07428br)
The majority of white and black rhinoceros are found in South Africa. This stronghold for these magnificent creatures is now being threatened by poachers killing rhino for their horns.

Rhino horn, traded illegally in parts of Asia, is thought to be a cooling agent in traditional Chinese medicine. It's recently been hailed as a cure for cancer, and is seen as a status symbol in Vietnam. Made from keratin, the same stuff as hair or fingernails rhino horn has negligible medical properties, yet people are willing to pay up to £40,000 a kilogramme for it.

International trade in rhino horn has been banned under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) since the 1990s. Trade in horn was banned within South Africa in 2009. Since then, poaching has increased exponentially, reaching more than 1300 rhino poached in 2015.

Protecting the rhino in National and Provincial parks and privately owned reserves is a very dangerous and expensive undertaking. The government-run parks, such as Kruger National Park have about 75% of the South African rhino and are losing the most animals to poachers. The best protected rhino tend to be in the privately owned farms.

Many private rhino owners want the ban on the sale of rhino horn to be lifted.

This is because, unlike elephant ivory, pangolin scales and the bones from lions, rhinos can be dehorned without harming the animal. Many rhino owners are already removing the horns from their animals to stop them attracting poachers so they are sitting on stockpiles of harvested horn.

With education and demand-reduction schemes not working quickly enough rhino owners hope to satisfy the demand by legally selling harvested horn. Some just want to trade within South Africa while others want CITES to allow a trade agreement between South Africa and China or Vietnam. They say they would use the money earned to put back into conserving and protecting rhino.

Others worry that this would just increase demand for horn and that by making trade legal, you are making people think that it has medical benefit.

It's a huge dilemma.

Producer: Fiona Roberts.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b074w30k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b074vtcn)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b074vtcq)
Sharif vows to revenge Lahore killings

The group which carried out the bomb attack at a park in Lahore, Jammat Ul Ahrar, warns it will strike again
Shots fired at the US Capitol in Washington - gunman caught
Renewed questions over boxing safety as Nick Blackwell remains in induced coma after Eubank fight
and the return of the British super-hero, "Captain Britain"

(Photo shows women trying to comfort a mother who lost her son in bomb attack in Lahore. Credit: AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary).


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b074x876)
Hot Milk

Episode 6

Hot Milk is the latest novel by Man Booker shortlisted author Deborah Levy. Set in Southern Spain it explores female rage and sexuality and the stubborn primal bond that exists between a hypochondriac mother and her daughter.

Sophia, a young anthropologist, has 'been sleuthing her mother's symptoms' for as long as she can remember as Rose, the older woman, is suffering from a form of paralysis that might or might not be imagined. Driven to find a cure beyond the realms of conventional medicine, they have come to Almeria in Southern Spain to visit the clinic of Dr Gomez. His methods appear to have little to do with physical medicine and he prompts both women to confront the true nature of their relationship. Why is Sophia unable to escape her mother's constant complaints? Are Rose's symptoms psychosomatic?
The oppressive desert heat pushes both to examine the root of Rose's illness and the cause of Sofia's fractured identity. And Sofia discovers the sting of desire, and the need to be vital and alive.

Today: Dr Gomez insists that Rose gives up all her medication and Sofia and Ingrid become lovers.

The reader is Indira Varma and Hot Milk is abridged by Sally Marmion.
The producer is Julian Wilkinson.


MON 23:00 Finding Harpo's Voice (b074zdcx)
The internationally acclaimed cellist Steven Isserlis first encountered the Marx brothers as a teenager when he saw their film "The Cocoanuts". And it was the character of Harpo Marx, the silent clown of the brothers, who spoke to him the most directly. The young Steven became a huge fan, to the extent that, instead of practising, he would go to the library to read everything he could find about him and, as Harpo so famously did, instead of shaking people's hands, he would offer his leg instead.

But Harpo wasn't always silent. There were the noises of the horns which became his voice substitute. And at most times during the films he would play the harp- the instrument that got him his stage name. As a musician, this made Steven all the more interested in him.

Steven explores how Harpo came to be the silent Marx brother- he could talk perfectly well but stopped on stage after a bad review. However, without using his voice, Harpo managed to create a unique language with the use of props, sounds and of course his harp. What were the elements of this creation that spoke so eloquently to Steven and what legacy has the silence left?

He travels to the home of Bill Marx, Harpo's eldest son who he first met decades earlier and who first showed him Harpo's raincoat and wig. Steven gets another chance to put them on and to hear the sound of the famous horns.

Steven also talks to actor Simon Callow about Harpo's use of props and the film critic Jonathan Romney about Harpo's technique.

He discusses his harp playing with the harpists Charlotte Seale and Imogen Barford.

And he discusses Harpo with the poet and critic Charlene Fix, author of the booked "Harpo Marx as Trickster".

Producer; Emma Kingsley.


MON 23:30 Short Cuts (b06gr4b7)
Series 8

The Other

From the other woman to the other Michael Jackson, Josie Long hears stories from 'others'.

John Osborne explores how your identity can become inextricably linked with someone you've never met, two academics discover how a piece of theatre can push you outside of society and a homicide detective talks about how you communicate with someone whose actions are outside of your understanding.

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

The items featured in the programme are:

A Boy Called Michael Jackson
Feat. John Osborne

Flopsy
Feat. Chris Knight and Camilla Power

The Conversation
Feat. Asbjorn Rachlew
Produced by Ronan Kelly
Originally featured in Curious Ear
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/2013/0529/647430-radio-documetary-podcast-exam-asbjorn-rachlew-anders-breivik-norway/

The Other Woman



TUESDAY 29 MARCH 2016

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b074vtgc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 This Orient Isle (b074w30m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b074vtgf)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b074vtgh)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b074vtgk)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b074vtgm)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b074x190)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b074x192)
Living Wage, Farm attractions - lambing, Spring Barley struggling with the mud

We debate this week's introduction of the Living Wage on Friday 1st April with NFU and Unite. Worcestershire fruit farmer Ali Capper, new head of the NFU's Horticulture Board, is concerned at the impact of wage inflation on producers and employers, while Steve Leniec, Chair of Unite's Agriculture Sector, says farmworkers deserve the rise.

The Easter holidays are a popular time for a visit to the farm and this week, we're taking a look at some of the place where you can experience what faming life is like. And there's nothing more appealing than a new born lamb! Beatrice Fenton visits Penpont Farm, near Wadebridge, in Cornwall, where lambing is a big tourist attraction.

Any farmer will tell you, there's always a battle with the weather and this winter was the second wettest across the UK since Met Office records began in 1910. By the middle of March parts of central and eastern England had already had a month's worth of rain.
In North Norfolk, farmers are struggling to plant spring barley in waterlogged ground - a crop that's vital for the craft beer market. Even though the soil's light and sandy, beneath the surface the ground's still unstable. Anna Hill's been to see how Teddy Maufe of Branthill Farms is coping with that sinking feeling.

Presented by Sybil Ruscoe and produced by Mark Smalley.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b02tvggm)
Corn Bunting

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Steve Backshall begins May with the corn bunting. Corn buntings may be plain-looking birds which sing their scratchy songs from cornfields, but their private lives are a colourful affair and a single male bird may have up to 18 partners.


TUE 06:00 Today (b074x312)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Global Philosopher (b075f7qp)
Should Borders Matter?

Michael Sandel explores the philosophical justifications made for national borders. Using a pioneering state-of-the-art studio at the Harvard Business School, Professor Sandel is joined by 60 participants from over 30 countries in a truly global digital space.

Is there any moral distinction between a political refugee and an economic migrant? If people have the right to exit a country, why not a right to enter? Do nations have the right to protect the affluence of their citizens? And is there such a thing as a 'national identity'?

These are just some of the questions addressed by Professor Sandel in this first edition of The Global Philosopher.

Audience producer: Louise Coletta
Producer: David Edmonds
Editor: Richard Knight

(Image taken by Rose Lincoln)


TUE 09:45 This Orient Isle (b074x4t5)
Episode 2

Professor Jerry Brotton, one of the UK's leading experts on cultural exchange, examines Queen Elizabeth I's fascination with the Orient. He shows that England's relations with the Muslim world were far more extensive, and often more amicable, than we have ever appreciated, and that their influence was felt across the political, commercial and domestic landscape of Elizabethan England.

Derek Jacobi reads the captivating account of how Britain sent ships, treaties and gifts to the royal families of Morocco and Turkey, including a gold carriage and a full-size pipe organ.

In this episode, one merchant voyage ends in tragedy when the English crew are captured and turned into galley slaves.

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2016.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b074vtgp)
Coercive Control and Domestic Violence on The Archers

The storyline of Helen, Rob and his increasingly controlling behaviour has gripped The Archers audience. The programme's editor and the actor who plays Helen join Jane to discuss how an everyday story of country folk became a dark tale of coercive control and domestic violence.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of the domestic violence charity Refuge, and Guardian television critic Julia Raeside deliberate the effects of The Archers' storyline on listeners.

Vanessa Altin has reported widely on the Syrian crisis for the UK tabloids. She has now written an unsparing book about the Syrian crisis, The Pomegranate Tree. Its narrator is a 13-year-old Kurdish girl from a Syrian village close to the border with Turkey who has been forced to leave her village, flee to Turkey and has been witness to shocking events. All the characters and storylines in Vanessa's novel are based on real people and events.


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b074x4t7)
Hollywood Endings - Doubles

Episode 2

Kim and Boyd are a pair of wannabe actors living in the unfashionable part of Venice Beach, Los Angeles. They struggle to make the rent and keep themselves busy working out and doing the endless round of auditions for commercials and bit-parts in films. So it comes as a surprise when Kim is mistaken for the Hollywood 'A Lister' Faye Dexter, to whom she bears a passing resemblance.

Kim at first tries to explain to her admirer, Danica, that there has been a mistake, but Danica will not be dissuaded. So to keep her happy and to get her out of her hair, Kim agrees to have a selfie taken with Danica and gives her an autograph.

She little knows this will become the worst day of her life.

A Big Fish production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 11:00 Goodbye Mosquito (b074x4t9)
Over a million people die from mosquito-borne diseases every year. Hundreds of millions more people suffer from the illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes.

Malaria, the most widespread mosquito-borne disease, affects 350-500 million people each year. The Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in children is spreading. Dengue Fever infects nearly 400 million people each year, causing an estimated 25,000 deaths and an enormous economic cost in affected countries. Chikungunya, Yellow Fever and Eastern Equine Encephalitis are also transmitted by mosquitoes and are on the rise. These are painful and debilitating diseases which can, in some cases, prove fatal.

Although malaria is transmitted by several different species of mosquito, Zika, Dengue Fever, Yellow fever and Chikungunya are carried by just two related species, of mosquito - Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (the Asian Tiger Mosquito).

So would they be missed if they were wiped off the face of the planet?

Biologist Professor Adam Hart knows only too well how complex and interconnected nature is. If we wipe out an entire species, how will the rest of the natural environment cope? Well, it seems the public enemy number one mosquito - Aedes aegyptii, wouldn't be missed very much at all. It's a mosquito that has evolved fairly recently. The females nearly always feed on humans and they breed in and near our homes, often in small pots of water and car tyres.

In Goodbye Mosquito, Adam Hart discovers some of the latest technological advances being trialled to rid us of these winged-beasts; including genetically engineering male A. aegypti mosquitoes so that their offspring don't survive.

Producer: Fiona Roberts.


TUE 11:30 Suck It and See (b074x4tc)
Grammy Award-Winning songwriter Amy Wadge fell in love with the harmonica after winning one in a fancy dress competition (she was dressed in a bin liner!). Now she investigates the history and potential of the diatonic instrument, a European the toy which in the hands of expert players became the the iconic sound of the Mississippi Delta and the Chicago Blues. Not bad for what was originally a child's toy produced then, as now, in Germany!

As music historian Christoph Wagner explains, the very first example of the instrument goes back to Vienna. But millions would soon find their way to the USA, taken there by German emigres fleeing poverty. The poor person's introduction to music, the harmonica would soon find its way to around the globe, from Britain to Australia and even China. But it was in America that it scored its biggest success. And it was there that harmonica technique underwent a transformation, as Chicago -based Joe Filisko explains. Instead of exhaling air, blues players would draw air in, and bend notes to achieve the characteristic sounds of the blues.

Amy tries her hand at bending, under the expert tutelage of Steve Lockwood - one of very few people to have studied the harmonica to degree level, and she speaks to one of Britain's best-known players, Paul Jones.

It may be the sound of the amplified harmonica popularised the instrument in the 1950s and 1960s, but has it moved on from Chicago Blues and Beatles covers? Canadian beat-boxer Benjamin Darvill - "Son of Dave" - has explored new possibilities with the instrument, and with an original sound that's been heard in edgy TV dramas and commercials. Just going to prove that for all its limitations - 10 holes and 3 octaves - there's life yet the harmonica.


TUE 12:00 News Summary (b074vtgr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 Witness (b075f6v5)
The Back to Africa Movement

In the 1890s racial violence in the American south was so extreme that many black people tried to emigrate to Liberia in West Africa. Although the Civil War had brought an end to slavery, conditions were still terrible for many African Americans. The largest number of migrants came from one US state - Arkansas. Listeners may find parts of this programme distressing.


TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b074vtgt)
Call You and Yours: Autism

On Call You & Yours today we are asking how autism has affected your family. Tonight, the BBC drama "The A Word" continues. It reflects the experience of the Hughes family and how their lives change when they discover that their youngest son, Joe has autism.

The National Autistic Society estimates that around 700,000 people in the UK are on the autism spectrum. Together with their families they make up around 2.8 million people whose lives are touched by the condition. It affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them, but it is also very variable, affecting different people in different ways.

We want to hear your experience of autism. What happened when you or your relative was diagnosed? What impact did it have on the family? How do other people react and how would you like them to react to the condition? How do you feel about the way autism is portrayed in the media?

Producer: Natalie Donovan
Presenter: Peter White.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b074vtgw)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b074x4tf)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.


TUE 13:45 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074x4th)
Sandy Beaches

The sandy beach is one of the most hostile habitats on our coastline.

To survive the driving wind, abrasive sand and predation by sea birds, animals either spend much of their lives below the surface or have evolved some very clever adaptations - as Brett Westwood discovers when he joins naturalist Phil Gates on the Northumberland coast.

With the help of recordings by wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, they offer a practical and entertaining guide to the wildlife which you’re most likely to see and hear on sandy beaches.

On the lower shore, they wander amongst the lugworm burrows in search of razor clams and pogoing cockles! Brett discovers not only how razor clams escape predation by burrowing into the sand with their muscular foot, but also how to age them “It’s great I’ve come all the way to Northumberland to age a mollusc“, laughs Brett.

Higher up the beach, Brett and Phil gently rake through piles of decaying seaweed to discover a seething mass of jumping sand hoppers; small crustaceans about the size of a woodlouse with legs of two different lengths, which move up and down the beach with the tides. And finally at the top of the beach at the front of the sand dunes, they discuss the remarkable abilities of marram grass not only to avoid drying out, but also to hold back the sand and create stable areas where communities of other plants can take root and grow.

Producer: Sarah Blunt


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b074x4tk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b074x9gh)
Rumpole

Rumpole and Hilda

By John Mortimer. Adapted for radio by Richard Stoneman.

Following in the footsteps of several distinguished former Rumpoles - Leo McKern, Maurice Denham, Timothy West and Benedict Cumberbatch - Julian Rhind-Tutt, one of Radio 4's most popular actors and much loved star of TV's Green Wing and The Hour, now dons the wig and white bands of the most erudite, astute, and seldom defeated of barristers in the annals of the Old Bailey.

Rumpole's long-suffering wife Hilda - She Who Must Be Obeyed - narrates a fascinating tale of murder and romance that Horace would prefer to remain untold.

An instructing solicitor, Daniel Newcombe, asks Rumpole to defend a young man, Michael Skelton, who's accused of bludgeoning his father to death with a golf club. Hilda finds Daniel to be everything that Horace is not - well-groomed, charming, sensitive and complimentary.

After being wooed over lunch, she agrees to act as Daniel's 'spy', reporting back on Rumpole's defence preparations. However, when Hilda realises that Daniel is hiding the truth from her, and from everyone involved in the murder case, she's forced to consider whose side she ought to be on.

Hilda narrates the whole story with a refreshing honesty and witty candour that we thought only her husband could manage, and reveals a passionate and frustrated side, as Rumpole catches a glimpse of the true nature of his wife.

Cast:
Horace Rumpole............... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Hilda Rumpole ................. Jasmine Hyde
Daniel Newcombe ........... Stuart McQuarrie
Claude Erskine-Brown ..... Nigel Anthony
Mr Justice Graves.............. Stephen Critchlow
Mrs Beazley ..................... Cathy Sara

Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:00 Making History (b074x9gk)
Helen is joined in the studio by BBC New Generation Thinker Danielle Thom from the V&A in London and Dr Gillian Kenny from Trinity College in Dublin.

Dr Tom Charlton uncovers some surprising evidence that the original Darby and Joan were 17th Century radical pamphleteers. He heads to the first Darby and Joan club, which was opened in 1942 in Streatham, South London, and talks to Professor Ted Vallance at the University of Roehampton.

Maurice Casey joins us from Cambridge to discuss new evidence that Bolsheviks visited the scene of the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 to find out more about the Republicans' tactics.

Tom Holland is in Oxford to ask why there are memorials to Nazis in some of the colleges.

And Dominic Sandbrook takes us back to the oil crisis of 1973, which he feels is a pivotal year in history.

Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b074x9gm)
Beasts of the Border

As gates close against migrants entering Europe Tom Heap is in Croatia to examine the wildlife impact of the continent's new borders.

Red deer have been found dying on the razor wire and the vulnerable local population of lynx is now split between Slovenia and Croatia. With a shrunken gene pool the lynx could soon be lost from the region.

From the Austrian Alps, south through the Balkans to Greece the mountains provide a vital habitat for large carnivores like bear and wolf. As new fences rise across the region Europe's peak predators face a bleak future.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.


TUE 16:00 Law in Action (b074x9pf)
Gay Cake

This programme will focus on the legal issues surrounding the 'gay cake' controversy in Northern Ireland.

When a Christian bakery in Belfast was found guilty last year of discriminating against a gay man, by refusing his request for a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan on it, it became headline news around the world.

It also divided people in Northern Ireland. Many there see it as a battle between freedom of conscience and the right to religious expression, and Northern Ireland's equality laws. Joshua Rozenberg travels to Belfast to untangle the legal layers of the so-called 'gay cake' story.

Producer: Ben Crighton.


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b074x9ph)
Russell Kane and Peter Lord

Aardman animations co-founder Peter Lord and comedian Russell Kane talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Russell chooses Susan Pinker's The Village Effect, Peter Lord's favourite read is Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, and Harriett's choice is Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathaniel West. Producer Sally Heaven.


TUE 17:00 PM (b074vtgy)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b074vth0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Clare in the Community (b061tppy)
Series 10

Family Values

A family funeral reveals some uncomfortable home truths for the Barker family.

Brian meanwhile has enthusiastically embraced a new fitness regime.

Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.

A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.

Clare continually struggles to control both her professional and private life In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.

Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden.

Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ...... Alex Lowe
Nali ...... Nina Conti
The Celebrant ...... Richard Lumsden
Bernard ...... Andrew Wincott
Sarah Barker ...... Sarah Thom
Mrs Barker ...... Brigit Forsyth
Roxy ...... Alex Tregear

Producer: Alexandra Smith

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b074xbs2)
Joe is dumbfounded that anyone would have stolen the curtain fund from the church. Eddie is similarly dumbfounded about the pageant play! It made him realise that the land used to belong to common men. Bert passes by, on his way to help Rex with the pastured hens. Joe and Eddie get the guided tour of the Fairbrothers' egg-caravan. Bert is aggrieved that Toby isn't pulling his weight at home. Rex says he is used to cleaning up after his brother.
Helen's phone rings and when Rob asks, she dismisses it as a junk call. He tells her how lovely she looks, but she is tense. Rob tells Pat he would like to do something special for Helen before the baby arrives. Pat suggests a weekend away in the country.
Helen is on the phone to Kirsty, trying to put her off meeting up. Rob comes in and she says it is another robot. Later, Rob picks up Helen's phone. Rob tells Helen that it was the midwife, agreeing with Helen that a hospital birth would be better. Rob is annoyed that he was bypassed and detects Kirsty's influence. Helen summons the courage to point out that this is what she wants, and it is her baby. Rob relents, and says he understands: "darling, I'm not a monster.".


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b074vth2)
Judi Dench Launches Shakespeare's People

Front Row asks actors, writers and directors to give their personal take on a favourite Shakespeare character, to mark the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death. Dame Judi Dench launches Shakespeare's People with Lady Macbeth.

The theatre director, Yaël Farber, who won international acclaim for Mies Julie, discusses her latest production, Les Blanc, about an African country teetering on the edge of civil war. It was the last play written by Lorraine Hansberry.

Murdered By My Father shines a light on so-called 'honour killings' in the British Asian community. Its writer Vinay Patel joins Kirsty to discuss the issues raised in this one-off drama.

Poet Helen Mort reviews Black Mountain Poets, a new comedy about two sisters on the run who hide out in a poetry retreat on the Black Mountain.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b074x4t7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 How to Turn Your Life Around (b074xbs4)
What does it take to succeed if you are born into poverty and neglect? Two people who have done just that explore whether it was down to personality, circumstances or plain luck. Why do so few people manage it?

Byron Vincent, a writer and poet, and Dr Anna Woodhouse, a university lecturer and outreach worker, talk to experts to try and discover if their own triumph over lives that were blighted by abuse, drug addiction, homelessness and hunger could have been predicted. They talk to experts about the sort of traits an individual needs to overcome adversity, things like resilience, grit and will power, and discover the latest thinking on what really helps. They explore the way science is looking at the role of genes in determining character. And they look at the importance of outside forces; education, family support, mentors and the role of the Government. At the end, they discuss what they have found with former Welfare Minister and current Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee Frank Field, to see what government can do to help lift individuals out of poverty and get them to turn their lives around.

Producer: Jenny Sneesby.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b074vth4)
Blindness for Beginners: Ways of Managing When You Lose Your Sight

Blindness For Beginners: three people of different ages and different backgrounds discuss the things they found most useful when they went blind, and the things they found most frustrating. Listen to their candid conversation about losing your sight when you're an adult.
Producer: Siobhann Tighe.


TUE 21:00 Inside Health (b074vth6)
Health checks, Fertility, Adjustment

NHS health checks or 'mid-life MOTs' have hit the headlines as new research claims they are a success. The aim is prevention - of diabetes, heart attacks and strokes - but their introduction has been controversial amid criticism they are not evidence based or cost effective. Resident sceptic Dr Margaret McCartney debates the issues with National Clinical Advisor Dr Matt Kearney.

And putting the family back into planning. As more couples leave it later before starting a family there is growing concern from fertility experts that many people don't know enough about when female fertility starts to decline. Professor Adam Balen and Professor Joyce Harper discuss the issues. And how accurate is the perception, often reported in the media, that fertility 'drops off a cliff' in the mid to late thirties? Professor Richard Anderson reviews the so called 'broken stick' study, a mathematical model which first defined the sharp drop off of female fertility.

And another instalment of Inside Language where Dr Margaret McCartney and Professor Carl Heneghan examine the terms used in evidence based medicine and why they matter. This week, adjustment and how researchers allow for factors that might skew their findings.


TUE 21:30 The Audio Describers (b05ssqpl)
Matthew Sweet enters a whole new cinematic world that sighted people know little or nothing about - audio description. It's the voice in your ear that tells you what's happening if you can't see the pictures.

The audio description profession has its own stars, its own virtuosi. How do they allow visionary cinema to exist beyond the realm of vision? This is cinema for radio.
Matthew meets the men and women who do this work - the invisible co-stars of the world's greatest actors, invisible collaborators of the greatest writers and directors.

In fact, the practice of using evocative and poetic language to bring moving pictures to life has a much longer tradition. In early 20th-century Japan, Benshi narrators would interpret - and often elaborate on - Western and home-grown films for Tokyo audiences. The art form continues today.

In Edwardian Britain, film explainers would bring an aural addition, often with musical accompaniment, to silent films. Matthew Sweet finds this tradition is also alive and well - at a film festival in Scotland.

Producer: Dom Byrne
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 21:58 Weather (b074vth8)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b074vthb)
Tata Steel 'to sell UK business'

Has the government done enough to persuade Tata to stay? We talk to the unions and to the former business secretary Vince Cable. Brazil's coalition government has collapsed after the largest party pulled out - a leading member tells us that without their votes, President Rousseff cannot avoid impeachment. And we report from a remote part of Georgia which has become a recruiting ground for the group that calls itself Islamic State

(Image: Port Talbot Copyright: Getty Images)


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b074xbs6)
Hot Milk

Episode 7

Hot Milk is the latest novel by Man Booker shortlisted author Deborah Levy. Set in Southern Spain it explores female rage and sexuality and the stubborn primal bond that exists between a hypochondriac mother and her daughter.

Sophia, a young anthropologist, has 'been sleuthing her mother's symptoms' for as long as she can remember as Rose, the older woman, is suffering from a form of paralysis that might or might not be imagined. Driven to find a cure beyond the realms of conventional medicine, they have come to Almeria in Southern Spain to visit the clinic of Dr Gomez. His methods have little to do with physical medicine and he prompts both women to confront the true nature of their relationship.Are Rose's symptoms psychosomatic and why is Sophia unable to escape her mother's constant complaints?

The oppressive desert heat pushes both to examine the root of Rose's illness and the cause of Sofia's fractured identity. And Sofia discovers the sting of desire, and the need to be vital and alive.

Today: Sofia has flown to Athens to meet her Greek father for the first time in eleven years.

The reader is Indira Varma and Hot Milk is abridged by Sally Marmion.
The producer is Julian Wilkinson.


TUE 23:00 Love in Recovery (b074xbs8)
Series 2

Partners

The group discover that Simon has been keeping another big secret from them. But he's not the only one keeping a secret. In fact, he's not even the only one keeping THAT particular secret.

Continuing the award-nominated comedy drama set in Alcoholics Anonymous, written by Pete Jackson and inspired by his own road to recovery.

It follows the lives of five very different recovering alcoholics. Taking place entirely at their weekly meetings, we hear them moan, argue, laugh, fall apart, fall in love and - most importantly - tell their stories.

Simon............John Hannah
Marion...........Julia Deakin
Fiona.............Rebecca Front
Julie...............Sue Johnston
Danno............Paul Kaye
Andy..............Eddie Marsan

Writer Pete Jackson is a recovering alcoholic and has spent time in Alcoholics Anonymous. It was there he found support from the unlikeliest group of disparate souls - with one common bond. As well as offering the support he needed throughout a difficult time, AA also offered a weekly, sometimes daily, dose of hilarity, upset, heartbreak and friendship.

There are lots of different kinds of AA meetings. Love in Recovery is about meetings where people tell their stories. There are funny stories, sad stories, stories of small victories and milestones, stories of loss, stories of hope, and those stories that you really shouldn't laugh at - but still do, along with the storyteller.

Written and created by Pete Jackson

Producer/Director: Ben Worsfield

A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in March 2016.


TUE 23:30 Short Cuts (b06j1xzb)
Series 8

The Clock

Josie Long navigates the changing texture of a day - with stories from the rush hour commute through the night until first light.

From an afternoon with Dr Clock the horologist through to a serendipitous voice reaching a woman in the darkness of the early hours, we hear stories of time and timing.

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

The items featured in the programme are:

Glass Not Glitter
Produced by Abby Wendle
First made for the Third Coast International Audio Festival ShortDocs Competition
http://thirdcoastfestival.org/library/1123-glass-not-glitter

Dr Clock
Produced by Veronica Simmonds and John Spence
First featured on ABC Radio National's Soundproof
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/soundproof/dr-clock/6075288

Horace and Mabel
Feat. Horace Parlan
Produced by Rikke Houd

4am
Produced by Sara Parker.



WEDNESDAY 30 MARCH 2016

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b074vtjw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 This Orient Isle (b074x4t5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b074vtjy)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b074vtk0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b074vtk2)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b074vtk4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b074xf16)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b074xf18)
Labelling UK lamb, Increasing English wine exports, Promoting Scottish farms

When it comes to food labelling what does it mean for lamb to be classified as British? Peter Hardwick of AHDB Beef and Lamb explains.

There are around 500 vineyards in England and Wales covering an area of four and a half thousand acres. And those are figures that Liz Truss, the Environment Secretary, wants to see growing. Earlier this month she called the first ever wine 'roundtable' bringing together producers and leading wine industry representatives to celebrate English and Welsh wine. She told them she wants to see a ten fold increase in UK wine exports by 2020 - in just four years. Sam Lindo, a vintner at Camel Valley Wines in Cornwall and Chairman of UKVA, the United Kingdom Vineyards Association believes it's realistic to achieve such an increase in exports.

Most farmers are happy to give a tour of the farm and show off their livestock, but some in Scotland are taking their tourism services to the next level. They're getting themselves trained up as tour guides. Nancy Nicholson's been to meet them.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Mark Smalley.


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378xj7)
Northern Wheatear

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Michaela Strachan presents the northern wheatear. With their black masks, white bellies, apricot chests and grey backs, male wheatears are colourful companions on a hill walk. The birds you see in autumn may have come from as far as Greenland or Arctic Canada. They pass through the British Isles and twice a year many of them travel over 11,000 kilometres between Africa and the Arctic. It's one of the longest regular journeys made by any perching bird.


WED 06:00 Today (b074xg59)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b074xg5c)
Patricia Rozario, Nick Davies, Lachlan Goudie, Sita Brand

Nick Davies is professor of behavioural ecology at the University of Cambridge and an expert on cuckoos. Based at Wicken Fen, the National Trust reserve in Cambridgeshire, Davies has unravelled some of the key mysteries of this trickster of the bird world using stuffed cuckoos and dummy birds eggs. Cuckoos are so swift in laying their eggs (only one is laid per nest and the process is over in as little as 10 seconds), and so clever at disguising their eggs, that host birds are often uncertain whether an odd egg in the clutch is a cuckoo egg or one of their own. Cuckoo - Cheating By Nature by Nick Davies is published by Bloomsbury.

Patricia Rozario OBE is an opera singer who is starring in Clocks 1888: the greener which is based on the true histories of ayahs or nannies in India who were employed by British colonials to look after their children and sometimes brought back to England. Born in Mumbai, Patricia studied at the Guildhall School of Music and at the National Opera Studio. She has enjoyed a wide-ranging career in opera, concert work, recording and broadcasting. Her voice has inspired many of the world's leading composers to collaborate with her, notably Arvo Pärt and Sir John Tavener, who alone wrote over 30 works for her. Clocks 1888: the greener is on tour.

Lachlan Goudie is an artist whose late father was the Scottish figurative painter, Alexander Goudie. Distinguished as a portrait painter, Alexander painted the Queen, lord chancellors and celebrities including Billy Connolly. He was also notorious for a series of nude self-portraits in which he took on the guise of mythical figures including Bacchus and Neptune. A retrospective of his work is being exhibited at London's Mall Galleries. An artist in his own right, Lachlan spent five years at the Govan shipyard in Glasgow recording the construction of Britain's new aircraft carrier the Queen Elizabeth. Alexander Goudie RP RGI - A Retrospective is at Mall Galleries

Sita Brand is a storyteller and founder and director of Settle Stories which runs the annual Settle Stories Festival in Yorkshire. Born in India, she moved to the UK as a teenager. She learned her love of storytelling from her mother, a school librarian, and her father who was a refugee in World War 2. She is passionate about using stories to promote understanding between people and their cultures. She performs Down the Rabbit Hole at the Settle Stories Festival 2016.


WED 09:45 This Orient Isle (b074xg5f)
Episode 3

Professor Jerry Brotton, one of the UK's leading experts on cultural exchange, examines Queen Elizabeth I's fascination with the Orient. He shows that England's relations with the Muslim world were far more extensive, and often more amicable, than we have ever appreciated, and that their influence was felt across the political, commercial and domestic landscape of Elizabethan England.

Derek Jacobi reads the captivating account of how Britain sent ships, treaties and gifts to the royal families of Morocco and Turkey, including a gold carriage and a full-size pipe organ.

In this episode, we are taken into the sights and sounds of a royal pageant held in Whitehall in the year 1600 for the Moroccan ambassador.

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2016.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b074vtk6)
Make-up for women of colour, Inheritance, A history of military knitting

It's sometimes said that Where There's a Will... there's a family row just round the corner. So how do you avoid pain and arguments over inheritance? As as family structures become more complicated is the scope for pain and conflict increased? Jane speaks to two women whose situations illustrate the emotional complexity of will writing. Solicitor Alison Meek, who specialises in disputes surrounding wills and acts as a mediator when there's disagreement joins the discussion.

Are there too few options for women of colour when it comes to make-up? Florence Adepoju, founder of make-up brand MDM Flow, and journalist Kuba Shand-Baptiste discuss.

From scarves and vests to balaclavas and gloves, military personnel have long relied on knitted comforts sent from home. Jane speaks to historical knitting expert Joyce Meader about her book "Knitskrieg - A Call to Yarns" in which she traces these garments across three centuries of conflicts and the army of knitters that have provided them.

The Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition begins on April 7 in London. Featuring the world's most talented players under the age of 22, the competition is staged every two years and this year it has thrown up a surprise. Of the 44 violinists selected to compete, 36 are young women and girls, and in the Senior category there is only one male competitor. So why are young women dominating the field? Jane talks to previous Menuhin prize winner, renowned solo violinist and competition juror Tasmin Little and to 21 year-old British competitor Mathilde Milwidsky.

Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry.


WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b074xq1v)
Hollywood Endings - Doubles

Episode 3

Kim and Boyd are a pair of wannabe actors living in the unfashionable part of Venice Beach, Los Angeles. They struggle to make the rent and keep themselves busy working out and doing the endless round of auditions for commercials and bit-parts in films. So it comes as a surprise when Kim is mistaken for the Hollywood 'A Lister' Faye Dexter, to whom she bears a passing resemblance.

Kim at first tries to explain to her admirer, Danica, that there has been a mistake, but Danica will not be dissuaded. So to keep her happy and to get her out of her hair, Kim agrees to have a selfie taken with Danica and gives her an autograph.

She little knows this will become the worst day of her life.

A Big Fish production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b074xq1x)
Karen and Colin - Lucky to Be Alive

Fi Glover introduces a conversation between two football fans who met when one of them suffered a cardiac arrest at the end of a match and the other saved his life. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Marya Burgess.


WED 11:00 Deciding a Woman's Right (b074xq1z)
Northern Ireland is a place apart from the rest of the United Kingdom when it comes to the rights of women who don't want to continue with pregnancy.

Unlike England, Scotland and Wales, the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply. Abortion in Northern Ireland is illegal, except if there is a threat to a woman's life or health. The law is intended to be assisted by guidelines but these have been the subject of decades long debate and uncertainty and the publication of new guidance for medical staff has only recently been announced.

Since 1967 it's estimated that thousands of women have travelled to England for an abortion, including those who doctors have advised are pregnant with babies that are unlikely to survive.

In a historic judgement in 2015, which is being appealed, the High Court in Belfast found that the lack of the right to an abortion in these and other circumstances contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights.

In March 2016 the Northern Ireland Assembly voted against changing the law to allow abortion in cases of so-called fatal foetal abnormality but the number of votes in favour was taken by some to suggest that stances might be shifting.

Audrey Carville meets two women who both received devastating news about their pregnancies but took different decisions about how best to cope with the consequences, in an effort to illuminate the complexity and anguish at the heart of Northern Ireland's continuing abortion debate.

Producer - Regina Gallen.


WED 11:30 A Charles Paris Mystery (b074xq21)
A Decent Interval

Episode 4

Both leads played by winners of a Reality Show have been eliminated from the production of Hamlet by injury and death.

Charles is determined to find out who wanted them dead and there are plenty of suspects...

In the concluding episode, Bill Nighy stars as Simon Brett's actor cum amateur sleuth, Charles Paris.

Charles ..... Charles Paris
Frances ..... Suzanne Burden
Geraldine ..... Amelia Bullmore
Maurice ..... Jon Glover
Will ..... Caolan McCarthy
Sam ..... George Watkins
Ned ..... Brian Protheroe
Milly ..... Rebecca Hamilton
Artemis ..... Evie Killip
Horatio ..... Richard Pepple
Marcellus ...... Ewan Bailey

Adapted from the novel by Jeremy Front.

Director: Sally Avens

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


WED 12:00 News Summary (b074vtk8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 Witness (b07500gb)
Harrer in Tibet

In 1944, two Austrian mountaineers fled into the forbidden land of Tibet to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in India. Heinrich Harrer and his friend Peter Aufschnaiter spent seven years as guests of the Tibetans, gaining a unique perspective on a way-of-life that was about to disappear. Harrer became the young Dalai Lama's unofficial tutor and later wrote a famous account of his visit called Seven Years in Tibet. Hear Heinrich Harrer's memories of Tibet from the BBC archive.


WED 12:15 You and Yours (b074vtkb)
Britain's longest-serving nurse, Criminal record checks

Britain's longest serving nurse, Jenny Turner, talks to Peter White about how her role has changed, and which treatments and practices have remained the same over the course of 60 years.

The people who are losing their jobs because the police are taking too long to complete criminal records checks.

The Museum of London is recruiting a Punk Co-ordinator to curate its exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of Punk. What does the job entail and how do you market a heritage event about a scene which was the antithesis of nostalgia? As Johnny Rotten said "Don't accept the old order, get rid of it".

This week workers on the minimum wage will be entitled to a pay increase in line with the government's "National Living Wage". In the first of a series of reports, we analyse how France enforces its minimum wage.

High Street retailers including Topshop have started asking for your email address when you buy something, but what are they doing with your data?

And, it's not just You & Yours listeners. Even the Energy Ombudsman has complaints about energy companies. He explains how his problem escalated so far he nearly ended up referring it to himself.

Producer: Lydia Thomas
Presenter: Peter White.


WED 12:57 Weather (b074vtkd)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b074xq23)
Britain's biggest steel company has warned that time is ticking to find a buyer for it's UK plants, but the Government said it could take months to find a buyer. So what next for the thousands of jobs in the British steel industry, and should the Government step in to save the Port Talbot Plant?

Donald Trump is dividing the Republican movement in the US, but can anything come between him and the Republican nomination?

How new technology could allow us to read a literary treasure trove buried under volcanic lava in Pompeii.

With more and more children suffering from mental health problems, we look at the counselling services being offered by schools.

And hundreds of failed Afghan asylum seekers, who arrived in the UK as children, are facing deportation to Afghanistan following a court ruling.


WED 13:45 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074xq25)
Sea Cliffs

What has an old threepenny coin and a sea cliff in common?

Well, the answer can be found in this programme when Brett Westwood joins naturalist Phil Gates on the Northumberland coast and discovers how plants and animals have evolved to survive the battering waves, salt spray and driving winds in one of the most hostile habitats on our coastline, the sea cliffs.

Their first encounter is with sea pink or thrift, a plant which has evolved to survive the high levels of salt by sequestering salt into its leaves which then die off, and are replaced by new leaves. Lured by the cries of birds calling out their name "kitti-waak", "kitti-waak", they clamber across the rocks into a cove where kittiwakes and fulmars are nesting on a sheer cliff face.

Brett learns why the young chicks don’t fall off their narrow ledges and how fulmars keep predators at bay (the clue is in their name which means, foul mouth). Below the birds, where the waves pound against the rocks, the surface is studded with barnacles and limpets, and away from the roar of the waves, in a quiet spot amongst coconut-scented gorse bushes Brett and Phil discuss just how these creatures manage to ‘cling on’, survive and thrive!

Producer: Sarah Blunt


WED 14:00 The Archers (b074xbs2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b074xr5p)
Other People's Countries

How can a house you never really lived in prove so hard to leave? A true story adapted from his memoir by Patrick McGuinness about his early years and return visits to Bouillon, a small town, in rural Belgium. Recorded where it happened and featuring talking furniture, singing streams, lost languages and the permanent sadness of the low countries. With Saskia Reeves. Producer: Tim Dee.


WED 15:00 Money Box (b074xvfl)
Money Box Live: Passing On Your Wealth

Should you leave your money to your children, or spend it all before you go?

Louise Cooper and guests discuss what to consider when passing on your wealth. They'll be talking about how to decide what's fair, how to make sure your future is secure and how to manage difficult conversations about inheritance. They'll also discuss what options you have if you want to challenge someone's will or the plans they have for their estate.

To join in with your questions and comments, email moneybox@bbc.co.uk or call the programme on 03 700 100 444 - lines are open from 1pm on Wednesday.

Louise will be joined in the studio by chartered financial plannner Claire Walsh; lawyer Christina Spencer; and Professor Mark Fenton O'Creevy of the Open University.

Producer: Ruth Alexander.


WED 15:30 Inside Health (b074vth6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b074xvfn)
Dance halls, Pick-up artists

Dance halls: a social and cultural history. James Nott, Lecturer in History at the University of St. Andrews, talks to Laurie Taylor about the origins, meaning and decline in a ritual which was once central to many young people's romantic lives and leisure time. He's joined by Caspar Melville, Lecturer in Global, Creative and Community Studies at SOAS.

The 'Seduction Community': a study into the mores and codes of self styled, male 'pick up artists'. Rachel O'Neill, Phd graduate at Kings College London, interviewed men whose attitudes to women have attracted considerable condemnation in the wake of the banning of Julien Blanc, US 'pick up artist', from the UK.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (b074vtkg)
Netflix, Channel 5 rebrand, The end of print?

A report from BARB (The Broadcasters Audience Research Board) estimates that Netflix is now in some 5 million UK households, stating that: 'Netflix is by some margin the market leader' among subscription video on demand services. But can its subscriber base keep pace with its ambition to become 'a global Internet TV network'? To discuss, Steve is joined by media analyst Mathew Horsman, from Mediatique.

Channel Five is weeks into its first rebrand in five years, aiming to attract younger and more affluent audiences. Its head of programmes Ben Frow has been reportedly handed a 'double digit increase' in his programming budget to change perceptions about the channel. So, what commissioning decisions is he taking to make this happen? He speaks to Steve Hewlett about his ambitions.

A Media Society debate tonight will ask, 'is this the end of print?' The Independent's spin-off, the i, is continuing in print form under new ownership; Trinity Mirror has recently launched a new national daily, The New Day, and the free distributed Metro and London Evening Standard are turning a profit. So is it too soon to write off the traditional newspaper? Steve Hewlett asks journalist and Professor of Journalism at City University Roy Greenslade, Independent Digital Editor Christian Broughton and Sarah Baxter, deputy editor of the Sunday Times.

Producer: Katy Takatsuki.


WED 17:00 PM (b074vtkj)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b074vtkl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Chain Reaction (b074xvfq)
Series 11

Roy Hudd interviews Alison Steadman

Series 11 of the show where one week's interviewee becomes the next week's interviewer. The first episode of Chain Reaction was broadcast on BBC Radio Five in 1991 when John Cleese was the first comedian in the hot seat. Now, 25 years on, a new series sees another raft of the world's best-loved comedians talking to each other about their lives and work. This week, comedy legend and music hall expert Roy Hudd turns interviewer as he chats to the much loved actress, Alison Steadman.

Roy Hudd has clocked up more than 50 years in showbusiness, starting out as a Butlins redcoat in the 1950s and then developing a stellar career through numerous successes on stage, radio and screen. BBC Radio listeners know him best as the host of the much loved News Huddlines on Radio 2 for 26 years. More recently, Roy gained plaudits for his moving portrayal of Bud Flanagan in the BBC drama 'We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story'.

Alison Steadman is an actress who has been popular with the British public and worldwide since making her name in the critically acclaimed works of Mike Leigh in the 1970s. She went on to deliver much-loved and memorable performances across both drama and comedy in Pride and Prejudice and Gavin and Stacey amongst many others.

In this programme Roy talks to Alison about her early days growing up in Liverpool, her trip to the palace to get the OBE and her critically acclaimed work with Mike Leigh.

Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Radio Comedy Production.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b074xvfs)
Dan is distracted because he is nervous about girlfriend Dorothy meeting his mum Shula. Dorothy arrives early. She declares there is a lovely feeling in the home, and Dan is a lovely guy. She also gets on well with Shula. Dorothy says she will have to make tracks soon, but she is invited to stay the night, with Dan. Dan asks Shula if they could make up a spare bed for Dorothy, because he thinks Dorothy is special.
Something is on Clarrie's mind. Eddie encourages her to tell him. Clarrie reveals to Eddie about Alf and the missing money. She tells him that when Alf stole from her purse, they agreed to forget about it. But then when money vanished from the church... Clarrie resolves to tell Alan but Eddie says no, he will tell him, tonight. Eddie returns from Alan's, reporting that he was really nice about it, which just made Eddie feel worse. Eddie decides to pay back every penny to stop Alf dirtying the Grundy name. Eddie leaves an angry voicemail for Alf. He is ashamed.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b074vtkn)
David Tennant, Eddie the Eagle, Alison Brackenbury, Jeff Nichols, Evelyn Glennie

Kirsty Lang sees, Eddie the Eagle, the film starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman, which tells the story of unlikely British ski-jumper, Michael Edwards. Does it take off, glide elegantly, go the distance and land safely or, like its subject so often, crash in a heap? Critic Tim Robey gives his verdict.

In the second in Front Row's series Shakespeare's People, in which a famous actor, director or writer reflects on the Shakespeare character of their choice, David Tennant considers the 'sweet prince', Hamlet.

Kirsty talks to the acclaimed director Jeff Nichols about his new film, Midnight Special, an intriguing paranormal road movie.

The poet Alison Brackenbury's ninth collection, Skies, deals incisively with the passing of the seasons, with ageing, love and nature and, she reveals to Kirsty, the really important things in life, such as eating honey and peeling parsnips.

Percussionist Evelyn Glennie has made a new piece for the Edinburgh International Festival called 'The Sounds of Science', before its world premier she explains how she imagines and creates the sounds of DNA and the Big Bang.

Producer: Julian May.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b074xq1v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b074xvh6)
Social Convention

Would you ******* believe it? A council has ******* banned swearing in public. The council in question is Salford which has used a Public Space Protection Order to tackle anti-social behaviour in the Salford Quays area which includes Media City, home to the BBC, which might be just a coincidence. Part of the order says it will be deemed a criminal offence if anyone is caught 'using foul and abusive language'. Public Space Protection Orders, or PSPOs, are similar to ASBO's (anti-social behaviour orders), and allow for broad powers to criminalise behaviour that is not normally criminal. PSPOs are geographically defined, making predefined activities within a mapped area prosecutable. Since they came into existence in 2014 many councils have embraced their new powers enthusiastically, with various PSPO's making, or attempting to make, it a criminal offence to sleep rough, drive a loud car and walk a dog without a lead. It seems that control, or regulation, of public space is becoming more common. In the last month alone a council in Wales has banned smoking on a public beach, the London Underground is considering stopping people walking up escalators and a well known store asked a customer to leave because her toddler was having a tantrum. Are regulations to tackle public nuisance a commendable attempt to protect us or an oppressive enforcement of social conformity targeting public activities that are merely unusual or unpopular? This tension between individualism and the common good is an issue which bedevils so many aspects of contemporary society. If it is true that inconsiderate behaviour is increasing in our society, how should we deal with it? How do we balance our moral obligation to the rest of society with our desire to do what we **** well please? Chaired by Michael Buerk with Claire Fox, Michael Portillo, Giles Fraser and Anne McElvoy. Witnesses are Anna Minton, Alfie Moore, Danny Kruger and Terry Christian.


WED 20:45 Four Thought (b07610vh)
Healing Minds

Rachel Kelly draws on her experience of depression, and the healing power of poetry, to explain why she believes we need a more nuanced approach to treating mental illness.

The first in a new series of thought-provoking talks linked to personal experience recorded in front of a live audience.

Producer: Sheila Cook.


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b074x9gm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Midweek (b074xg5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b074vtkq)
New questions over viability of EDF's Hinkley Point nuclear plant

Fresh doubts after one of the directors of the company said he'd vote against the project.

History in Myanmar - as a new civilian President is sworn in

The man known as "Hitler's commando", who's been unveiled as a member of Israeli intelligence.

And the new way to chillax: the craze for "colouring in"

(Photo of Hinkley Point - credit: Getty Images).


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b074xw23)
Hot Milk

Episode 8

Hot Milk is the latest novel by Man Booker shortlisted author Deborah Levy. Set in Southern Spain it explores female rage and sexuality and the stubborn primal bond that exists between a hypochondriac mother and her daughter.

Sophia, a young anthropologist, has 'been sleuthing her mother's symptoms' for as long as she can remember as Rose, the older woman, is suffering from a form of paralysis that might or might not be imagined. Driven to find a cure beyond the realms of conventional medicine, they have come to Almeria in Southern Spain to visit the clinic of Dr Gomez. His methods have little to do with physical medicine and he prompts both women to confront the true nature of their relationship.Are Rose's symptoms psychosomatic and why is Sophia unable to escape her mother's constant complaints?

The oppressive desert heat pushes both to examine the root of Rose's illness and the cause of Sofia's fractured identity. And Sofia discovers the sting of desire, and the need to be vital and alive.

Today: Sofia returns from Athens to Spain feeling liberated from her father, but increasingly drawn to Ingrid who is waiting for her in Almeria.

The reader is Indira Varma and Hot Milk is abridged by Sally Marmion.
The producer is Julian Wilkinson.


WED 23:00 The Croft & Pearce Show (b074xw25)
Episode 4

Sketch show from award-winning duo Croft and Pearce, rising stars of the UK comedy scene.

These Edinburgh Fringe favourites were the break-out hit of BBC Radio 4's Sketchorama and have performed sell-out shows in London, New York and around the UK.

Packed with sharply observed characters, this debut from writer-performers Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce is not to be missed.

In the last episode of the series, an unsentimental relationship counsellor gives marriage advice, a wide-eyed work experience girl delights in what she's learnt during her time in the Big Smoke, and middle-class powerhouses June and Jean must somehow find a way to tolerate their husbands.

Written and performed by Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce
Producer: Liz Anstee
A CPL production for BBC Radio 4


WED 23:15 Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme (b03nt9wl)
Series 2

Science

Tim Key returns and he's back to grapple with the concept of science by telling the story of Keith Lewis's Monster.

He also has plans for a very special scientific experiment.

Written and presented by Tim Key.

Musical accompaniment is provided by Tom Basden.

Producer: James Robinson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.


WED 23:30 Short Cuts (b06kcbvy)
Series 8

Copycat

Howling like a wolf, stolen identities and poetry composed from borrowed words. Josie Long presents stories of imitation and plagiarism.

Featuring:

Inspiration
Feat. Tom Robinson

Howling Cameraman
Feat. Rolf Steinmann
http://rolfsteinmann.de/
Produced by Rachel Simpson

Turd Ferguson
Feat. Alex Edelman
Produced by Sophie Black

No More Questions
Written and produced by Ross Sutherland

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in October 2015



THURSDAY 31 MARCH 2016

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b074vtmb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 This Orient Isle (b074xg5f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b074vtmd)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b074vtmg)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b074vtmj)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b074vtml)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b074yyxs)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b074yyxv)
Poultry Welfare - Concern over changes to welfare guidance, Hillfarming on stage in Keswick

We hear concern from the British Veterinary Association at changes in the poultry industry next month, when the British Poultry Council is put in charge of guidance on welfare. Both organisations debate the pros and cons of the changes.

There are sheep currently on stage in Keswick - puppets, in fact - taking part in a play that celebrates hill farming in Cumbria. It's an adaptation of A Shepherd's Life, the best selling account of raising Herdwicks in the Lake District written by tweeting farmer James Rebanks. Caz Graham speaks to James and puppet director, Jimmy Grimes, more used to capturing the movement of horses in 'War Horse' than sheep on the fells.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Mark Smalley.


THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b02tyfr0)
Kestrel

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs. Steve Backshall presents the kestrel.

The kestrel is widely distributed throughout the UK and when hovering is our most recognisable bird of prey. Their chestnut back and wings, and habit of holding themselves stationary in mid-air are a unique combination;mall wonder that an old name for kestrels is windhover.


THU 06:00 Today (b074yzwh)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b074yzwk)
Agrippina the Younger

Agrippina the Younger was one of the most notorious and influential of the Roman empresses in the 1st century AD. She was the sister of the Emperor Caligula, a wife of the Emperor Claudius and mother of the Emperor Nero. Through careful political manoeuvres, she acquired a dominant position for herself in Rome. In 39 AD she was exiled for allegedly participating in a plot against Caligula and later it was widely thought that she killed Claudius with poison. When Nero came to the throne, he was only 16 so Agrippina took on the role of regent until he began to exert his authority. After relations between Agrippina and Nero soured, he had her murdered.

With:

Catharine Edwards
Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Birkbeck, University of London

Alice König
Lecturer in Latin and Classical Studies at the University of St Andrews

Matthew Nicholls
Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Reading

Producer: Victoria Brignell.


THU 09:45 This Orient Isle (b074yzwm)
Episode 4

Professor Jerry Brotton, one of the UK's leading experts on cultural exchange, examines Queen Elizabeth I's fascination with the Orient. He shows that England's relations with the Muslim world were far more extensive, and often more amicable, than we have ever appreciated, and that their influence was felt across the political, commercial and domestic landscape of Elizabethan England.

Derek Jacobi reads the captivating account of how Britain sent ships, treaties and gifts to the royal families of Morocco and Turkey, including a gold carriage and a full-size pipe organ.

In this episode, Queen Elizabeth I's advisers debate how to satisfy yet again the sultan of Turkey's demands for elaborate royal presents.

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2016.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b074vtmn)
Pregnancy discrimination, Anita Brookner

New research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has found that over the last ten years, the percentage of woman who report discrimination related to pregnancy or motherhood has risen from 45% to 75%. Jenni is joined by Jo Swinson, who commissioned the research, and Joeli Brearley who set up the website Pregnant Then Screwed.

The novelist, Anita Brookner, died earlier this month. She came to writing comparatively late in life and her best known work was almost certainly Hotel Du Lac. The writer Laura Thompson tells us why she considers that Brookner is one of the great writers and explores the appeal of her depiction of women who may feel life hasn't turned out quite as they'd hoped.

Earlier this week we discussed the Helen, Rob domestic abuse storyline in The Archers. We have had a huge response on different aspects of the situation, including many on how realistic, or not, they find the idea that Pat, Helen's mother, is unable to see what is happening right under her nose. Jenni is joined by Ruth, a listener, who also didn't see what was taking place in her own sister's relationship.

According to the United Nations, over 200,000 women and children have been raped in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1998. In the first case of its kind, former Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba has been found guilty of using sexual violence as a war crime at the International Criminal Court. Anneke Van Woudenberg, Deputy Director for the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch, joins Jenni to discuss what makes this such a landmark case.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b074zdcs)
Hollywood Endings - Doubles

Episode 4

Kim and Boyd are a pair of wannabe actors living in the unfashionable part of Venice Beach, Los Angeles. They struggle to make the rent and keep themselves busy working out and doing the endless round of auditions for commercials and bit-parts in films. So it comes as a surprise when Kim is mistaken for the Hollywood 'A Lister' Faye Dexter, to whom she bears a passing resemblance.

Kim at first tries to explain to her admirer, Danica, that there has been a mistake, but Danica will not be dissuaded. So to keep her happy and to get her out of her hair, Kim agrees to have a selfie taken with Danica and gives her an autograph.

She little knows this will become the worst day of her life.

A Big Fish production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b074zdcv)
Thai Buddhism - Monks, Mercs and Women

An unholy spat is stirring the Sangha, Thailand's top Buddhist authority - who will become the next Supreme Patriarch, Thailand's most senior monk? Meanwhile, allegations of 'cheque-book Buddhism', cronyism and corruption abound - including allegations about tax-evasion on an imported vintage Mercedes car. In Thailand, where the majority of the population profess Buddhism, seeking ordination isn't unusual. But salacious stories about monks who commit serious crimes - everything from sex offences to wildlife trafficking - continue to shock. Watching quietly from the side-lines is the Venerable Dhammananda - female, and a Buddhist monk since 2003. Although the Sangha bars women from ordination, there are now around 100 bhikkhunis, as female monastics are known, in Thailand. And their growing acceptance by some Buddhist believers might partly be explained by a widespread disillusionment with the behaviour of some male monks. For Crossing Continents, Linda Pressly explores the rifts and sexual politics challenging Thai Buddhism and its devotees.


THU 11:30 UK Confidential (b074zw48)
The Nazi Persecution Files

Martha Kearney with the newly declassified documents telling the stories of Britons persecuted by Nazi Germany.

In 1964, the UK and West Germany signed an agreement that enabled British victims of Nazi oppression to seek compensation. The total fund was limited to just £1,000,000, and the criteria were strict - only those who had spent time in "concentration camps or similar institutions", and who could prove it, would be awarded cash sums.

A special unit was set up within the Foreign Office to process claims. Soon, they were dealing with thousands of applications, some seeking redress for their own ordeals, others hoping to gain acknowledgment of the suffering of their deceased loved ones. There were applications from prisoners of war, from Jews - both British-born and those who had become naturalised Britons since the end of the war - and from ordinary men and women who had become caught up in the wave of Nazi oppression that engulfed Europe more than 20 years before.

The documents these applicants submitted in support of their claims have lain unseen in Foreign Office archives for 50 years.

Now, as the files are finally released, Martha Kearney and expert guests review them, and we hear the reaction of family and friends on seeing them for the first time.

Graphic accounts of torture and maltreatment mix with tales of great courage and fortitude. Those who survived years in concentration camps provide unflinching evidence of systematic Nazi brutality. There are stories of families tragically divided, and of acts of remarkable heroism, some already well-known, others that have remained unheralded.

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:00 News Summary (b074vtmq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 Witness (b0750046)
Siege of Sarajevo

Bosnian Serb guns bombarded the city of Sarajevo for almost 4 years in total. Inhabitants of the city suffered malnutrition and sniper fire, as well as daily shelling.
Vedrana Seksan lived through the siege - hear her story.


THU 12:15 You and Yours (b074vtms)
Bye bye buy-to-let?

Landlords now have to pay higher stamp duty when buying property, and from next year they will get a reduced tax allowance. Could the buy-to-let bubble be about to burst? Two experts give us their view.

The Campaign for Real Ale which has championed real ale since it was set up in 1971 could change its focus to include other consumer issues. CAMRA is consulting its 177,000 members and could widen its remit to campaign about things like pub heritage and foreign beer. We hear from one of its founders.

Tomorrow the minimum wage will increase by 50 pence an hour for workers over the age of 25. It'll make it one of the highest rates in Europe. But some UK business leaders say it will lead to higher unemployment. Today we report from the United States on how their minimum wage works.

The homeowners who don't own the bricks and mortar or the land on which their home is built. An expert on leaseholding tells us about the pitfalls and risks of not owning the freehold on your home.

What are the employment rights of the army of couriers who deliver goods to our homes? A union tells us that a planned employment tribunal could make a real difference to their terms and conditions in the future.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Helen Roberts.


THU 12:57 Weather (b074vtmv)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b074zhqs)
David Cameron has insisted the government is doing everything it can to help the British steel industry -- but said nationalising it was not the right answer. We examine what options are available under EU competition laws. Former Conservative Trade and Industry secretary Peter Lilly tells us that the industry should be nationalised if necessary, but Ken Clarke, the minister who began the privatisation of British Steel says that unsustainable industries should be allowed to fail.

Michael Palin, who both wrote for, and starred opposite Ronnie Corbett pays tribute to the star who has died aged 85.

Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa has broken the constitution, spending millions of dollars of public money on his private house. Can he hang on to power?

And following calls for school children to be taught map reading, we're on the streets of Brighton with an Ordinance Survey map.


THU 13:45 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074zdd0)
The Strandline

The strandline offers shelter and food to a diverse range of wildlife, but of course you never know quite what you might find here as it moves with the tides.

Shells, feathers, skulls and egg cases might get caught up in piles of rotting seaweed or blown away by the wind. It’s a very windy day when Brett Westwood and Phil Gates scour the strandline, and having retrieved their ‘treasure’ they head off to the shelter of the dunes to share their booty; shells of various kinds, a feathers, a piece of sea sandwort and some seaweed flies – one of the few insects which you might find on the beach.

Other creatures which you might be lucky enough to find include a sea potato or burrowing sea urchin. After they have died, what remains is a beautiful heart-shaped case covered in tiny holes which mark the point where muscular feet once protruded. When alive, the urchins burrow into the sand and filter food out of the sea water. Strandlines are also good places to look for whelk egg cases, which resemble pieces of bubble wrap, but as we hear are the sites of cannibalism and molluscan violence!

But perhaps the most highly prized find on a strandline would be a mermaid’s purse; the egg case of a dog fish or skate although the latter are very rare. And as Phil reveals he’s not only found egg cases in the past but had a close encounter with the adult – a relative of a shark – and survived to tell the tale!

Producer: Sarah Blunt


THU 14:00 The Archers (b074xvfs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b074zdd3)
Deep Swimmer

The factually-based story behind the unmasking of Mark Kennedy, the undercover police officer who infiltrated environmental campaigning organisations over a period of seven years. During this time he had a series of sexual relationships with women who were unaware of his real identity.

After a legal action in 2015, Scotland Yard have issued an unprecedented apology and paid compensation to some of the women, but they have not said how or why they were targeted.

Steve Waters' new drama examines the events leading up to Kennedy's unmasking by the activists with whom he had these intimate relationships.

Deep Swimmer is based on real events, although names of the activists have been changed.

Written by Steve Waters

Music: Michael Ward, featuring Zoe Young and the Cottage Choir
Sound design: Alisdair McGregor

Produced and directed by Boz Temple-Morris
A Holy Mountain production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 15:00 Ramblings (b074zdd5)
Series 32

Isle of Dogs

An unusual urban walk to finish the series: Clare Balding is in London on the Isle of Dogs for a ramble along the banks of the River Thames. It's not a true island, rather it's enclosed on three sides by the river, and has a rich and fascinating history.

Clare is joined by Sarah Wynne, her sister and a friend. Sarah moved to the Isle of Dogs when she was six and grew up there. People are intrigued when she tells them this, they want to know what her childhood entailed: did she ever play outside, or go to the countryside, how did she get to school?

For Sarah, walking gives her a breathing space in fast-paced London life. She often walks with only a vague idea of where she is going, and likes to see where she'll end up. She finds it empowering to simply follow her instincts about which direction to take.

Producer: Karen Gregor.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b074vvvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (b074w044)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b074vtmx)
Terence Davies on Doris Day, Aidan Moffat on folk music

With Antonia Quirke.

Ex-Arab Strap front man Aidan Moffat talks about his controversial attempts to re-write traditional Scottish folk songs, as documented in the new film Where You're Meant To Be

Terence Davies, the director of Distant Voices, Still Lives, talks about his love for Doris Day as a sing-a-long version of Calamity Jane is about to released in cinemas

Sebastian Schipper describes how exactly he made Victoria, a heist movie that sprawls across Berlin and was shot in just one take.


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b074vtmz)
Solar farm, Gravity machine, Kakapo

The world's second largest floating solar farm has just started generating power. Built on the Queen Elizabeth II reservoir in West London, it's the size of eight football pitches and can provides enough power for 1,800 homes. Its construction was a race against time, because the UK government cuts subsidies for new solar farms from April. Adam Rutherford talks to Leev Harder from Lightsource Renewable Energy about the project. Dr Iain Staffel is a sustainable energy expert at Imperial College London and he explains the main issue with solar: the difficulties in storing the electricity produced until it's needed.

A team from Glasgow University has invented a portable gravity detector. Volcanologist Hazel Rymer from the Open University discusses how this cheap and portable device can detect tiny changes in gravity in the ground. She hopes to use this kind of device to monitor what's happening inside volcanoes soon.

In New Zealand, the near-extinct kakapo will become the first species to have the genome of every single member sequenced, thanks to a crowd-funded conservation project. Adam Rutherford meets geneticist Peter Dearden, in the Zealandia conservation area in Wellington, to chat about these charming but daft birds, and efforts to save them from extinction.

Producers: Marnie Chesterton and Jen Whyntie.


THU 17:00 PM (b074vtn2)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b074vtn4)
David Cameron has chaired talks about Tata Steel's decision to sell its UK business


THU 18:30 Hal (b04stlcv)
Series 1

Crime

Hal Cruttenden stars as a 40-something husband and father who, years ago, decided to give up his job and become a stay at home father. His wife, Sam, has a successful business career, which makes her travel more and more. His children, Lilly and Molly, are growing up fast, and his role as their father and mentor is diminishing by the day.

So what can Hal to as he reaches a crossroads in his life? Help is (sort of) at hand in the form of his eager mates - Doug, Fergus and Barry - who regularly meet at their local curry house for mind expanding conversations that sadly never give Hal the core advice he so desperately needs.

Hal is confused even further as he regularly has visions of his long dead and highly macho father, who he's forced to engage in increasingly frustrating conversations.

In this episode, Hal becomes the latest victim to a series of car crimes that have happened near his home. Not only has his own personal car space been invaded, but his beloved CD collection has been stolen - including Abba, Dolly Parton and The Pet Shop Boys.

How can Hal survive this tragedy?

In the process of trying to cope with this crime, Hal also tries to find the real man in himself - but in attempting to do this, only scares his young daughters and reduces them to tears.

The cast includes co-writer Dominic Holland, Ed Byrne, Ronni Ancona, Anna Crilly, Gavin Webster, Dominic Frisby, Samuel Caseley and Emily and Lucy Robbins.

Produced by Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2014.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b074zgr0)
Brian and Adam discuss the no-till proposal for the estate land. Lilian tells Jennifer that Clarrie has been reminding people of Eddie's contribution to the village; namely, his bringing Anneka to the Easter celebrations. Brian passes by, on B.L. Board business.
Kirsty and Helen finally meet up. Helen points out Kirsty never liked Rob, and promises he has a nice side that Kirsty doesn't see. Kirsty still thinks Helen should call the helpline. Or, suggests Kirsty, Helen could talk to Jess - Rob's ex-wife. Kirsty thinks Jess could shine some light on Rob's behaviour. Helen could find Jess's number on Rob's phone. Kirsty gives Helen a spare phone, as a lifeline, with her number and the helpline number in the address book.
Rob says he knows Helen was with Kirsty earlier, behind his back. Rob also reports that Henry has been badly behaved. Rob blames it on that "ridiculous" Easter egg that Pat and Tony gave him, and the soft toy Helen got him. Rob's punishment is to throw the egg and toy in the bin. He points out that Helen has been inconsistent - allowing Henry chocolate from Pat but not from Ursula. Rob tells Helen it's high time she starts taking anti-depressants - he instructs her to look up the pharmacy number on his phone...


THU 19:15 Front Row (b074vtn6)
Zaha Hadid, Ronnie Corbett, Jeremy Irons

As the death of the architect Zaha Hadid is announced, Samira talks to Sir Peter Cook, Amanda Levete and Hugh Pearman and discusses why she was such a influential, ground-breaking architect.

Jeremy Irons talks to Samira about playing Cambridge maths professor G. H. Hardy in 'The Man Who Knew Infinity' - a film based on the real life story of self-taught Indian mathematics genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Ronnie Corbett is remembered by Steve Punt and producer Paul Jackson.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b074zdcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 Law in Action (b074x9pf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]


THU 20:30 In Business (b074zgr2)
Economic Rebellion

Why is there so much dissatisfaction about how economics is taught at universities? Since the financial crash, many students have been in revolt in the UK and overseas, determined to change the content of their courses. They are not alone. Employers and some economists share many of their concerns. Peter Day explores why the subject has changed over a generation and why that might matter.
Producer: Rosamund Jones.


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b074vtmz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b074yzwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b074vtn8)
The threat of nuclear terrorism

World leaders gather aiming to prevent nuclear terrorism. But how big is the threat? Picture: Nuclear hazard sign and protective mask; credit: Reuters.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b074zgr7)
Hot Milk

Episode 9

Hot Milk is the latest novel by Man Booker shortlisted author Deborah Levy. Set in Southern Spain it explores female rage and sexuality and the stubborn primal bond that exists between a hypochondriac mother and her daughter.

Sophia, a young anthropologist, has 'been sleuthing her mother's symptoms' for as long as she can remember as Rose, the older woman, is suffering from a form of paralysis that might or might not be imagined. Driven to find a cure beyond the realms of conventional medicine, they have come to Almeria in Southern Spain to visit the clinic of Dr Gomez. His methods have little to do with physical medicine and he prompts both women to confront the true nature of their relationship.Are Rose's symptoms psychosomatic and why is Sophia unable to escape her mother's constant complaints?

The oppressive desert heat pushes both to examine the root of Rose's illness and the cause of Sofia's fractured identity. And Sofia discovers the sting of desire, and the need to be vital and alive.

Today: Rose files a complaint about Dr Gomez' clinic (Go-METH) and his clinic becomes the subject of an investigation.

The reader is Indira Varma and Hot Milk is abridged by Sally Marmion.
The producer is Julian Wilkinson.


THU 23:00 Down the Line (b01s4qqz)
Series 5

Food and Music

The ground-breaking Radio 4 phone-in show, hosted by the legendary Gary Bellamy and brought to you by the creators of The Fast Show.

Starring Rhys Thomas, with Amelia Bullmore, Simon Day, Felix Dexter, Charlie Higson, Lucy Montgomery, Adil Ray, Robert Popper and Paul Whitehouse.

Produced by Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse
A Down The Line production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:30 Short Cuts (b06mfs7k)
Series 8

Afterlife

How imprisonment revealed an unlikely talent, a musical story of what follows after a dust storm has passed and the unexpected complications of standing still to watch the seasons change. Josie Long hears stories of what follows after the main event.

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

The items featured in this programme are:

John
Feat. John McAvoy and Darren Davies
Produced by Sophie Black

The Novelist
Feat. Lily Kestecher, Noel Debien, Claudia Taranto and Milan Durovic
Produced by Natalie Kestecher
Sound engineer / sound design by Russell Stapleton

The Man Who Couldn't Stop the Wind from Blowing
Produced by Cicely Fell
Original music by Smith & Watson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.



FRIDAY 01 APRIL 2016

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b074vtq0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 This Orient Isle (b074yzwm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b074vtq2)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b074vtq5)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b074vtq7)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b074vtq9)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b076rfbt)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b074zw38)
Rat Poison Controls

Tough new laws on the use of industrial rat poison come into effect today. Farmers will have to undergo training before they'll be allowed to buy the rodenticides. The poison has been turning up in watercourses, and in birds of prey and small mammals that may have fed on rats.
And we meet two young would-be farmers from France who are volunteering on a smallholding in the UK as part of the 'Wwoofing' movement. It stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms and offers free room and board in return for work on the farm.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Sally Challoner.


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378svz)
Wood Pigeon

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Michaela Strachan presents the wood pigeon. One of our most widespread birds, you can hear this song all year round; just about anywhere. The young are called squabs and along with seeds and green foliage, Wood Pigeons feed their chicks with "pigeon milk", a secretion from their stomach lining.


FRI 06:00 Today (b076vwg2)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b074vw94)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 This Orient Isle (b074zw3t)
Episode 5

Professor Jerry Brotton, one of the UK's leading experts on cultural exchange, examines Queen Elizabeth I's fascination with the Orient. He shows that England's relations with the Muslim world were far more extensive, and often more amicable, than we have ever appreciated, and that their influence was felt across the political, commercial and domestic landscape of Elizabethan England.

Derek Jacobi reads the captivating account of how Britain sent ships, treaties and gifts to the royal families of Morocco and Turkey, including a gold carriage and a full-size pipe organ.

In this episode, we visit the London stage to discover the Elizabethan fascination with the little-known world of Islam, particularly by Shakespeare and Marlowe.

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2016.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b074vtqc)
Childcare deposit guarantees, Zaha Hadid, Social business, Pauline Lynch, The Mother's Blessing

Dalia Ben-Galim, from single parents charity Gingerbread proposes a solution for lone mothers or fathers locked out of work by the exorbitant cost of childcare.

Christine Murray, editor of The Architectural Review pays tribute to Zaha Hadid, widely regarded to be the greatest female architect in the world.

The Good Loaf cafe in Northampton is a social business that gives jobs to vulnerable local women, including those who have offended. Reporter Henrietta Harrison meets workers Heidi and Gemma and Chief Executive Suzy Van Rooyen.

Actress Pauline Lynch, who played Lizzie in the 1996 film Trainspotting, talks about her debut novel Armadillos, her second career as an author and why she set her novel in the harsh Texan landscape, which is so different from her Scottish roots.

Dr Ailsa Grant Ferguson celebrates the 400th anniversary of 'The Mother's Blessing' by Dorothy Leigh and reminds us of the importance of remembering great women writers of the past.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b074zw41)
Hollywood Endings - Doubles

Episode 5

Kim and Boyd are a pair of wannabe actors living in the unfashionable part of Venice Beach, Los Angeles. They struggle to make the rent and keep themselves busy working out and doing the endless round of auditions for commercials and bit-parts in films. So it comes as a surprise when Kim is mistaken for the Hollywood 'A Lister' Faye Dexter, to whom she bears a passing resemblance.

Kim at first tries to explain to her admirer, Danica, that there has been a mistake, but Danica will not be dissuaded. So to keep her happy and to get her out of her hair, Kim agrees to have a selfie taken with Danica and gives her an autograph.

She little knows this will become the worst day of her life.

A Big Fish production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 11:00 The Lost Art of the TV Theme (b05tq6zy)
Few people who grew up in the 1960s could not now - fifty years on - hum you the tunes from The Persuaders, Crossroads, The Avengers, Blue Peter, Top of the Form, Grandstand, The Saint, University Challenge, Panorama, Dave Allen At Large, The Onedin Line, Department S, Tomorrow's World, Dad's Army, Sportsnight - the list goes on and on. The 1970s gave us Fawlty Towers, Colditz, Mr and Mrs, The Two Ronnies, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served, The Goodies, The Wombles, Blake's Seven, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em - and Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, whose theme tune perfectly captured the affectionate nostalgia of the comedy. The melodies became so iconic that those shows which survived into the 21st century - Coronation Street, Mastermind, Match of the Day - have never ditched the theme music familiar to generations of viewers. And we haven't even mentioned Dr Who, whose pulsing theme generated by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1963 has since regenerated itself many times over, and inspired enough new music to provide a programme for an entire Prom.

Rich Morton acknowledges that his age defines his taste in themes, as in so many other things. As a composer of very plausible tunes for TV shows and films which never existed, he favours the thrilling, brassy action themes of the 1960s or the jaunty hipster tunes of the 1970s. Yet his suspicion is that programme-makers in the 1980s - perhaps as a result of squeezed budgets - stopped commissioning specially-written music and turned instead to cheaper alternatives, such as adapting instrumental extracts from pre-existing pop records.

Rich argues that, while there are still memorable themes around, far too many shows now have bland or generic music which would defy most people's attempts to hum it, let alone remember it in fifty years' time. In an age when many viewers access TV shows from Netflix, iPlayer or YouTube, the need for an instantly-recognisable theme as a clarion call to gather round and watch no longer applies.

In this programme Rich sets out to ask what it was that made those old themes so memorable, and why the TV theme may have diminished in importance as an art form. He's helped in his exploration by some of the great practitioners of the classic TV theme, such as Tony Hatch and Alan Hawkshaw, and also by one of the most successful TV composers working today, Debbie Wiseman.


FRI 11:30 Josie Long: Romance and Adventure (b074zw4l)
Series 1

Episode 1

A sitcom from award-winning comedian Josie Long about a young woman trying to build a new, more fulfilling life for herself in Glasgow.

Glasgow is the indie band theme park, where Josie will finally be happy and accepted. But almost as soon as she de-trains at Queen Street Station she begins to think she's made a big mistake.

Josie sets about finding friends, a place to live and a new job.

Based on characters from the short films "Romance and Adventure" and "Let's Go Swimming" by Josie Long and Douglas King.

Josie - Josie Long
Darren - Darren Osborne
Roddy - Sanjeev Kohli
Kerry - Hatty Ashdown
Eleanor - Clare Grogan
Chris - Michael Bertenshaw
Mona - Rebecca Hamilton
Fraser - Chris Pavlo

Written by Josie Long
Producer: Colin Anderson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2016.


FRI 12:00 News Summary (b074vtqg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 Witness (b075f6st)
Nigeria's War on Indiscipline

In 1984, General Muhammadu Buhari's military regime launched an unusual campaign to clean up Nigeria. Soldiers forced Nigerians to queue, be punctual and obey traffic laws. The punishments for infractions could be brutal. Veteran Nigerian journalist, Sola Odunfa, recalls the reaction in Lagos to the War Against Indiscipline. Photo: The Oshodi district of Lagos , 2008. AFP/Getty Images).


FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b074vtqj)
The Care Act, The National Living Wage, Butlins at 80

Peter White on the Care Act as it turns one year old. Is it on the road to making life easier for carers?
We hear from some of the workers who won't be getting the new National Living Wage.
Butlins turns 80, but are their holidays still appealing?
Getting the best mobile phone deal.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b074vtql)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b074zw4t)
The Prime Minister says the Government is doing all it can to save steel workers goods -- so why are they blocking plans to put tariffs on Chinese steel? We'll hear what a treasury minister has got to say about that - and we'll be hearing from the Chinese city that produced as much steel as the whole of the US.

Brussels airport was due reopen today after the terrorist attack - but the company in charge says it cant because the police are on strike - they say it isn't safe and secure.

The flow of migrants across the med continues -- but how much has it grown be? We have an audio graphic to tell the story.


FRI 13:45 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074zy93)
Mudflats and Salt Marshes

What attracts so many birds to gather on vast expanses of coastal sea mud around the coast?

Well, the answer can be found in this programme when Brett Westwood joins naturalist Phil Gates on the Northumberland coast and after wading carefully across a slippery bed of popping seaweed, they explore the sticky ooze of the mud flats, to discover it teeming with life; food for wading birds.

As well as cockles and lugworms, there are much smaller mud snails and mud shrimps. The latter are tiny crustaceans, very elongated with enormous antennae like “curved crane jibs” which are found in vast numbers (a conservative estimate is 10,000 per square metre) swimming on the surface in liquid mud or hiding out in tunnels below the surface. This rich source of food explains why so many birds gather here to feed; birds like the smart looking shelduck; a duck which is almost the size of small goose but lays its eggs in underground burrows!

Away from the mud, slightly higher up the shore on the salt marsh, Brett and Phil discover sea lavender, a plant which has a clever way of dealing with high salt levels by excreting salt crystals onto its leaves giving them a greyish sheen and a salty taste!

Producer: Sarah Blunt


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b074zgr0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b040hjy0)
Tempting Faith

Today is one of the most important days in Martin's life. His daughter, Elizabeth, whom he has never met, has asked to meet him before she emigrates to Australia.

On this prodigious day, more than a little anxious, Martin sets off in his Dad's car bright and early, He is determined nothing can or will go wrong on this short journey to meet his daughter... despite the fact that catastrophe has somehow always dogged his best efforts at avoiding trouble.

But Martin has not anticipated coming in contact with the whirlwind that is Faith!

For Faith this is also a momentous day. She has finally escaped her Guru partner, packed her little car with all of her possessions and is determined to take control of her life for once and for all... when her car is stolen right outside the mall where she has stopped off for a coffee. Martin just happens to be parking in the next lot when Faith jumps into his car and demands he pursues the thieves in a high speed chase - needless to say neither of their days ends as either had anticipated.

But they have tempted fate, and it would appear they are destined to be together.

Writer ..... Sean Moffatt
Director ..... Eoin O'Callaghan.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b074zy95)
Prince Charles at Highgrove

Eric Robson chairs a special correspondence edition of the horticultural panel programme recorded at His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales' garden at Highgrove in Gloucestershire.

The programme features an exclusive interview with The Prince of Wales about his new Highgrove Garden Festival in April.

Throughout the programme, the team will explore what advice the amateur gardener can glean from the royal gardens, and panellists Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and Matthew Wilson take questions from listeners, which were sent in by post, email and social media.

Produced by Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 Cyprus Avenue (b075fdrt)
A chance meeting at the airport awaiting an increasingly delayed flight sees a young couple discover they have childhood histories - and family tragedies - in common, growing up on the streets of East Belfast - experiences which have defined every aspect of their lives, not least their relationship to the city they once called home. But as they journey back to Belfast, to their families and to the reminders of the past, they slowly begin to look to the future.

Lucy Caldwell is an award-wining playwright and novelist whose work is no stranger to Radio 4. Her novels ‘The Meeting Point’ and ‘All the Beggars Riding’ were serialised on Book at Bedtime and her drama includes ‘Notes to Future Self’, ‘Avenues of Eternal Peace’, ‘Quicksands’ and the Imison award winning ‘Girl from Mars’.

Writer: Lucy Caldwell
Reader: Laura Pyper
Producer: Heather Larmour


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b074vtqn)
Dame Zaha Hadid, Ronnie Corbett, General Meir Dagan, Joan Loraine, Gary Shandling

Matthew Bannister on

The internationally acclaimed architect Dame Zaha Hadid, known to some as "the queen of the curve".

Ronnie Corbett, whose partnership with Ronnie Barker made him one of the UK's best loved comedians.

General Meir Dagan, head of the Israeli secret service Mossad when it was credited with carrying out the assassination of five Iranian nuclear scientists.

Joan Loraine who created a much admired garden at Greencombe in Somerset

And Gary Shandling who satirised the vanities and insecurities of celebrity in his fictional TV chat show.


FRI 16:30 More or Less (b074zy97)
The Great EU Cabbage Myth

Could there really be 26,911 words of European Union regulation dedicated to the sale of cabbage? This figure is often used by those arguing there is too much bureaucracy in the EU. But we trace its origins back to 1940s America. It wasn't true then, and it isn't true today. So how did this cabbage myth grow and spread? And what is the real number of words relating to the sale of cabbages in the EU?

After the recent announcement that all schools would be converted to academies, a number of listeners have asked us to look into the evidence of how they perform. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan wrote a guest post on Mumsnet and More or Less were called upon to check her numbers.

The popular TV show The Only Way is Essex claimed in its 200th episode that it had contributed more than a billion pounds to the UK economy. We investigate if this is true.

Plus, can we trust food surveys? Stories about which foods are good and bad for you, which foods are linked to cancer and which have beneficial qualities are always popular. But how do experts know what people are eating? Tim Harford speaks to Christie Aschwanden, FiveThirtyEight's lead writer for science, about the pitfalls of food surveys. She kept a food diary and answered nutrition surveys and found many of the questions were really hard to answer.


FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b074zy99)
Lyndon and Martin - Breaking Point

Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a climber who fell and broke his back and the paramedic who rescued him. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Marya Burgess

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.


FRI 17:00 PM (b074vtqq)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b074vtqt)
A man from Luton has been convicted of plotting to kill US servicemen in East Anglia.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b074zy9k)
Series 48

Episode 5

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Mike Wilmot, Jake Yapp, Gemma Arrowsmith and Harry The Piano to present the week in news through stand-up and sketches.

On its 100th anniversary Jake Yapp makes a plea for us to keep British Summer Time 365 days a year, Mike Wilmot takes a crack at Canadian political satire and Deputy Arts Editor for The Independent Alice Jones discusses the TV BAFTA nominations with Punt and Dennis.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b074zy9q)
Ruth and Bert admire the sheep at Brookfield. Bert informs her that it has been good to have Rex around. He also says that he can hear Freda talking in his ear, saying Toby needs taking in hand. Bert tells Ruth that he pulled an April Fools trick on Toby: he put a stock cube in the shower head before Toby went in!
Helen meets up with Jess. Jess has to prompt Helen to say what she came here to say. Helen asks why Jess thought Rob was her son's father, and she reveals Rob was unfaithful. She says that she tried to push Rob away, but Rob was firm and cruel. Because Jess felt addicted to him she still wished he was the baby's father. She says that since she escaped Rob, life has been much simpler. Helen says that she thought Rob was the epitome of the tall, dark, handsome man everyone wants. Helen admits that Rob has been violent to her, and Jess admits the same. Helen then describes Rob's disciplining of Henry yesterday, which horrifies Jess. Helen says that Rob told her he isn't a monster - but Jess thinks he is...


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b074vtqw)
Adrian Lester on Undercover, National Poetry Competition, Victoria, James Shapiro

Kirsty Lang talks to Adrian Lester who stars in Undercover, the new legal thriller on BBC1 written by former barrister Peter Moffat.

As part of our Shakespeare's People series, leading scholar James Shapiro chooses one of the playwright's smallest roles, the First Servant in King Lear.

Hannah McGill reviews Victoria, the acclaimed new German film shot in one long take.

As Radio 4's Home Front hides Shakespeare quotes in its scripts, Kirsty talks to writer Sebastian Baczkiewicz and historian Sophie Duncan, who looks at how Shakespeare's 300th anniversary was marked during World War I.

Plus Eric Berlin, winner of the National Poetry Competition.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b074zw41)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b074zy9s)
Tim Farron MP, Andrea Jenkyns MP, Jess Phillips MP, John Timpson

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from the University of Worcester with the Leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron MP, Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns, Labour MP Jess Phillips, and the businessman John Timpson.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b074zy9v)
Virtual Violence

Will Self draws no comfort from an alleged drop in violence in the real world, as he sees us increasingly expressing our innate tendency towards violence in the virtual and online worlds.
" I don't think watching violence drives us to commit violent acts - I think it is a violent action in and of itself."

Producer: Sheila Cook.


FRI 21:00 Saturday Drama (b01mhn54)
Blasphemy and the Governor of Punjab

On 4th January 2011, self-made millionaire businessman and governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, was gunned down in the car park of a popular Islamabad market. He had been leading a campaign to amend Pakistan's
blasphemy laws, after an illiterate 45-year-old Christian woman, Asia Bibi, from a village in his province had been sentenced to death for blasphemy.

Within hours of his death, a Facebook fan page for the assassin Mumtaz Qadri had over 2000 members, before site administrators shut it down. When Qadri was transferred to jail, he was garlanded with roses by a crowd of lawyers offering to take on his case for free. President Asif Ali Zardari, an old friend of Taseer's, didn't go to the funeral for fear of inflaming public opinion. Leaders of state-funded mosques refused to say funeral prayers for the slain governor. The Interior Minister even gave an impromptu press conference announcing that he too would kill any blasphemer "with his own hands".

Using his extensive contacts in Pakistan, presenter Owen Bennett-Jones has interviewed Taseer's family and friends and the family of the assassin. He has also secured access to court documents including the killer's confession.

The programme includes both interviews and dramatic reconstructions.

Presented by Owen Bennett-Jones
Sound Design - Steve Bond

Executive Producer: Jeremy Skeet
Director: John Dryden
A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b074vtqy)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b074vtr0)
Steel workers weigh up job options

Business Secretary Sajid Javid has told steel workers he's "on their side" during a visit to Tata's threatened Port Talbot plant
We hear how workers have fared in the six months since 1700 of them lost their jobs at the Redcar steel plant

Andrew Hosken reports on Labour's relationship with anti-Semitism

Why Estonia's president likes to moonlight as a DJ

and what to do about those pesky moths after an exceptionally warm winter.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b074zyr0)
Hot Milk

Episode 10

Hot Milk is the latest novel by Man Booker shortlisted author Deborah Levy. Set in Southern Spain it explores female rage and sexuality and the stubborn primal bond that exists between a hypochondriac mother and her daughter.

Sophia, a young anthropologist, has 'been sleuthing her mother's symptoms' for as long as she can remember as Rose, the older woman, is suffering from a form of paralysis that might or might not be imagined. Driven to find a cure beyond the realms of conventional medicine, they have come to Almeria in Southern Spain to visit the clinic of Dr Gomez. His methods have little to do with physical medicine and he prompts both women to confront the true nature of their relationship.Are Rose's symptoms psychosomatic and why is Sophia unable to escape her mother's constant complaints?

The oppressive desert heat pushes both to examine the root of Rose's illness and the cause of Sofia's fractured identity. And Sofia discovers the sting of desire, and the need to be vital and alive.

Today: In today's concluding episode, Sofia at last feels she can live her own life, but her relationship with her mother Rose has to endure one final test.

The reader is Indira Varma and Hot Milk is abridged by Sally Marmion.
The producer is Julian Wilkinson.


FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b074x9ph)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:27 Short Cuts (b06np61j)
Series 8

Inheritance

From the sounds of the womb to fading memories - Josie Long hears stories of what we inherit from past generations.

The items featured in the programme are:

George Bernard Shaw

A Conversation
Feat. Walter Murch
Produced by Niccolò Castelli
https://vimeo.com/136595444

The Waves
Feat. Sian Phillips
Interview recorded for the Empathy Museum
http://www.empathymuseum.com/

Every Heart has a Limited Number of Heartbeats
Produced by Martin Johnson and Ann Heppermann
Originally featured in the Serendipity Podcast
http://thesarahawards.com/subscribe/

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.


FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b074zyr2)
Barbara and David - We Thank Our Lucky Stars

Fi Glover with a conversation between a husband and wife about how difficult he found life after he had to retire following bypass surgery, and how volunteering improved things. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Marya Burgess.