The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have decided that under current regulations for its use, food grown with the weed killer glyphosate is unlikely to cause harm to human health.
Tenant farmer Sylvia Crocker has managed to persuade several local Tesco stores to put milk next to the sweeter drink options and sandwiches.
Many farmers use genetic indices for breeding - they categorise animals according to desirable traits. But some feel such systems can't take everything into account and are narrowing the gene pool.
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs. David Attenborough presents the wood warbler. Their song has been described as "a spinning coin on a marble slab" and you're most likely to hear this chorister in oak or beech wood.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
What's really shaped Europeans' identity? Historian Margaret MacMillan visits Estonia, exploring how a tiny Estonian nation has dramatised the question of where exactly Europe is, and where it ends in the east. She'll find traces of an extraordinary range of conquerors over the centuries, and the way in which old links - Germanic, trans Baltic - are reasserting themselves while links east to Russia decline. And she'll see how new kinds of history - through DNA analysis for example - are revealing why Europeans are such an extraordinary mix of languages, cultures, and migrations.
Bettany Hughes pursues nemesis in her archaeology of philosophy on the streets of ancient Athens, in the gym and with experts on counterterrorism and climate change.
The surprising and invigorating history of the most influential ideas in the story of civilisation, described as 'a double expresso shot of philosophy, history, science and the arts'. Award--winning historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes begins each programme with the first, extant evidence of a single word-idea in Ancient Greek culture and travels both forwards and backwards in time, investigating how these ideas have been moulded by history, and how they've shaped us.
In this programmes Bettany pursues nemesis with classicist Professor Paul Cartledge, Buddhist scholar Dr Sarah Shaw, Colonel Tim Collins who in March 2003 led British troops into Iraq, and climate change scientist Dr Simon Lewis. Bettany travels to Athens to see where these ideas were born and then explores the street markets, churches, offices and homes where they continue to morph and influence our daily lives.
Ideas examined in the first series, in September 2013, were idea, desire, agony, fame and justice. The second series, in January 2014, considered wisdom, comedy, liberty, peace and hospitality. Other ideas in this series are psyche, charisma, irony and virtue.
Teffi was a famous Russian writer in the early 1900's, forced to flee her country. And this is the story of her eventful flight, translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, Anne Marie Jackson, Irina Steinberg. It is abridged for radio by Katrin Williams..
On the train to Kiev, away from the Bolsheviks. And Gooskin the indefatigable organiser gets the author and others out of various scrapes..
Brix Smith Start, former guitarist with The Fall, on her life, career and memoir The Rise, The Fall and The Rise.
Does the lifestyle you share with your partner have a greater influence on your chance of becoming overweight than your upbringing? Clinical psychologist Professor Tanya Byron believes it does and looks at the problem in her new BBC One series Lose Weight for Love. She speaks to couples who are locked in a cycle of over-eating that threatens not only their health, but their relationship. Jane speaks to Professor Byron about why couples are more likely to become obese together and speaks to Lisa and Steve who took part in the programme.
Maggie O'Farrell on her latest novel, This Must Be the Place. After her hugely successful debut, After You'd Gone, Maggie went on to win the Somerset Maugham Award for The Distance Between Us and the 2010 Costa Novel Award for Instructions for a Heatwave. In this latest novel, she introduces us to Daniel Sullivan, a man with a complicated life. A New Yorker living in the wilds of Ireland, he has children he never sees in California, a father he loathes in Brooklyn and a wife, Claudette, who is a reclusive ex-film star given to shooting at anyone who ventures up their driveway. Maggie joins Jane in the studio.
At least 1 in 5 adults over 50, in the UK aren't parents. This may or may not be choice based but either way it means that 20% of older people do not have children to offer help or support in old age. Kirsty Woodard is the founder of 'Ageing Without Children' and talks about the findings in their report 'Our Voices'. Ming Ho recently turned 50 and tells us her about her concerns about growing older on her own.
When visiting his Mama's sickbed in Florida, Michael introduces his young husband to his family for the first time.
For more than three decades, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series has blazed its own trail through popular culture-from ground-breaking newspaper serial to classic novel. Radio 4 are dramatising the full series of the Tales novels for the very first time. Michael Tolliver Lives continues the adventures of Armistead's well-loved characters, followed by Mary Anne in Autumn.
Zoologist and broadcaster Lucy Cooke explores the science behind our seeming obsession with all things adorable. There has been an explosion in interest in cuteness, particularly online, with an ever growing number of websites dedicated to pandas, kittens, puppies and of course babies. If you are feeling a bit down in the dumps, what better way to brighten your day then looking at some cute baby animal frolicking about. But what is it that makes these creatures so darn attractive to us and can you be addicted to cute? Lucy investigates the latest scientific research looking at just what makes babies cute, and what looking at them does to our brain, with some surprising results. She visits London Zoo to visit her number one cute creature of choice, the sloth, to find out why sloths hit the top of the cute charts, but the Chinese giant salamander definitely doesn't, and why in terms of conservation, that matters.
Alistair McGowan travels to Dublin to explore the sensational life of his musical hero - the 19th century Irish pianist and composer John Field. Born in Dublin in 1782, Field was a child prodigy who left Ireland at an early age to become apprentice to the great Italian composer and piano maker Clementi. Clementi took Field on a tour of Europe and Russia, demonstrating his considerable talents and showcasing Clementi's pianos.
Field was to live in Russia for the rest of his life and Russia welcomed Field with open arms - he became the darling of high society, as well as one of the most celebrated and influential pianists of his day. His playing and his invention of a new kind of piano piece, the nocturne, were to influence Chopin, Liszt, Schumann and Mendelssohn.
Interviewees include pianists John O'Conor, Finnuala Moynihan, Finghin Collins and architectural historian Finola O'Kane.
On this day in 1916, Sir Roger Casement was sent to Brixton Prison to await trial for treason, and at Halecot Farm, old loyalties are strained.
Winifred Robinson asks: What's your experience of adoption and fostering? Email now youandyours@bbc.co.uk. You can call 03 700 100 444 when the programme is on the air. Our guests include Hugh Thornberry who's the Chief Executive of the charity Adoption UK. Also Karen Goodman from the British Association of Social Workers.
Theresa May has told the Police Federation vulnerable people have been neglected by police forces across England and Wales, and that in the case of Hillsborough, the police who are meant to be the guardians of justice have instead obstructed justice.
Her Majesty's Inspector of Prisons tells us about his upcoming investigation into relationships between police and victims of abuse.
Andy Burnham, who speaks for Labour on Home Affairs tells us that Theresa May has failed to provide a vision commensurate with the challenges the police face, and the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation resists calls for disgraced former officers to have their pensions curbed.
As the BBC slims down its recipe offerings, and considers consolidating its rolling news channels into one, we debate the scope and ambition of the corporation.
Nick Bryant reports from Pennsylvania on why those who have lost faith in the American Dream are turning to Donald Trump.
And the Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives rejects claims that she has acted without consulting the College's members over her backing for a BPAS campaign to take abortion out of the criminal justice system.
Alexandra Harris tells the story of how the weather has written and painted itself into the cultural life of Britain. Why does British rain fall on British people in spits and spots?
Imagine a history told in rain. King Offa's Mercia in eight-century rain, stonemasons building St Andrews cathedral in the rain. The rain as it fell on St Swithin (whose views on the matter are not recorded other than in legend), and the same old rain falling centuries later on Thomas More and his daughter, on Milton, on Dr Johnson and Mrs Thrale. How do they feel? Do they go indoors? Does the rain they see fall like tears or an ill omen or a blessing? There would be a lot of repetition in this history. Rain is continuity: it's what we share. And yet it never rains in the same way twice, and even in the same shower, no two people see the same.
The shipping forecast at 48 minutes past midnight takes us on a ritual tour of rain as it falls in darkness on the sea. Images form of places we have probably never been. Cold headlands appear, unvisited beaches, discs and dials in a cabin, moving lights on black swell, crossed by slanting rain. Malin, Hebrides, Bailey. Listening, we think of others listening. Rain, then showers. Moderate, occasionally poor.
Alistair McGowan stars in his own new drama about the prodigiously gifted - and prodigiously partying - John Field, the Irish composer and pianist who invented the nocturne.
May 1832 - John Field leaves his Moscow home to begin his first - and last - tour of Europe, taking with him the illegitimate teenage son he barely knows.
Imagine you're out walking, enjoying the outdoors and beautiful scenery... and then you fall. Down a cliff, off a mountain, into a crevice, into water. Three people whose lives changed forever following 'the fall' discuss the experience with Fi Glover in the new series of Shared Experience
Michael Rosen and art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon take a tour through the naming of art movements. Surrealism, Impressionism, the Renaissance, the Pre-Raphaelites, Modern, Contemporary - how did they get their names and what does that tell us? Which terms have entered the language? With linguist Dr Laura Wright.
Gordon Hamilton-Fairley was a brilliant cancer specialist, the father of oncology in the UK.
Then in 1975 he was killed by an IRA bomb intended for a politician who lived in his street. Former editor of the Daily Telegraph Charles Moore chooses a man cut down in his prime. Joining him in the studio are three members of the Hamilton-Fairley family; plus the cancer specialist Ray Powles, who provides a compelling picture of how basic treatment for cancer sufferers used to be.
The former deputy prime minister, Lord Heseltine, has said he would be "very surprised" if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister, after what he called his "preposterous and obscene" remarks during the EU referendum campaign.
Isy Suttie recounts the tale of the Crank, a Matlock oddball who Isy's mother roped into helping Isy study the Welsh language. Along the way, Isy picks up a bit of morse code.
Sometimes Isy has merely observed the lives of others; quite often she's intervened, changing the action dramatically - for better or worse.
Intertwined within these stories are related real life anecdotes from her own, often disastrous, love life.
With her award-winning multi-character and vocal skills, and accompanied by her guitar, Isy creates a hilarious and deeply moving world, sharing with us her lessons in life and love.
Johnny, Tom, Tony and Pat move some of their Angus cattle to Home Farm. Johnny is hung up about the pigs having to be sold. He suggests getting Jazzer back but Tom's not backing down on their disagreement. Johnny tries again to persuade Tom to enter the Borchester Food and Drink Awards but has no luck. While watching the cattle from Bridge Farm settle in Adam hears about Tony and Peggy's plans to be with Helen for the birth. Tony goes to look at Home Farm's handling system for the cattle and calls to Pat who has spotted an Angus that had a difficult birth. She can help with calving but not the birth of her grandchild. Where's the justice in that, pleads Pat.
Johnny and Tom go to The Bull for lunch and they tell Jolene the shop at Bridge Farm is re-opening a week on Friday. When Jazzer turns up, Tom makes a swift exit to the garden. Jazzer is well aware of this and he learns from Johnny that the pigs are going to be sold. Johnny tries to persuade Jazzer to return to Bridge Farm but he refuses to budge on his position.
Pat is worried that they've heard nothing from the mother and baby unit. Tony says that's a good thing. They don't want the baby arrive before he and Peggy get there. Pat reminisces on Helen's birth - she feels bad it was a difficult birth, Helen was a breech baby. And she berates herself for not being there for her when John died. She feels like she's let her daughter down.
Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost Worlds is the British Museum's first major show on underwater archaeology, and brings together more than 200 discoveries by the French diver and archaeologist Franck Goddio. It tells the tale of two cities, Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, and the relationship between Greece and Egypt. Professor Edith Hall reviews.
John Carney' s film Once won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2007. The writer and director discusses his latest film Sing Street, about a boy growing up in Dublin during the 1980s who escapes his strained family life by starting a band to impress the mysterious girl he likes.
Han Kang, winner of the 2016 Man Booker International prize, talks to John about her novel The Vegetarian. The story centres on an ordinary wife, Yeong-hye and her ordinary husband, whose lives change dramatically when Yeong-hye decides to stop eating meat.
As his Hellens Music Festival prepares to open, the concert pianist Christian Blackshaw explains why less is more when it comes to interpreting the great composers.
Police forces in England and Wales are to get an additional fifteen hundred firearms officers to help protect the public from terrorism and organised crime.
Most of the new officers will be trained within the next two years after the Prime Minister, David Cameron, set aside £143m to boost the country's armed response capability.
The number of firearms officers fell from nearly seven thousand in 2009/10 to under six thousand in 2013/14.
And, despite the extra funding, the Police Federation is concerned the new firearms teams will have to come from existing staff. They say that will deplete the number of officers available for other duties.
BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Danny Shaw investigates - and he examines growing unease at the way in which those who discharge their weapons are dealt with.
Concern has been highlighted by the suspension and arrest of the officer suspected of shooting dead Jermaine Baker in Wood Green in December.
Police representatives tell the programme that while they expect their actions to be investigated, people will not come forward to train as firearms officers if they believe they will be treated like a criminal who fires an illegal weapon.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission acknowledges that firearms officers work in challenging circumstances but maintains that police shootings resulting in death or serious injury should be independently investigated.
What's the best way to get help from friends and strangers? Peter White talks to Lyndall Bywater, Red Szell and Lucia Bellini - who are all blind - for a very honest and candid discussion about the challenges of asking for help, how to dispense with it when you're done, and how to avoid not over-relying on the same people.
Suicide in the veterinary profession, Psychology of autonomous cars, Awards nomination
For many, working with animals is a dream job and every year thousands of students compete to get into vet school. But whilst life as a vet isn't always easy, surprisingly the suicide rate amongst vets is four times greater than among medical doctors. This fact came to prominence in research back in 2004 and steps have been taken to address it. Yet the exact reasons are still unclear. Claudia hears from vet Richard Hillman and meets Rosie Allister, who's based at Edinburgh University researching the wellbeing of vets, and is the Chair of Vetlife Helpline.
There's been a lot of talk about the technology behind self-driving cars, but what about the psychology? As the first UK trials begin examining how other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians react to coming across a car that's driving itself, Claudia travels to the Transport Research Laboratory in Surrey, to meet its Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Stevens, to discuss the behaviour psychologists and car manufacturers need to understand before autonomous vehicles hit the road.
Our latest finalist in this year's All in the Mind Awards is a boss called Blair with an unusual relationship with her employee, Steven. She doesn't just pay him and supervise him. She has supported him through some of the hardest times in his life.
As Baghdad is hit by the second wave of bombings in less than a week, we speak to former counterinsurgency official David Kilcullen about political failures in the Iraqi capital & the lessons that can be learned from Colombia's battle with the FARC guerrillas. Also: criticism of the Labour Party's report into alleged anti-semitism at Oxford University Student Club, and the recreation of a historic moment when Bob Dylan came to Manchester.
Picture: Iraqis at the scene of a bomb attack in Baghdad. Credit: EPA/ Ahmed Ali.
Michiel Heyns's novel is set in 1907 at Lamb House in Rye where Henry James, the great novelist, lived from 1897-1916. It's an intriguing story told from the perspective of Freida Wroth, his typist.
'Live all you can; it's a mistake not to,' is the maxim of Henry James - and one that Frieda tries to live up to. Despite her admiration for her employer, she is marginalised and under-valued - seen merely as an extension of her Remington typewriter - and is lost between the servants and the guests who include the irrepressible Edith Wharton and the writer Hugh Walpole, as well as Mr James's extended family.
The arrival of the dazzling Mr Morton Fullerton, Paris correspondent for The Times, brings Frieda into sudden focus. As she is drawn into his confidence, she finds herself at the centre of an intrigue, every bit as engrossing as the novels she types. Her loyalties tested, Frieda must choose between anonymity in the presence of a literary master and uncertain love with a man she barely knows.
Stephen K Amos's sitcom about growing up black, gay and funny in 1980s south London.
Mary ... Nadia Kamil
Almost two-and-a-half billion people lack access to an adequate toilet, and around one billion have no sanitation facilities whatsoever. Poor sanitation kills a child under five every 100 seconds. Anthropologist and broadcaster Mary-Ann Ochota visits Bangladesh and India to understand the challenges involved in achieving sanitation for all.
It's a problem that is often addressed without any sustained success. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goal aimed to halve the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015 - a goal that failed by some 700 million people.
Bangladesh has achieved much in its sanitation coverage over recent years, in spite of many challenges, but its capital Dhaka is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Like many cities in an increasingly urbanised world, it struggles to cope with the demands of a rapidly growing population.
India has a separate challenge - how to stop 600 million people relieving themselves outdoors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to end the practice of open defecation by October 2019, in time to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.
WEDNESDAY 18 MAY 2016
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b07b9r0p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b07bbjhn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07b9r0r)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07b9r0t)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07b9r0w)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b07b9r0y)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07cvsx9)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Andrew Graystone.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b07bc09q)
Reducing methane from cattle, Fishing crime, Bees
Scientists in Europe are working to reduce the amount of methane produced by cattle, by introducing a microbe into the stomach. The researchers, from Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland and the US, claim the organism will not only inhibit production of this greenhouse gas, but will also aid digestion.
Cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminants farmed by humans currently produce an estimated 100 million tons of methane every year.
And we hear about a new joint force set up to tackle fishing crime in the North of England. 'Operation Traverse' involves the police, the Angling Trust and the Environment Agency.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sally Challoner.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b02twjfh)
Tree Pipit
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs. Steve Backshall presents the tree pipit.
Tree pipits are small brown birds without any bright colours or distinctive features; but you can identify one from a distance when it is singing, because it has a very obvious display flight. The male bird sings from April to the end of July, launching himself from a treetop perch, then parachutes downwards like a paper dart.
WED 06:00 Today (b07bc0wb)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b07bc0wd)
Frieda Hughes, Christopher Gunning, Jim Buttress, Ronnie Le Drew
Libby Purves meets poet and artist Frieda Hughes; composer Christopher Gunning; puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew and horticulturalist and gardening judge Jim Buttress.
Ronnie Le Drew is a puppeteer. Over his long career he has operated Muffin the Mule, Sweep and Zippy from the children's television series Rainbow. He discovered puppetry as a small boy, performing glove puppet shows for his friends on the south London council estate where he grew up. His biography Zippy and Me, written with Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi, will be published by Unbound. Ronnie is performing the Snitchity Titch Show at the Little Angel Theatre, London.
Christopher Gunning is an award-winning composer, best known for his theme music to Agatha Christie's Poirot as well as Porterhouse Blue and La Vie en Rose. He started out writing music for commercials and early on in his career he worked as assistant to the late Dudley Moore, who became a regular pianist on a variety of Christopher's jingles and documentary scores. Christopher's latest work is a violin and cello concerto, inspired by his love of Wales. Violin Concerto/Cello Concerto/Birdflight is released on Discovery Records.
Frieda Hughes is a poet and artist. The daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, Her book, Alternative Values, is the story of her life told through a series of abstract paintings which accompany her poetry. Frieda wrote and painted from an early age and for many years has been a children's writer. She is talking about her life and work at the Salisbury International Arts Festival. Alternative Values is published by Bloodaxe Books.
Jim Buttress is a gardener, horticulturalist and RHS judge, known for his trademark bowler hat and clipboard. He has presided over flower shows including Chelsea and Hampton Court and the Britain in Bloom competition for over 25 years. In his memoir, The People's Gardener, he recounts his garden memories including his ten years as superintendent of the Central Royal Parks - on one occasion looking after some elephants which had taken up residence in Hyde Park. His memoir, The People's Gardener, is published by Sidgwick And Jackson.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b07bc0wg)
Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea
Episode 3
Teffi was a famous Russian writer in the early 1900's, forced to flee her country. And this is the story of her eventful flight, which is newly translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, Anne Marie Jackson and Irina Steinberg. It is abridged for radio by Katrin Williams:
Arrival in Kiev, with its sunny days and familiar faces, but a scourge of White Russians is approaching. When will Petlyura get here?
Reader Tracy-Ann Oberman
Producer Duncan Minshull.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07b9r10)
Christine Lagarde; Decriminalising abortion; Fell running
Jenni Murray interviews the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde
The Royal College of Midwives has recently expressed their belief that abortion should be removed from the scope of the criminal law. Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive of the RCM discusses this with Mary Doogan, retired midwife, who spent several years in court over her right to refuse to help other nurses with abortion procedures or planning.
Record breaking fell runner, Nicky Spinks.
Paula Byrne on her new book, 'Kick', a biography of Kathleen Kennedy.
WED 10:41 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b07bc0wj)
Michael Tolliver Lives
Episode 3
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Episode Three
Michael helps Mrs Madrigal to find a new companion. Brian's goodbye gesture to Shawna goes badly wrong.
Dramatised by Lin Coghlan
Producer Susan Roberts
Director Charlotte Riches
For more than three decades, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series has blazed its own trail through popular culture-from ground-breaking newspaper serial to classic novel. Radio 4 are dramatising the full series of the Tales novels for the very first time. Michael Tolliver Lives continues the adventures of Armistead's well-loved characters, followed by Mary Anne in Autumn.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b07bc1nx)
Jan and Anna - Speech Therapy
Fi Glover with a conversation between Anna, who suffered a stroke, and the conversation partner who helped her find her words again - and discovered a new career in the process. 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 The Loss of Lostness (b06gtfql)
"Let's Get Lost..." croons Chet Baker, harmonising with his own trumpet. It's a recording made in the 1950s, at the high-water mark of jazz, that improvised and meandering art form. Taking his instruction from Baker, Stephen Smith sets out on a journey.
But he knows he has a difficult task. Getting lost is getting harder. Modern technology can almost guarantee that we'll never be lost again - in cities, encyclopaedias or record shops. Many of today's teenagers have never been lost, either literally or metaphorically. We've been given wifi-enabled omnipotence. But, Stephen asks, "What's the fun in that?"
In the company of other longing-to-be-lost souls, Stephen turns off his GPS and explores the joys of mooching about, taking a wrong turn and stumbling upon an unexpected delight.
He has some rollicking encounters along the way. Stephen's attempts to deliberately disorient himself lead him to Hampton Court Maze where he meets a man - incidentally also called Smith - who claims he was clean shaven when he went in. He goes on a Sunday drive - remember them? - with design guru Stephen Bayley where they reminisce about "the Proustian pleasure of a packet of cheese and onion...on an absolutely futile drive". Via Virginia's Woolf's great essay on getting lost, "Street Haunting", he goes to see Graham Gouldman of 10cc. The idea of getting lost strikes a chord with Gouldman. There's lots of messing around on guitars. Gouldman talks about getting lost in the record shops of his youth, relives the writing of their greatest hit "I'm Not in Love", and in the end pens a new song to lostness. Stephen asks Graham what he might do with it. A week later a fully recorded version arrives in Stephen's inbox - and he hits play....
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
WED 11:30 Polyoaks (b07bc1nz)
Series 4
Eight Days a Week
The staff of the dysfunctional West Country surgery have their work cut out to provide 'a truly 7 day service'.
TV’s Dr. Jeremy has a possible solution, but it remains to be seen if it’s ethical.
Nigel Planer and Simon Greenall star in the Health Service satire by Dr Phil Hammond and David Spicer.
The Polyoaks surgery is plagued by strikes, endless new management initiatives, staff shortages, militant patients, eight day weeks, privatisation – and all these things are entirely their fault, apparently.
The dysfunctional Bristol surgery run by warring doctors, brothers Roy and Hugh Thornton alternates between embracing and collapsing under reforms. They’re a nurse down, they’ve got to slash their budget and there’s a new Head of the local Clinical Commissioning Group who eats GPs for breakfast.
The practice’s calamitous ‘celebrity’ Dr Jeremy who doesn’t know what a Clinical Commissioning Group is, continues to dodge alimony payments, malpractice suits and the new scary practice Nurse Monica
Jeremy.......................David Westhead
Hugh..........................Simon Greenall
Monica.......................Polly Frame
Roy............................Nigel Planer
Stephanie Simons........Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Patients......................Duncan Wisbey and Zalie Burrow
Director: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2016.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b07b9r12)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Home Front (b076cf43)
18 May 1916 - Emily Colville
On this day in 1916 seven members of the No Conscription Fellowship were sentenced to imprisonment, and in Ashburton, Emily Colville resists her duty.
Written by Richard Monks
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
SECRET SHAKESPEARE
A Shakespeare quote is hidden in each Home Front episode that is set in 1916. These were first broadcast in 2016, the 400th anniversary year of the playwright's death. Can you spot them all?
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b07b9r14)
Gluten-free food on the NHS, Free digital magazines
Should people with coeliac disease receive gluten free food on the NHS? Things like gluten free pasta and bread have been widely available on prescription to patients in England, but over the last year, it's been withdrawn in many parts of the country. The cost to the NHS is relatively small, but some believe the NHS should not be prescribing food to patients at all. We debate this, and examine if prescriptions are the best way to help people with coeliac disease to meet the extra cost of their food.
Public libraries have started to offer free digital magazines to their members. It allows people to download the digital version of many popular magazines on to their tablet or e-reader. You first need to be a member of the library, but then you don't even need to visit the library to download them. But how does the publishing industry benefit from allowing the public to read magazines without paying for them?
We follow the 14-year-old Sheffield schoolgirl, Lucy Gavaghan, as she visits Tesco headquarters to press supermarket bosses to stop selling eggs from caged hens. An online petition launched by Lucy has attracted over 270,000 signatures. Might she be able to persuade Tesco to change its policy?
The high street menswear store, Austin Reed, recently went into administration after more than a century of helping men to look their best in a suit. But as fashion evolves and styles change, we ask if the traditional gent's suit has a future.
Producer: Jonathan Hallewell
Presenter: Winifred Robinson.
WED 12:57 Weather (b07b9r16)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b07bc1p1)
The Queen has set out the Government's agenda for the next Parliament. A Conservative backbencher tells us that the agenda is really a sideshow to the main event of the EU referendum, and some of the content of the speech shows indicates that the Government is resigned to a Leave vote.
Our panel of senior politicians, Paymaster General Matt Hancock, Former Labour Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer, and SNP Justice Spokesperson Joanna Cherry debate the speech, with particular focus on the lack of a Sovereignty Bill, the long haul towards a Bill of Rights, and the issues around prison reform.
Chris Vallance reports from Rotterdam on the Dutch policy of total segregation for those on remand, or convicted of terrorism related offences.
And campaigners in Nigeria say that one of the kidnapped Chibock schoolgirls has been found alive.
WED 13:45 A British History in Weather (b07bdd27)
In Cloudland
Alexandra Harris tells the story of how the weather has written and painted itself into the cultural life of Britain. Are we to clouds what the Inuit was to snow?
Cloud meant 'hill' in Middle English, a solid, earthy thing. But then these hills started appearing in the sky. Looking at a cumulus cloud, rising bumpy and steep-sided above us, it's easy to see why. These are the Pennines and Snowdonias of the air. For a while in the fourteenth century, the same Northumbrian poem could contain both types of cloud, the tangible and the metaphorical, before gradually the earthy meaning faded, leaving its solid residue in our words clot and clod. The figurative meaning soared, and clouds were ever after phenomena of the sky.
Music by Jon Nicholls.
A BBC Audio production, made in Bristol
WED 14:00 The Archers (b07bbysj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b07bdd29)
School Drama
Episode 1
Four-part drama series with Tom Hollander. Deer Park Academy, a re-branded failing school, is working to turn itself around and inspire its students. But inspiration can be dangerous and when has-been TV star, Geoff Cathcart, is brought in to stage a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, he opens a Pandora's box of controversy.
All other parts played by students and teachers at Portsmouth Grammar School:
Abby Moss, Poppy Goad, Thomas Locke, Joe McAuley, Freddie Fenton, Douglas James, Joe Haylock, Jay Pasricha, JM Hopkinson, Caleb Barron, Joe McCue
Written by Andy Mulligan
Music by Jon Ouin
Sound by Steve Bond
Produced by Emma Hearn
Directed by John Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Money Box (b07bdd2c)
Money Box Live: The Bank of Mum and Dad
Helping with student fees, paying rent or stumping up a house deposit, there are many demands on the bank of mum and dad. Whether you're the branch manager or applying for a loan, we'd like to hear your family stories and dilemmas on Wednesday. What pressure has this put on your personal finances and plans? Maybe you feel that it's worth it to see a family member achieve a goal?
If money is tight you may be helping in other ways, looking after grandchildren so both parents can work or welcoming adult children back into the nest. Or perhaps you feel that starting out is a challenge which each generation has to face?
We want to hear your tales of the bank of mum and dad or even nan and grandad. Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday 18 May, standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply. Or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now.
Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producers: Diane Richardson + Alex Lewis
Editor: Andrew Smith.
WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b07bbysn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b07bdd2f)
Glasgow gangs - Russian gangs
Glasgow & Russian gangs: Laurie Taylor explores their origins, organisation and meaning in two strikingly different cultures. He talks to Alistair Fraser, Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at the University of Glasgow, whose fieldwork with young Glaswegian men, demonstrates that gangland life is inextricably bound together with perceptions of masculinity and identity and the quest to find a place in the community. They're joined by Svetlana Stephenson, a Reader in Sociology at London Metropolitan University, who found that Russian gangs, which saw a spectacular rise in the post Soviet, market economy in the 1990s, are substantially incorporated into their communities, with bonds and identities that bridge the worlds of illegal enterprise and legal respectability.
Alistair Fraser was in the final shortlist of six for this year's BSA/Thinking Allowed Ethnography Award.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b07b9r18)
Lord Puttnam on BBC White Paper, Women on air, BBC online cuts
The BBC has announced it's scaling back and closing a range of online services - including BBC Food and Newsbeat websites - in order to save £15m. The proposed closure of the BBC Food website quickly drew widespread criticism and an online petition against the move raised over 100,000 signatures in one day. James Harding, Director of BBC News & Current Affairs, joins Steve Hewlett to explain the changes.
David Puttnam, whose credits include the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire, has spent the last few months fronting an alternative inquiry into the future of public service broadcasting. Its aim is to look at the 'nature, purpose and role of public service television today and in the future' and the findings will be published at the end of June. Lord Puttnam has been opposed to any suggestion that the government BBC Charter White Paper could reduce the size and scope of BBC. So, with the proposals now published, what does he make of them? He shares his concerns over governance and thoughts on Ofcom's new involvement with Steve Hewlett.
New research shows the BBC News at Ten features the fewest number of women experts compared to other news programmes, booking nearly 4 men for every woman - just a 3% improvement compared to May 2014. It's part of findings from City University, which periodically reviews the numbers of women featured on air. This year's research has shown some improvements; ITV News at Ten, despite being similar to the BBC in terms of male/female ratio, has managed to increase its female representation by 27%. So what is the picture of gender equality across news outlets, and why is it so hard to get women on air? Steve Hewlett discusses with report author Prof. Lis Howell.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b07b9r1b)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07b9r1d)
An agreement has been reached which could end the long-running dispute over a new employment contract for junior doctors in England.
The Queen has set out the government's agenda for the year ahead -- heralding major changes to the prison service.
WED 18:30 Heresy (b07bdfm2)
Series 10
Episode 1
The programme that dares to commit heresy. Victoria Coren Mitchell and her guests have fun challenging knee-jerk public opinions, and exposing the wrong-headedness of received wisdom.
In the first programme of the series Victoria is joined by comedians Lloyd Langford and Katy Brand, and the artist Grayson Perry. They talk about French Style, God and Hitler.
An Avalon Production
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b07bdfm4)
Clarrie offers to babysit so Ed and Emma can go out for their first anniversary on Saturday. She also suggests having a gathering of family and friends on Sunday. Eddie ignores calls from Lynda and sets off with Joe to sell elf memorabilia. At the market, trade is slow until Joe inspires Eddie to find them elf costumes.
Justin calls Lilian for help with 40th wedding anniversary present ideas for Brian and Jennifer. She can't help him now, she's with Jennifer. The sisters are on their way to the tearoom for tastings of the food that will be served at the anniversary party. Jennifer is jittery and Lilian discovers it's more than the prospect of a big party; she's worried about their mum travelling the long distance to visit Helen. And she doesn't feel right throwing a party with everything that's going on. Lilian says they all should be living their lives to the full.
Jennifer and Lilian walk through the Millennium Wood where elfish houses have been appearing. They think over the tasting and Lilian reflects on their lives. She wouldn't have thought of the two of them it would be Jennifer to have a 40-year marriage. Jennifer is taken by surprise by an elfish 'whatnot' - what was once charming has now gone too far!
When Eddie and Joe get back to Grange Farm Lynda is there, waiting to speak to Eddie. The mushroom compost he added to her garden has brought on her hay fever and she won't be paying Eddie's bill until it's sorted out.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b07b9r1g)
Ian McMillan, Black Chronicles, Janet Suzman, TV drama endings
Poet Ian McMillan has described his home town Barnsley as 'the filter I see everything through' and this is clear from his new book To Fold the Evening Star which gathers work from eight key collections as well as new and previously unpublished work. He talks to John Wilson about being a Yorkshire poet, politics and poetry, and getting older.
As the first series of Undercover and Marcella end this week with questions left unanswered for a potential second series, we discuss how and when channels decide whether a TV drama should return for more series. Writer Kay Mellor and critic Boyd Hilton give us their insights.
Black Chronicles: Photographic Portraits 1862-1948 is a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London which presents a snapshot of black lives and experiences in 19th and 20th century Britain. Curator Renée Mussai discusses the context of the exhibition which focuses on the period before the arrival of the Empire Windrush which brought the first large group of Caribbean migrants to Great Britain.
In the final instalment of our series Shakespeare's people, Janet Suzman chooses Portia from the Merchant of Venice. You can catch up with all our Shakespeare's People on the Front Row website.
Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Elaine Lester.
WED 19:45 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b07bc0wj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 FutureProofing (b07bdfmg)
Memory
New research points to a future where we can artificially create and manipulate memory inside our own heads. What are the implications when we can control memory in this way, and why is it so important to our future?
FutureProofing travels to California to meet the neuro-scientists creating the means for us to make and control memories inside the human brain, and to hear what the future holds when we can manipulate the process of forming and storing memories.
Presenters Timandra Harkness and Leo Johnson also explore the implications of having our memories distributed in many places - a development that is gathering pace as we increasingly use the internet as the repository of our lives - from social media to cloud storage and all our online shopping data.
And the programme visits Jerusalem to discover how both Israelis and Palestinians are meeting the challenge of creating and maintaining memorials and museums which not only preserve their history but also offer a relevant guide to future generations.
Producer: Jonathan Brunert.
WED 20:45 Why I Changed My Mind (b077gtw1)
Series 2
Sir Stephen Wall
Sir Stephen Wall was one of Britain's leading diplomats, having been the UK's representative to the EU and Tony Blair's adviser on European policy in Downing Street. A practising Catholic for most of his life, after leaving the diplomatic service he worked as principal adviser to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster. But after that he discarded his faith, and later in his late sixties came out as gay. Dominic Lawson asks him why he changed his mind.
"Why I Changed My Mind" is a series in which Dominic explores how and why prominent individuals have modified their views on controversial topics.
Producer: Martin Rosenbaum.
WED 21:00 Science Stories (b07bdg6b)
Series 3
Florence Nightingale: Statistician
Naomi Alderman tells a little-known story about a rather well-known nurse. Florence Nightingale is famous for mopping the brows of sick and wounded soldiers during the Crimean war. Generations of Nightingale Nurses are named after her. But according to her sister Parthenope: 'she was a shocking nurse'. She was the lady of the lamp but the light she cast wasn't the light of the nurse's lantern; it was the light of statistics. This is the story of Florence Nightingale, the intellectual pioneer and revered statistician.
WED 21:30 Midweek (b07bc0wd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b07cbwf5)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b07b9r1j)
Brexit and the EU - a view from Poland
How does the EU country with the largest number of citizens in the UK view our referendum? We hear from a former Polish President. As the European Commission warns Poland's current government that it could be in breach of one of the EU's fundamental principles - we examine the growing euro scepticism in the country. And we also hear views on Brexit from Sopot's twin town Southend.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07ch7r2)
The Typewriter's Tale
Episode 3
Michiel Heyns's novel is set in 1907 at Lamb House in Rye where Henry James, the great novelist, lived from 1897-1916. It's an intriguing story told from the perspective of Freida Wroth, his typist.
'Live all you can; it's a mistake not to,' is the maxim of Henry James - and one that Frieda tries to live up to. Despite her admiration for her employer, she is marginalised and under-valued - seen merely as an extension of her Remington typewriter - and is lost between the servants and the guests who include the irrepressible Edith Wharton and the writer Hugh Walpole, as well as Mr James's extended family.
The arrival of the dazzling Mr Morton Fullerton, Paris correspondent for The Times, brings Frieda into sudden focus. As she is drawn into his confidence, she finds herself at the centre of an intrigue, every bit as engrossing as the novels she types. Her loyalties tested, Frieda must choose between anonymity in the presence of a literary master and uncertain love with a man she barely knows.
Read by Sian Thomas
Abridged by Sara Davies
Directed by Alexa Moore
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 Lenny Henry's Rogues Gallery (b07bdghz)
Series 1
I Never Forget A Face
The story of a modern day miracle, as witnessed by a blind man.
First in a series of comic monologues with twists-in-the-tale, written and performed by Lenny Henry.
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.
WED 23:15 Death and Taxis (b07bdgj1)
The Andy Warhol Diaries, Part Two
Adapted by Sean Grundy and starring Scott Capurro as Andy Warhol. Also starring Ronni Ancona, Jon Culshaw and Kerry Shale.
Everyone who is anyone in New York from 1976 to 1987 is in Warhol's diary - from Mick Jagger to Donald Trump.
"Friday, August 30, 1978: The doorbell rang and it was Liza. She said, 'give me every drug you've got.' I gave them some coke, Valium and four Quaaludes. A little figure in a white hat came up, and it was Marty Scorsese, hiding around the corner. He and Liza went off to have their affair on all the drugs. (Valium $1)"
Beginning in the fall of 1976, America’s most famous artist Andy Warhol talked to his secretary by phone at
9:00 AM, every Monday to Friday morning, for ten years. He would talk about the events of the previous day, and his office would transcribe his monologues into diary pages.
The diary began as a careful recording of his use of money, from phone calls to nickels for bag-ladies to cab rides (lots of cab rides), but quickly evolved into Warhol’s personal observations. It was posthumously published in 1989 - a condensed version of Andy’s more-than-20,000 page, phoned-in audit/diary.
The core themes to the dramas are Warhol’s loves (art, men, fame, money, mainly money) and his fears (failure, embarrassment, death, mainly death).
The episodes follow four key themes, using four people in Andy’s life from 76-87 - homeless Crazy Matty, Warhol’s boyfriend Jon Gould, writer Truman Capote and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Woven into this world are buddies Mick and Bianca Jagger, Jerry Hall, Liza Minnelli and Donald Trump.
Nobody escapes his sharp tongue.
Cast:
BIANCA JAGGER/ JERRY HALL/ JADE JAGGER.................RONNI ANCONA
ANDY WARHOL.............................................................SCOTT CAPURRO
MICK JAGGER / STEVE RUBELL.....................................JON CULSHAW
TRUMAN CAPOTE.........................................................KERRY SHALE
BOB MACBRIDE / ROCK MANAGER.................................MARTIN T SHERMAN
Based on The Andy Warhol Diaries, edited by Pat Hackett
Writer: Sean Grundy
Producer: David Morley
Director: Dirk Maggs
A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b07bdgj3)
More than 20 Bills have been unveiled in the Queen's Speech, at the traditional State Opening of Parliament. Susan Hulme reports on the speeches of Jeremy Corbyn and David Cameron after a morning of ancient ceremony and pageantry, when the Queen came to the Palace of Westminster in the famous Jubilee Carriage.
Also on the programme:
* There's reaction to the Queen's Speech from backbench MPs and the leaders of the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the DUP and Plaid Cymru.
* The Commons enjoys humorous speeches by two backbenchers.
* It's also a special day in the Lords, as peers give their response to the contents of the Queen's Speech.
* The Culture and Sport committee looks at why so few footballers have come out as gay.
THURSDAY 19 MAY 2016
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b07b9r31)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b07bc0wg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07b9r33)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07b9r35)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07b9r37)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b07b9r39)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07cz0cp)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Andrew Graystone.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b07bkxvt)
Rising resistance to antibiotics, Butchers, Safety of GM food
A long awaited report into the rise in resistance to antibiotics warns that if bugs continue to develop immunity to the drugs, 10 million people a year could die by 2050.
We hear how butchers are keeping beef on our shopping lists as part of our theme on the beef industry this week - and hear in the Queen's speech that the government has promised to introduce a universal service obligation for all homes and businesses in the UK to get a fast broadband connection.
Lastly an American study by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine concludes that GM crops are safe and that there is no danger to either humans or the environment.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378wy3)
Common Redstart
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Michaela Strachan presents the common redstart. Redstarts are summer visitors from sub-Saharan Africa. The males are very handsome birds, robin-sized, but with a black mask, white forehead and an orange tail. John Buxton gave us a fascinating insight into their lives when, as a prisoner of war in Germany, he made a study of them.
THU 06:00 Today (b07c5n56)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b07bft7v)
The Muses
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Muses and their role in Greek mythology, when they were goddesses of poetry, song, music and dance: what the Greeks called mousike, 'the art of the Muses' from which we derive our word 'music.' While the number of Muses, their origin and their roles varied in different accounts and at different times, they were consistently linked with the nature of artistic inspiration. This raised a question for philosophers then and since: was a creative person an empty vessel into which the Muses poured their gifts, at their will, or could that person do something to make inspiration flow?
With
Paul Cartledge
Emeritus Professor of Greek Culture and AG Leventis Senior Research Fellow at Clare College, University of Cambridge
Angie Hobbs
Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy, University of Sheffield
And
Penelope Murray
Founder member and retired Senior Lecturer, Department of Classics, University of Warwick
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Image: 'Apollo and the Muses (Parnassus)', 1631-1632. Oil on canvas. Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665).
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b07bft7x)
Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea
Episode 4
Teffi was a famous Russian writer in the early 1900's, forced to flee her country. And this is the story of her eventful flight, which is newly translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, Anne Marie Jackson and Irina Steinberg. It is abridged for radio by Katrin Williams:
On to Odessa, where the author encounters General Grishin-Almazov, sniffer-outer of local bandits, who 'loved literature and theatre'. And wasn't he once an actor?
Reader Tracy-Ann Oberman
Producer Duncan Minshull.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07b9r3c)
Juliana Buhring, Kids' mental health, Elena Fortun, Older mums, Marriage certificates
Juliana Buhring decided to cycle the globe after the man she loved was killed. She was a complete novice, had no support crew, but rode across 19 countries in 152 days, helped by strangers and a network of people who, like her, had escaped the Children of God cult.
This week David Cameron announced that OFSTED will be asked to look at mental health provision when inspecting secondary schools. Reporter Ena Miller went to Aultmore Park Primary School in Easterhouse, Glasgow to meet a charity already working with children.
The Celia novels, a series of children's books about a little girl called Celia, are classics of Spanish literature. The author is known by her pen name, Elena Fortun. Professor Nuria Capdevila-Arguelles, expert in Hispanic and Gender studies at the University of Exeter describes Fortun.
Is there still a social taboo when it comes to being an older mother? Jenni speaks to women with different experiences: Cari Rosen, editor of Gransnet, who had her daughter aged 43; Naomi Gryn who gave birth when she was 51 and Jackie Reeves who adopted her only son, aged 61.
In 2014 David Cameron promised to modernise an outdated law that doesn't allow the details of the mother of the bride or groom to feature on marriage certificates in England and Wales. Caroline Lucas MP talks to Jenni about why there was still no mention of an update in yesterday's Queens's Speech.
THU 10:45 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b07bft7z)
Michael Tolliver Lives
Episode 4
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Episode Four
Michael is surprised by his brother's revelation. Mrs Madrigal tries to ease Brian's worries about Shawna leaving.
Dramatised by Lin Coghlan
Producer Susan Roberts
Director Charlotte Riches
For more than three decades, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series has blazed its own trail through popular culture-from ground-breaking newspaper serial to classic novel. Radio 4 are dramatising the full series of the Tales novels for the very first time. Michael Tolliver Lives continues the adventures of Armistead's well-loved characters, followed by Mary Anne in Autumn.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b07bft81)
Murder in Bangladesh
Insight, colour and analysis. In this edition: the authorities deny IS or al-Qaeda is active in Bangladesh but others believe a spate of vicious killings there is the work of Islamist extremists; After Columbine, Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook, American schools are now having to rehearse what they'll do if their place of learning comes under gun attack -- but the precautions aren't always a comfort to parents; there are now hundreds of thousands of Syrians taking shelter from the war in neighbouring Jordan - their presence is having a marked effect on the Jordanian economy and on its peoples' eating habits; we meet a man in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania who tells us how the country's new president is providing his country with inspirational leadership at last. And surely covering the Cannes Film Festival is a thoroughly pleasant experience? Only up to a point, apparently. From the Promenade de la Croisette we hear a story of status anxiety and snobbery, indignity and humiliation/.
THU 11:30 Next Stop: Mariachi Plaza (b07bft83)
"I play regular guitar, even though I'm supposed vihuela," says Luis Molina. "As the head of the group, it's kind of nicer to have a guitar...then I can answer the phone for more gigs and the other guys can keep performing."
The mariachis of Boyle Heights, East LA, hang around Mariachi Plaza most days, to pick up work. You see them in their dark suits, embroidered jackets, silver buttons running up the sides of their trousers. They're different to the wandering musicians, the nortenos who, dressed in shirt sleeves and cowboy hats, will walk into a restaurant and play you a song for ten dollars. But like the nortenos, the life of a mariachi is pretty unpredictable. They work long hours. Many work two jobs.
Part of Luis's job is scouting band members. In the past, people used to drive, or walk up, to hire them. Now bookings often come over the phone. Boyle Heights is changing. Rents are rising and, especially since the arrival of the Metro Station, developers are moving in.
Writer, Evangeline Ordaz, was born a block from Mariachi Plaza and worked for years as a legal aid attorney in the neighbourhood. In a neighbourhood on the brink of gentrification, Evangeline meets mariachi musicians Luis Molina and Hilary Chavez-Bernal during local celebrations for Santa Cecilia - the adopted patron saint of the mariachi - and spends a night in the Latino suburbs of Los Angeles with Luis's band.
With Catherine Kurland (co-author of Hotel Mariachi), tailor Jorge Tello, resident Victor Borrayo, mural painter Juan Solis and the mariachis of Boyle Heights, East LA.
A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b07b9r3f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Home Front (b076cf49)
19 May 1916 - John Rossiter
On this day in 1916, unified Russian and British forces drove the Turks from the banks of the Tigris, while at Spittal End Farm, John Rossiter begins to warm towards Rose.
Written by Richard Monks
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
SECRET SHAKESPEARE
A Shakespeare quote is hidden in each Home Front episode that is set in 1916. These were first broadcast in 2016, the 400th anniversary year of the playwright's death. Can you spot them all?
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b07b9r3h)
Queen's Speech, New cycling rules, Protein
Lorries have been involved in more than half of the accidents in which a cyclist was killed in London over the last seven years. Our reporter Melanie Abbott has been out with police officers enforcing new rules to make roads safer.
New car sales in March have outstripped any month since 1999 - but what about the other end of the spectrum? We talk to James Ruppert about Bangernomics - getting an old car and running it into the ground.
Protein is big business - and major brands are getting in on the post workout snack bar market which is worth £22m in the UK. The latest sign of the protein boom is a new version of Mars and Snickers. We talk to customers at Todmorden Gym about whether they feel the benefit of post-workout shakes.
And streamed music has overtaken sales of CDs and downloads for the first time. We'll talk to an industry expert about why this has happened - and then catch up with Skreamer - a metal band who have found a unique way of supplementing their income in a digital age. They've opened a fish farm.
THU 12:57 Weather (b07b9r3k)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b07bktvw)
Analysis of news and current affairs.
THU 13:45 A British History in Weather (b07bft85)
Storm
Alexandra Harris tells the story of how the weather has written and painted itself into the cultural life of Britain. An island at sea - the storms of King Lear and Turner and others.
Any storm has its drama, but Coleridge knew the particular exhilaration of this place. The lane west from Lynton leads into a giant, irregular bowl of heathland known as the Valley of the Rocks. From the cramped streets of the village the walker is thrown out into an alien land where rocks stick up like injured bones from the earth. Even on a calm day the wind in this valley is enough to drown out voices and make the eyes water; the ear canals ache with the pressure. Blowing in from the Bristol Channel, the north and north-west gales are funnelled into the bowl where they beat around furiously, trying to get free. Coleridge wanted to be in the midst of this great weather theatre, opening himself to its energy, feeling its effects on his skin, his nerves, his imagination.
Music by Jon Nicholls.
A BBC Audio production, made in Bristol
THU 14:00 The Archers (b07bdfm4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b07bft87)
School Drama
Episode 2
Four-part drama series with Tom Hollander. Deer Park Academy, a re-branded failing school, is working to turn itself around and inspire its students with a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet . But inspiration can be dangerous and the man brought in to stage the production, has-been TV star Geoff Cathcart, has his own ideas about education and an unusual attitude to risk assessment.
All other parts played by students and teachers at Portsmouth Grammar School:
Abby Moss, Poppy Goad, Thomas Locke, Joe McAuley, Freddie Fenton, Douglas James, Jay Pasricha, JM Hopkinson, Caleb Barron, Joe McCue
Written by Andy Mulligan
Music by Jon Ouin
Sound by Steve Bond
Produced by Emma Hearn
Directed by John Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b07bft89)
Series 33
Glyndwr's Way with Ursula Martin
Clare Balding gets serious in this new series of Ramblings as she discovers what it takes to be a more adventurous walker. Today she joins Ursula Martin who walked over three thousand, seven hundred miles, around Wales in an eighteen month period. After being treated for ovarian cancer she decided to walk to her medical appointments from her home in mid-Wales to the hospital in Bristol. Ursula then just carried on walking, raising money for research into the condition and spreading the word about diagnosis. Today she takes Clare on small section of her favourite walk, along Glyndwr's Way in Powys, Mid Wales, starting just outside Llangadfan, they walk for about eight miles to Llanbrynmawr, just west of Welshpool , a few miles south of Snowdonia National park. The route takes them through farmland, onto open moorland and into a pine forest, where the moss covered trees allow their imaginations to run wild. Ursula spent many nights rough sleeping but she also describes the incredible kindness and generosity she received from total strangers who offered her meals, accommodation and the greatest gift of all; transporting her backpack to her next destination. She explains to Clare the joy and pain she found in walking day after day across the country she has adopted as her own.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b07b9x6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b07bb1vx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b07bft8c)
Tom Hanks
With Francine Stock.
Tom Hanks talks about A Hologram For The King, why America is still great, and Hollywood's relationship with China. He reveals the advice he was given about what you need to have a hit film in the People's Republic.
Director Pablo Larrain discusses The Club, his controversial drama set in a safe house for disgraced priests in Chile and the reaction of the Catholic church to the film.
Film reviewer Tim Robey and film buyer Clare Binns assess the hits and misses of this year's Cannes festival, including Ken Loach's first movie since he announced his retirement two years ago.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b07b9r3m)
Climate Change, State of the World's Plants, Antibiotic Resistance, Telephone Metadata, Bat Detective
Today we're asking how anyone can make sense of the deluge of climate change data that is almost continually published. By the end of last month, nearly 200 countries had signed up to the Paris climate change agreement, and in doing so they were nominally committing to keep global temperatures "well below" 2C. So now comes the tricky bit: How best to do that - and what is the scientific evidence for policymakers to decide? Climate change expert Dr Tamsin Edwards of the Open University joins Adam Rutherford to help us unpick the research.
Last week a major new report on the State of the World's Plants was unveiled at Kew Gardens in London. There are some 391,000 vascular plants known to science - that's ones with vessels, xylem and phloem - and over 2000 were discovered last year alone. But just over a fifth of all plants are estimated to be threatened with extinction - and global climate change forms part of this threat. Our reporter Cathy Edwards met Professor Kathy Willis, Director of Science at Kew, to find out how plants are responding to the changing climate, and also spoke to Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Oxford University, and Kay Havens, Chicago Botanic Garden.
The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, headed by economist Jim O'Neill, was published today. Molecular microbiologist Professor Matt Hutchings from the University of East Anglia, gave us a brief summary.
A new paper out this week looks into exactly what the act of making a phone call can reveal. The study, which was led by Patrick Mutchler and Jonathan Mayer at Stanford University in the States, is the culmination of work looking into what metadata really can show - you may have seen reports of some of their findings, as they've been revealing them in the public interest since 2013. They collected metadata volunteered by 823 participants, in total, more than 250,000 calls, and 1 million text messages. Steven Murdoch from the Information Security Research Group at University College London joined us to put this into context.
As part of the BBC's Do Something Great season celebrating volunteers, Adam joined Professor Kate Jones from University College London on a Hampstead Heath bat watch, part of the citizen science project Bat Detective.
Producers: Marnie Chesterton & Jen Whyntie.
THU 17:00 PM (b07b9r3p)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07b9r3r)
Sixty-six people were on board the flight from France to Egypt.
THU 18:30 Don't Start (b06vc3sg)
Series 3
Christmas
What do long term partners really argue about? The third series of Frank Skinner's sharp comedy. Starring Frank Skinner and Katherine Parkinson.
In this episode, our loving couple, Neil and Kim, spend a harrowing Christmas Day together.
The first and second series of Don't Start met with instant critical and audience acclaim:
"That he can deliver such a heavy premise for a series with such a lightness of touch is testament to his skills as a writer and, given that the protagonists are both bookworms, he's also permitted to use a flourish of fine words that would be lost in his stand-up routines." Jane Anderson, Radio Times
"Frank Skinner gives full rein to his sharp but splenetic comedy. He and his co-star Katherine Parkinson play a bickering couple exchanging acerbic ripostes in a cruelly precise dissection of a relationship." Daily Mail
"...a lesson in relationship ping-pong..." Miranda Sawyer, The Observer
Don't Start is a scripted comedy with a deceptively simple premise - an argument. Each week, our couple fall out over another apparently trivial flashpoint. Each week, the stakes mount as Neil and Kim battle with words. But these are no ordinary arguments. The two outdo each other with increasingly absurd images, unexpected literary references and razor sharp analysis of their beloved's weaknesses. Underneath the cutting wit, however, there is an unmistakable tenderness.
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:45 The Pin (b06nrjk1)
Series 1
Episode 4
Join Alex Owen and Ben Ashenden in their weird twist on the double-act sketch show. Strap in for a 15 minute delve in to a world of oddness performed in front of a live studio audience.
The Pin are an award-winning comedy duo, and legends of Edinburgh festival. They deconstruct the sketch form, in a show that exists somewhere between razor-sharp smartness and utterly joyous silliness.
After a sold-out run in Edinburgh, and a string of hilarious performances across BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC 3, Channel 4, and Comedy Central, this was The Pin's debut solo show for Radio 4.
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2015.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b07bft8f)
At
5am Tom catches Johnny entering the Borchester Food and Drink Awards. Tom is angry that Johnny hasn't listened to him, Johnny protests but Tom won't have it. Over their hotel breakfast, Tony checks the arrangements for visiting Helen and Peggy reminds Tony that she had all three of her children at home with only a nurse for company. Tony is worried Helen will get pre-eclampsia again. Peggy says they must remain optimistic.
Brian and Adam chat while they wait for David. The three of them are going to Lincolnshire to visit a farm that's been no-till for nearly a decade. Adam gets a text from Alistair - he can't commit every weekend to cricket but Alistair won't give up. Meanwhile, Brian thinks the elves in the Millennium Wood are getting out of hand. On their way back, Brian seeks Adam's approval of his plans to treat Jennifer for their 40th wedding anniversary. When Adam hears the words "...exotic, quite restful and extremely expensive", he replies "I'm sure she'll love it".
Tom apologises to Johnny. He's realised Johnny was entering Helen's cheese in the Borchester Food and Drink Awards. Tom completed the application and submitted it. Kirsty tells Tom she had called a women's helpline about Helen and she also gave Helen the helpline number and then a phone. Tom says he'll pass it on to Anna.
Tony and Peggy are both tired after visiting Helen. Peggy says as long as she's alive she'll do anything to help Tony and his family. She suggests they get a glass of whisky for Tony at the hotel.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b07b9r3t)
A Hologram For The King, Running Wild, Brigitte Fassbaender, Going Forward
In A Hologram For The King, Tom Hanks stars as a stressed-out executive with problems at home, trying to land an IT deal with the King of Saudi Arabia. Sue Turton, a former correspondent with Al Jazeera and Channel Four, assesses whether the film captures the realities of doing business in the region.
Michael Morpurgo's book Running Wild, about a young boy's adventures lost in the Indonesian jungle, has been brought to life by Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London. Morpurgo, the play's director Timothy Sheader, and Toby Olie - designer of many of the animal puppets - discuss the challenges of the production.
Jo Brand returns as nurse Kim Wilde in Going Forward, a brand-new three-part TV comedy series that turns the spotlight on domiciliary care. It's a spin-off series of the critically acclaimed Getting On. Dreda Say Mitchell reviews.
After winning the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Opera Awards on Sunday, the German mezzo-soprano opera singer and director Brigitte Fassbaender discusses the difference between singing a Strauss opera and Schubert's lieder, and reveals how despite all her years of performing and directing, she still suffers from dreadful nerves.
THU 19:45 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b07bft7z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (b07bft8h)
Anti-Semitism on the Left
Labour activists, councillors, an MP and a former Mayor of London have all been suspended for comments which many regard as anti-Jewish. But why might a left of centre, progressive, pro-minority party have a problem with Anti-Semitism?
Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room:
Professor David Hirsh - the founder of the 'Engage' campaign against anti-Semitism on the Left
Owen Jones - journalist and Labour party member
Kerry-Anne Mendoza - activist and editor of The Canary.
Editor: Innes Bowen, Producer: Joe Kent, Researcher: Kirsteen Knight, Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown
THU 20:30 In Business (b07bft8k)
Steel in the UK
Amid concern about the future of the Port Talbot steel works - and fear for the jobs of workers there - Peter Day looks at the history of the industry in Britain. When was the heyday of British steel, and what went wrong? Peter visits Port Talbot and also delves into the archives to hear stories from a time when manufacturing dominated the British economy.
Presenter: Peter Day
Producer: Caroline Bayley.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b07b9r3m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b07bft7v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b07b9r3w)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b07b9r3y)
Latest on the Egyptair plane crash
Latest on the Egyptair plane crash; Britain's drone technology and the battle between Hillary and Bernie in the US heats up.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07ch800)
The Typewriter's Tale
Episode 4
Michiel Heyns's novel is set in 1907 at Lamb House in Rye where Henry James, the great novelist, lived from 1897-1916. It's an intriguing story told from the perspective of Freida Wroth, his typist.
'Live all you can; it's a mistake not to,' is the maxim of Henry James - and one that Frieda tries to live up to. Despite her admiration for her employer, she is marginalised and under-valued - seen merely as an extension of her Remington typewriter - and is lost between the servants and the guests who include the irrepressible Edith Wharton and the writer Hugh Walpole, as well as Mr James's extended family.
The arrival of the dazzling Mr Morton Fullerton, Paris correspondent for The Times, brings Frieda into sudden focus. As she is drawn into his confidence, she finds herself at the centre of an intrigue, every bit as engrossing as the novels she types. Her loyalties tested, Frieda must choose between anonymity in the presence of a literary master and uncertain love with a man she barely knows.
Read by Sian Thomas
Abridged by Sara Davies
Directed by Alexa Moore
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 52 First Impressions with David Quantick (b07bft8m)
Series 2
Episode 3
Journalist and comedy writer David Quantick has met and interviewed hundreds of people. What were his first impressions, how have they changed and does it all matter?
This week, stories about Christopher Walken, Leiber and Stoller, and the advertising industry, among others.
Written and Presented by David Quantick
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b07bft8p)
Sean Curran and team report from Westminster on the proposed deal to end the junior doctor's dispute in England, term-time holidays and the continuing debate on the Queen's Speech in the Commons and the Lords. Editor: Rachel Byrne.
FRIDAY 20 MAY 2016
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b07b9r53)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b07bft7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07d0qxc)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07d0qxf)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07d0qxh)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b07d0qxk)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07cz262)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Andrew Graystone.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b07bkybr)
Glyphosate latest in EU, Scottish farm payments report, Cow psychology
The EU's non-decision on the future of glyphosate, the controversial herbicide. Having ducked voting on the issue, the chemical currently won't be licenced for use beyond the end of June. The UK's four farming unions have joined forces to express their concern, while France says whatever happens it will look at banning the use of glyphosate.
Scotland has a new Farming Minister, Fergus Ewing replaces Richard Lochead who stood down before the SNP cabinet was reshuffled. He takes over at a time when his department is facing up to the publication of a damning report into the Scottish Government's handling of EU farm payments. Audit Scotland says the IT system has left a £400 million hole in the country's rural economy.
Also, to work with cows you need to understand their herd mentality and pecking order - that's according to Miriam Parker, an animal handling specialist.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b01sby2t)
Dartford Warbler
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs. David Attenborough presents the Dartford Warbler. Dartford Warblers prefer Mediterranean wine-producing climates, which means ice and snow is bad news for them. The harsh winters of 1961 and 1962 reduced the population to just 11 pairs, but fortunately the numbers have since recovered.
FRI 06:00 Today (b07d2cb1)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b07bb1vl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b07bfxhj)
Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea
Episode 5
Teffi was a famous Russian writer in the early 1900s, forced to flee her country. And this is the story of her eventful flight, which is newly translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, Anne Marie Jackson and Irina Steinberg. It is abridged for radio by Katrin Williams.
Sliding down the map, far from Moscow.. the author ends up in Novorossiisk.. where's that? Then she thinks about places even further afield, as the homeland 'slips away from us'.
Reader Tracy-Ann Oberman
Reader Duncan Minshull.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07b9r55)
Romany Gypsy Women; Rose Tremain
Today Rose Tremain's latest novel, The Gustav Sonata, is published. Her writing career spans more than forty years - her first novel appeared in 1976 - her fiction has been published in 30 countries. Shortlisted for the Booker, she has won many prizes, including the Orange Prize, Whitbread Novel of the Year and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Rose joins Jenni to talk about writing fiction and the many themes in her novel, in particular friendship, love, neutrality and commitment.
This weekend members of the Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller communities are intending to demonstrate in London to protest at new planning laws which, they say are eroding their traditional way of life. Ryalla Duffy is a Romany Gypsy who lives with her family in Lincoln.
Do women still need that one 'best friend'? Or is the idea that women have an intimate group of friends outdated? Nell Frizzell and Rebecca Holman discuss the pressure on women to form friendships.
Dr Sue Black, mother of four, lifted herself out of poverty by studying technology, gaining a degree and a PHD. Now she wants to make every mum tech savvy. She talks to Jenni about her ambitions for her social enterprise, Tech Mums, why she believes that mothers should move to understand their children's interest in social media rather than trying to limit their use of it.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Kirsty Starkey.
FRI 10:45 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b07bfxhl)
Michael Tolliver Lives
Episode 5
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Episode Five
Mary Ann returns to San Francisco to join the vigil at Mrs Madrigal's bedside. Shawna makes a decision about her move to New York.
Dramatised by Lin Coghlan
Producer Susan Roberts
Director Charlotte Riches
For more than three decades, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series has blazed its own trail through popular culture-from ground-breaking newspaper serial to classic novel. Radio 4 are dramatising the full series of the Tales novels for the very first time. Michael Tolliver Lives continues the adventures of Armistead's well-loved characters, followed by Mary Ann in Autumn.
FRI 11:00 St Helena - Joining the Rest of Us (b07bfxhn)
The Land
St Helena, a tiny volcanic scrap of an island in the South Atlantic, dazzling in its flora and fauna, the second most remote community in the world, is about to change forever, and BBC Radio 4 has commissioned a unique ringside perspective on the historic event.
Since the May 1502, when the island was discovered by the Portuguese, the only way to access the island was by sea. No wonder it's mighty isolation struck fear into the heart of Napoleon as he approached its monstrous cliffs.
Now a brand new airport is being built, and will, it is hoped, tempt up to 20,000 tourists a year to visit the island, where 4,000 'Saints' make up the current population.
It will be one of the most beautiful and precipitous airports in the world, and the hope is that the revenue will strengthen St Helena economic viability; but how will it change the way of life of this remote and wild place?
Joe Hollins, veterinary surgeon and unlikely reporter, has, for the past 6 months, been recording his life on the island, from the perspective of a vet, capturing the beating heart of the community, along with quite a lot of sheep - to find out what changes the islanders anticipate as they lose their isolated status.
Being called out to dissect whales, inseminate cows, tramp donkey paths, inspect tropical fish and perform endless operations on pets, Joe's life as a vet has given him an insight into the island life, not least taking care of the world's oldest land creature, Jonathan, a Seychelles tortoise who is probably 182 years old.
Generations of "Saints", with their distinctive accent, have climbed cruel looming cliffs to fish and farm; guano glints like glitter on the rocks, and masked boobies squawk at the visitor rather than fly away. It certainly sounds like the sort of destination adventurous tourist have been looking for.
Programme two takes up the story of the retirement of the last Royal Mail Ship, the RMS St Helena, which has been the lifeline for the island, as it completes its final tour of duty. Its also been the means by which Joe has sent his recordings back to the UK, on one of the longest mail routes in the world.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall
Music: "On The Isle of St Helena" sung by Steve Turner, on his "The Whirligig of Time" album
Additional musical effects by David Bramwell.
FRI 11:30 Barry's Lunch Club (b07bfxhq)
Inheritance
While Dave Marsh the builder fixes the perilous civic hall roof above them, Barry deals with queries about inheritance tax.
How best to utilise your money?
82 year old Barry invites an audience to his weekly lunch club where he scrutinises themes close to his heart. With club secretary Hilary to rein him in, and club treasurer Peter providing support on the civic hall piano, this is the ultimate life-style guide for an ageing nation.
Barry is a cockney moved to the suburbs during the war. He is not given to looking at the old days through rose coloured spectacles, and is well up to speed with current trends. A seemingly harmless old boy, he lures people into a false sense of security, delivering hilariously stinging rebukes or erudite assessments of how the world is treating the over 60s.
Stand-up comedy crossed with sitcom, the show plays out in real time as if we are eavesdropping on a civic hall meeting group.
Written by Alex Lowe and Alex Walsh-Taylor.
Barry ...... Alex Lowe
Hilary ...... Stephanie Cole
Peter ...... Philip Pope
Producer: Alex Walsh-Taylor
Executive Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2016.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b07b9r57)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Home Front (b076cf4d)
20 May 1916 - Cyrus Colville
On this day in 1916, an air raid on Kent destroyed a public house, while in the County Tribunal in Exeter, Cyrus Colville is on fiery form.
Written by Richard Monks
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
SECRET SHAKESPEARE
A Shakespeare quote is hidden in each Home Front episode that is set in 1916. These were first broadcast in 2016, the 400th anniversary year of the playwright's death. Can you spot them all?
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b07b9r59)
Housing act, Scrapped cars
The new housing and planning act has finally become law but not before a major political tussle involving 18 Government defeats and a number of compromises by its opponents. So has anybody got what they wanted and will it solve the problems of a chronic housing shortage, ever rocketing prices and building houses fit for the future.
Last month, NHS England announced that the due to a shortfall in pharmacists and an increase in patient demand, they plan to recruit one-thousand-five-hundred more clinical pharmacists to work alongside doctors in GP surgeries. But the high street is now planning an alternative. Now Boots has revealed plans to offer customers more treatments traditionally provided by GPs some of their high street stores. Examples of these treatments are diabetes risk assessments, sore-throat tests and cancer checks.
The crisis in the contracting British steel industry has been in the news a great deal recently and that's causing major problems in the scrap metal trade. Scrap makes up about 45% of the world's steel production but as steel plants have closed, the price of the scrap they used to buy and recycle has plummeted. In turn that's causing a growing problem when it comes to abandoned cars-- your clapped out motor is worth less and less at the scrap dealers.
Forty per cent of what we buy is on special offer. That's what Fintan Hastings from the British Retail Consortium said on You & Yours back in April. We decided to test that out - what are the special offers we buy most of - and do they really represent good value for money? We sent our reporter Andrew Fletcher to find out.
Thousands of reports of computer fraud are made to the national cyber crime unit every year. Scammers call you and say there is a problem with your computer and tell you they can fix it if you just type in a programme. . Well this week they chose the wrong people to ring - the You and Yours office. And got our reporter Melanie Abbott.
Presenter: Peter White
Editor: Chas Watkin.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b07b9r5c)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b07bkq28)
NHS trusts in England ended the financial year with a record deficit of just under £2.5 billion. What does that mean for patients? Is it time to consider an alternative funding model?
The latest on the search for the EgyptAir jet.
FRI 13:45 A British History in Weather (b07bfxhs)
Beginnings and Endings
Alexandra Harris tells the story of how the weather has written and painted itself into the cultural life of Britain.
"In this series I've been out in all sorts of ancient rainstorms and heatwaves. I've tried to ask how people have experienced and represented the weather in Britain, and especially how it's been imaginatively transformed in writing and painting. Wind and rain have inspired a great deal of art, but I think the arts have also, partly, made our weather. There might be a ghost story somewhere deep behind our experience of low mist, or remembered film music behind the year's first snow.
There's a character in Oscar Wilde's essay 'The Decay of Lying' who takes this idea to extremes. He proposes that we see in nature what art shows us to be there. He's willing to contend that the London fogs barely existed before painters started painting them. Then suddenly there were Whistler effects every night in Battersea and Monets rising up from the Thames. Art, he says, invented the fog. Well, that may be ridiculous, but perhaps there's a wisp of truth in it. The images and associations we all carry in mind shape what we see in the air.
Books and pictures hold the record of how people over centuries have stared out of the window or bent into the wind. They allow us to look up with many pairs of eyes, everyone seeing a little differently."
Music by Jon Nicholls. Producer: Tim Dee
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b07bft8f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b07bfxhv)
School Drama
Episode 3
Four-part drama series with Tom Hollander. Deer Park Academy, a re-branded failing school, is working to turn itself around and inspire its students with a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. With the first night looming it becomes clear that the man brought in to stage the production, has-been TV star Geoff Cathcart, is not quite who he appears to be.
All other parts played by students and teachers at Portsmouth Grammar School:
Abby Moss, Poppy Goad, Thomas Locke, Joe McAuley, Freddie Fenton, Douglas James, Jay Pasricha, JM Hopkinson, Caleb Barron, Joe McCue
Written by Andy Mulligan
Music by Jon Ouin
Sound by Steve Bond
Produced by Emma Hearn
Directed by John Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b07bfzhj)
Ness Botanic Gardens - Correspondence Edition
Eric Robson hosts a correspondence edition of the programme from Ness Botanic Gardens. Christine Walkden, Bob Flowerdew and Pippa Greenwood are this week's panellists, answering questions sent in by letter, email and social media.
The questions include ways to rescue dying plants, using coffee grounds as compost and how to win a sunflower growing competition.
Also, Peter Gibbs meets with Charlotte Smith from BBC Radio 4's Farming Today to discuss Glyphosate's future in our gardens.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Supermarket Flowers by Dermot Bolger (b07bfzhm)
A deteriorating relationship between a woman who owns a house, outside which a child is knocked down at a bus stop, and the grieving mother who insists on leaving fresh flowers there each day turning the woman’s garden wall into a permanent shrine.
Jane Brennan reads Dermot Bolger's short story.
Dermot Bolger is one of Ireland’s most prolific writers. His radio plays for BBC Radio 4 include 'The Night Manager' and 'The Fortunestown Kid' and the radio version of his own novel 'The Woman's Daughter' broadcast in seven countries and winner of the Worldplay Award for best script.
Producer: Gemma McMullan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b07bfzhv)
Professor Robert McNeill Alexander, Reg Grundy, Sally Brampton, Tony Cozier, Madeleine LeBeau
Matthew Bannister on
Professor Robert McNeill Alexander - the father of animal biomechanics, who revealed how fast dinosaurs could run.
The Australian TV producer Reg Grundy who was behind a string of popular hits, including Neighbours, Wheel of Fortune and Prisoner Cell Block H.
Sally Brampton, the founding editor of British Elle magazine who wrote a powerful book about her struggle with depression.
And Tony Cozier, the West Indian cricket commentator who was a much loved member of the Test Match Special team.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b07bfzhx)
World on the Move
Roger Bolton hears listener concerns about the timing of Radio 4's World on the Move day during the EU Referendum, Soul Music brings back childhood memories and there's discussion about the end of What the Papers Say.
On Monday, Radio 4 and BBC News dedicated a day to the topic of migration - World on the Move. Plenty of listeners welcomed the focus and admired the ambitious programming, including a special edition of the Today programme with Sarah Montague in Vietnam and a lunchtime address from Angelina Jolie Pitt the who also took questions in the Radio Theatre. But some listeners have accused the BBC of bias in favour of open borders and of airing emotive stories about migrants, questioning the timing of the day in the lead-up to the EU Referendum. The Editor of Today, Jamie Angus, addresses their questions.
There's a fond farewell to What the Papers Say - a Radio 4 programme that looked across the British press coverage of various stories, exposing the best and worst journalism, often in humorous ways. Listeners ask why a programme they valued for its news analysis has been axed and Kevin Maguire of the Daily Mirror - the programme's first and last presenter - recalls some of his favourite moments, discussing whether the programme has had its day in the digital age.
And listeners remember their childhoods with misty eyes after listening to Soul Music's programme about Feed the Birds - Julie Andrews' haunting song about charity from the Disney film Mary Poppins.
Producer: Kate Dixon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b07bfzhz)
Sharron and Siobhan - MS Does Not Define Me
Fi Glover with a conversation between a woman with MS and her friend whose husband had the condition. They share a determination to be independent of the diagnosis. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b07b9r5f)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07b9r5h)
Teams searching for the missing plane say they have found debris and human remains.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b07bfzj7)
Series 90
Episode 6
Hugo Rifkind, Kerry Godliman, Bridget Christie and Andrew Maxwell are Miles' guests in the long-running satirical quiz of the week's news.
Producer: Paul Sheehan.
A BBC Studios Production.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b07bfzjc)
Pip's expecting Matthew this evening but before that she's agreed to help Toby make a film about the pastured hens. Before Pip arrives, Toby flies the drone over Bert as he gardens at The Bungalow. Bert can't believe his bald patch has got so big when Toby plays back the footage.
After filming with Pip, Toby mentions he's going to film a big poultry unit nearby, without permission of the farmer. Pip says if that's his game she doesn't want her face to be in the film. When Pip gets back to Brookfield she tells Ruth that Matthew isn't coming to visit after all. In fact, he's not coming ever again, adds Pip. Matthew has told her he wants to end their relationship.
Anna visits Helen in the mother and baby unit. Helen laughs at the fact that Ursula never considered a prison birth when she was pushing Helen to have the baby at home. Anna tries to ask about Rob and Ursula but Helen doesn't say much. Helen talks about what she's seen at the unit so far. Anna asks Helen about Kirsty giving her a helpline number. Helen is shocked Anna knows this. Helen tells Anna Rob didn't like Kirsty and that she kept in touch with her without letting him know. Anna continues to question Helen about Rob and the helpline but Helen says she can't talk about it - her waters have broken.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b07b9r5k)
Jack O'Connell, Cannes Film Festival, Seeing Round Corners, Spymonkey
Jack O'Connell, whose previous lead roles include Starred Up, '71 and Angelina Jolie's Unbroken, discusses his latest film in which he plays a disgruntled New Yorker with a grudge who takes George Clooney's character hostage in the financial thriller Money Monster, directed by Jodie Foster.
Seeing Round Corners at Turner Contemporary in Margate explores the role of the circle in art. From sculpture to film and painting to performance, the exhibition brings together works by leading historical and contemporary artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Barbara Hepworth, JMW Turner and Anish Kapoor. Art historian and critic Richard Cork reviews.
Jason Solomons rates the contenders for the Palme d'Or as the Cannes Film Festival comes to an end this week.
Spymonkey's The Complete Deaths brings all of the killings in Shakespeare's works into one play. Kirsty speaks to actor Toby Park and director Tim Crouch.
Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Rachel Simpson.
FRI 19:45 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b07bfxhl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b07bfzjf)
Andrea Leadsom MP, Dave Nellist, Lord Patten, Emma Reynolds MP
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from the Royal Grammar School in Jesmond, Newcastle, with the Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom MP, Dave Nellist the chair of TUSC the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, the conservative peer Lord Patten and the Labour MP Emma Reynolds.
Together they debated the future of the NHS in the light of the news about the deficits; whether the UK should vote to leave or remain in the EU; the recent vote to retain the men only policy at Muirfield Golf Club; the latest ruling on the unnamed celebrity threesome; and who should be the next James Bond.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b07bfzjh)
Psy Wars
Will Self - with a nod to the "valetudinarian pop-person, Morrissey" - poses the question "Does the mind rule the body or the body rule the mind?"
Before 1960, he says, "a Briton could probably go their entire life without encountering a psychiatrist or a psychoanalyst - let alone a modish psychotherapist". But not any more.
Will ponders what role these "psy-professions" play in contemporary Britain.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b076cfgh)
16-20 May 1916
In the week, in 1916, when unified Russian and British forces drove the Turks from the banks of the Tigris, sands are shifting in Ashburton.
Cast
Hetty Cox ..... Adie Allen
Dieter Lippke ..... Felix Auer
Selleck ..... Ewan Bailey
Morris Battley ..... Sean Baker
Alexander Gidley ..... Matthew Beard
Bess Dyer ..... Clara Bermingham
Marcus Goodridge ..... Max Bennett
Isabel Graham ..... Keely Beresford
Emily Colville ..... Scarlett Brookes
Tobias Holden ..... Toby Bryant
John Rossiter ..... Mark Carey
Mrs Radley ..... Helen Clapp
William Fulford ..... Ryan Coath
Simeon Dyer ..... Josh Darcy
Edwin Lloyd ..... Finn den Hertog
Adam Wilson ..... Billy Kennedy
Isaac Cox ..... James Lailey
Cyrus Colville ..... Anton Lesser
Rose Fairweather ..... Helen Longworth
Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf
Cora Gidley ..... Joanna Monro
Oswald Dyer ..... Dean Nolan
Hector Gidley ..... Brian Protheroe
Johnnie Marshall ..... Paul Ready
Mrs Taylor ..... Claire Sellers
Effie Taverner ..... Lizzie Stables
Molly Dyer ..... Stevie Thompson
Elspeth Taverner ..... Kelly Williams
Bertram Colville ..... Nick Underwood
Burroughs ..... Sargon Yelda
Written by Richard Monks
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b07b9r5m)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b07b9r5p)
Zika Virus Detected in Africa
Zika in Africa; Trump in London and jazz maestro Branford Marsalis on the World Tonight. Picture; mosquito, credit EAP.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07ch8k9)
The Typewriter's Tale
Episode 5
Michiel Heyns's novel is set in 1907 at Lamb House in Rye where Henry James, the great novelist, lived from 1897-1916. It's an intriguing story told from the perspective of Freida Wroth, his typist.
'Live all you can; it's a mistake not to,' is the maxim of Henry James - and one that Frieda tries to live up to. Despite her admiration for her employer, she is marginalised and under-valued - seen merely as an extension of her Remington typewriter - and is lost between the servants and the guests who include the irrepressible Edith Wharton and the writer Hugh Walpole, as well as Mr James's extended family.
The arrival of the dazzling Mr Morton Fullerton, Paris correspondent for The Times, brings Frieda into sudden focus. As she is drawn into his confidence, she finds herself at the centre of an intrigue, every bit as engrossing as the novels she types. Her loyalties tested, Frieda must choose between anonymity in the presence of a literary master and uncertain love with a man she barely knows.
Read by Sian Thomas
Abridged by Sara Davies
Directed by Alexa Moore
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b07bbyjb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b07bfzjk)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b07bfzjm)
Rob and Alison - Art with a Smile
Fi Glover with a conversation between an artist who uses local humour and someone who is serious about apostrophes and was thereby drawn purchase his work. 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.