SATURDAY 03 DECEMBER 2016

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b083l96b)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b0849ccf)
Reality Is Not What It Seems, Beyond Space and Time

Do space and time truly exist? What is reality made of? Can we understand its deep texture? Scientist Carlo Rovelli has spent his whole life exploring these questions and pushing the boundaries of what we know.

He describes how our understanding of reality has changed throughout the centuries, from the philosophers and scientists of antiquity to contemporary researchers into quantum gravity.

Episode 5: Beyond Space and Time
What happened before the Big Bang? Rovelli's account of scientific discovery takes us to the very frontiers of what we know about the creation of our universe.

Author: Carlo Rovelli
Reader: Mark Meadows
Abridger/Producer: Sara Davies

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b083l96d)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b083l96g)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.

SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b083l96j)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b083l96l)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b083rb3s)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, Dean of King's College Cambridge.

SAT 05:45 iPM (b083l96n)
The finger wagging cure

"I've felt a sense of calm that I've not felt since I was four years old."

How finger wagging can help victims of bullying. iPM@bbc.co.uk.

SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b083l96q)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SAT 06:04 Weather (b083l96s)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 06:07 Open Country (b083r1jd)
Belvoir Castle and its 'Capability' Brown Landscape

Helen Mark is in Leicestershire, to discover how the 'Capability' Brown plans for Belvoir castle have finally come to fruition.
Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, regarded as one of the greatest landscape architects, laid out his vision for how the landscape around this ancestral home should look, back in the 18th century. Some work was undertaken, but then a fire destroyed Belvoir castle. It was assumed all the Brown maps were lost too and plans for restoring the landscape were forgotten. However, the current Duchess of Rutland, Emma Manners and her team found the lost 'Capability' Brown plans. They have just finished restoring the landscape around Belvoir Castle, now a completed 'Capability' Brown garden, just in time to mark the 300th anniversary of his birth.
The producer is Perminder Khatkar.

SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b083l96v)
Farming Today This Week: Farming tech, bees and a national obsession: the weather

All this week Farming Today looks at the weather and how farmers prepare for the best and worst conditions that elements throw at them.

Charlotte Smith talks to weather forecaster from the BBC Weather Centre, John Hammond, and asks him what farmers can do to mitigate ill effects of bad weather and how forecasting is a vital tool for the agricultural industry.

We also feature Croptec: an annual exhibition where farmers can discover the latest breakthroughs in technology to help them farm and improve yields.

Professor Riccardo Bommarco is from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. He explains to Charlotte the role honeybees play alongside other insect pollinators. According to a recent study, Honeybees can squeeze out other pollinators like bumblebees and hoverflies.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

SAT 06:57 Weather (b083l96x)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 07:00 Today (b0848gqt)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b083l96z)
Saturday Live Panto Programme with Lesley Joseph

Star of Birds of a Feather and Strictly Come Dancing, Lesley Joseph, joins Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles live from the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House to talk about pantomime and her role as The Wicked Queen.

Trevor Jones reveals the secrets of The Poison Garden at Alnwick.

Paul Harris has been performing in pantomimes for more than 50 years. He recalls how he learnt the gags on the job, and explains what makes a good Dame.

The Saturday Live pantomime, written by Alan McHugh, and performed by our listeners, with surprise cameo appearances from Radio 4 presenters.

Cast members from Bollywood Jack perform live in the Radio Theatre. And real life Fairy Godmother, Jaime Thurston, describes how she makes wishes come true.

Phil Collins shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen All My Loving by The Beatles and The Times They Are A Changin' by Bob Dylan.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs runs at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth from 16 December 2016 - 14 January 2017.
Bollywood Jack runs at the Tara Theatre in south west London from 7 December 2016 - 7 January 2017.
Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins, is out now.

Producer: Louise Corley
Editor: Karen Dalziel.

SAT 10:30 Reimagining the City (b0848bll)
Series 3, Reykjavik

The musician John Grant on Reykjavik, a city he fell in love with on tour. "In 2011 I was asked to come and play in Reykjavik...three months later I was living here...I go where I feel welcome and safe, and this is one of those places for me."

John Grant is an accomplished linguist - he speaks German, Spanish, French and Russian, amongst others. Icelandic, however, has been a real challenge.

"The combination of sounds, the phonetics of Icelandic, are beyond evil...I get giddy about synthesisers and language grammar."

But it soon becomes clear that John is now fluent. Talking with the owner of one of his favourite coffee shops, she reminds him that within two days of living there he could make himself understood.

John guides us around his adopted city, paying particular interest to book shops, architecture and interesting stair wells. It's a very different landscape from Michigan, where he grew up:

"The world was hostile and there was a lot of nastiness directed at me because people thought they could see I was gay...'Look at that faggot', that kind of thing". So I developed a fear of leaving my nest."

Reykjavik is the first city he has called home for a long long time.

Produced by Rachel Hooper
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 11:00 Week in Westminster (b0848bln)
Helen Lewis of the New Statesman looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The Editor is Peter Mulligan.

SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b083l971)
Real or Fake?

Kate Adie introduces correspondents stories: Katerina Vittozzi is in northeastern Nigeria, where assassinations, bombings and kidnapping are now combined with starvation. But amid the bleakness she also finds ingenuity and survival. Emma Jane Kirby goes to the source of much of the fake news that swirled around social media sites during the US presidential election - and it's nowhere near America. In Nicaragua, Nick Redmayne is shown the proposed route of another huge canal, akin to the Panama canal; and he hears how the country's revolutionary fervour, as symbolized by the Sandinistas in the 1980s, is hard to find nowadays. Austrians could be about to elect the EU's first far right head of state. "I'm not a fighter, I'm a calm man," the far right candidate tells Bethany Bell. But others believe he's a wolf in expensive sheep's clothing. And in California, where anything can happen, Kieran Cooke is invited to a wedding. The catch is....he has to do the marrying.

SAT 12:00 News Summary (b083l973)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 12:04 Money Box (b0848blr)
GB Energy collapses, an investment fund based on gambling, plus stopping banking fraud

The latest news from the world of personal finance.

SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b083r9x9)
Series 49, Episode 5

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Nish Kumar, Dane Baptiste, Rachel Parris. Luke Kempner and Jess Ransom to present the news via topical stand up and sketches.

This week the team look at Trump, Ed Balls, the current state of Brexit negotiations and UKIP's new leader...

Written by the cast with additional material from Sarah Morgan, Jane Lamacraft, Robin Morgan and Sophie Duker.

Producer Adnan Ahmed

BBC Studios Production.

SAT 12:57 Weather (b083l975)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 13:00 News (b083l977)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b083r9xf)
Lisa Nandy MP, Tommy Sheppard MP, Peter Whittle AM, Sarah Wollaston MP.

Ritula Shah presents political debate and discussion from the Quarry Theatre at Bedford School with a panel including Labour MP Lisa Nandy, the SNP MP Tommy Sheppard, the Deputy Leader of UKIP and London assembly member Peter Whittle and the Conservative MP and chair of the House of Commons Health Select Committee Sarah Wollaston MP.

SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b083l979)
Any Answers after the Saturday broadcast of Any Questions? Lines open at 1230
Presented by Julian Worricker. Call 03700 100 444. Email any.answers@bbc.co.uk. Tweet,#BBCAQ. Follow us @bbcanyquestions.

SAT 14:30 Drama (b0848cvn)
Somewhere in England

written and dramatised from his own novel, CROSSING THE RIVER, by Caryl Phillips.

SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND is a story of love and race set in Yorkshire during the Second World War.

When the US Army arrived in Britain during World War Two, it came in still-segregated units. When a platoon of black GIs sets up camp near a quiet Yorkshire village, there are far-reaching consequences both for rebellious GI Travis Johnson and local shopkeeper, Joyce.

All other parts played by members of the cast

Produced/directed by Gaynor Macfarlane.

SAT 15:30 Tales From the Stave (b083n4sf)
Series 14, Rossini's The Barber of Seville

Frances Fyfield is in Italy to launch a new run of her series exploring and celebrating the handwritten manuscripts of some of classical music's greatest hits. In a series that includes works by Vivaldi and Puccini she begins with one of the most popular staples of Opera Houses across the globe, Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

The manuscript is housed in the music museum of Bologna, the city where Rossini was brought up and trained. Written at break-neck speed, and facing comparison with another version of the story of Count Almaviva, his trusted accomplice Figaro and the subject of his passion, Rosina, The Barber of Seville has been in the repertoire since its stumbling debut two hundred years ago. Joining Frances is the Bass Baritone Simone Alberghini, the Rossini scholars Daniela Macchione and Stefano Castelvecchi and the museum curator Enrico Tabellini.

Such was the urgency of the writing that many of the numbers, not least Figaro's famous opening aria 'Largo Al Factotum', are clearly composed into the score without any preliminary sketches. Busy corrections and hasty orchestration reflect both the energy of the music and the urgency of the composer. He didn't have time for the recitatives which were completed, for the most part, by a collaborator and if a rethink was required ink smudges and scratching of the paper suggest they were done straight away. As with the Opera itself the team find the energy fizzes and bubbles off the page and there are plenty of surprises for the singer Simone who discovers that age-old Figaro performing traditions have nothing to do with what Rossini wrote in the score.

Producer: Tom Alban.

SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b083l97c)
Dina Asher-Smith, No fault divorce, Moana

Dina Asher-Smith, currently the fastest female sprinter in British history, talks about competing in Rio and the challenges of combining a sports career with university life.

This week we've been hearing from women in their 50s about what this decade brings to marriages and partnerships. 54 year old Erika talks about her same sex marriage with Susan after spending 20 years in a happy heterosexual relationship.

Valley Fontaine and Trichologist Shirley McDonald discuss letting afro hair grow naturally and the damage that chemicals, braids and weaves can cause.

Journalist and broadcaster Agnes Poirier on the likelihood that Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far right Front National, will become the first French female president.

150 family lawyers are calling for a no fault divorce. Jo Edwards from Resolution, an organisation of family lawyers lobbying for the law change, tells us why no fault divorces should be made easier.

Baroness Ann Taylor, the first female chief Whip, discusses the play The House set in 1974 in the engine rooms of the House of Commons - when she became a whip. She tells us what it's like to see herself portrayed on stage.

Plus the new Disney film Moana stars a female lead that doesn't have a love interest, a crown or a castle and as such has been termed the 'anti princess' by critics. The editorial director of the Sunday Times Eleanor Mills and Helen O' Hara editor at large of Empire Magazine discuss how far Disney has come with its female leads.

Presented by Jane Garvey
Produced by Rabeka Nurmahomed
Edited by Jane Thurlow.

SAT 17:00 PM (b083l97f)
Saturday PM

Full coverage of the day's news.

SAT 17:30 iPM (b083l96n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]

SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b083l97h)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 17:57 Weather (b083l97k)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b083l97m)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b083l97p)
Jean-Michel Jarre, Paul O'Grady, Edith Bowman, Daisy-May Hudson, The Lemon Twigs, Marker Starling, Clive Anderson, Emma Freud

Clive Anderson and Emma Freud are joined by Jean-Michel Jarre, Paul O'Grady, Edith Bowman and Daisy-May Hudson for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from The Lemon Twigs and Marker Starling.

Producer: Sukey Firth.

SAT 19:00 Profile (b0848cvr)
Sharon White

Series of profiles of people who are currently making headlines.

SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b083l97r)
RSC's Seven Acts of Mercy, Spike Lee's Chi-raq, Robert Rauschenberg, Poets Ben Lerner and Rachael Boast, This Is Us

The Royal Shakespeare Company presents Anders Lustgarten's new play Seven Acts of Mercy; drawing connections between Caravaggio and modern Liverpool
Spike Lee's latest film Chi-raq retells the classic Greek tale of Lysistrata imagining a sex strike organised by the women of Chicago in order to get their menfolk to renounce violence.
American painter, sculptor, printmaker, photographer and performance artist Robert Rauschenberg is the subject of a retrospective at Tate Modern; the first since his death in 2008
Two books of poetry, one American, one British - Ben Lerner's No Art and Rachael Boast's Void Studies
This Is Us has been enormously successful in the USA and has now been bought by Channel 4 - will it be embraced by British viewers?

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Tiffany Jenkins, Damian Barr and Frances Stonor Saunders. The producer is Oliver Jones.

SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b0848f95)
Lloyd George's Revolution

Drawing on sound archive of David Lloyd George and key contemporary witnesses, Peter Hennessy tells how Lloyd George revolutionised Britain's government when he became prime minister a century ago. In the darkest days of World War I, Lloyd George transformed an amateurish approach to government and galvanized a war weary country by radically reforming the Cabinet, bringing outsiders ('men of push and go') into Whitehall and creating new departments.
As a radical politician, Lloyd George always saw government as a force for progress, and as war leader he ruthlessly replaced unprofessional informality with business-like efficiency. He began by setting up a five-man War Cabinet, a reform that he recommended again on the BBC in the early days of World War II. 'I had for some time come to the conclusion, that to entrust the direction of the war to a Sanhedrin of some twenty ministers, chosen largely for party reasons, and all engaged in the administration of departments which demanded their whole attention, was worse than worthless.' Lloyd George also created a Cabinet Secretariat (now the Cabinet Office), ensuring that a minute was taken of Cabinet meetings and that ministers' decisions were implemented.
Yet Lloyd George was also a precursor of presidential-style politics. He brought his own advisers and press secretary into Number 10, and his mistress became one of the private secretaries (the first woman to hold this post). Although his presidential tendencies later contributed to his downfall, his revolution in government had laid the foundations for victory in 1918 and remains his legacy in Whitehall. Among those taking part in the programme are biographers Ffion Hague, Kenneth Morgan and Roy Hattersley, and historian, Hew Strachan.
Producer: Rob Shepherd.

SAT 21:00 Drama (b083m303)
Robert Louis Stevenson: Kidnapped, Episode 2

2 / 2. Stevenson's gripping adventure story, dramatised by Chris Dolan.
After the murder of the Red Fox, Alan and David are pursued through the
Highlands by a troop of English soldiers. Hunted almost to the point of exhaustion
the pair decide to head south to confront Alan's treacherous uncle, Ebenezer.

Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.

SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b083l97t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.

SAT 22:15 We Need to Talk About Death (b083pd1p)
Stand By Me

Mortality is often on Joan Bakewell's mind. She's in her eighties, many of her friends have died and older relatives went long ago. She's seen others die and doesn't find it frightening.

Given that death and dying are just part of the stream of human existence, she's baffled that so many of us shy away from the subject. Particularly given that many of us don't die 'well'.

While the UK ranks as one of the best places to die in the world, thanks to palliative care and the hospice movement, this obscures many worrying realities. Most people say they want to die at home but many don't achieve it, with half of us dying on an often busy hospital ward. Furthermore, painkillers like morphine are often prescribed too late and in too low a dose.

In this series, Joan Bakewell and her panel talk openly about what happens in Britain today when we die. She explores the choices open to us and confronts the very questions about death and dying that we fear the most.

In this opening programme, Joan considers what we can all do to take control of our own deaths. She explores a growing social movement in palliative care which encourages people to stand beside the dying to ensure they have a say in how and where they die.

Producer: Beth Eastwood

Some clips: Courtesy of Healthtalk.

SAT 23:00 Round Britain Quiz (b083n158)
Programme 5, 2016

(5/12)
Chairman Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Brian Feeney and Polly Devlin of Northern Ireland, and Myfanwy Alexander and David Edwards playing for Wales. Both sides have already won one contest this season and will be on their mettle for another victory today.

The winners will be the pairing who need the least help from the chairman in unravelling the programme's trademark cryptic questions. Points will be deducted depending on the number of clues Tom has to provide to propel them towards the answers. As always, the programme contains a scattering of question suggestions from Round Britain Quiz listeners hoping their ingenuity can trip up the panel.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.

SAT 23:30 Hiraeth (b083m307)
Poet Mab Jones explores the concept of 'Hiraeth' in the poetry of Wales and further afield

Hiraeth, a central theme of Welsh language poetry and song, is a feeling of something lost, a long time ago, whether national identity or a once-important language.
It has deep roots - some link it to the loss of self-determination in 1282. It has no equivalent in English, often translating as 'homesickness', but incorporating an aspect of impossibility: the pining for a home, a person, even a national history that may never have actually existed. To feel hiraeth is to experience a deep sense of incompleteness. Longing and absence has infused Welsh songs and poetry for centuries, so perhaps in the national temperament there's a perpetual tension between staying and leaving, a yearning for something better, a grief for something left behind. But there are equivalents in other languages - in Portuguese, 'saudade' is an impossible longing for the unattainable, so there are occurrences of the sentiment across a wide cultural spectrum.

But if the English don't have a word for it, does that mean they don't feel it, or that they don't need it? For some, like Mab's former Professor at Swansea, M Wynn Thomas, 'hiraeth' can function as a default nostalgia button, and a dangerous tendency to believe things were better in the past. It's an experience characteristic of the powerless, the dispossessed; it's the signature tune of loss, but is this hopeless and persistent longing holding this small nation back?

Mab Jones is a poet and performer both humorous and deeply serious. She stands outside the Welsh language tradition, claims she doesn't feel hiraeth (not for Wales anyway - possibly for Japan), and for Radio 4 questions and pokes at the concept, visiting the National Eisteddfod for the first time in an attempt to put her finger on exactly what it is. Exploring the concept through poetry that expresses it, from the poets Menna Elfyn and Ifor ap Glyn she hears poems and songs that deal with aspects of Welsh history that might explain the continued existence of the word in Welsh - forced removals from much loved homes through industrialisation and military eviction. And she talks to writers who live between two worlds and struggle with a sense of belonging: Pamela Petro, an American writer who fell in love with the landscape of Wales in her twenties, and Eric Charles Ngalle, a Cameroonian poet and refugee, who made a life in Wales while unable to turn his mind to his original home, and the trauma that made him leave his family aged 17.

SUNDAY 04 DECEMBER 2016

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b0848m0r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

SUN 00:30 Out There (b04k92wb)
The Constant Heart

Stories from a new anthology celebrating the work of Scottish Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender writers.

Episode 2/ 3

The Constant Heart

A quirky tale about a down-trodden baker living on a Scottish island.

A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0848m0w)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0848m0y)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.

SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0848m10)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b0848m12)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b0848ntw)
Exeter Cathedral

This week's bells on Sunday comes from Exeter Cathedral. For two hundred years, the tenor at Exeter was the heaviest ringing bell in the world. There are fourteen bells in the tower, allowing a light ring of ten as well as the heavy twelve to be rung. We hear them now ringing 'Steadman Cinques' with those heaviest 12 bells.

SUN 05:45 Profile (b0848cvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]

SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b0848m15)
The latest national and international news.

SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0848m18)
Watching the River Flow

John McCarthy explores the therapeutic benefits of watching the river flow and assesses the spiritual significance of rivers as sites of ritual and prayer.

The power of rivers to cleanse not just the body but the soul too is a common religious theme. John examines the baptism of Jesus and the centrality of the River Ganges to the Hindus.

John marvels at a river's ability to detach us from the hectic world around us and from the churning of inner thoughts and concerns. He notes that, when staring into the water, even a monolithic city building becomes broken up into a collage of dancing reflected shapes, at once beautiful and emotionally manageable.

Rivers are constantly moving, alive almost, forever changing and developing. Like us, they are on a journey - perhaps, John wonders, that's why it's easy to see something of our own lives in theirs.

In order to tell his story, John draws upon the music of Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling, Bassekou Kouyaté and Ngoni Ba, and Joni Mitchell. Readings include historian Peter Ackroyd's homage to the Thames, Robert Southey's stunning poetic depiction of the Ganges and Mary Kienholz poetic reminder that, like all great rivers, the Columbia River is a wild and untamed beast at heart.

Presenter: John McCarthy
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 06:35 The Living World (b0848q1x)
Crayfish

Chris Packham relives programmes from The Living World archives.

In Medieval England, so abundant was the native white clawed crayfish that following the end of Lent Fasting at Easter monks and nuns would feast on this delicacy. However as Lionel Kelleway discovers in this programme from 2000 with a rapidly declining population even the chances of even finding a crayfish takes time and skill. The decline in our native crayfish is a result of a plague brought in by an alien species, the North American Signal crayfish and from our rivers and streams suffering from damage or reduced water quality.

At the Bybrook river Lionel is joined by Martin Frayling from the Environment Agency on the edge of the Cotswolds. A river that is as perfect a place as any to begin their journey into the freshwater world of the white clawed crayfish.

Producer Andrew Dawes.

SUN 06:57 Weather (b0848m1g)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b0848m1k)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SUN 07:10 Sunday (b0848m1p)
The Forever Project, Cosmo Lang, Deaf organist

Religious and ethical news.

SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b0848q6j)
St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal 2016

The Revd Dr Sam Wells makes the 90th Radio 4 Christmas Appeal for the work of St Martin-in-the-Fields with homeless people.
Reg Charity:261359
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 082 82 84.
- Send a cheque to FREEPOST St Martin's Christmas Appeal. Cheques should be made payable to St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal.
- Or donate online via the Radio 4 website.

The BBC Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal is now in its 90th year. The money raised from this annual appeal supports work with homeless and vulnerable people across the UK, through the work of The Connection at St Martin's and the Vicar's Relief Fund.

SUN 07:57 Weather (b0848m1r)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b0848m1v)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b0848m1x)
Hear the Cry

TOGETHER FOR 90 YEARS

Back in the 1920s, the vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Dick Sheppard, was preaching at a service broadcast on the BBC. Sheppard asked those listening to send in donations to support those in need in the run-up to Christmas. This was the beginning of a partnership that has continued for 90 years. For the past nine decades, Radio 4 listeners have supported the work of St Martin-in-the-Fields with charitable donations that go towards helping some of the most vulnerable in our society through the various charities and agencies the church supports.

The current vicar, the Rev Dr Sam Wells leads a service to mark the appeal and the work it has done. Familiar Radio 4 voices join those reflecting on the history and impact of the appeal. The preacher is the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham James, with music from the Radio 4 Choir, the composer, Will Todd, and St Martin's Voices, directed by Andrew Earis.

Producer: Katharine Longworth.

SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b083r9xh)
Bob Dylan and the Bobolaters

Adam Gopnik - a lifelong fan of Bob Dylan - muses on Dylan's "utterly predictable lack of gratitude" towards his Nobel Prize.

"The terrible and intriguing truth", he writes, is that "people are tragically impressed by indifference...and pitifully contemptuous of the charming".

The Dylans of this world, Gopnik says "impress us as the true egotists we secretly are".

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x4769)
Cetti's Warbler

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

Bill Oddie presents the Cetti's warbler. Until the 1960s, Cetti's warblers were unknown in the UK but on the Continent they were common in marshy areas, especially dense scrub and the edge of reed-beds and ditches. They first bred in these habitats in south-east England in the early 1970s and by the end of the century their loud and sudden song-bursts were startling people from southern England and South Wales and northwards as far as Yorkshire.

SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b0848m23)
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.

SUN 09:45 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b0848q4k)
Making a Difference

Aasmah Mir reports on how the money from last year's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin in-the-Fields has been spent on changing the lives of homeless people through the work of The Connection at St Martin's, and how crisis grants from the Vicar's Relief Fund have helped secure housing or have kept vulnerable people in accommodation all around the UK. The appeal is now in its 90th year.

SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b0848m26)
Brian shares his vision, and Ruth fires a warning shot.

SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b0848q7q)
Sir Philip Craven

Sir Philip Craven is the President of the International Paralympic Committee and a former wheelchair basketball athlete.

Craven represented Great Britain in wheelchair basketball at five editions of the Paralympic Games, from 1972 to 1988. He also competed in track and field athletics and swimming at the 1972 Games.

He won gold at the wheelchair basketball World Championships in 1973, and bronze in 1975, as well as two gold medals (1971, 1974) and a silver (1993) at the European Championships. He also won gold at the European Champions Cup in 1994, and gold at the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in 1970.

Sir Philip Craven has been passionate about sport all his life. He was born in Bolton and educated at the University of Manchester, where he graduated with a geography degree in 1972.

He grew up the younger of two boys to parents Herbert and Hilda who ran a floristry shop. He spent his childhood playing lots of cricket, climbing trees and trainspotting. Then when he was sixteen, he fell whilst rock climbing and broke his back. He was paralysed from the chest down and lost the use of his legs. He became a wheelchair user, went on to university and became a wheelchair basketball player.

He met his French wife, Joscelyne when he was working as a sports trainer in Brittany. They have been married for 42 years and have two children and three grandsons.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

SUN 12:00 News Summary (b0848m2f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 12:04 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b083n15g)
Series 66, Episode 3

The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a visit to the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton. Old-timers Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Susan Calman and Richard Osman with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell provides piano accompaniment. Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Studios production.

SUN 12:32 Food Programme (b0848q7s)
Sisters' Feast

'Pop-up' chef and food writer Olia Hercules, The Great British Bake Off contestant turned Youtube star Chetna Makan, Film academic come supper club hostess Dr Alissa Timoshkina and cafe owner and 'instagrammer' Elly Curshen are among ten women from different food cultures coming together for the first time to cook a truly female feast. It's a 'pop-up' dinner hosted and put together in Bristol by Romy Gill and Kim Somauroo to raise money for international charity 'Action Against Hunger'.

Sheila Dillon speaks to the 'Severn Sisters' as well as their guests, including former BBC Food & Farming Awards winning Shauna Guinn and Sam Evans, about what it means to be female in food in 2016.

Also interviewed are Eleonora Galasso, Natasha Corrett, Rosie Birkett, Laura Field, Fiona Beckett and Xanthe Clay.

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

SUN 12:57 Weather (b0848m2k)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b0848m2n)
Global news and analysis.

SUN 13:30 No Triumph, No Tragedy (b0848q83)
Alison Lapper

Alison Lapper is currently co-presenting the documentary series 'No Body's Perfect,' which aims to help people who struggle with body image. It's something she's ideally placed to do - when she was seven months pregnant a naked statute of her sat serenely on top of the fourth plinth in London's Trafalgar Square.

She tells Peter White, in the first of this new series of No Triumph No Tragedy, that when she was born with a rare chromosomal disorder doctors waited for her to die. When she didn't, her Mum was told that she'd have a terrible quality of life and that they should just forget about her. She went to live in a residential home for children with physical and learning disabilities and tells Peter how there was strength in a common bond:

"We survived together because it could be a cruel environment. There were some hideous people who didn't look at us as human beings. They were cruel and unkind and you either survived or you didn't. I saw a lot of people shrink."

Her childhood, she feels has made her stronger: "I always vowed I'd never be anyone's victim and I'd never dwell on what has gone. I don't want it to spoil the rest of my life because my life is really good."

Alison is an artist: she uses photography and digital images to question physical normality and beauty. She paints with her mouth and is constantly challenging expectations around what she can do. This was nowhere more evident than when she was pregnant with her son, Parys. She insisted on changing his nappies and on picking him up: "It's always been such a fight for everything. It's amazing, just because my limbs are missing, how different people think I am."

In the second programme in the series Peter meets the stand-up comedienne, Geri Jewell, who was born with cerebral palsy. She was the first disabled actor to take a lead role in a sitcom and she's gone on to challenge ideas about what is possible. She describes the pressures on her to go into a job suited to her disability and what made her rebel against such restricting expectations.

SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b083r9wz)
Burnham-on-Sea

Eric Robson and the panel are in Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset. Chris Beardshaw, Anne Swithinbank and Bunny Guinness answer this week's questions from the audience.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b0848q85)
Sunday Omnibus - The Distaff Side

Fi Glover introduces conversations between sisters, daughters, mothers and grandmothers reflecting on what they share and what's unique in their relationship. All in the Omnibus edition of the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

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

Producer: Marya Burgess.

SUN 15:00 Drama (b0848rl2)
Robert Louis Stevenson: Terror in the South Seas, The Beach of Falesa

The first of two dramatisations of Robert Louis Stevenson's gripping novellas set in Samoa and written while he lived there.

David Tennant stars as Wiltshire, a trader freshly arrived on a Samoan Island. He marries a native girl, only to find himself tabooed by the rest of the inhabitants.

At the height of his powers, Stevenson tackled the most pressing theme on the islands - the vicious effects of colonialism including slavery, racism, sexual exploitation and the conflict between traditional and modern values. The subjects are as vivid today as in 1894 and these compelling and violent stories feature some of the most driven, dangerous and obsessive characters in fiction. Joseph Conrad drew on these novellas for Heart of Darkness.

Dramatised for radio by Jane Rogers
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill

A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 16:00 Bookclub (b0848rl4)
Jay McInerney - Bright Lights, Big City

American writer Jay McInerney discusses his debut novel Bright Lights, Big City with James Naughtie and a group of readers.

Bright Lights, Big City not only cemented Jay McInerney as a superstar among debut novelists, but came to define the culture of 80s New York in all its gritty yet glamorous glory.

We follow the young unnamed narrator - he's 'You' throughout the book - during a whirlwind week in New York. He is bored with his job on a Manhattan magazine, wants to be a writer, and has been abandoned by his fashion-model wife. By night he roams the brightly lit streets of the city, hanging out in clubs and loft parties, powered by "Bolivian Marching Powder". By the time his crazy week is over the emptiness returns.

Presenter : James Naughtie
Interviewed guest : Jay McInerney
Producer : Dymphna Flynn

January's Bookclub choice : Capital by John Lanchester (2012).

SUN 16:30 The Echo Chamber (b0848s48)
Series 8, Matthew Hollis and Fiona Sampson

Stones - a new long poem from Matthew Hollis and new watery work from Fiona Sampson. Paul Farley is all ears. Producer: Tim Dee.

SUN 17:00 The Green Book (b083p88f)
In the Jim Crow era of racial segregation, travelling in the United States was fraught with difficulties if you were black. At best it was inconvenient, as white-owned businesses refused to serve African American motorists, repair their cars or offer them hotel accommodation. At worst, travel could be life-threatening if you walked into the wrong bar in the wrong town.

That's why in 1936 Victor H Green, a Harlem postal worker, published the first edition of The Green Book. The guide listed hotels, restaurants, bars and service stations which would serve African Americans and was an attempt, in Victor Green's words, "to give the Negro traveller information that will keep from him running into difficulties and embarrassments". 'Embarrassments' seems rather a tame word for the outright hostility and physical danger which many black travellers experienced in segregation-era America. The Green Book became a catalogue of refuge and tolerance in a hostile and intolerant world.

Alvin Hall hits the highway, Green Book in hand, to document a little-known aspect of racial segregation: the challenges - for mid-20th century America's new black middle class - of travelling in their own country. Alvin's journey starts in Tallahassee, Florida, where he was born and raised, takes him through Alabama and Tennessee and concludes in Ferguson, Missouri.

The guide ceased publication soon after the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. But, as Alvin discovers in Ferguson, many African Americans still feel far from safe as they drive. Alvin asks whether the Green Book ceased publication too soon.

Interviewees: Carolyn Bailey-Champion, Dr. Charles Champion, Leah Dickerman, Jerome Gray, Prof. Allyson Hobbs, Ryan Jones, Maira Liriano, Ron McCoy, Robert Moman, Dr. Gwen Patton, Calvin Ramsey, Tiffany Shawn, Rev. Henry Steele, Bryan Stevenson and Rev. Starsky Wilson

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Archive audio courtesy of PBS, CBS and CNN

Photos: Jonathan Calm.

SUN 17:40 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b0848q4k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 today]

SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0848m2y)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 17:57 Weather (b0848m32)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0848m3b)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b0848m3l)
Gerry Northam

Gerry Northam with the best of BBC Radio this week

Some great voices this week including Clive James, Joan Bakewell, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy. Great writers : such as Simon Brett, Ian McEwan, Lynne Truss. Great music by Corelli and Rossini and subjects ranging from a child in the womb to preparation for death.
Copernicus versus Martin Luther, a spine-chilling museum of lynching, and how illiterate slum children in Uganda learn to play world-class chess.

Gerry's choice from the BBC Radio iPlayer is Clive James on A Point of View
Producer: Stephen Garner
Pick of the Week Production Team: Pete Liggins and Kay Bishton.

SUN 19:00 The Archers (b0848s8b)
Kate needs to turn her ideas into reality, and Lynda tries to pull rank.

SUN 19:15 John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music (b0848sqq)
Series 2, Episode 3

John Shuttleworth invites celebrated pop stars to his Sheffield home to perform one of their own songs and also, more importantly, one of his.

This week it's Nick Heyward from Haircut 100.

Ken is very excited as he's heard that Nick has had a spiritual awakening and he's keen to learn how he can have one of his own. John feels that Ken is being silly wearing a kaftan and beads, but Ken is convinced that Nick can help him and ignores John.

Also, Mary is not happy with the smell of the josticks that Ken has lit so he's ejected by John while Nick wins Mary over with his rendition of Can't Go Back To Savoury Now.

In Top Tips on the Telephone, John learns from Tony Christie about coping with Eurovision failure!

Written and Performed by Graham Fellows with special guests Nick Heyward and Tony Christie.
Produced by Dawn Ellis
A Chic Ken production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 19:45 Annika Stranded (b0848sqs)
Series 3, Traffic

Four new cases land on the desk of Detective Annika Strandhed, queen of the Oslo Police boat patrol.

Annika's neuroses - and she has a few - are mostly hidden by a boisterous manner and a love of speedboats. As fictional Scandinavian detectives go, she's not as astute as Saga Norén or Sarah Lund, but may be better company.

Although Mikel, her long-suffering forensic photographer, might disagree.

Episode 3: Traffic
Annika wakes up after some serious partying on Midsummer's Eve to find herself in the boot of a car.

Nick Walker is the author of two critically-acclaimed novels, Blackbox and Helloland. His plays and short stories have often featured on BBC Radio 4, including the First King of Mars stories (2007 - 2010) and the plays Life Coach (2010) and Stormchasers (2012). The first two series of Annika Stranded were broadcast in 2013 and 2014.

Writer: Nick Walker
Reader: Nicola Walker
Sound Design: Jon Calver
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 20:00 More or Less (b083r9x5)
Are you related to Edward III…and Danny Dyer?

The BBC series ‘Who do you think you are?’ has traced the ancestors of the actor Danny Dyer, famous for parts in Eastenders and many films. The programme revealed that he is in fact related to Edward III. But how unusual is that? We look at the odds of someone with English heritage being descended from this medieval king who died in 1377.

How many cows for a fiver?
The news that products from cows have been used to make the new five pound notes has caused consternation. Vice News have tried to work out statistically how many animals must have died in order to make these new notes in circulation. It is a very low number.

Five year olds not so bad after all
‘Shocking’ stats were revealed this week by the Department of Education. School assessments showed that just under a third of five year olds were below the expected standards for children of their age. But not only are these results not that shocking there is another reason why the statistics are not all they seem.

How to wrap a football
Christmas is approaching and Tim Harford has a puzzling present-related question – what’s the best way to wrap a spherical object? Fortunately mathematician Hannah Fry has been thinking about this and gives her best thoughts on how to tackle this festive problem.

Cleaning up water
In the Desk of Good News, we look at how improving sanitation has transformed lives. We speak to Johan Norberg, author of ‘Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future’ about the Great Stink of 1858.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Image: Danny Dyer on 'Who do you think you are?'. BBC Copyright

SUN 20:30 Last Word (b083r9x3)
Andrew Sachs, Fidel Castro, Mose Allison, The Honourable Margaret Rhodes

Matthew Bannister on

Andrew Sachs, the actor who was so much more than Manuel in Fawlty Towers. We hear about his acclaimed radio career.

Also the Cuban leader Fidel Castro - brutal dictator or benevolent champion of his people?

The jazz and blues singer Mose Allison, whose songs were covered by the Who, the Clash, Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison.

And The Honourable Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's cousin, who became a celebrity after writing her memoirs of life in the royal household.

Producer: Neil George.

SUN 21:00 Money Box (b0848blr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]

SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b0848q6j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]

SUN 21:30 In Business (b083r1jq)
Estonia's e-residents

Estonia is one of the smallest countries in Europe, with only 1.3 million citizens. But it is hoping to become much bigger - by attracting what it calls e-residents.

A scheme was started two years ago to give citizens of any nation the opportunity to set up Estonian bank accounts and businesses - and to develop a digital identity which can be managed from anywhere.

Ruth Alexander examines how it works, who benefits and why some UK citizens are seeing it as a post-Brexit business opportunity.

Producer: Elizabeth Cassin

(Image: Stanislav Yurin, an e-resident of Estonia, and his wife Kseniya Paliadnik).

SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b0848m40)
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.

SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b083r1jg)
Blue Velvet

Francine Stock revisits the manicured lawns and gothic horror of Blue Velvet as David Lynch's surreal masterpiece celebrates its thirtieth anniversary. She is accompanied on her journey to the heart of suburban darkness by critics Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Tim Robey.

SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b0848m18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]

MONDAY 05 DECEMBER 2016

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b0848m86)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b083pchg)
Foie gras & the politics of taste - Memories of Irish food

Foie gras: The politics of taste. Laurie Taylor talks to Michaela DeSoucey, Assistant Professor of Sociology at North Carolina State University, about the controversies that surround this luxury product. What makes us see some foods as 'wrong' and worthy of prohibition? They're joined by the distinguished anthropologist, Henrietta Moore. Also, memories of Irish food. Angela Maye-Banbury, Principal Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, talks about her research with working class Irish male migrants whose evocative recollections of the food back home illuminate their sense of the past.

Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b0848ntw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]

MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0848m88)
The latest shipping forecast.

MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0848m8b)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0848m8d)
The latest shipping forecast.

MON 05:30 News Briefing (b0848m8g)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b08490p2)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, Dean of King's College Cambridge.

MON 05:45 Farming Today (b0848m8l)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

MON 05:56 Weather (b0848m8n)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.

MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dx6vq)
Hawfinch

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

Martin Hughes-Games presents the Hawfinch. The Hawfinch is a large thickset finch with a massive bill. It uses this to crack open hawthorn and cherry stones as well as hornbeam seeds to get at the soft kernels inside. In doing so, it exerts a force of around 180 pounds per square inch.

MON 06:00 Today (b0848m8q)
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

MON 09:00 Start the Week (b08490qr)
On Start the Week Kirsty Wark explores the history of protest.

The Levellers were revolutionaries who brought 17th century England to the edge of radical republicanism. In his biography, John Rees argues the Levellers are central figures in the country's history of democracy.

The original soldier-turned-saint and nationalist protester Joan of Arc takes centre stage in Josie Rourke's revival of Bernard Shaw's play, Saint Joan.

The Labour MP, Rachel Reeves, finds inspiration in her fellow parliamentarian Alice Bacon, who she says helped usher in a new era of social justice post-war, while the political commentator James Frayne looks at the era post-Brexit and considers whether provincial England is now in revolt.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b08492fv)
Mad Enchantment, Episode 1

The story of Claude Monet's later years and the famous paintings he produced at home in Giverny, abridged in five parts by Katrin Williams:

In the 1890's the painter and his large family move to the famous town, and over the years the gardens at his house become lush, exotic
and famous for pictures of water lilies and weeping willows - part of 'le grand decoration'. But how did it all start?

Reader Allan Corduner

Producer Duncan Minshull.

MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0848m8s)
Know your nuns' habits, Singer Agnes Obel, Fight directors

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b08492fx)
Forty Weeks, Lentil

By Katherine Jakeways

Romantic comedy about the fallout from an unexpected one night stand.

Sam loves Rose. And Rose loves Sam. But while Rose is away on business, Sam's dad dies and he ends up getting drunk and sleeping with a woman he's never met before, called Bayley. Love compels him to confess to Rose, but can they salvage their relationship?

Writer Katherine Jakeways (North by Northamptonshire) is described by The Radio Times as the 'new Victoria Wood' saying "her character comedy is so acutely observed and so sharp that it's in danger of causing permanent injury." Starring Rebecca Humphries (Big Bad World), Matthew Baynton (The Wrong Mans), Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat) and Julia Deakin (I'm Alan Partridge).


Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.

MON 11:00 The Untold (b08492fz)
All in the Proof

Grace Dent tells the story of a maverick lawyer and his attempt to win asylum for a Pakistani man who says that - because he's gay - he will be persecuted if returned to Pakistan.

Mike McGarvey is the lawyer: He's eccentric, disorganised and very dyslexic; he failed at school and didn't pursue education until his adult years. He runs his own business which is based in a small suite of offices near the main station in Cardiff. One wall in his office has a distinctive collage of pictures from Disney, Star Wars and the Blues Brothers: things that are 'designed to cheer me up' because 'nearly everyone who comes here tells you they're going to be killed'.

We follow Mike for five months as he tries to find ways to prove that his client is indeed gay. This involves mining his phone for evidence of activity on gay dating sites, and seeking witnesses who will be prepared to say in court that they had a relationship with him.

Producer: Karen Gregor.

MON 11:30 Cooking in a Bedsitter (b08492g1)
Stuffed Eggs

Katharine Whitehorn's cult cookery classic is the inspiration for Sue Teddern's new comedy drama, set in 1964, starring Beattie Edmondson and Nikesh Patel.

In this episode, Trisha tries to impress new friend Jill with some stuffed eggs.

Directed by Emma Harding.

MON 12:00 News Summary (b0848m8v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 12:04 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (b08492vk)
Series 4, The Melodic Mystery

'Why is my mother tone deaf?' asks listener Simon, 'and can I do anything to ensure my son can at least carry a tune?'

Hannah Fry has a singing lesson with teacher Michael Bonshor to see if he can improve her vocal tone, although things don't quite go to plan.*

We meet Martin who dislikes music intensely because he has the clinical form of tone deafness, known as amusia. Just as people with dyslexia see words differently to other people, if you have amusia you don't hear melodies in the same way.

Adam talks to music psychologist Dr Vicky Williamson from Sheffield University who studies Martin, and others like him, to try and discover why their brains operate differently.

Please send your Curious Cases for consideration to: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

Presenters: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin

*earmuffs may be required.

MON 12:15 You and Yours (b0848m8x)
Loan sharks, Lace manufacture, Agency workers

Shari Vahl hears concerns that loan sharks are increasingly preying on gambling addicts.
The conference in London debating the pros and cons of being an agency worker in the UK.
And the high-end fashion houses, swelling the order books of Britain's embattled lace manufacturers.

Producer: Mike Young
Presenter: Shari Vahl.

MON 12:57 Weather (b0848m8z)
The latest weather forecast.

MON 13:00 World at One (b0848m91)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

MON 13:45 Whodunnit? (b08493nt)
The Pregnant Teen Vanishes, Last Known Whereabouts

Half of England's pregnant teenagers have vanished. They didn't go missing, they just never conceived. And the teenage pregnancy rate plummeted. It's one of the greatest societal mysteries we've seen. A real-life Whodunnit. Everyone wants to crack the case and keep rates dropping.

In today's first chapter, could the answer lie in a life lived online?

Michael Blastland is on the case in this non-fiction investigation, unravelling the causes at the root of the biggest trends. These are true-life mysteries that creep up on us until the pattern of our lives is altered. He examines the culprits and punctures presumptions about causation and its implications for policy making.

Encountering red-herrings, false accusations, Government conspiracy, and hack journalism, finding out whodunnit in the case of a 50% reduction in teenage pregnancy is not going to be easy.

At its heart may lie a Government desire to prevent under 18 conception - a well-meaning intention, backed up by some strong evidence that socio-economic disadvantage can be both a cause and a consequence of teenage motherhood. But what makes huge swathes of teenagers change their behaviour?

Whodunnit? is a new series and a new kind of investigation. It owes its style to detective storytelling. But the cases are unequivocally real. These are societal mysteries - true-life changes in the pattern of our lives, changes that might even feature some of us.

Presenter: Michael Blastland
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 14:00 The Archers (b0848s8b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]

MON 14:15 Drama (b08493nw)
Stone, Casualties

Third drama of Stone, long running detective series created by Danny Brocklehurst with Hugo Speer as DCI Stone.

In Casualties by Martin Jameson, a young British Asian man becomes a murder suspect, but powerful factors come into play that test DCI Stone's team to breaking point.

Directed by Nadia Molinari.

MON 15:00 Round Britain Quiz (b08495h4)
Programme 6, 2016

(6/12)
It's the turn of the teams from the North of England and the Midlands to tackle the convoluted questions in the Round Britain Quiz retreat. Neither team has scored a victory in the series so far, so the contest will be keenly fought as they both try to improve their footing on the league table.

To do so, they'll need knowledge of the nomadic tribes of Eurasia, the settings of 1970s sitcoms and the geography of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico - or, at the very least, make an educated guess from the other clues available. Tom Sutcliffe provides the usual calm hints from the chair, warning them away from the more wayward red herrings when their deliberations lead them too far off the mark.

As always, there's a round of musical clues and a selection of listeners' ingenious question ideas for the teams to grapple with.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.

MON 15:30 Food Programme (b0848q7s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]

MON 16:00 Short Cuts (b08497cx)
Series 10, The End of the Story

Josie Long presents short documentaries on things drawing to a close - from stories captured, bottled and buried over time, to reflections at the end of a life well-lived.

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

MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b08497cz)
Immigration and the Church

Churchgoing in the UK is in steep decline, but between 2005 and 2012 attendance rose by 14% and that is down to immigration. One in seven church services in London are not conducted in English. Many of the new worshippers are Poles and other Eastern Europeans who took the opportunity which the enlargement of the European Union offered to come to Britain. Others are fleeing conflict in places like Somalia and Syria. What impact is immigration having on the Churches in Britain? What opportunities and challenges does it pose to them?

Ernie Rea is joined by Francis Davies Professor of Religion, Communities and Public Policy at Birmingham University, Dr Fiona McCallum, Lecturer at the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, Pouya Heideri, an Iranian Christian who has been living in Britain for the last seven years and is training for ministry in the Church of England, and Rev Sally Smith from Stoke on Trent.

Producer: Rosie Dawson.

MON 17:00 PM (b0848m93)
Coverage and analysis of the day's news.

MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0848m95)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b08497d1)
Series 66, Episode 4

The antidote to panel games pays a return visit to the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton. Old-timers Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Susan Calman and Richard Osman with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell attempts piano accompaniment.
Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Studios production.

MON 19:00 The Archers (b08497d3)
Kenton makes an impulse buy, and Josh needs help to broker a deal.

MON 19:15 Front Row (b0848m97)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b08492fx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

MON 20:00 Black Flight and the New Suburbia (b07jwt5s)
In Britain, multiculturalism is no longer confined to urban areas. Black, Asian and minority ethnic people are leaving inner cities in large numbers and heading for the suburbs.

As new research forecasts high levels of internal migration over the next forty years, Hugh Muir examines why this is happening and what it will mean for our traditional view of quintessential suburbia.

In his 1973 documentary Metro-land, Sir John Betjeman romanticised the suburbs of Middlesex created by the Metropolitan railway. Betjeman celebrated the mundane streets where all the people and houses looked the same; the interchangeable parks and churches, the slow pace of life. The suburbs enticed workers out of cramped homes in the city to suburban semis built on the principle of defensible space and home-as-castle. 'White flight' was born.

Fast forward to 2016. The suburbs have a very different look and are anything but mundane. Large numbers of Black and Asian people have moved out of Britain's city centres to leafy suburbia.

Hugh examines this drift away from the inner-cities by meeting those who have made the leap, and those that plan to. He asks what has changed, in both mindset and infrastructure, to enable this movement to happen.

With so many people leaving the city, he asks if we need to stop using 'urban' as a byword for ethnic minority.

Presented by Hugh Muir
Produced by Peter Sale

A PPM production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b083qxbx)
Albania's Cannabis Boom

Albania has become the largest producer of outdoor-grown cannabis in Europe. This illicit industry - overseen by organised crime groups - began in the late 1990s and has spread across this small, Balkan nation. Most of this 'green gold' is trafficked out, with whole villages depending on the money it makes. The Albanian government is attempting to contain the industry by eradicating millions of plants, and seizing industrial-sized quantities that are dried and prepared for market in secret locations. With producer Albana Kasapi, Linda Pressly investigates Albania's cannabis boom.

Image: Commander Agron Cullhaj assesses one of the largest seizures of cannabis Albanian police have ever made – over 4 tons. Copyright BBC.

MON 21:00 The Listeners (b083n4sc)
Series 4, Episode 1

In the first of three immersive programmes, we discover there's far more to listening than hearing with American composer and founder of the Centre for Deep Listening, Pauline Oliveros and spiritual musician and contemplative Karen Markham. For as long as she can remember, listening has been an important part of Pauline's life having been brought up in a musical household where her mother and grandmother played duets on pianos in different rooms and the phrase 'deep listening' was born out of a trip below ground where she improvised with a group of musicians, inside a giant cistern! For composer Karen Markham, deep listening has been part of a spiritual path as she has embraced a full time contemplative life in which music has plays an integral role. Presenter Paul Evans, Producer Sarah Blunt.

MON 21:30 Start the Week (b08490qr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

MON 21:58 Weather (b0848m99)
The latest weather forecast.

MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b0848m9c)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b08497d7)
Nutshell, Episode 6

The sixth episode of Nutshell by the acclaimed author Ian McEwan and read by the actor Tim McInnerny.

Ian McEwan's latest novel is a modern-day riff on Hamlet told from the unusual perspective of an unborn child who eavesdrops on his mother and property developer uncle as they plot the murder of his father.

'Bounded in the nutshell' of Trudy's womb, the foetus is witness to a plot. Unable to escape the confines of the uterus, he is forced to eavesdrop on his mother Ger(Trudy) and her lover, property-developer Claude, as they plan to murder his father, a hapless poet called John Cairncross. The ambitious but deeply banal Claude is of course brother to John and, consequently, villainous uncle to the unborn narrator. Claude and Trudy devise an elaborate facade involving anti-freeze and a great many props to cover their tracks and suggest that John's death was actually suicide. As witness to all these goings-ons, the nine-month old resident of Trudy's womb keeps up a running commentary that is both tragic and wryly entertaining, as he muses on his own future and becomes determined to subvert their plan and avenge the murder. Nutshell's Denmark is an elegant Georgian terraced house in London St. John's Wood that has become shabby and dilapidated, but Claude has designs on it.

It's a classic tale of murder and deceit told with tremendous wit and clever wordplay and is a brilliant re-working of the Shakespearean original.

Tim McInnerny is known for his many roles on television and stage appearing in films such Johnny English and TV such as Sherlock and the recent National Treasure. Early in his career he featured as Lord Percy Percy and Captain Darling in the Blackadder series.

Ian McEwan is a critically acclaimed author of short stories and novels for adults. His novels include The Child in Time, which won the 1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year, The Cement Garden, Enduring Love, Amsterdam which won the 1998 Booker Prize, Atonement, Saturday, On Chesil Beach, Solar, Sweet Tooth and The Children Act.

MON 23:00 The Male Room (b08497d9)
The Inadequacy Edition

Radio 4 introduces The Male Room - late night discussion featuring the conversations men don't often have on air.
We know that men can talk, but what are the subjects they could be tackling instead of diverting into sport?
In this opening programme we tackle male feelings of inadequacy in the company of four guests.
The presenter is Olly Mann, host of the Answer Me This podcast.
The producer is Miles Warde.

MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b08497dc)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster.

TUESDAY 06 DECEMBER 2016

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b0848mcc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b08492fv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]

TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0848mcf)
The latest shipping forecast.

TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0848mch)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0848mck)
The latest shipping forecast.

TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b0848mcm)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0854fhf)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, Dean of King's College Cambridge.

TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b0848mcp)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03thwm0)
Golden Pheasant

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

John Aitchison presents the golden pheasant. Golden pheasants are native to the mountains of China where they live in thick bamboo forest. The males are brightly-coloured; gold and scarlet, with a long tail and a cape of black and orange which they use to woo the much duller brown females. From the late 1800's Golden Pheasants were introduced to many bird collections and shooting estates around the UK. Today the strongest colonies are in East Anglia.

TUE 06:00 Today (b084bfp6)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (b084bhcs)
Richard Morris on how we know where we are

How do we know where we are? The question sounds simple enough. But there's much more to it than simply looking around. Our sense of place is embedded in the very structure of our brains, in such a way that we can remember the exact place we used to play as a child, even if the neighbourhood has been transformed and few of the original visual cues remain. The park you played in as a child may now be full of high rise flats but somehow you know where your favourite tree used to be. Richard Morris has devoted his Life Scientific to trying to understand this profound sense of place and in 2016 was awarded the prestigious Brain Prize for his work on brain cells and circuits. Over the years, he's performed thousands of of experiments on rats in water mazes, an experimental tool that he invented in the eighties and that's now used in labs all over the world. And, in one of his latest experiments, he set up a rat restaurant.

Producer: Anna Buckley.

TUE 09:30 One to One (b084bgrl)
Peter Bazalgette on Empathy

Television executive Peter Bazalgette examines empathy. He talks to primatologist Frans de Waal, whose pioneering work with chimpanzees has helped to illuminate how our own evolutionary history suggests a deep-rooted propensity, both emotional and cognitive, for feeling the emotions of others. 1/3.

TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b084bgrn)
Mad Enchantment, Episode 2

The story of Monet's later years and the famous paintings he produced at home in Giverny:

Word war 1 rages and has taken away many of the workers from his gardens. But the painter receives his friends and visitors and doggedly gets on with his 'grande decoration'

Reader Allan Corduner

Producer Duncan Minshull.

TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0848mcr)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b084bgrq)
Forty Weeks, Lime

By Katherine Jakeways

Romantic comedy about love, infidelity and accidental pregnancy.

Sam loves Rose. And Rose loves Sam. But in forty weeks' time a girl called Bayley is having Sam's baby. As Sam struggles to do 'the right thing', Rose decides to move to Chicago for a fresh start.

Forty Weeks tells the story of a pregnancy, from conception to birth. It's a love story between two people, just not the two people who are having the baby.

Writer Katherine Jakeways (North by Northamptonshire) is described by The Radio Times as the 'new Victoria Wood' saying "her character comedy is so acutely observed and so sharp that it's in danger of causing permanent injury." Starring Rebecca Humphries (Big Bad World), Matthew Baynton (The Wrong Mans), Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat) and Julia Deakin (I'm Alan Partridge).

Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.

TUE 11:00 The Listeners (b084bgrs)
Series 4, Episode 2

Jo Milne was born profoundly deaf and it wasn't until she was fitted with cochlea implants in her late 30's that she heard sounds for the first time in her life. Discovering a world where ice-makers in fridges are almost deafening, light switches are noisy and birds in her garden sing has been a revelation to Jo - but there have been challenges too. Whilst Jo has been adapting to a world of sound, sound recordist Gordon Hempton has spent many years trying to escape man-made noise in his quest for one square inch of silence, and we hear from a neurologist and his colleague who have been tuning in to the music 'between our ears' to discover what's happening inside our brains. Presenter Paul Evans, Producer Sarah Blunt.

TUE 11:30 Tales From the Stave (b084bjbv)
Series 14, Puccini's Madame Butterfly

When Madame Butterfly opened at La Scala, Milan on February 14th 1904 it lasted one night. The audience reaction forced Puccini and his publisher Ricordi to pull the Opera and set about a series of rewrites. But in Milan's Archivio Storico Ricordi is the manuscript of that first performance with all the later markings, crossings out and additions which were to see the work become hugely popular over the years that followed. Un Bel Di and the Humming chorus are now familiar to audiences all over the world and the sweep and passion of Puccini's music ensure it's enduring popularity.

However, La Scala have decided to go back to the composer's earliest version, bringing the autographed manuscript with all its hidden material, to life.
Thanks to the generosity of the Archivio Storico Ricordi Frances Fyfield has been allowed to examine the score along with the conductor Julian Smith, the scholar Nigel Simeone and the star of La Scala's revival Maria José Siri. What they discover is a markedly different shape to the Opera which tells the story of the young Japanese girl's sham wedding to the American naval lieutenant Pinkerton and her subsequent refusal to give up on him.
Maria José gets the chance to see the material she's been rehearsing in the composer's own hand and Julian Smith explains why Puccini made the changes he made, raising many of the dilemmas that come from looking to original source material for the final word on what the composer wanted, or thought he wanted.

What's for sure is that the feverish and sometimes frantic hand are a vivid testament to a composer at the height of his powers and with an astonishing attention to minute musical detail.

Producer: Tom Alban.

TUE 12:00 News Summary (b0848mct)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 12:04 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (b084bjbx)
Series 4, The Hunt for Nothing, Part 1

"Is there any such thing as nothing?" This question from Bill Keck sparked so much head scratching that we have devoted two episodes to this curious quandary.

In the first programme, the team considers the philosophy and physics of nothing. As Prof Frank Close, author of "Nothing: A Very Short Introduction" explains, nothing has intrigued great thinkers for thousands of years, from the Ancient Greeks to today's particle physicists.

Otto Von Geuricke, the Mayor of Magdeburg in Germany, invented the artificial vacuum pump in the 17th century and presented spectacular displays to demonstrate the awesome power of nothing.

Cosmologist Andrew Pontzen helps Hannah search for nothing in the depths of space and inside the atom. However, as they find out, recent discoveries in physics involving quantum fluctuations and the Higgs field have proved that nothing is impossible.

If you have any Curious Cases for the team to solve please email curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

Presenters: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin.

TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b0848mcx)
Call You and Yours

Consumer phone-in.

TUE 12:57 Weather (b0848mcz)
The latest weather forecast.

TUE 13:00 World at One (b0848md1)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

TUE 13:45 Whodunnit? (b0851jgq)
The Pregnant Teen Vanishes, Conspiracy to Commit

Half of England's pregnant teenagers have vanished. They didn't go missing, they just never conceived. And the teenage pregnancy rate plummeted. It's one of the greatest societal mysteries we've seen. A real-life Whodunnit. Everyone wants to crack the case and keep rates dropping.

In Chapter 2, a complex piece of Government social policy may be the answer. But does the timing fit?

Michael Blastland is on the case in this non-fiction investigation, unravelling the causes at the root of the biggest trends. These are true-life mysteries that creep up on us until the pattern of our lives is altered. He examines the culprits and punctures presumptions about causation and its implications for policy making.

Encountering red-herrings, false accusations, Government conspiracy, and hack journalism, finding out whodunnit in the case of a 50% reduction in teenage pregnancy is not going to be easy.

At its heart may lie a Government desire to prevent under 18 conception - a well-meaning intention, backed up by some strong evidence that socio-economic disadvantage can be both a cause and a consequence of teenage motherhood. But what makes huge swathes of teenagers change their behaviour?

Whodunnit? is a new series and a new kind of investigation. It owes its style to detective storytelling. But the cases are unequivocally real. These are societal mysteries - true-life changes in the pattern of our lives, changes that might even feature some of us.

Presenter: Michael Blastland
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 14:00 The Archers (b08497d3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]

TUE 14:15 Drama (b084bkjt)
Promises

Sarah, a business woman, and George a composer, live in a middle-class suburb with their eight-year-old son, Harry. A schoolmate of Luke's, from a less well-off family, is diagnosed with a rare and lethal brain tumour. Sarah and Georges throw themselves into a local campaign to raise money for a life-saving operation in Australia. They help to organise a very lucrative auction of promises. George, normally known as something of a curmudgeon, even agrees to offer a course of piano lessons to the highest bidder. Their shared enthusiasm for doing the Right Thing means that for the first time in ages they are distracted from the deep-seated problems in their marriage.

But it's the calm before the storm. Following the auction, Sarah makes an unwelcome discovery - the sick boy's parents have dipped in to the charity fund and spent a significant amount on a holiday - without even taking their ill son with them. Sarah faces a horrible dilemma - should she expose the parents, thereby possibly denying him the operation? Or should she stay silent and be complicit in their criminal and immoral act?

Writer ..... Hugh Costello
Producer ..... Eoin O'Callaghan
Director ..... Eoin O'Callaghan.

TUE 15:00 Life at LIPA (b084bmf1)
Showtime

Raising the curtain on a very modern performing arts school, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

In the second of three programmes, broadcaster Janice Long meets actors Sarah and Connor and sound technician Django during their final year of their performing arts degrees.

Sarah always wanted to be a star. Her parents would proudly show videos of her singing Disney songs as a young child. Sarah's life has changed dramatically since moving from California to Liverpool for the start of her course, three years ago. She is struggling with artistic and personal challenges during her final year of drama school, and is faced with having to leave the UK in a few short months.

Connor's appetite for acting also began as a child, inspired by watching Power Rangers on TV. He was brought up in Mexborough, South Yorkshire where he admits a career in the arts isn't often a first choice for many. Connor is hoping to get an agent to help him launch his acting career after graduation.

Sound technician Django is the popular man on campus to know. He can be found running between recording sessions, theatre performances and gigs and is already mourning the end of his university life.

In audio diaries and interviews, Sarah, Connor and Django share their professional insecurities, artistic triumphs, personal challenges and hopes for the future. With exclusive and close-up access to life at LIPA, we meet the young people who want to become the arts practitioners of the future and those who are trying to get them there.

Producer: Rebecca Maxted
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 15:30 Shared Experience (b084bmf3)
Series 6, Shattered

Shattered: "I'm existing, not living" is how one woman describes the effect of the parasomnia that causes night terrors and insomnia, which she says are wrecking her life. Three people tell Fi Glover how they cope with a chronic sleep disorder, something that affects many of us at some point in our lives.

Producer: Maggie Ayre.

TUE 16:00 It's Obscene! (b084bmf5)
Matthew Syed of the Times explores the vexed role of money at the pinnacle of contemporary sport and challenges the popular notion that leading sportsman pay is obscene.

It's obscene, Syed argues, that many of the top jobs in this country are based on privilege rather than merit. It's obscene that much of the world's population are born into hardship. But saying it's obscene for a football player to be earning a lot of money, working in the most fiercely meritocratic environment imaginable? That's just prejudice, he says, and it deserves to be challenged.

Pointing out that entry costs to a career in football are almost non-existent and the opportunities broad, Syed will visit players and managers such as Claudio Ranieri and Joey Barton to make the case that the joy of sport is in its transparency, and that football more than any other sector holds a torch up to the covert networks, cosy alliances and hidden hand-ups that characterise other industries.

Alongside fellow journalist Alyson Rudd and tennis player Janko Tipsarevic, Syed aims to take an axe to one of the holiest totems of consensual opinion.

Producer: Sean Glynn
A Resonance production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b084bmf7)
Series 41, Lucy Porter on Cary Grant

The comedian and writer Lucy Porter champions Cary Grant as her Great Life finding that, despite his troubled relationships with women off screen, his on screen charm and generosity towards his female co stars redeems him. Lucy joins Matthew Parris along with Grant's biographer, Geoffrey Wansell, to discuss the troubled screen icon's humble beginnings in Bristol and following him to the glamour and wealth of Los Angeles.

Producer: Maggie Ayre.

TUE 17:00 PM (b0848md3)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0848md5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 18:30 Clare in the Community (b084bmf9)
Series 11, Momento

Episode 4 - Momento

Riots have broken out on the Sparrowhawk estate and ruined the team's family fun day. In all the chaos, Clare has lost her memory and is roaming the streets, encountering all sorts of characters as she tries to work out who she is.

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

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

Each week we join Clare in her continued struggle to control both her professional and private life In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.

Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Producer Alexandra Smith

A BBC Studios production.

TUE 19:00 The Archers (b084bmgq)
David fights a losing battle, and Lynda despairs at her cast's interventions.

TUE 19:15 Front Row (b0848md7)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b084bgrq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

TUE 20:00 Faith or Family (b084bmgs)
What happens when individuals try to leave Britain's Hasidic Jewish community? Ultra-orthodox Jews live by 19th-century traditions in a modern world. But there are some who struggle with this way of life. In this documentary, two people reveal what happened to them once they made the decision to leave - a decision that meant letting go of everything they knew. This is a story about sacrifice and tradition, and a clash between two worlds.
Produced and presented by Camila Ruz and Charlotte Pritchard.
Illustration by Laurène Boglio.

TUE 20:40 In Touch (b0848md9)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.

TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b084bmn7)
Claudia Hammond presents a series that explores the limits and potential of the human mind.

TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (b084bhcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b0848mdc)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b084bjbz)
Nutshell, Episode 7

The seventh episode of Nutshell by the acclaimed author Ian McEwan and read by the actor Tim McInnerny.

Ian McEwan's latest novel is a modern-day riff on Hamlet told from the unusual perspective of an unborn child who eavesdrops on his mother and property developer uncle as they plot the murder of his father.

'Bounded in the nutshell' of Trudy's womb, the foetus is witness to a plot. Unable to escape the confines of the uterus, he is forced to eavesdrop on his mother Ger(Trudy) and her lover, property-developer Claude, as they plan to murder his father, a hapless poet called John Cairncross. The ambitious but deeply banal Claude is of course brother to John and, consequently, villainous uncle to the unborn narrator. Claude and Trudy devise an elaborate facade involving anti-freeze and a great many props to cover their tracks and suggest that John's death was actually suicide. As witness to all these goings-ons, the nine-month old resident of Trudy's womb keeps up a running commentary that is both tragic and wryly entertaining, as he muses on his own future and becomes determined to subvert their plan and avenge the murder. Nutshell's Denmark is an elegant Georgian terraced house in London St. John's Wood that has become shabby and dilapidated, but Claude has designs on it.

It's a classic tale of murder and deceit told with tremendous wit and clever wordplay and is a brilliant re-working of the Shakespearean original.

Tim McInnerny is known for his many roles on television and stage appearing in films such Johnny English and TV such as Sherlock and the recent National Treasure. Early in his career he featured as Lord Percy Percy and Captain Darling in the Blackadder series.

Ian McEwan is a critically acclaimed author of short stories and novels for adults. His novels include The Child in Time, which won the 1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year, The Cement Garden, Enduring Love, Amsterdam which won the 1998 Booker Prize, Atonement, Saturday, On Chesil Beach, Solar, Sweet Tooth and The Children Act.

TUE 23:00 Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar (b084bmn9)
History and the Role of the Entertainer

The Godfather of Alternative Comedy delivers a mixture of stand-up, memoir and philosophy from behind the counter of his Imaginary Sandwich Bar.

Episode 4 - History and the Role of the Entertainer

Alexei explores the role of the entertainer. Along the way he explains why he will never go on Strictly Come Dancing, the reason Newsnight needs to be 11 hours long and questions why TV comedy panel shows help rehabilitate the careers of 'war criminals'.

Starring Alexei Sayle, Jake Yapp, Nicholas Parsons and Paul Merton
Written by Alexei Sayle
Additional Material by Sarah Campbell
Produced by Joe Nunnery
A BBC Studios Production.

TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b084bmnc)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.

WEDNESDAY 07 DECEMBER 2016

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0848mg5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b084bgrn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]

WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0848mg7)
The latest shipping forecast.

WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0848mg9)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0848mgc)
The latest shipping forecast.

WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0848mgf)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0854lfc)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, Dean of King's College Cambridge.

WED 05:45 Farming Today (b0848mgh)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03thtfs)
Parrot Crossbill

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

John Aitchison tells the story of the parrot crossbill. The Parrot Crossbill lives only in a few native pinewoods in Scotland. When they're at the top of pine trees a view of the Parrot Crossbill is tricky, so crossbill experts use the birds' calls to tell them apart from Common and Scottish Crossbills. Parrot crossbills have a deeper call than the others.

WED 06:00 Today (b084bn5l)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

WED 09:00 Midweek (b084bn5n)
Lively and diverse conversation with Libby Purves and guests.

WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b084bn5q)
Mad Enchantment, Episode 3

The story of Claude Monet's later years and the famous paintings he produced at home in Giverny:

To accommodate the enormous canvases he's working on, the painter must get approval to extend his studios. The new space will become the size of an aircraft hangar, as 'la grande decoration' proceeds..

Reader Allan Corduner

Producer Duncan Minshull.

WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0848mgk)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b084bn5s)
Forty Weeks, Melon

By Katherine Jakeways

Romantic comedy about love, infidelity and accidental pregnancy.

With twenty weeks until the baby's due, Sam has moved in with Bayley - the two of them are making a go of it. But Sam can't stop thinking about Rose. Meanwhile Rose is secretly getting closer to Bayley herself.

Forty Weeks tells the story of a pregnancy, from conception to birth. It's a love story between two people, just not the two people who are having the baby.

Writer Katherine Jakeways (North by Northamptonshire) is described by The Radio Times as the 'new Victoria Wood' saying "her character comedy is so acutely observed and so sharp that it's in danger of causing permanent injury." Starring Rebecca Humphries (Big Bad World), Matthew Baynton (The Wrong Mans), Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat) and Julia Deakin (I'm Alan Partridge).

Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.

WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b084bp5j)
Simon and Huw - Together Stronger

Fi Glover introduces friends who experienced Euro 2016 in different ways - one at home in Swansea and the other in Europe - but who share the same thrill at Wales' achievement. Another conversation in the series that proves its 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 Black Flight and the New Suburbia (b07jwt5s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]

WED 11:30 Gloomsbury (b060bs04)
Series 3, One Day My Prince Will Come

The visit of the Prince of Wales to Sizzlinghurst to admire Vera's garden has ardent Monarchist, Mrs Gosling, in a tizzy. It also leaves Henry on edge. and suspecting everyone of trying to assassinate the Prince.

With good cause it would seem.

Gosling's rampant Republicanism and grandmother's shot gun means that Henry has no choice but to lock the gardener up in the potting shed. Then two gun-toting Americans pop in unannounced and brandish their weapons on the front lawn - the poet Gertrude Klein and the socialite Mrs Wallis Simpleton.

Henry manages to disarm them just as the Prince makes his entrance. But when the Prince of Wales makes a play for Vera, asking her out on a clandestine date to to the theatre, Henry regrets getting rid of the guns.

If the Prince continues to threaten his marriage, Henry might have to assassinate the Prince of Wales himself.

Produced by Jamie Rix
A Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 12:00 News Summary (b0848mgm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 12:04 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (b084bp5l)
Series 4, The Hunt for Nothing, Part 2

In the last episode the team started investigating the following inquiry, sent in to curiouscases@bbc.co.uk:
'Is there any such thing as nothing?'

They discovered why quantum fluctuations and the Higgs field mean that nothing is impossible. But how about in mathematics?

The story of zero is fraught with inspiration, competition and controversy. Banned in Florence and hated by the Church, zero had a rocky road to acceptance after its genesis in India.

Hannah talks to author Alex Bellos and hears about his journey to India to see the birth of zero, featuring archive from 'Nirvana by Numbers' on BBC Radio 4.

Plus, Adam is sent on a mission to understand calculus and enlists the help of Jeff Heys from Montana State University.

If you have any Curious Cases for the team to solve please email curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

Presenters: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin.

WED 12:15 You and Yours (b0848mgp)
Consumer affairs programme.

WED 12:57 Weather (b0848mgr)
The latest weather forecast.

WED 13:00 World at One (b0848mgt)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

WED 13:45 Whodunnit? (b0851kdg)
The Pregnant Teen Vanishes, Generation Sensible

Half of England's pregnant teenagers have vanished. They didn't go missing, they just never conceived. And the teenage pregnancy rate plummeted. It's one of the greatest societal mysteries we've seen. A real-life Whodunnit. Everyone wants to crack the case and keep rates dropping.

In Chapter 3, are we seeing the end of cider at the bus stop leading to drunken sexual encounters?

Michael Blastland is on the case in this non-fiction investigation, unravelling the causes at the root of the biggest trends. These are true-life mysteries that creep up on us until the pattern of our lives is altered. He examines the culprits and punctures presumptions about causation and its implications for policy making.

Encountering red-herrings, false accusations, Government conspiracy, and hack journalism, finding out whodunnit in the case of a 50% reduction in teenage pregnancy is not going to be easy.

At its heart may lie a Government desire to prevent under 18 conception - a well-meaning intention, backed up by some strong evidence that socio-economic disadvantage can be both a cause and a consequence of teenage motherhood. But what makes huge swathes of teenagers change their behaviour?

Whodunnit? is a new series and a new kind of investigation. It owes its style to detective storytelling. But the cases are unequivocally real. These are societal mysteries - true-life changes in the pattern of our lives, changes that might even feature some of us.

Presenter: Michael Blastland
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 14:00 The Archers (b084bmgq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]

WED 14:15 Drama (b084bp7x)
The Bone Orchard

by Kate Lock

Sue's return to Liverpool for her parents' wedding anniversary brings her face-to-face with a secret from her father's past
and the real truth about their relationship.

Produced and directed by Marion Nancarrow

Paul Barber (The Full Monty, Only Fools and Horses) and Leanne Best (Cold Feet) play father and daughter in this thought-provoking drama by Kate Lock, who won the Adrian Pagan prize for best play in 2015. Set in Liverpool, Kate Fitzgerald (Brookside) stars as a woman with a dark past, who becomes the catalyst for a family to re-examine everything they thought they knew about each other.

WED 15:00 Money Box (b0848mgw)
Money Box Live

Financial phone-in.

WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b084bmn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]

WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b084bp81)
Sociological discussion programme, presented by Laurie Taylor.

WED 16:30 The Media Show (b0848mh6)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world.

WED 17:00 PM (b0848mhb)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0848mhd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 18:30 Women Talking About Cars (b084bpc0)
Olivia Colman

Victoria Coren Mitchell interviews famous women about their lives through the cars they have known, the journeys they've been on and the things they shout in traffic.
This week Olivia Colman reveals the nickname of her beloved Morris Minor, and answers that crucial question for any award-winning actress: "What are you driving these days?"
With car descriptions read by Josette Simon.
Produced by Gareth Edwards
A BBC Studios Production.

WED 19:00 The Archers (b084bpg1)
Helen has a heavy heart, and Susan has her ear to the ground.

WED 19:15 Front Row (b0848mhg)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b084bn5s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]

WED 20:00 We Need to Talk About Death (b084bpjt)
Ease My Pain

Joan Bakewell and her panel explore one of our greatest fears at the end of life - pain.

Pain comes in all shapes and sizes and the meaning we ascribe to it - our suffering - drastically shapes our experience of pain, and how we manage it.

Good symptom control at the end of life requires not only prescription of the right combination of medications, but also knowing when and how to take them. Many doctors are reluctant to prescribe opioids such as morphine until late in the course of disease, and often the doses are too weak. Furthermore, the health system often struggles to keep up with a patients changing symptoms as their disease progresses.

Joan explores what patients can do to better the situation. She dispels the myths about morphine & highlights the obstacles that most commonly hinder our chance of a so called 'good' death. She also discovers how religious belief can influence our experience of pain at the end of life.

Producer: Beth Eastwood

Some clips: Courtesy of Healthtalk.

WED 20:45 Four Thought (b084bpjw)
Talks with a personal dimension.

WED 21:00 Science Stories (b084bpjy)
Series 4, How Much Testosterone Makes You a Man?

Testosterone has been claimed as one of the most important drivers of human life - through the agency of sex and aggression. In the 19th century, Charles-Eduoard Brown-Séquard injected himself with extracts from ground-up animal testicles, and made startling claims for its rejuvenating properties and its ability to enhance virility. But the amount of testosterone derived from the injection was actually so small that it could only have been a placebo effect. Today synthesised testosterone is increasingly prescribed for the so-called 'male menopause'; it's also regularly used for trans men as they transition, as well as for some women with low libido. In 'How Much Testosterone Makes You a Man', Naomi Alderman explores how testosterone had been used and abused in the past. She considers the credits and deficits of its story, and asks what it can tell us about identity and masculinity.

WED 21:30 Midweek (b084bn5n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

WED 21:58 Weather (b0848mhj)
The latest weather forecast.

WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b0848mhl)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b084bpk0)
Nutshell, Episode 8

The final episode of Nutshell by the acclaimed author Ian McEwan and read by the actor Tim McInnerny.

Ian McEwan's latest novel is a modern-day riff on Hamlet told from the unusual perspective of an unborn child who eavesdrops on his mother and property developer uncle as they plot the murder of his father.

'Bounded in the nutshell' of Trudy's womb, the foetus is witness to a plot. Unable to escape the confines of the uterus, he is forced to eavesdrop on his mother Ger(Trudy) and her lover, property-developer Claude, as they plan to murder his father, a hapless poet called John Cairncross. The ambitious but deeply banal Claude is of course brother to John and, consequently, villainous uncle to the unborn narrator. Claude and Trudy devise an elaborate facade involving anti-freeze and a great many props to suggest that John's death was actually suicide. As witness to all these goings-ons, the nine-month old resident of Trudy's womb keeps up a running commentary that is both tragic and wryly entertaining, as he muses on his own future and becomes determined to subvert their plan and avenge the murder. Nutshell's Denmark is an elegant Georgian terraced house in London St. John's Wood that has become shabby and dilapidated, but Claude has designs on it.

It's a classic tale of murder and deceit told with tremendous wit and clever wordplay and is a brilliant re-working of the Shakespearean original.

Tim McInnerny is known for his many roles on television and stage appearing in films such Johnny English and TV such as Sherlock and the recent National Treasure. Early in his career he featured as Lord Percy Percy and Captain Darling in the Blackadder series.

Ian McEwan is a critically acclaimed author of short stories and novels for adults. His novels include The Child in Time, which won the 1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year, The Cement Garden, Enduring Love, Amsterdam which won the 1998 Booker Prize, Atonement, Saturday, On Chesil Beach, Solar, Sweet Tooth and The Children Act.

WED 23:00 Terry Alderton: More Crazy Now (b084bpk2)
Giant Hornets

Terry Alderton flexes his comedy muscles with more craziness and nonsense. Street Kid, Victor, Ed and The Bear and, this week, a lot of terrifying, buzzing hornets.

It's more Terry, more crazy and happening right now. Some bees were harmed during the making of this programme... but not by us.

Written by and starring Terry Alderton
Featuring Johnny Spurling
Additional material from Johnny Spurling and Richard Melvin
Produced by Johnny Spurling and Sean Kerwin
Executive Producer: Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 23:15 Roger McGough's Other Half (b04wwgzm)
Episode 1

Roger McGough is joined by Helen Atkinson-Wood, Philip Jackson and Richie Webb in a hilarious and surreal new sketch show for BBC Radio 4. With sketches about Fandom, Fatherhood and 17th Century France, you'll hear his familiar voice in a whole new light. Expect merriment and melancholy in equal measures, and a whisker of witty wordplay too. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.

WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b084bpk6)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster.

THURSDAY 08 DECEMBER 2016

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b0848mkj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b084bn5q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]

THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0848mkl)
The latest shipping forecast.

THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0848mkn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0848mkq)
The latest shipping forecast.

THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0848mks)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0854yk0)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, Dean of King's College Cambridge.

THU 05:45 Farming Today (b0848mkv)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwxfp)
Siskin

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

Martin Hughes-Games presents the Siskin. Siskins are visiting our gardens as never before. These birds now breed across the UK and cash in on our love of bird-feeding. They are now regular visitors to seed dispensers of all kinds.

THU 06:00 Today (b0854yk2)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

THU 09:00 In Our Time (b084d7b0)
Harriet Martineau

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Harriet Martineau who, from a non-conformist background in Norwich, became one of the best known writers in the C19th. She had a wide range of interests and used a new, sociological method to observe the world around her, from religion in Egypt to slavery in America and the rights of women everywhere. She popularised writing about economics for those outside the elite and, for her own popularity, was invited to the coronation of Queen Victoria, one of her readers.

With

Valerie Sanders

Ella Dzelzainis

And

Karen O'Brien

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b084d7b2)
Mad Enchantment, Episode 4

The story of Claude Monet's later years and the famous paintings he produced at home in Giverny:

The painter is under pressure from his friend George Clemenceau to donate some canvases to the state. At the same time he meets one of the world's wealthiest collectors, Kojiro Matsukata from Tokyo.

Reader Allan Corduner

Producer Duncan Minshull.

THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0848mkx)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b084d7b4)
Forty Weeks, Cabbage

By Katherine Jakeways

Romantic comedy about love, infidelity and accidental pregnancy.

When Bayley has a fall, Rose rushes her to hospital and is forced to reveal who she really is. Then as she awaits news of Bayley and the baby, Rose meets Sam for the first time since the break up.

Forty Weeks tells the story of a pregnancy, from conception to birth. It's a love story between two people, just not the two people who are having the baby.

Writer Katherine Jakeways (North by Northamptonshire) is described by The Radio Times as the 'new Victoria Wood' saying "her character comedy is so acutely observed and so sharp that it's in danger of causing permanent injury." Starring Rebecca Humphries (Big Bad World), Matthew Baynton (The Wrong Mans), Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat) and Julia Deakin (I'm Alan Partridge).

Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.

THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b084d7b6)
Cricket, Colour and Quotas in South Africa

Alex Capstick follows the stories of two young black cricketers in South Africa as they struggle to break through into the professional game. Since the end of apartheid sport has played a major role in easing racial tensions in South Africa, particularly in football and rugby. But across the piece black representation remains well below target in many sports at the national level. The South African sports minister is calling for quota systems to be more rigorously enforced. But critics argue that the government has not addressed the root cause of the problem which is chronic under investment in the townships where young black talent is found.

David Lockwood producing.

THU 11:30 The Art of Australia (b084d7b8)
Episode 2

In part two of this three part series, Corin Throsby explores the influence of Aboriginal voices as well as those from recent immigrant populations within Australian culture. She hears from Christos Tsiolkas, who suggests that the UK has a distorted vision of Australia, as many of the influential voices who've been telling us the story of the Australian nation are actually ex-pats who often left before large numbers of immigrants, particularly from Asia, but also more recently the Middle East, started to make Australia their home. Corin hears how racism has played a significant part in Australian culture and society, and how it is only recently that mainstream media has begun to represent the true nature of the population more accurately. Corin hears from indigenous artists including the rapper Briggs, artist Jonathan Jones and poet Ellen Van Neerven about the particular struggles and responsibilities they feel - as well as their belief in the power of culture to empower groups who for so long have been subject to discrimination. Corin also hears how Australia's position next to Asia has the potential to position it at the heart of a global cultural life as the 21st century develops.

THU 12:00 News Summary (b0848mkz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

THU 12:04 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (b084d8cc)
Series 4, The Bad Moon Rising

'A teacher I work with swears that around the time of the full moon kids are rowdier in the classroom, and more marital disharmony in the community," says Jeff Boone from El Paso in Texas. 'Is there any biological reason why the moon's phases could affect human moods and behaviour?'

Our scientific sleuths sift through the evidence to find out if the moon really does inspire lunacy. They consider Othello's testimony, a study on dog bites and homicides in Florida before coming to a conclusion based on current scientific evidence.

Featuring neuroscientist Eric Chudler from the University of Washington and health broadcaster and author Claudia Hammond.

If you have any Curious Cases for the team to solve please email curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

Presenters: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin.

THU 12:15 You and Yours (b0848ml1)
Consumer affairs programme.

THU 12:57 Weather (b0848ml3)
The latest weather forecast.

THU 13:00 World at One (b0848ml5)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

THU 13:45 Whodunnit? (b0853n4n)
The Pregnant Teen Vanishes, The Mouse Trap

Half of England's pregnant teenagers have vanished. They didn't go missing, they just never conceived. And the teenage pregnancy rate plummeted. It's one of the greatest societal mysteries we've seen. A real-life Whodunnit. Everyone wants to crack the case and keep rates dropping.

In today's penultimate chapter, we look for the means by which teenage pregnancy rates fell off a cliff in 2008. Is it down to contraceptive technology?

Michael Blastland is on the case in this non-fiction investigation, unravelling the causes at the root of the biggest trends. These are true-life mysteries that creep up on us until the pattern of our lives is altered. He examines the culprits and punctures presumptions about causation and its implications for policy making.

Encountering red-herrings, false accusations, Government conspiracy, and hack journalism, finding out whodunnit in the case of a 50% reduction in teenage pregnancy is not going to be easy.

At its heart may lie a Government desire to prevent under 18 conception - a well-meaning intention, backed up by some strong evidence that socio-economic disadvantage can be both a cause and a consequence of teenage motherhood. But what makes huge swathes of teenagers change their behaviour?

Whodunnit? is a new series and a new kind of investigation. It owes its style to detective storytelling. But the cases are unequivocally real. These are societal mysteries - true-life changes in the pattern of our lives, changes that might even feature some of us.

Presenter: Michael Blastland
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 14:00 The Archers (b084bpg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]

THU 14:15 Drama (b084d8cq)
Abdication, The King's Matter

Stanley Baldwin and Cosmo Lang are determined that Edward VIII will not turn back the clock and impose his will on the governance of England by marrying the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

If Edward and Mrs Simpson were to have their way, the Church of England would suffer disestablishment and the national government would collapse.

In essence, this is the story of two men determined to persuade the King from a marriage they feel is not only unsuitable, but also wrong.

Jim Broadbent stars as Stanley Baldwin, Hugh Ross as Cosmo Lang and Anthony Calf plays Edward VIII.

Tomorrow, the story is told from the point of view of Wallis Simpson, as imagined from the memoirs of those based with her in the south of France at that time.

Written by Christopher Lee
Directed by Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 15:00 Open Country (b084d8cs)
Whitelee Windfarm on Eaglesham Moor

Eaglesham Moor, which extends over thirty square miles just south of Glasgow, has arguably been viewed by those living around it as a rather inhospitable landscape where only the very hardy would go. This dramatic high plateau has had many uses over the centuries, including farming and forestry, however the most recent change is the addition of Whitelee Windfarm, the biggest onshore wind farm in the UK. Helen Mark explores the land between the 215 turbines to discover the human history of the moor and the changes to this landscape before and after wind farm. She sets out on the new walking and cycling trails that have transformed access to the moor to meet local residents, as well as a farmer who can trace his family history at Eaglesham Moor back over 500 years.

Much of the moor is made up of important peatland habitat which was damaged by afforestation before the wind farm was built. As a part of their contract at Whitelee, ScottishPower Renewables has been restoring previously forested areas back to bog habitat using an innovative technique. Helen goes to see this work in action and talks to the team about the challenges of building a renewable energy project on a carbon sink. Helen also visits the Whitelee Operations Centre to ask ScottishPower Renewables about some of the concerns about the construction of wind farms.

THU 15:27 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b0848q6j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]

THU 15:30 Bookclub (b0848rl4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]

THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b084d8cw)
The Proud Valley

Francine Stock follows in Paul Robeson's footsteps and visits the locations and setting of The Proud Valley, the ground-breaking drama about an African-American who becomes a folk hero in a coal-mining community in the Rhondda Valley.

THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b0848ml7)
Adam Rutherford explores the science that is changing our world.

THU 17:00 PM (b0848ml9)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0848mlc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

THU 18:30 The Fair Intellectual Club (b084d9zy)
A Fling with Mr Franklin

A young American inventor named Ben Franklin ends up in Edinburgh. The young ladies of a secret scholarly society are seduced by his exciting talk of the New World and his intellectual prowess. An elopement is on the cards as Marjory is set to be torn from the wrinkly arms of her fiancé. Will the girls leave their beloved Scotland? Sparks fly and electricity abounds in the final episode of Lucy Porter's 18th Century Sitcom.

THU 19:00 The Archers (b084db00)
Usha meets a prospective tenant, and Jill faces up to the enemy.

THU 19:15 Front Row (b0848mlf)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b084d7b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (b084db02)
Series looking at important issues in the news. Presented by David Aaronovitch.

THU 20:30 In Business (b084ddfd)
Whatever Happened to Advertising?

Last year, the UK became the first place where spending on digital ads exceeded that spent on all other forms of advertising combined. In this new world, what are ad agencies doing to square up to the challenges they face?

Management Today's Matthew Gwyther presents.
The producer is Nina Robinson.

THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b0848ml7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]

THU 21:30 In Our Time (b084d7b0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

THU 21:58 Weather (b0848mlh)
The latest weather forecast.

THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b0848mlk)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b084df3h)
My Purple Scented Novel, Episode 1

My Purple Scented Novel is writer Ian McEwan's tale of literary theft first published earlier this year. It's read here in two episodes by Roger Allam as part of a Book at Bedtime celebration of McEwan's recent work (following on from a radio adaptation of his latest novel Nutshell read by Tim McInnerny). Episode One.

Ian McEwan was commissioned to write a piece for an art exhibit at the Fondazione Prada in Milan entitled 'The Stolen Image,' and was asked to address the subject of 'unrepentant or guiltless theft.' He decided to write about the betrayal of one fictional author, Jocelyn Tarbert, by another, Parker Sparrow, who is also an old friend. Both writers enjoy moderate success until Jocelyn Tarbert moves into television and earns himself the title of 'national treasure'. Sparrow who is jealous of Jocelyn's Tarbert's elevated public status, has no qualms about 'appropriating' the work of Tarbert and presenting it as his own.

'His rise coincided with..my decline. Then his descent was my earthly triumph... I stole a life, and I don't intend to give it back.'

In the form of a confession by Parker Sparrow, McEwan records the crime as it unfolds and casts a wry look at the jealousies and insecurities that run close to the surface of the literary world. How far would someone go in the pursuit of success? Is Jocelyn Tarbert actually relieved to relinquish his role of National Treasure to Parker Sparrow and sink back into obscurity?

Ian McEwan is a critically acclaimed author of short stories and novels for adults. His novels include The Child in Time (1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year), The Cement Garden, Enduring Love, Amsterdam (winner of 1998 Booker Prize), Atonement, Saturday, On Chesil Beach, Solar, Sweet Tooth and The Children Act.

Roger Allam is an award winning actor with numerous stage, screen and radio credits. He is well-known to Radio 4 listeners as Douglas Richardson in Cabin Pressure, famously played Inspector Javert in the original London production of Les Miserables and has recently starred in BBC TV's The Missing.

Writer: Ian McEwan
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Jules Wilkinson.

THU 23:00 Thom Tuck Goes Straight to DVD (b01s0dd9)
Bollywood

In his debut solo Radio 4 show, comedian Thom Tuck recounted heart-rending tales of loves lost while drawing comparisons with 54 Straight-to-DVD Disney movies he'd watched, so we don't ever have to.

Thom now turns his attention to other genres of Straight-to-DVD movies - seeking out further underrated gems and drawing parallels with captivating personal tales from his own life experience, backed by cinematic music, so we can rest easy.

In this fourth and final episode, Thom looks at the bright lights of Bollywood: love triangles, comedy and dare devil thrills all set to a background of songs and dancing in a melodramatic extravaganza, a synopsis which heavily influence Thom's stories of his upbringing in Bangladesh.

"...a seductive experience" The Guardian

Produced by Lianne Coop.

THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b084ddfg)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.

FRIDAY 09 DECEMBER 2016

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b0848mn7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b084d7b2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]

FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0848mn9)
The latest shipping forecast.

FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0848mnc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0848mnf)
The latest shipping forecast.

FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0848mnh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0858fp7)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, Dean of King's College Cambridge.

FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b0848mnk)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.

FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b020tqcb)
Golden Oriole

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

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Golden Oriole. Golden orioles look as exotic as they sound. The male is bright yellow with black wings and a reddish bill. The female is more greenish, but both are very hard to see among the fluttering leaves.

FRI 06:00 Today (b084dkq9)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b0848q7q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]

FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b084dkqc)
Mad Enchantment, Episode 5

The story of Claude Monet's later years and the famous paintings he produced at home in Giverny:

His cataracts are worsening, which leads to a disintegration of solid forms, but an intensity of vision. Should he visit a doctor in Paris? And what about his donation of paintings to the Orangerie after his death?

Reader Allan Corduner

Producer Duncan Minshull.

FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0848mnm)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b084dkqf)
Forty Weeks, Baby

By Katherine Jakeways

Romantic comedy about love, infidelity and accidental pregnancy.

The months of excitement and anticipation are about to come to an end, but Sam has something to confess. Who will Bayley choose to have at her side for the birth - Sam or Rose?

Forty Weeks tells the story of a pregnancy, from conception to birth. It's a love story between two people, just not the two people who are having the baby.

Writer Katherine Jakeways (North by Northamptonshire) is described by The Radio Times as the 'new Victoria Wood' saying "her character comedy is so acutely observed and so sharp that it's in danger of causing permanent injury." Starring Rebecca Humphries (Big Bad World), Matthew Baynton (The Wrong Mans), Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat) and Julia Deakin (I'm Alan Partridge).

Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.

FRI 11:00 The Online Identity Crisis (b07tqvvp)
Our identity is no longer restricted to a passport or National Insurance number. The average adult in Britain spends one day a week online and a large part of this time will be on Google, Facebook, Twitter, or shopping sites. As a result, whether we are aware of it or not, each of us also has a distinct online identity.

This digital persona allows strangers to piece together more about us than we might think. Every minute of every day, online data is being collected, curated and exploited to categorise, sell and even pigeonhole our identity.

Technology and the rise of big data allows outsiders to infer religious and political affiliations simply by examining our social networks. Facial recognition software can put names to complete strangers. If pictured outside a mosque or a synagogue, a club or a school, or leaving a hospice or an STD clinic, assumptions will be made about what kind of person we are and the lifestyle we lead. These decisions could affect our job or even the chances of finding somewhere to live.

With the distinction between our online and offline lives melting away, Financial Times' science columnist Anjana Ahuja asks if it's time to radically rethink the rules about online identity. She talks to privacy activists, computer scientists and data brokers, and hears exclusively from the lawyer who is campaigning for the introduction of a civil law to protect individuals against breaches of online identity.

Producer: Sue Nelson
A Boffin Media production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 11:30 Charles Paris Mystery (b084dnqp)
The Cinderella Killer, Episode 2

by Jeremy Front
Based on Simon Brett's novel

Directed by Sally Avens

When the star of Cinderella is shot Charles finds himself filling Baron Hardup's shoes. But who wanted him dead? Charles comes under suspicion now he's been promoted up the billing.

FRI 12:00 News Summary (b0848mnp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

FRI 12:04 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (b084dnqr)
Series 4, The Lost Producer

Why do some people have a terrible sense of direction? The team receive a mysterious message from an anonymous listener who constantly gets lost. Can they help her find the answer?

This listener may, or may not, be the team's producer, Michelle. She would like to state that it's not her fault that she has been dealt a bad genetic hand which has led to faulty place cells developing in her brain. And head direction cells that appear to be pointing the wrong way. More understanding should surely be afforded to those who are navigationally challenged.

Hugo Spiers from University College London, has devised a free game called 'Sea Hero Quest' which anyone can use to test their navigational skills. Plus Catherine Loveday from the University of Westminster suggests strategies to help those who tend to get lost.

If you have any Curious Cases for us to solve please email curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

Presenters: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin.

FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b0848mnr)
Consumer news and issues.

FRI 12:57 Weather (b0848mnt)
The latest weather forecast.

FRI 13:00 World at One (b0848mnw)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

FRI 13:45 Whodunnit? (b0853mrb)
The Pregnant Teen Vanishes, Whodunnit?

Half of England's pregnant teenagers have vanished. They didn't go missing, they just never conceived. And the teenage pregnancy rate plummeted. A real-life Whodunnit. Everyone wants to crack the case and keep rates dropping.

Michael Blastland is closing in but getting caught endlessly in an intricate spider web of causation as he tries to find the explanation for one of the most dramatic societal changes England has ever seen. He's picking off the culprits and puncturing presumptions about causation and its implications for policy making.

Encountering red-herrings, false accusations, Government conspiracy, and hack journalism, finding out whodunnit in the case of a 50% reduction in teenage pregnancy has given him sleepless nights.

At its heart may lie a Government desire to prevent under 18 conception - a well-meaning intention, backed up by some strong evidence that socio-economic disadvantage can be both a cause and a consequence of teenage motherhood. But what makes huge swathes of teenagers change their behaviour?

Whodunnit? is a new series and a new kind of investigation. It owes its style to detective storytelling. But the cases are unequivocally real. These are societal mysteries - true-life changes in the pattern of our lives, changes that might even feature some of us.

Presenter: Michael Blastland
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 14:00 The Archers (b084db00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]

FRI 14:15 Drama (b085g2tq)
Abdication, The Crisis of Wallis Simpson

A new take on a well known piece of British history. Wallis Simpson's view of the abdication crisis as imagined from memoirs of those involved between December 4th and December 12th 1936 and based with her in the south of France at that time.

With a clearer mind, having fled to France to escape the publicity and press intrusion surrounding her impending marriage to Edward VIII, Wallis Simpson tries to persuade the King not to abdicate and convince him they can continue their relationship without the need to marry.

Written by Nicola Baldwin
Directed by Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for Radio 4.

FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b084dqp3)
Fowlmere

Eric Robson and the panel are in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire. Matt Biggs, Pippa Greenwood and Bob Flowerdew answer the horticultural questions from the audience.

Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 15:45 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b0848q4k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Sunday]

FRI 16:00 Last Word (b084dqpd)
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.

FRI 16:30 More or Less (b084dqpr)
Tim Harford investigates the numbers in the news.

FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b084dsb3)
Donald and Mark - Walking and Talking

Fi Glover introduces two men who share a determination to promote their heritage and the enjoyment of the countryside. Another conversation in the series that proves its 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 (b0848mny)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0848mp0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b084dqq6)
Series 49, Episode 6

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches.

FRI 19:00 The Archers (b084dsb5)
Pip and Toby make plans, and Adam takes advice.

FRI 19:15 Front Row (b0848mp2)
News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b084dkqf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b084dsk3)
Heidi Allen MP, Clive Lewis MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Reepham High School and College in Norfolk with a panel including the Conservative MP Heidi Allen and Clive Lewis MP the Shadow Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy.

FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b084dsk5)
A reflection on a topical issue.

FRI 21:00 A History of the Infinite (b084dsk7)
Omnibus, Part Two

University of Oxford professor Adrian Moore explores the philosophical, mathematical and cultural history of the infinite.

FRI 21:58 Weather (b0848mp4)
The latest weather forecast.

FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b0848mp6)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b084dsrl)
My Purple Scented Novel, Episode 2

My Purple Scented Novel is writer Ian McEwan's tale of literary theft first published earlier this year. It's read here in two episodes by Roger Allam as part of a Book at Bedtime celebration of McEwan's recent work (following on from a radio adaptation of his latest novel Nutshell read by Tim McInnerny). Episode Two.

Ian McEwan was commissioned to write a piece for an art exhibit at the Fondazione Prada in Milan entitled 'The Stolen Image,' and was asked to address the subject of 'unrepentant or guiltless theft.' He decided to write about the betrayal of one fictional author, Jocelyn Tarbert, by another, Parker Sparrow, who is also an old friend. Both writers enjoy moderate success until Jocelyn Tarbert moves into television and earns himself the title of 'national treasure'. Sparrow who is jealous of Jocelyn's Tarbert's elevated public status, has no qualms about 'appropriating' the work of Tarbert and presenting it as his own.

'His rise coincided with..my decline. Then his descent was my earthly triumph... I stole a life, and I don't intend to give it back.'

In the form of a confession by Parker Sparrow, McEwan records the crime as it unfolds and casts a wry look at the jealousies and insecurities that run close to the surface of the literary world. How far would someone go in the pursuit of success? Is Jocelyn Tarbert actually relieved to relinquish his role of National Treasure to Parker Sparrow and sink back into obscurity?

Ian McEwan is a critically acclaimed author of short stories and novels for adults. His novels include The Child in Time (1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year), The Cement Garden, Enduring Love, Amsterdam (winner of 1998 Booker Prize), Atonement, Saturday, On Chesil Beach, Solar, Sweet Tooth and The Children Act.

Roger Allam is an award winning actor with numerous stage, screen and radio credits. He is well-known to Radio 4 listeners as Douglas Richardson in Cabin Pressure, famously played Inspector Javert in the original London production of Les Miserables and has recently starred in BBC TV's The Missing.

Writer: Ian McEwan
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Jules Wilkinson.

FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b084bmf7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]

FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b084dsrn)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.

FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b084dsrq)
Rob and Chris - Beyond Methodism

Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a retired Methodist minister and his son about the religion that informs their lives, even when it's not practised. 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.