The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Kassia St Clair uncovers the hidden tales behind shades of black - from the kohl used in ancient Egypt to the famous Whitby mourning jewellery.
Read by Francesca Dymond
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain.
iPM is the news programme that starts with its listeners. Email ipm@bbc.co.uk. Twitter: @BBCiPM. Presented by Luke Jones and Eddie Mair.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
The latest weather forecast.
Clare Balding sadly says goodbye to The Nidderdale Way as she embarks on the last leg of this fifty three mile circular walking route. Her guides for the day, Margaret Lawrenson, Chris Bennett and John Byrom, persuade her to take a small detour to explore Brimham Rocks, an enchanted natural play park for children and a nightmare for grandparents. Once back on track they walk through some of the most picturesque villages and hamlets of North Yorkshire to arrive back in Pateley Bridge once more. Clare receives a badge for her efforts.
Producer Lucy Lunt.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
The latest weather forecast.
News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles chat with cricket commentator Henry "Blowers" Blofeld, Keane singer Tom Chaplin on his solo career, comedian Kiri Pritchard-Mclean & British Antarctic winter base commander Jess Walkup. We also hear interior designer Nicky Haslam's inheritance tracks and from the World Egg Throwing Championships in Lincolnshire.
Producer: Paul Waters
Presenters: Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles.
Jay Rayner visits Newtownards in Northern Ireland. Paula McIntyre, Rachel McCormack, Tim Anderson and Professor Barry Smith are this week's experts.
Producer: Miranda Hinkley
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
Food consultant: Anna Colquhoun
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
Helen Lewis of the New Statesman hears why politicians are entering unchartered waters. She asks what the DUP wants. And she talks to a new MP who's been unable to afford a house.
The editor is Peter Mulligan.
Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The Queen's Speech set out the Bills the Government intends to pass over one long Parliamentary session lasting two years. Many Conservative manifesto pledges were absent, among them a cap on energy bills, ending the State Pension "triple lock" and means testing the winter fuel payment in England and Wales. John Cullinane, Tax Policy Director at the Chartered Institute of Taxation explains what has and hasn't changed and Steve Thomas, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Greenwich examines the new Smart Meter Bill.
David Jackson, Head of National Planning at Savills Property Group explains his research into planning permissions for new homes. It suggests they're being concentrated in the wrong areas, where there's less need for housing.
A defined benefit pension pays retirement income which is related to pay and length of time in the scheme. Since reforms in 2015, which allowed people over the age of 55 to release cash from their pensions, more people have been transferring out of defined benefit schemes. The FCA now plans to consult on how advice should be provided to people who are considering it. Former FCA Technical Specialist Rory Percival and Claire Trott, Head of Pensions Strategy with Technical Connection discuss.
A group of single parents with a child under two have won a legal challenge against the government's benefit cap. It limits the total amount of benefit received to £20,000 a year except for in London where it's £23,000. To avoid it a lone parent must be able to work for at least 16 hours a week. A High Court judge said the limit was not meant to cover those households and failure to exclude them from the cap was discriminatory. Dalia Ben-Galim, Director of Policy at Gingerbread outlines what it means for lone parents.
Recorded the day before transmission, the satirical sketch show remains as sharp and topical as ever. Impressions and caricatures are the charming couriers of explosively satirical truth-bombs.
The series is written by Private Eye writers Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, together with Tom Coles, Ed Amsden, Sarah Campbell, Laurence Howarth, James Bugg, Laura Major, Max Davis, Jack Bernhardt and others.
The series stars Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Deborah Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.
A BBC Studios Production.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from the WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Solihull with the Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott MP, Deputy Editor of the website BrexitCentral Darren Grimes, Musician and co-founder of UnDivided Jamie MacColl and the Metro Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street.
Listeners have their say on the issues discussed on Any Questions? Presented by Anita Anand.
By Franz Kafka
Adapted by Alan Harris.
A darkly comic updating of the classic tale.
Gregor Samsa's life is dominated by routine - the monotony of his busy commute, mindless call centre job and crowded tower block home is steadily taking its toll. Then one morning Gregor awakes to find himself transformed into a giant insect. As he attempts to master life with six legs, his family must also learn to live with his new look.
Writer Alan Harris gives Kafka's classic a modern twist with a darkly comic edge. Starring Tom Basden (W1A), Kenneth Collard (Cuckoo), Felicity Montagu (Alpha Papa), Emma Sidi (W1A) and Tim Key (Alpha Papa).
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
The fortunes of seaside towns in east Kent ebb and flow, just like the tides off the sands at Margate and the marina in Ramsgate.
Laura Barton visits an instrument-maker's workshop in Ramsgate where Shem Mackey, a long-time resident originally from Ireland, makes viola da gambas from fruit woods. She contemplates the light over the English Channel and the relentless rhythms of the water with Jules Bigg of Ramsgate Music Hall.
Laura also finds a musician who's colonised unlikely spaces for music-making. Johann Karlberg has built an immaculate studio in an industrial complex next to a tyre dump. Originally from Sweden, he's now happily settled in this corner of Kent making a global brand of music with The Very Best. And Daisy Emily Warne, aka Kub, has returned to the town of her childhood to walk her dog on Margate's 'golden mile' and make her distinctive electronic music.
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week.Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Jane Thurlow.
Full coverage of the day's news.
Are white collar workers under threat from the new robotic workforce? Manufacturing companies have been replacing production line workers with robots for years, but as the technology becomes more advanced, they are being increasingly used in healthcare, law firms and HR departments. So is the white collar worker under threat? Evan Davis talks to three guests, a roboticist, an Artificial Intelligence consultancy worker and the CEO of a hotel chain who is already using robots in his business.
GUESTS
Thrishantha Nanayakkara - Roboticist, Imperial College
Dr. Michael Chui - Partner, IT and innovation, McKinsey Global Institute
Hubert Viriot - CEO, Yotel.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Clive Anderson and Arthur Smith are joined by Stephen Fry, Geri Horner, Martin Bell and Gina Yashere for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Portico Quartet and Cody ChesnuTT.
Producer: Debbie Kilbride.
Series of profiles of people who are currently making headlines.
A review of the week's cultural highlights.
999 was the first emergency telephone number in the world when it was launched on June 30th, 1937. Within the first week, more than a thousand calls were made to the service with one burglar arrested less than five minutes after a member of the public had dialled 999. Impressive stuff. But there were teething problems...
In the early days, only those wealthy enough to own a telephone could hope to avail of the service. Exchange room operators complained of stress caused by the raucous buzzers which alerted them to 999 calls. Advancing technology connected with the system began to alter the relationship between public and police. Almost unbelievably in hindsight, the 999 service wasn't made fully available across the nation until 1976.
Exactly 80 years after it was introduced, Ian Sansom dials up the remarkable story of our three digit emergency number. Between rare archive, real life-or-death emergencies and interviews with call handlers on the front line, Ian takes a personal look at the evolution of 999 and asks what the future holds for this pioneering British institution.
Producer: Conor Garrett.
Bridget Kendall tells the stories of four crucial episodes from the early Cold War through the memories of those who were there, in an omnibus edition of episodes from this week's programmes in Radio 4's Cold War series.
The Korean War was when the Cold War turned hot - and tore thousands of families apart. Bridget hears three such stories: of separation, regret, and a remarkable rescue.
She hears from three people whose parents were targets of the 1950s Red Scare - with tales of persecution, hearsay evidence, FBI investigation and going underground.
Bridget tells the story of the development of the hydrogen bomb.
On June 17 1953, East German workers went on strike and demanded free elections. Bridget tells the forgotten story of the first anti-communist revolt of the Cold War.
Producers: Martin Williams, Phil Tinline, Sabine Schereck.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
How do we construct our pictures of the past, including both truth and myth, asks best-selling author Hilary Mantel. Where do we get our evidence? She warns of two familiar errors: either romanticising the past, or seeing it as a gory horror-show. It is tempting, but often condescending, to seek modern parallels for historical events. "Are we looking into the past, or looking into a mirror?" she asks. "Dead strangers...did not live and die so we could draw lessons from them." Above all, she says, we must all try to respect the past amid all its strangeness and complexity.
Over the course of the lecture series, Dame Hilary discusses the role that history plays in our culture. She asks how we view the past and what our relationship is with the dead.
The programme is recorded in front of an audience at Middle Temple in London, followed by a question and answer session.
The Reith Lectures are chaired by Sue Lawley and produced by Jim Frank.
A funny and dynamic quiz show hosted by Steve Punt - this week from the University of Hull with specialist subjects including American Studies, History and Business and Management and questions ranging from Credit Card Fraud to Cthulhu with a fretful porpentine thrown in for good measure.
The programme is recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in an original and fresh take on an academic quiz.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the Highbrow and Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, sport, and quite possibly Justin Bieber. In addition, the Head-to-Head rounds see students take on their Professors in their own subjects, offering plenty of scope for mild embarrassment on both sides.
Other Universities featured in this series include Roehampton, Liverpool, Queen's University Belfast and St John's College, Cambridge.
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
Roger McGough presents a selection of listeners poetry requests on the theme of Secrets, partly inspired by Helen Dunmore's 1995 collection of the same name. With poems by Seamus Heaney, Blake Morrison and G K Chesterton dealing with the subject, the programme features an interview with a poet; Don Paterson OBE and a priest; Father Christopher Hilton.
Readers are Pippa Haywood and Anton Lesser.
Producer: Sarah Addezio.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
In Julianne Pachico's specially commissioned short story for Radio 4 it's a very special night for Carolina and Mattias. Their sixth grade teacher, the exotically named Ms Damson, has been invited for a summer BBQ, but as the evening lengthens, the stories at the dinner table take an unexpected turn. The reader is Joseph Balderrama.
Julianne Pachico is a British-American writer who grew up in Cali, Colombia. Her debut collection, Lucky, was published to critical acclaim early in 2017. Each of the linked stories is set in Colombia between 1993 and 2013 which were especially violent years during the country's long conflict. The stories capture the harsh reality of growing up in a place where the guerrilla insurgency is never far from view, and at the same time they have a lyrical and hallucinatory quality to them that is both compelling and unsettling.
The producer is Elizabeth Allard.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
This week's Bells on Sunday comes from Merton College, Oxford. Cast by Christopher Hodson in 1680, these bells are the oldest complete ring of eight by one founder. The tenor weighs 24 hundredweight and is tuned to E flat. We hear now just a short part of a five hour peal of seven and a half thousand changes called Merton College Alliance.
The latest national and international news.
Turning 40, for many, is a time of anxiety and existential crisis. In thinking about what it means to be finally grown up, journalist Abdul-Rehman Malik finds his thoughts returning to the question of what it means to be young - and what of childhood and youth can we still carry with us.
If, as it's said in the Islamic tradition, youth comes to a decisive end at the age of 40, then how can we still hold on to the energy, dynamism and even innocence of our younger years without being childish?
Reflecting on Saint Paul's advice to the church in Corinth to leave behind "childish things", Abdul-Rehman finds consolation in the words of C.S. Lewis who thinks that adults too concerned with adulthood are rather more immature than children. He also finds uneasy perspective in the encyclopaedic Hindu scripture Srimad Bhagavatam which tells us how, even in childhood, we carry the trauma of past lives and experience - shaping our adult lives.
Drawing on William Blake's Songs of Innocence, Sioux tribal wisdom, Zen paradoxes and the music of Herbie Hancock and Leonard Cohen, Abdul-Rehman finds that growing up well has as much to do with knowing what of childish things to keep as with what needs to be let go.
Presenter: Abdul-Rehman Malik
Producer: Jonathan Mayo
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Brett Westwood relives programmes from The Living World archives. In this episode from 2012, Chris Sperring heads to Skomer Island with ecologist David Boyle
As dusk begins for this weeks Living World ornithologist Chris Sperring travels by boat over to Skomer where he is on the look out for two of our most mysterious seabirds, the Manx Shearwater and the storm petrel.
A visitor to Skomer island in the daytime in late summer will find sea the strewn with rafts of guillemots, razorbills and puffins, which scatter, leaving watery trails of sunlit footprints across the surface, or dive deep to make a pathway for the approaching boat. But at night a more dramatic wildlife spectacle unfolds as storm petrels and tens of thousands of nocturnal Manx shearwaters return to their burrows, skimming the air like half-seen shadows and tumbling clumsily to the ground.
Once the day flying seabirds have fallen quiet, in the semi-moonlit night Chris and David sit on a cliff edge waiting with anticipation for the first birds to come in from the sea; soon bat like shapes fly around their heads as the sparrow sized storm petrels begin to arrive. Although few in number on the island, storm petrels give a clue to the islands other and much bigger nocturnal seabird, the Manx shearwater. Moving further into the island Chris discovers that these true global seabirds, who travel thousands of kilometers from Wales to South America in a year, have difficulty landing and walking as their legs and feet are designed for swimming and digging. A true seabird.
Producer Andrew Dawes.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
In some rural areas, church spires are offering a solution to deliver high speed reliable wireless broadband internet access to local communities. Rosie Dawson reports from the Yorkshire Dales.
Rabbi Lord Sacks is participating in the Thatcher Conference on Security on 27 June in London. He talks to Edward about what values he thinks the West should stand for and why he calls the idea of global fragmentation 'cultural climate change'.
Jayne Ozanne, a senior Anglican, is calling on the government to recognise spiritual abuse as a separate category from the four that are already recognised. Bob Walker asks what is spiritual abuse and how will recognition as a distinct type of abuse help survivors?
Prosecutions in Russia for religious literature and videos deemed 'extremist' rose between 2015 and 2016. Forum 18 News Service have been monitoring this and say that none of the material appears to incite the violation of human rights, violence and hatred. Felix Corley from Forum 18 explains the current situation.
The independent review into the way the Church of England handled the case of Bishop Peter Ball was published this week. We ask whether the recommendations go far enough and speak to survivor Graham Sawyer and solicitor David Greenwood about what further action needs to be taken. Bishop Peter Hancock, who represents the Church on safeguarding, responds to their concerns.
Producers:
Carmel Lonergan
Rosie Dawson
Editor:
Amanda Hancox.
Henry Blofeld makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the Macular Society.
Registered Charity Number 1001198
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That's the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope 'Macular Society'.
- Cheques should be made payable to 'Macular Society'.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Brother Alois of the Taizé Community preaches at a young people's gathering recorded in Birmingham. Producer: Andrew Earis.
Will Self gives a very personal view of high-rise buildings in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
"As a commentator on the built environment", Will writes, "I've been too wry, too cynical and too disengaged over the past twenty years".
"Grenfell Tower", he says, "was the bonfire of any remaining civic vanity in London ".
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
Wildlife cameraman Neil Anderson describes hiking and abseiling on a cliff-side in the Scottish Highlands to track down a golden eagle nest for Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Tom Bonnett.
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.
Justin's hackles are raised, and Freddie finds a new vocation.
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the fashion designer Stella McCartney.
Born the middle child of Paul and Linda McCartney, Stella's early years were a paradox: she would either spend her days riding ponies, sharing one of two bedrooms with her sisters in a farmhouse, and generally mucking around in the countryside - or touring the world with her parents' band Wings and spending time in the company of stars such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop.
Amid the tours and travelling, she believes her parents offered her a vital childhood gift: normality. Stella attended the local school and went on to win a place at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design to study fashion design. Two years after a graduation show that made the headlines because the clothes were modelled by Stella's friends Kate Moss, Yasmin Le Bon and Naomi Campbell, she landed the job of Creative Director at the French fashion house Chloé. During her four years there, she transformed its fortunes.
In 2001, she set up her own label in a joint venture with Gucci. Throughout her career, she has never used leather, fur, feathers or animal skins. She now operates 51 freestanding stores in locations including Manhattan, Mayfair, and Milan, and her collections are distributed through shops in over 70 countries.
Her signature style is described as combining sharp tailoring - learned in Savile Row where she would spend her evenings whilst at Saint Martins - with a sexy femininity. She has also designed all the outfits for Team GB for the past two Olympics. She has four children with her husband, Alasdhair Willis.
Stella has won numerous awards including the British Fashion Council's Designer of the Year and Brand of the Year as well as Designer of the Year and Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards. She received an OBE in 2013.
Producer: Sarah Taylor.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Just A Minute is 50 years old this year! Nicholas Parsons has been hosting since day one and presides over an all-star panel: Paul Merton, Ross Noble, Fern Britton and Gyles Brandreth.
Hayley Sterling blows the whistle and it was produced by Matt Stronge.
Just A Minute is a BBC Studios production.
What can I do? That was the question posed to us by Food Programme listener Angie Roberts who cares for her mother Clara. Clara, like 850 thousand others in the UK, has dementia, and meal times were making her anxious.
9 months on from our last edition on food and dementia, Sheila Dillon hears from people living with dementia to see how food figures in their lives. She catches up with dementia entrepreneur James Ashwell, founder of Unforgettable.org and hears how he has made gadgets to make eating and drinking easier, available on the high street. Sheila also hears again from award winning food writer Paula Wolfert and her biographer and friend Emily Kaiser Thelin, and their work together on a book telling Paula's life story. From documenting Morocco and its cuisine in the 1970s, to the changes Paula has made to her diet to try to ameliorate her disease.
Sheila speaks to Professor of nutritional medicine, Margaret Rayman and nutritional epidemiologist Dr Martha Clare Morris, on the latest research into the connections between what we eat and whether or not we develop dementia.
Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced by Clare Salisbury
This programme is an update of the edition 'Diet & Dementia' from October 2016 which recently won 'Radio Programme of the Year' at the Fortnum & Mason food and drink awards.
Photo credit: William Bayer.
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Global news and analysis.
In the latest programme, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom that reflect the range of contemporary life. Among the contributions this month: Annalena McAfee charts the origins - and present day reality - of a residential Gloucestershire colony; former Test cricketer and "Test Match Special" commentator, Ed Smith, ponders leadership on the pitch as a new captain takes the helm for England; and Dr John Ashton considers how much - and how little - has changed as he lives with diabetes - a condition that killed his father. The programme will also feature topical news-related pieces.*
Producer Simon Coates
*The subjects and participants of each programme are subject to change.
Eric Robson chairs the horticultural panel programme from County Fermanagh. Anne Swithinbank, Bob Flowerdew and Neil Porteus take questions from an audience of local gardeners.
The panel explain an irishman's cutting, take the weight off an overloaded plum tree, and share their topical tips.
Also this week, Neil Porteus goes in search of a yew tree that is mother to millions of offspring across the world.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 4.
Fi Glover introduces conversations between older and younger friends whose relationship began with a mentoring role and grew into a supportive friendship 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.
The third book in Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels, charting the lifelong relationship between two girls, Lila Cerullo and Elena Greco, who grew up together in the slums of post-War Naples.
Elena, having escaped to Milan after the publication of her first book, struggles to find the courage to live, parent and write again after her marriage to her increasingly dismissive husband Pietro.
Lila, meanwhile, also struggles to rise above her social conditions and desperately tries to find a way to better herself in whatever way she can. By day she suffers the daily abuse and exploitation at work in the local sausage factory and by night she works hard with her partner, Enzo, to make a difference with her life by studying hard the ever-changing face of technology.
Struggling with periods of mental darkness, she also wrestles with being a parent and finding the time to be true to herself. Eventually she is encouraged by a group of old friends and young students to admit her anger at the social adversity and abuses suffered by the women at work in the factory and to stand up and shout about it.
As always, amid the troubles, the two women turn to each other, gaining either strength or weakness from the other, not always to happy effect.
Dramatised for radio by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
Mariella Frostrup talks to best selling crime novelist Ruth Ware about her new thriller The Lying Game.
We celebrate one hundred years of The Hogarth Press with Woolf scholar Nicola Wilson and author Mark Haddon. Two Stories has been published to celebrate the anniversary which includes Virginia Woolf's A Mark On the Wall and the newly commissioned, St Bride's Bay by Mark Haddon.
Misha Glenny makes his case for re-reading Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, and we hear about a new French novel which nods to Flaubert's Madame Bovary.
An anthology of summer poems, old and new, for the middle of the year, read by poets and actors. Noma Dumezweni reads William Blake, Siobhan Redmond reads Adam Zagajewski, Katrina Porteus reads her poem 'Dunstanburgh', Alex Jennings reads Philip Larkin, Anton Lesser reads Rudyard Kipling, Bill Paterson reads Edwin Morgan, Simon Russell Beale reads Edward Thomas; Lavinia Greenlaw reads her poem 'Heliotropical', Daljit Nagra reads a new commissioned seasonal poem, Don Paterson reads his poem 'The Air', Kathleen Jamie reads her poem 'Lochan', Sinead Cusack reads William Morris, Juliet Stevenson reads William Shakespeare, and Seamus Heaney (in an archive recording) reads his poem 'St Kevin and the Blackbird'. Producer: Tim Dee.
The toxic legacy of Britain's industrial heritage lies festering beneath our feet in 20 thousand former landfill sites. But now Government has ended the system of grants to local authorities to help pay for their clean up, and developers are moving in to build housing. How safe are these places, and should people be concerned about living on top of them? Many of these sites were commissioned long before safety and environmental regulations were introduced so nobody knows what's buried underground and what problems it might create in the future. Families whose homes were built right next door to old landfill sites tell the programme their lives have been blighted by health issues. File on 4 has seen new research commissioned by the Environment Agency which reveals how erosion is threatening hundreds of toxic dumps along our coastline that could leach chemicals and other harmful substances onto our beaches and into the sea.
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The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
We learned this week that Duke Ellington once said that if Shakespeare were alive he'd be a jazz musician. The artistic director at Stratford agrees.
Also we discovered the meaning of those mysterious film credits like gaffer and best boy. And what lovely sound a chalumeau makes.
There's been more than enough about lavatories - from the very serious purpose of Marcel Duchamp's famous urinal of 1917 to Ed Miliband using the word Thunderbox in an exchange which became quite surreal.
Lilian has a lot on her mind, and Brian is being hassled.
The cast of TV's hugely popular sketch show return for their second series on BBC Radio 4. Pete Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and John Sparkes revisit some of their much-loved sketch characters, while also introducing some newcomers to the show.
In 2013, the group that made their name on Channel Four in the 1980s and 90s got back together for Radio 4's Sketchorama: Absolutely Special - which won the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Live Scripted Comedy. The first series of The Absolutely Radio Show picked up a Celtic Media Award nomination for Best Radio Comedy.
The opening episode of this series features the Stoneybridge Town Council preparing to receive the town's first ever tourist, the Little Girl giving her explanation of Brexit and Calum Gilhooley launching his own YouTube series. There are sketches about the downside of voice technology on smartphones, while Melania Trump presents a brand new podcast offering an insight into her life as First Lady.
Produced by Gordon Kennedy and Gus Beattie.
An Absolutely/Gusman production for BBC Radio 4.
As part of their final Media Degree assessment at NUC in Northern Ireland, three final year university students - Natalie Driver, JJ Collins and Vic Grant - decide to make a podcast about a cold case which happened in Colecastle fourteen years ago. On Saturday April 26th 2003, Toby Ellis was minding his four month old nephew, Derek Ellis. He nipped into his local newsagents and left the pram outside on the street. He claimed he left the child for no longer than two minutes. During this time, the baby was abducted and six days later the infant's body was discovered buried in a nearby wooded area, Mountfort. Cause of death, a blow to the head. No one was ever charged with the murder and the case has remained on-going.
The first episode of Hiding Out is a podcast hosted by one of the students, Natalie; she reveals she is currently in hiding fearing for her safety. Having published their first podcast on The Murder at Colecastle, her fellow student Vic had received a call from someone who had heard the podcast claiming they had new evidence about the day the child was abducted. Vic and JJ met with the source. That was 3 days ago and no one has seen or heard from either Vic or JJ since... The only contact Natalie has received is a text sent from her classmate JJ's phone which reads "We're watching you. Stop this now." Natalie knows their disappearance is clearly linked to digging into the murder of Derek Ellis. If she finds them, she may finally find the truth of what happened in Colecastle. Natalie's nightly podcasts of 'Hiding Out' are attracting more and more interest - #whereisnatalie and #findvicandjj are rife with speculation. Are these three students actually in danger? Or - as their media lecturer believes - is this all an elaborate media hoax?
Sophie Jo Wasson ..... Natalie
Sanchia McCormack ..... Lena
Gerard Stembridge ..... Writer
Gemma McMullan ..... Series Producer & Director.
Ed Miliband has spent the week in an unfamiliar position; sitting in for Jeremy Vine on Radio 2. Iain Duncan Smith, the former conservative leader, has his turn next week. So far, most listeners are loving the experiment. Roger Bolton sits down with programme editor Phil Jones to get his take on how his new presenter has performed, and to ask why Radio 2 felt using politicians instead of more experienced broadcasters was worth the risk.
Last week, Andrew Scott came on to explain why the BBC felt it necessary to make signing in to the iPlayer website compulsory. But many listeners remain unconvinced.
Sue Lawley has presented the Reith lectures for 16 years. She speaks to Roger about what makes a great Reith lecture, why she willingly left a dream job fronting Desert Island Discs and reveals the Reith lecturer who ran out of material with 10 minutes left to fill.
Also, listeners weigh in on whether the BBC should be more careful with its use of language when reporting major incidents; and is Radio 4's Only Artists up to the challenge of replacing the much missed Midweek.
Julian Worricker on:
Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of Germany at the time of the country's re-unification.
Anita Pallenberg, artiste and muse to three of the Rolling Stones.
Scientist, Brian Bellhouse, who invented the needle-free injection.
Naseem Khan, a pioneering figure within the minority ethnic arts scene in Britain.
Brian Cant, children's TV presenter, most famous for his twenty years on Play School.
During Brazil's boom years the country's rising economy created a new middle class of gigantic proportions - tens of millions escaping from poverty. Brazil felt confident and even rich enough to bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. But then the economy turned.
In the last two years the country has endured its worst recession on record. Rio de Janeiro - the city that hosted the Olympics - is bankrupt. Many communities don't have functioning schools or clinics. Corruption is endemic.
David Baker, a regular visitor to Brazil, travels to Rio De Janeiro and São Paulo to find out where it went all wrong for the country, what's holding it back from being a great economic power and what the wider lessons are for developing countries across the world.
Producer: Alex Lewis.
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.
With Francine Stock.
As The Graduate celebrates its 50th anniversary, Tim Robey and Larushka Ivan-Zadeh have one word for us. Just one word. Plastics.
Korean director Bong Joon Ho explains why he teamed up with Welsh journalist Jon Ronson to make a vegetarian epic about a race of super-pigs that will save the planet.
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh returns to slug it out with fellow critic Simran Hans for the honour of getting their director in the A to Z of film-makers.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Heritage beyond saving: Laurie Taylor talks to Caitlin DeSilvey, associate professor of cultural geography & author of a new book which journeys from Cold War test sites to post industrial ruins. Do we need to challenge cherished assumptions about the conservation of cultural heritage? Might we embrace rather than resist natural processes of decay and decline? They're joined by Haidy Geismar, reader in anthropology at University College, London & Tiffany Jenkins, sociologist & cultural commentator.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
Wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore describes for Tweet of the Day, the surprising encounter he had with capercaillie when in the Scottish Highlands.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Tom Bonnett.
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe talks to the former Conservative MP and last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China. In a candid memoir Patten looks back at his political life. He lost his seat in the 1992 election, despite the Sun newspaper claiming the Tory landslide with the headline, "It's The Sun Wot Won It". James Graham's new play goes back to the birth of this ruthless 'red top' tabloid, when a young and rebellious Rupert Murdoch burst on to Fleet Street, to launch a newspaper devoted to giving the people what they want. Fleet Street is no more and following this month's general election some critics have questioned the continuing influence of the mainstream media. Kerry-Anne Mendoza is the Editor-in-chief of the left-wing political blog, The Canary, and believes new forms of media online are disrupting the status quo in the UK. Baroness Tessa Blackstone was regarded as a kaftaned radical in the 1970s by the Whitehall establishment when she was part of a review of Central Policy which challenged the very workings of Britain's powerful diplomatic corps.
Producer: Katy Hickman
Image: The Sun daily newspaper on June 14, 2016, with a headline urging readers to vote 'Leave' in the June 23 EU referendum. Credit: DANIEL SORABJI /AFP/ Getty Images.
When Eddie Izzard was six, he and his brother Mark lost their mother. That day, he lost his childhood too.
From early childhood memories of happy days running with a gang of local kids, doing naughty-ish things in Bangor, County Down, to months of loneliness and isolation at boarding school, Eddie Izzard has experienced loss in a way that no child should at such a tender age. And this, as well as struggling both with dyslexia and also trying to understand his gender and sexuality issues at a time when they were not openly discussed, leads to a fascinating insight into the early life of one of Britain's most idiosyncratic and cerebral of performers.
In his memoir, Eddie takes us on a journey through his life - one during which he has discovered much about himself along the way, and come to terms with not fitting into the box that most of us like to put people in.
With a nod to the surreal humour and disarming candour of his shows, and some occasional digressions, Believe Me tells the story of a little boy who lost his mother yet who has risen to become a star of comedy and drama, a leading advocate of total clothing rights, and an extreme runner of marathons.
Written and read by Eddie Izzard
Directed by Lizzie Davies
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
The author of best selling children's books Alfie and Dogger on teaching children how to look and the importance of libraries. She gives a master class for aspiring picture book writers and illustrators and tells Jane Garvey about training as a costume designer.
Presented by Jane Garvey
Produced by Lucinda Montefiore.
Karen and gay husband Jack are called to account by their surprisingly grown-up teenagers. In this first episode, Naomi and Ella receive a legacy of £10,000 from Ben, their dad Jack's best friend. They are overjoyed until they learn Jack has received nothing - and he's broke.
Where are we, a year on in the life of Jack, Karen and their children? We'll let the girls tell us - this fourth series belongs to them.
Naomi (18) and Ella (16) have had to deal with the seismic changes to family life inflicted on them by their gay dad - and are remarkably sane, considering. Karen's been forced to sell the family home, so the girls live with her in a small flat with an ageing dog.
Naomi's managing a bar and bringing strangers home to her bed. She has no intention of going to university. Ella's throwing herself into local green politics and is determined to keep her beloved dog Bruno alive. Karen works all the time and Jack's preoccupied with his new young boyfriend, The Body. The girls are thrown back on their own resources with mixed success. It's a relief when a crisis forces the family to come back together.
The series features the same cast, led by Greg Wise and Julia Ford, to explore the next chapter of this very modern family.
Writer: Nicholas McInerny
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore
Director/Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer ..... Jo Meek
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.
One day Ray finds out he's the father of a newborn baby who has been taken into care. He's now in another relationship with girlfriend Cally. Together they begin the the fight for custody of his daughter otherwise she'll be given up for adoption. Ray spent his own childhood in care and is determined to avoid that fate for his daughter. The process has been arduous and the outcome - in the weeks before the final hearing - is far from certain. Grace Dent presents.
Producer Neil McCarthy.
Quizzical everywoman and stand-up poet Kate Fox explores some of the things she does not want in life (and which she has cheerfully failed to achieve), and how much she has saved emotionally and financially in the process.
This week, Kate looks at the subject of middle class status. Perhaps it's partly a Northern thing, but Kate is conflicted about buying ciabatta and living life in a Cath Kidston and Emma Bridgewater glow. What's wrong with putting ketchup bottles on the table and retaining flat vowels?
Although she feels this might have cost her over the course of her career, the price of keeping up Middle Class Appearances is equally costly. You've got to buy a house for a start (£272,000 on average), a middle class car like a Mondeo (£20,750) and have middle class children like Araminta and Horace (£133,000 each). However, is it hypocritical to say that you're not middle class if you've got a degree, a dog called Norbert and a Moleskin notebooks habit?
Kate asks the audience to be her Class Identity Counsellors and decide whether she is more waitress than Waitrose.
Kate Fox is a comedian and poet from the North East of England. She has contributed poems and comic pieces to many Radio 4 programmes including Saturday Live, Wondermentalist Cabaret, From Fact to Fiction, Woman's Hour and Arthur Smith's Balham Bash.
Produced by Lianne Coop
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
"Superstar" economics - how the gramophone led to a winner-take-all dynamic in the performing industry. Elizabeth Billington was a British soprano in the 18th century. She was so famous, London's leading opera houses scrambled desperately to secure her performances. In 1801 she ended up singing at both venues, alternating between the two, and pulling in at least £10,000. A remarkable sum, much noted at the time. But in today's terms, it's a mere £687,000, or about a million dollars; one per cent of a similarly famous solo artist's annual earnings today. What explains the difference? The gramophone. And, as Tim Harford explains, technological innovations have created "superstar" economics in other sectors too.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon.
News and discussion of consumer affairs.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Jeremy Bowen considers the many different layers of war in Syria, which have seen Bashar al Assad remain in power. "The outside world wrote off Bashar al Assad from the beginning," he says. "The assumption was that he'd fall, like the dictators who'd been overthrown already in the Arabs' short spring before the onset of a long winter. But that ignored his genuine support."
Jeremy Bowen reflects on the present and the past of the Middle East, after reporting from the region for more than a quarter of a century. He combines first-hand accounts from the front line with an in-depth look into the region's history. He has witnessed endless wars between individuals, religious groups and full-sized states, jostling for military, political and economic power. He has interviewed dictators, fanatics and fundamentalists as well as the ordinary people caught up in their dangerous games. In that time, the past has always been present, providing motivation and political ammunition . Bowen has made headlines himself and he has paid a personal price, coming under fire and losing a colleague in the course of reporting - on the worst day, he says, in his life.
Producers: Cara Swift and Ben Crighton.
by Al Smith
Scientific Advisor ...... Dr Claas Kirchhelle
Director ..... Sally Avens
With increasing numbers of infections becoming drug resistant Al Smith's dystopian play takes a step into the near future.
Anna is a Doctor working in infectious diseases and is forced everyday to help choose whether to treat a patient or not. But what does it do to both you and your patient when your judgement is wrong?
Culture was developed through the Wellcome Trust Experimental Stories scheme.
A funny and dynamic quiz show hosted by Steve Punt - this week from the University of Liverpool with specialist subjects including Physiology, Egyptology and Psychology and questions ranging from the great god Ammit, the Eater of the Dead, to Buzz Aldrin and from gallstones to Gershwin.
The programme is recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in an original and fresh take on an academic quiz.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the Highbrow and Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, sport, and quite possibly Justin Bieber. In addition, the Head-to-Head rounds see students take on their Professors in their own subjects, offering plenty of scope for mild embarrassment on both sides.
Other Universities featured in this series include Roehampton, Hull, Queen's University Belfast and St John's College, Cambridge.
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
Film critic Antonia Quirke speaks to key crew members working on the film and drama series that are defining modern entertainment
In this second episode Antonia makes a royal visit to the set of The Crown, the esteemed Netflix biographical drama television series to discover how thirty flag waving people are transformed into thirty thousand. She also visits an Oscar-winning UK visual effects team as they put the finishing touches to the upcoming American science fiction thriller film Annihilation, starring Natalie Portman, and speaks with the film's Director Alex Garland.
Exploring the marriage of visual effects and performance she also meets with actor-director Andy Serkis to discuss the use of motion capture technology he pioneered as a performer on the Lord of the Rings films and King Kong.
Throughout, Antonia watches the cast and crews in action, grabbing them in the moments between filming and creating, revealing their various and sometimes entirely surprising contribution to productions, exploring the latest equipment and challenges. Along the way she gathers fascinating and often very moving stories of life behind the scenes. These aren't just the tales of the great actors of our times, but of the people who made those actors and actresses great, content instead to be the stars behind the camera.
Producer: Stephen Garner.
Discussion programme in which guests from different faith and non-faith perspectives debate the challenges of today's world.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The 67th series of Radio 4's multi award-winning 'antidote to panel games' promises yet more quality, desk-based entertainment for all the family. The series starts its run at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford where regulars Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel Andy Hamilton and Jo Brand, with Jack Dee as the programme's reluctant chairman. Regular listeners will know to expect inspired nonsense, pointless revelry and Colin Sell at the piano. Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Studios production.
Justin has a hard day at the office, and Clarrie worries that Eddie has overdone it.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
How do you know the wine in a bottle is what it says on the label? Master of Wine Susie Barrie goes hot on the scent of counterfeit wines and follows the experts employed to distinguish plonk from prestige vintages.
Fraudsters have targeted expensive French wine - Bordeaux châteaux such as Pétrus, Lafite and Margaux, and Burgundy's Domaine de la Romanée Conti - to maximise profit. Crafted in Europe, these wines are popping up at auctioneers and wine importers in the UK on a regular basis.
So how do the counterfeiters create fake wine to fool even the experts? Our wine detectives explain the various ingenious methods used to recreate fine vintages worth £10,000 a bottle and more. They also explain how to spot a fake and what the industry is doing to make it more difficult to copy fine wines - which involves, surprisingly, French nuclear scientists.
After recent scandals in the US - such as convicted counterfeiter Rudy Kurniawan, who received a 10-year prison sentence - the industry is opening its eyes to a growing issue. But why is the problem often hushed up?
Contributors include Stephen Mould, head of fine wine at Sotheby's; Maureen Downey, the US 'Sherlock Holmes' of wine; Adam Brett-Smith, head at wine importer Corney & Barrow; Michael Egan, Bordeaux-based wine detective; Olivier Berrouet, head at Château Pétrus; Dr Philippe Hubert, physicist at Bordeaux's Centre for Nuclear Research; and wine columnist Jancis Robinson.
Producer: Dom Byrne
A Greenpoint production for BBC Radio 4.
Union membership is in decline whilst structural changes in the economy - including the rise of the so-called gig economy - are putting downward pressure on wages, and creating fertile conditions for exploitation by unscrupulous employers. So who is going to ensure that workers get a fair deal? Sonia Sodha, chief leader writer for the Observer, investigates.
Producer: David Edmonds.
There is a roof boss in a church in Devon of three hares running after one another in a circle. Whilst three hares can be clearly seen and each hare has two ears, when you count the ears there are only three. What does this motif mean and where else can it be found? All is revealed when Brett Westwood goes in search of the truth about the elusive and magical Mad March Hare, learns about an ancient coin bearing the image of a hare, and has an unforgettable encounter with several wild hares on a Norfolk farm. Producer Sarah Blunt.
The latest weather forecast.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
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 1: False Signals
The Asker Accident - a plane disaster in 1972 - seems to have a bearing on a murder inquiry when a body is found near the crash site.
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.
Writing, rage and the lost art of making mixtapes in the first episode of Radio 4's new alternative poetry series, presented by Radio 4 poet-in-residence Daljit Nagra.
In Episode 1 - The Sound and the Fury - PJ Harvey and Don Paterson talk about why writing poetry is so different to writing lyrics. The poet Kayo Chingonyi takes us record shopping to talk about the influence of music on his debut collection, Kumukanda; and the American poet and memoirist Patricia Lockwood talks about filth, prudishness and anger.
Produced by Mair Bosworth and Hana Walker-Brown.
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Maya Rose Craig recalls for Tweet of the Day her first really striking encounter with any bird, the nuthatch, not long after she began at primary school in Bristol.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Maggie Ayre.
News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
The story of a how an obsessive relationship with history killed the young Polish writer Stanislawa Przybyszewska, told by best-selling author, Hilary Mantel. The brilliant Przybyszewska wrote gargantuan plays and novels about the French Revolution, in particular about the revolutionary leader Robespierre. She lived in self-willed poverty and isolation and died unknown in 1934. But her work, so painfully achieved, did survive her. Was her sacrifice worthwhile? "She embodied the past until her body ceased to be," Dame Hilary says. "Multiple causes of death were recorded, but actually she died of Robespierre."
Over the course of these five lectures, she discusses the role that history plays in our lives. How do we view the past, she asks, and what is our relationship with the dead? The lecture is recorded before an audience in the ancient Vleehuis in Antwerp, a city which features in Mantel's novels about Thomas Cromwell and the cosmopolitan world of the early Tudors. The lecture is followed by a question and answer session chaired by Sue Lawley.
The producer is Jim Frank.
When Eddie Izzard was six, he and his brother Mark lost their mother. That day, he lost his childhood too.
From early childhood memories of happy days running with a gang of local kids, doing naughty-ish things in Bangor, County Down, to months of loneliness and isolation at boarding school, Eddie Izzard has experienced loss in a way that no child should at such a tender age. And this, as well as struggling both with dyslexia and also trying to understand his gender and sexuality issues at a time when they were not openly discussed, leads to a fascinating insight into the early life of one of Britain's most idiosyncratic and cerebral of performers.
In his memoir, Eddie takes us on a journey through his life - one during which he has discovered much about himself along the way, and come to terms with not fitting into the box that most of us like to put people in.
With a nod to the surreal humour and disarming candour of his shows, and some occasional digressions, Believe Me tells the story of a little boy who lost his mother yet who has risen to become a star of comedy and drama, a leading advocate of total clothing rights, and an extreme runner of marathons.
Written and read by Eddie Izzard
Directed by Lizzie Davies
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Karen and gay husband Jack are called to account by their surprisingly grown-up teenagers. In this second episode, Ella tells Naomi she's going to spend her money on vet's fees for Bruno, her beloved family dog. Naomi delivers her bombshell - she's going to spend hers on a boob job.
Where are we, a year on in the life of Jack, Karen and their children? We'll let the girls tell us - this fourth series belongs to them.
Naomi (18) and Ella (16) have had to deal with the seismic changes to family life inflicted on them by their gay dad - and are remarkably sane, considering. Karen's been forced to sell the family home, so the girls live with her in a small flat with an ageing dog.
Naomi's managing a bar and bringing strangers home to her bed. She has no intention of going to university. Ella's throwing herself into local green politics and is determined to keep Bruno alive. Karen works all the time and Jack's preoccupied with his new young boyfriend, The Body. The girls are thrown back on their own resources with mixed success. It's a relief when a crisis forces the family to come back together.
The series features the same cast, led by Greg Wise and Julia Ford, to explore the next chapter of this very modern family.
Writer: Nicholas McInerny
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore
Director/Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer ..... Jo Meek
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.
When Brett Westwood heard he was going to encounter arguably 'the world's toughest animal' he didn't expect to find it on a garage roof in County Durham - but all became clear when he came face to face with the Tardigrade. First described in 1773 and so named because they resemble slow-moving bears, these microscopic animals are probably the closest thing to an alien we are likely to encounter. Capable of living without water and then being revived after 30 years, the Tardigrade or moss-piglet as they are also called, challenge our ideas about what defines life. And as if that wasn't enough, they are probably the cutest little creature you could hope to meet! Producer Sarah Blunt.
Laura Barton takes a close listen to the music of one of Britain's long-isolated locations, Cornwall.
The tradition of communal singing known as a Shout hasn't just survived in Cornwall. As Laura discovers in a pub outside Redruth, it's thriving. In a bar packed with young and old, songs about mining and fishing, in Cornish and English, compete with hymns and the occasional import from overseas, in high energy performances that define an oral tradition. None are sung more full-heartedly than Kerra Kernow, beloved Cornwall.
Laura talks with Hilary Coleman of the celebrated Cornish folk group Dalla about the qualities of the folk tradition in the Duchy and with two singer-songwriters. Florence MacDonald, who also teaches music in primary schools, describes what drew her back to Cornwall, and Ruarri Joseph, aka William the Conqueror, considers the balance he maintains between the demands of touring and the allure of the surf off Newquay and the woods and hills of his childhood home.
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The way educated women spend their time in the United States and other rich countries has changed radically over the past half a century. Women in the US now spend around 45 minutes per day in total on cooking and cleaning up; that is still much more than men, who spend just 15 minutes a day. But it is a vast shift from the four hours a day which was common in the 1960s. We know all this from time-use surveys conducted around the world. And we know the reasons for the shift. One of the most important of those is a radical change in the way food is prepared. As Tim Harford explains, the TV dinner - and other convenient innovations which emerged over the same period - have made a lasting economic impression.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon.
Consumer phone-in.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Jeremy Bowen reflects on the present and the past of the Middle East, after reporting from the region for more than a quarter of a century. He combines first-hand accounts from the front line with an in-depth look into the region's history. He has witnessed endless wars between individuals, religious groups and full-sized states, jostling for military, political and economic power. He has interviewed dictators, fanatics and fundamentalists as well as the ordinary people caught up in their dangerous games. In that time, the past has always been present, providing motivation and political ammunition . Bowen has made headlines himself and he has paid a personal price, coming under fire and losing a colleague in the course of reporting - on the worst day, he says, in his life.
Producers: Mark Savage and Cara Swift.
by Adrian Penketh
In 2020, Charismatic National Front candidate, Vincent Ferré, stirs up dangerous social divisions as he campaigns to become the next Mayor of traditionally left-wing Grenoble. Can the city survive if he is elected?
Directed by Marc Beeby
Over the last ten years the Front National (FN) in France has seen its single-digit percentages skyrocket into the thirties. Talk of FN gains in the municipal elections is no longer speculative or hypothetical. In 2015 they came close to controlling several regions, and it was only a hastily-constructed coalition mounted by their opponents which prevented them from doing so. Yet the FN have never been in control of a significant metropolitan area.
Historically, Grenoble is instantly recognised as the cradle of the Resistance during the war, and has long enjoyed a reputation as being one of France's most liberal cities. The voters in the 2014 municipal elections crystalised this by handing a mandate to the Greens - the only major city to do so. It is a prosperous, multicultural city. But it contains turbulent southern districts and nationally infamous council estates which are home to a lot of disaffected - largely Muslim - families.
Politically, Grenoble is more than a 'city'; it is one of only 12 designated 'metropoles' in France, which means the city has incorporated the surrounding suburbs and placed almost half a million people under one administrative arm. If the FN were to take Grenoble or a town of comparable size it would be a political earthquake.
Tom Holland is joined by Dr Dan Todman from Queen Mary University, London and Professor Lucy Robinson at the University of Sussex.
Britain's retreat from Dunkirk in 1940 was a precursor to the fall of France and a summer in which it looked like Britain too would be be overwhelmed by the Nazi war machine. The evacuation of thousands of troops from the beaches of Northern France in an armada of boats of all shapes and sizes has been spun into a defining moment when the plucky Brits snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. But Dunkirk was a disaster. So why don't we remember it as one? As a new film explores this moment of history, we explore the "Dunkirk spirit" and whether it really existed.
Helen Castor is in Norwich which, it was once said, had a pub for every day of the year and a church for every Sunday. In the Middle Ages, it also seemed to be teeming with anchoresses, anchorites and hermits - people who, with the blessing of the church, withdrew from everyday life but were still on hand to dish out advice to those who wanted it. How important were these people in medieval society and why are we less comfortable with loners and recluses today? Helen is joined at St Julian's in Norwich by Professor Carole Rawcliffe and Dr Tom Licence from the University of East Anglia.
There are archaeological artefacts from all eras. In Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, it is the sweet-wrappers, marbles and toy figures discarded by children in the 1950s and 60s that are adding to our knowledge of the past. In a housing estate that was designed by planners influenced by American ideas from the 1920's, a team from the University of Lincoln is working with the local community to see whether ideas about encouraging play in British housing estates really worked.
Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
Joshua Rozenberg examines the implications for the criminal justice system - especially the courts and prisons - of the growing number of prosecutions and convictions of older people for sexual offences. The programme also discovers the legal implications of the explosion in the use of holograms of both the living and the dead. And we find out what's on the agenda for the new Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, David Lidington.
Do you remember Longitude by Dava Sobel? Scots actor Bill Paterson does, and he still loves it. Terry Pratchett has been incredibly important to tech philosopher Tom Chatfield all his life, and he wants to share Small Gods from the Discworld series. Presenter Harriett Gilbert has been reading Mortality by Christopher Hitchens, his collection of essays about dying of cancer. All three read all three books, and the ensuing conversation is generous and reflective.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
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.
Harrison thinks it is time to move on, and Jill is keen to be involved.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
File on 4 investigates claims that parents whose children suffer from a crippling illness that leaves them sick and permanently exhausted have been falsely accused of child abuse.
Parents of children with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) reveal how they have been investigated and referred for child protection measures on suspicion of a rare form of child abuse known as Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII).
FII, also sometimes known as Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy, is extremely rare and occurs when a parent or carer exaggerates or deliberately causes the symptoms of a child's illness. One charity says FII is being used inappropriately by education and health professionals. We talk to families who claim the stress caused by this accusation has made their children worse.
With doctors divided over the best way to treat children, what's the impact on families?
Reporter: Matthew Hill
Producer: Nicola Dowling.
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Claudia Hammond explores the latest developments in the worlds of psychology, neuroscience and mental health.
Jolyon Jenkins reports on the men fighting a liberation war against what they see as female tyranny, and the separatist "men going their own way" - who've given up on women.
Such men take their principles from the film "The Matrix", in which only those who take the "red pill" see the true nature of reality, while those who take the "blue pill" live in ignorance of the true state of affairs - which, in this case, is that society is organised for the benefit of women, and that men are seen as disposable and worthless. We live, they think, in a "gynocracy", thanks to the remorseless march of feminism.
But the movement is split. Some of them think that there is still time to organise and fight back. They think that the system can be changed, and that relationships between men and women recalibrated. But others are more radical. They believe that male/female relationships are inherently toxic, the system is unbeatable, and that the only sane strategy for a man is to exit from the gynocracy while he still can, even if this means "living as a ghost" within broader society.
Producer/presenter: Jolyon Jenkins.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
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 2: Forty Words
Annika and Mikel travel to Bergen to investigate a strange case involving a submarine.
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.
Liam Williams - Ladhood.
From Liam Williams, a two-time Edinburgh Festival Award Nominated comedian, comes a rich new storytelling Radio 4 series entitled "Ladhood", about Liam's teenage misadventures in the Yorkshire suburbs. With evocative monologues by "Adult Liam" being interjected with flashback scenes from his teenage years, the series was recorded in Leeds and stars teens from Yorkshire, with each episode delving into Liam's memories of his first fight, virginity loss, the best house party ever organised, and his marvelous outwitting of an entire teaching staff. This is the New Labour, post-mining, aspirational heartland, meeting 50 Cent and Generation Y ennui, represented in a bourgeois radio format - by one of Britain's most exciting comedians.
Written By: Liam Williams
Produced By: Arnab Chanda
This is a BBC Radio Comedy Production.
Sean Curran reports from Westminster.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
London chef and restaurant owner Cyrus Todiwala recalls for Tweet of the Day a once familiar sound to him in India, now heard near his London home, the ring-necked parakeet.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Maggie Ayre.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Two artists discuss creative questions.
Dan Snow presents the story of WWI through the voices of those who were there.
When Eddie Izzard was six, he and his brother Mark lost their mother. That day, he lost his childhood too.
From early childhood memories of happy days running with a gang of local kids, doing naughty-ish things in Bangor, County Down, to months of loneliness and isolation at boarding school, Eddie Izzard has experienced loss in a way that no child should at such a tender age. And this, as well as struggling both with dyslexia and also trying to understand his gender and sexuality issues at a time when they were not openly discussed, leads to a fascinating insight into the early life of one of Britain's most idiosyncratic and cerebral of performers.
In his memoir, Eddie takes us on a journey through his life - one during which he has discovered much about himself along the way, and come to terms with not fitting into the box that most of us like to put people in.
With a nod to the surreal humour and disarming candour of his shows, and some occasional digressions, Believe Me tells the story of a little boy who lost his mother yet who has risen to become a star of comedy and drama, a leading advocate of total clothing rights, and an extreme runner of marathons.
Written and read by Eddie Izzard
Directed by Lizzie Davies
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Karen and gay husband Jack are called to account by their surprisingly grown-up teenagers. In this third episode, Naomi throws a party while her mum's away and, when things get out of hand, the girls are forced to ask for help from Max, their father's despised boyfriend. He wants a big favour in return.
Where are we, a year on in the life of Jack, Karen and their children? We'll let the girls tell us - this fourth series belongs to them.
Naomi (18) and Ella (16) have had to deal with the seismic changes to family life inflicted on them by their gay dad - and are remarkably sane, considering. Karen's been forced to sell the family home, so the girls live with her in a small flat with an ageing dog.
Naomi's managing a bar and bringing strangers home to her bed. She has no intention of going to university. Ella's throwing herself into local green politics and is determined to keep her beloved dog Bruno alive. Karen works all the time and Jack's preoccupied with his new young boyfriend, The Body. The girls are thrown back on their own resources with mixed success. It's a relief when a crisis forces the family to come back together.
The series features the same cast, led by Greg Wise and Julia Ford, to explore the next chapter of this very modern family.
Writer: Nicholas McInerny
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore
Director/Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer ..... Jo Meek
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.
A mother and her 10 year old son reflect on their relationship with his father and with the other relationships in her life. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
After treatment for Ovarian and breast cancer Chippy, is mad Jill is sad and Terri is definitely dangerous to know! The road back after cancer treatment can be tricky and full of obstacles. In Bad Salsa, two middle aged women and their younger friend seek to regain their zest for life and love by learning to dance at Bad Salsa, the club where everyone knows your name but no-one knows your prognosis!
Depictions of people with cancer on TV and radio too often follow a standard format; there is the diagnosis, the depression the chemo, then the false recovery followed by the tragic death.
Bad Salsa tries to paint a picture at once more hopeful and more in line with survival rates which have improved immensely over the past twenty years. For many, 'living with cancer' is now their day to day challenge. The characters in the series have finished their treatment and are in the process of finding their way back to normal life or at least finding a "new normal." As in the real world, the challenges of everyday life go on for our characters; like us they have boring marriages, distracting crushes, troublesome children, difficult workmates and infuriating parents, but unlike us their brush with mortality has given them a new perspective. The fun and excitement of the series is in watching them decide to preserve the pre-cancer status quo or in Terri's words, to say "sod it all" and "go for it!"
The series follows the women as they embrace the world of salsa whilst they adjust to life after cancer.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The contraceptive pill had profound social consequences. Everyone agrees with that. But - as Tim Harford explains - the pill wasn't just socially revolutionary. It also sparked an economic revolution, perhaps the most significant of the late twentieth century. A careful statistical study by the Harvard economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz strongly suggests that the pill played a major role in allowing women to delay marriage, delay motherhood and invest in their own careers. The consequences of that are profound.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon.
Consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Jeremy Bowen reflects on the present and the past of the Middle East, after reporting from the region for more than a quarter of a century. He combines first-hand accounts from the front line with an in-depth look into the region's history. He has witnessed endless wars between individuals, religious groups and full-sized states, jostling for military, political and economic power. He has interviewed dictators, fanatics and fundamentalists as well as the ordinary people caught up in their dangerous games. In that time, the past has always been present, providing motivation and political ammunition . Bowen has made headlines himself and he has paid a personal price, coming under fire and losing a colleague in the course of reporting - on the worst day, he says, in his life.
Producers: Mark Savage and Cara Swift.
by Adrian Penketh
Following the municipal elections of 2020, Vincent Ferré, the new National Front Mayor of Grenoble, struggles to keep control of his city in the face of escalating and increasingly violent social protest.
Directed by Marc Beeby.
Financial phone-in.
Sociological discussion programme, presented by Laurie Taylor.
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
A chance meeting between Søndergaard and Bunning could very well lead to a new Cold War.
Martin Clunes and Tom Goodman-Hill star in the fifth of six two-handers written by Cabin Pressure's John Finnemore.
Written by John Finnemore
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
Kenton receives an ultimatum, and can Matt keep a secret?
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Claire Fox, Matthew Taylor, Anne McElvoy and Shiv Malik.
Talks with a personal dimension.
100 years ago D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson wrote On Growth and Form, a book with a mission to put maths into biology. He showed how the shapes, forms and growth processes we see in the living world aren't some arbitrary result of evolution's blind searching, but are dictated by mathematical rules. A flower, a honeycomb, a dragonfly's wing: it's not sheer chance that these look the way they do. But can these processes be explained by physics? D'Arcy Thompson loved nature's shapes and influenced a whole new field of systems biology, architects, designers and artists, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.
The latest weather forecast.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
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.
Multi-character YouTube star Damien Slash makes the move from online to Radio 4, in this new fast-paced, one-man sketch comedy show. From the surreal to the satirical, from the zeitgeist to the absurd, Damien serves up a range of high octane characters, all from his own voice. Adverts, actors, hipsters, trolls - no aspect of modern life is left un-skewered.
Written by and starring Damien Slash (aka Daniel Barker).
Additional material by Robin Morgan.
Produced by Sam Bryant.
A BBC Studios production.
By Jenny Éclair
Carol's life's not really been the same since her best friend Sandra died but a trip to the swimming bath brings back memories of their time together with surprising results.
Produced by Sally Avens.
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Thirteen year old Northern Ireland wildlife blogger Dara McAnulty on the hen harrier for Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Maggie Ayre.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Is it always better to be just than unjust? That is the central question of Plato's Republic, discussed here by Melvyn Bragg and guests. Writing in c380BC, Plato applied this question both to the individual and the city-state, considering earlier and current forms of government in Athens and potential forms, in which the ideal city might be ruled by philosophers. The Republic is arguably Plato's best known and greatest work, a dialogue between Socrates and his companions, featuring the allegory of the cave and ideas about immortality of the soul, the value of poetry to society, and democracy's vulnerability to a clever demagogue seeking tyranny.
With
MM McCabe
Angie Hobbs
and
James Warren
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
When Eddie Izzard was six, he and his brother Mark lost their mother. That day, he lost his childhood too.
From early childhood memories of happy days running with a gang of local kids, doing naughty-ish things in Bangor, County Down, to months of loneliness and isolation at boarding school, Eddie Izzard has experienced loss in a way that no child should at such a tender age. And this, as well as struggling both with dyslexia and also trying to understand his gender and sexuality issues at a time when they were not openly discussed, leads to a fascinating insight into the early life of one of Britain's most idiosyncratic and cerebral of performers.
In his memoir, Eddie takes us on a journey through his life - one during which he has discovered much about himself along the way, and come to terms with not fitting into the box that most of us like to put people in.
With a nod to the surreal humour and disarming candour of his shows, and some occasional digressions, Believe Me tells the story of a little boy who lost his mother yet who has risen to become a star of comedy and drama, a leading advocate of total clothing rights, and an extreme runner of marathons.
Written and read by Eddie Izzard
Directed by Lizzie Davies
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Ella goes off to meet her online buddy RadActJim - on her own, even though Naomi promised to come with her. Naomi tells her mum about her plans for a boob job and is taken aback by the vehemence of Karen's response. She escapes to work where she takes a call from Ella - who has been arrested.
Where are we, a year on in the life of Jack, Karen and their children? We'll let the girls tell us - this fourth series belongs to them.
Naomi (18) and Ella (16) have had to deal with the seismic changes to family life inflicted on them by their gay dad - and are remarkably sane, considering. Karen's been forced to sell the family home, so the girls live with her in a small flat with an ageing dog.
Naomi's managing a bar and bringing strangers home to her bed. She has no intention of going to university. Ella's throwing herself into local green politics and is determined to keep her beloved dog Bruno alive. Karen works all the time and Jack's preoccupied with his new young boyfriend, The Body. The girls are thrown back on their own resources with mixed success. It's a relief when a crisis forces the family to come back together.
The series features the same cast, led by Greg Wise and Julia Ford, to explore the next chapter of this very modern family.
Writer: Nicholas McInerny
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore
Director/Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer ..... Jo Meek
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.
Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.
Sonia Boyce views current interest in black British art through the life of Donald Rodney, the work he left behind, his fellow artists, friends and family, and Auto Icon - a digital version of himself.
Donald Rodney often talked of a clock ticking. A sufferer of sickle cell disease, he had a life expectancy of only 36 years. He died in 1998 after packing a furious amount into a short life. Part of the BLK art group and a new wave of Black British Artists out of the art schools, his work was political, challenging, innovative and smart.
Sonia, who knew Rodney well, unearths the creative, the personal and the political in what is often an emotional journey into her friend and fellow artist's life. Before he died, Donald started work on Auto Icon, an early digital life that enables a virtual conversation with Donald through diary notes, images and sound bites. Although the 1990's technology can now be rather awkward, it offers snatched glimpses into the work, the artist and his collaborators.
Sonia visits Donald Rodney's family, still in Smethwick where they experienced an openly racist election campaign in the 1960s, followed by a visit to this 'racial hotbed' from Malcolm X. She interviews Donald's family, for the first time, about his art and meets those who are now reviving, collecting and exhibiting his work, and discovers why there's renewed interest in him and his contemporaries in today's political climate. Sonia asks what kind of work Donald might be making now, in the age of social media, post-truth, and division, and how the work he's left behind speaks to us now.
Producer: Michael Clifford
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
In 1853 Elisha Otis climbed onto a platform which was then hoisted high above a large crowd of onlookers, nervy with anticipation. A man with an axe cut the cable, the crowd gasped, and Otis's platform shuddered - but it did not plunge. "All safe, gentlemen, all safe!" he boomed. The city landscape was about to be turned on its head by the man who had invented not the elevator, but the elevator brake. As Tim Harford explains, the safety elevator is an astonishingly successful mass transit system which has changed the very shape of our cities.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon.
Consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Jeremy Bowen's personal history of the Middle East.
by Adrian Penketh
As violent protest increases, the new National Front Mayor of Grenoble resists calls to step down. But a plan has been set in motion that threatens to put an end to more than his career.
Directed by Marc Beeby.
When Andy Murray steps out onto Centre Court to defend his 2016 title at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club in Wimbledon it will be the culmination of a year's work by a team of people who dedicate their lives to this iconic sporting landscape. Alison Mitchell takes a break from the commentary box to go behind the scenes of this iconic sporting venue.
Starting on the roof of the broadcast centre she speaks to Ashley Jones from Wimbledon Museum about how the grounds have moved twice since the club was founded in 1868, and explains how a broken piece of garden equipment led to the inception of the Championships.
Alison describes the Centre Court commentary box as an 'Alice in Wonderland' moment, and squeezes through its narrow doors, ducking under its low ceilings to speak to John Barrett about his life-long relationship with the Championships from visiting as a boy, to later playing there, and then his many years commentating for the BBC including that epic 1980 men's final between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.
She goes court-side with Head Groundsman Neil Stubley to talk about the upkeep of the playing surface, before joining Johnny Perkins on 'Henman Hill' to find out how this patch of spare ground has become an integral part of the Championship experience.
For podcast subscribers there's also an interview with Ronald McIntosh about how his first assignment at Wimbledon turned into the longest-running match in tennis history with John Isner triumphing over Nicholas Mahut 70-68 in the final set, an encounter now marked by a plaque at Court 18.
Producer: Toby Field.
Antonia Quirke visits the house that Richard Burton bought for Elizabeth Taylor in a fishing village in Mexico, that is now a deluxe hotel.
Adam Rutherford explores the science that is changing our world.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Comedian and quizzer Paul Sinha returns to Radio 4 for a third series of his award-winning History Revision. In previous series, Paul has told you how Portugal's invasion of Morocco in 1415 lead directly to the 2014 World Cup; how the 1909 launch of an Austro-Hungarian submarine prevented Dr Zhivago winning an Oscar; and the story the black woman who refused to give up a seat on an Alabama bus and ended up changing the law - no, it wasn't Rosa Parks.
This series will once again see Paul shine a light on the important historical moments that you never got taught at school, and explain why so much of what you did learn is wrong. There will also, as ever, be puns.
In this third episode of the series, Paul explores the idea of 'greatness'. From an English king who we know less about than we think, to the Pope that accidentally killed millions of people, some leaders seem to get away with their dirty laundry being left unaired. But there are also some leaders who truly deserve the title 'The Great', including another Pope, and a brutal tyrant who changed his ways. Paul also looks at other countries' versions of the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons: who do the foreign general public think are "Great"? The answers may surprise you.
Paul Sinha's History Revision was the winner of the 2016 Rose d'Or for 'Best Radio Comedy'.
Written and performed by ... Paul Sinha
Producer ... Ed Morrish
Production co-ordinator ... Tamara Shilham
A BBC Studios production.
Lynda initiates a fightback, and David is feeling his age.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Evan Davis presents the business magazine.
The latest weather forecast.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
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 4: Vertigo
Annika's holiday is interrupted when she sees someone pushed from the top of a rock face.
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.
When Milton opens up a car repair shop, he finds he's on a collision course with a notorious local villain. Meanwhile, a mysterious tin of travel sweets comes to a sticky end.
Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!'. Because each week, Milton, and his trusty assistant Anton (played by Milton regular, Tom Goodman-Hill) set out to help people and soon find they're embroiled in a new adventure. Because when you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push.
"Milton Jones is one of Britain's best gagsmiths with a flair for creating daft yet perfect one-liners" - The Guardian.
"King of the surreal one-liners" - The Times
"If you haven't caught up with Jones yet - do so!" - The Daily Mail
Written by Milton with James Cary (Bluestone 42, Miranda) and Dan Evans (who co-wrote Milton's Channel 4 show House Of Rooms), the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton" returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.
The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill (Spamalot, Mr. Selfridge) as the ever-faithful Anton, Josie Lawrence and Ben Willbond.
With music by Guy Jackson.
Produced and directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
Sean Curran reports from Westminster.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
After a bad day at work, Joe Harkness recalls an encounter with a woodlark on Buxton Heath in Norfolk for Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Maggie Ayre.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
When Eddie Izzard was six, he and his brother Mark lost their mother. That day, he lost his childhood too.
From early childhood memories of happy days running with a gang of local kids, doing naughty-ish things in Bangor, County Down, to months of loneliness and isolation at boarding school, Eddie Izzard has experienced loss in a way that no child should at such a tender age. And this, as well as struggling both with dyslexia and also trying to understand his gender and sexuality issues at a time when they were not openly discussed, leads to a fascinating insight into the early life of one of Britain's most idiosyncratic and cerebral of performers.
In his memoir, Eddie takes us on a journey through his life - one during which he has discovered much about himself along the way, and come to terms with not fitting into the box that most of us like to put people in.
With a nod to the surreal humour and disarming candour of his shows, and some occasional digressions, Believe Me tells the story of a little boy who lost his mother yet who has risen to become a star of comedy and drama, a leading advocate of total clothing rights, and an extreme runner of marathons.
Written and read by Eddie Izzard
Directed by Lizzie Davies
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
In the final day of this year's Woman's Hour Takeover our Guest Editor is Karen Blackett OBE Chair MediaCom UK. She was Number 8 on the Woman's Hour 2015 Power List; Influencers. In her programme she talks about identity, growing up in Britain as a second generation Barbadian, the influence of West Indian culture and identifying as British. Purposeful business and the importance of empathy in creating a diverse workplace.And, the globalisation of brands and how each nation has different attitudes that affect how they respond to advertising and marketing. Plus she'll be revealing her guilty pleasure - she just can't get enough of TV dating shows like The Bachelor and Millionaire Matchmaker.
Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer Beverley Purcell.
The family rally together when Ella has to go to the police for a caution, following her arrest on an anti-fracking demo. It's time for the girls to unburden all their secrets to their parents, including Max's blackmail threat. They walk up Primrose Hill, together, to remember someone they all loved.
Where are we, a year on in the life of Jack, Karen and their children? We'll let the girls tell us - this fourth series belongs to them.
Naomi (18) and Ella (16) have had to deal with the seismic changes to family life inflicted on them by their gay dad - and are remarkably sane, considering. Karen's been forced to sell the family home, so the girls live with her in a small flat with an ageing dog.
Naomi's managing a bar and bringing strangers home to her bed. She has no intention of going to university. Ella's throwing herself into local green politics and is determined to keep her beloved dog Bruno alive. Karen works all the time and Jack's preoccupied with his new young boyfriend, The Body. The girls are thrown back on their own resources with mixed success. It's a relief when a crisis forces the family to come back together.
The series features the same cast, led by Greg Wise and Julia Ford, to explore the next chapter of this very modern family.
Writer: Nicholas McInerny
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore
Director/Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer ..... Jo Meek
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.
Winifred Robinson has been alongside the Born in Bradford researchers since the study was launched in 2007. The findings covered in this broadcast range from data on sleep patterns, through to studies on how children learn and the development of solutions to poor hand control which holds back writing and delayed motor skills. The youngsters are also being tracked to see who needs glasses and why so many of them fail to wear the very lenses which could effectively cure' eye problems and every family is being seen, scanned, weighed and measured in an effort to collect new markers on their health at this key point
Bradford has one of the highest birth rates in Britain but of the 6,000 babies born every year at least half are of South East Asian origin. These babies are born with a lower birth rate and more fatty cells. They have higher rates of childhood illness and the study has been unpicking the factors which determine the impact of various factors, from life style through to genetic factors. There is a high rate of cousin marriage and as well as concerns about the impact this has on certain conditions, there is thought to be a protective element which might lead to advances in medical understanding.
The children and their families were recruited between 2007 and 2009, and are now between eight and ten years old. They are being asked for information on many aspects of their life, starting with their bed time routines. There are different factors at work in the white and Asian communities and many of the children are going to sleep with computer screens, televisions and mobiles in their rooms. Researchers are keen to see what impact their bed times and preparations for bed have on their health, school attainment and wellbeing.
Other areas of study include the push to improve fitness levels throughout the city, in part by focusing on the Mosques and ways of getting lifestyle messages across in a community with high rates of diabetes, in particular. There are women only gyms springing up and Winifred meets some of the Asian mothers hoping to improve their lifestyles. She also tracks the research underway in 89 local schools as children are asked about how much sport and exercise they do. These children are being tested for hand eye coordination and other patterns which could affect their educational attainment. At Leeds University robotic arms are being produced to provide inexpensive solutions to Bradford teachers once problems with pen control, for instance, have been identified.
Dr John Wright, who leads the study, believes that it is changing lives and he is keen for Bradford to be viewed as the City of Research. In part the change comes from new findings and adapting approaches, but there is also a protective element from having such a close role in the lives of so many: "These youngsters are growing up with health researchers alongside them and we see this as a collaborative approach which helps our teams and the families of this city.".
The staff at the Polyoaks surgery in Bristol continue to thread their way through the increasingly bewildering labyrinth of the modern National Health Service.
Dr Jeremy (David Westhead) has problems with a patient who can't remember their own name, Mr Twigg (David Holt) has problems getting an appointment, Dr Roy (Nigel Planer) has problems putting together a consortium to bid for local community care services and Dr. Hugh (Simon Greenall) has problems with Dr Roy.
Everyone has a problem with call waiting.
Written by Dr Phil Hammond and David Spicer
Directed by Frank Stirling
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Tim Harford tells the surprising story of air conditioning which was invented in 1902 to counter the effects of humidity on the printing process. Over the following decades "aircon" found its way into our homes, cars and offices. But air conditioning is much more than a mere convenience. It is a transformative technology; one that has had a profound influence on where and how we live.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon.
Consumer news and issues.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Jeremy Bowen reflects on the present and the past of the Middle East, after reporting from the region for more than a quarter of a century. He combines first-hand accounts from the front line with an in-depth look into the region's history. He has witnessed endless wars between individuals, religious groups and full-sized states, jostling for military, political and economic power. He has interviewed dictators, fanatics and fundamentalists as well as the ordinary people caught up in their dangerous games. In that time, the past has always been present, providing motivation and political ammunition . Bowen has made headlines himself and he has paid a personal price, coming under fire and losing a colleague in the course of reporting - on the worst day, he says, in his life.
Producers: Mark Savage and Cara Swift.
By Josie Long and Liam Williams
In the not-so-distant future, siblings Josie and Liam live in a city divided by a giant, electrified fence. The haves live on one side, the have-nots on the other.
Josie and Liam live on the non-affluent side of the city and share a room - as in Josie lives in it for twelve hours a day and Liam for the other twelve; it is too small for two people to be in at one time. Then one day they're offered the opportunity to cross the fence and see how the other half lives.
A dystopian comedy about an increasingly divided society written by and starring comedians Josie Long and Liam Williams.
Josie Long
"There's a lovable romantic sensibility here... heartfelt and eccentric." (The Guardian)
Josie is often described as a unique voice in comedy. She started stand-up at 14, winning the BBC New Comedy Award. She has appeared on: The News Quiz, Just A Minute, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, The Alternative Comedy Experience, Have I Got News For You and 8 out of 10 Cats, and is the voice of the Radio 4 show Short Cuts.
Liam Williams
"The Philip Larkin of British Comedy." (The Huffington Post)
Liam is a stand-up comedian, host of Invisible Dot's Stories night, and one-third of comedy sketch troupe Sheeps. He was shortlisted in 2013 for Best Newcomer at Edinburgh Festival, and his show 'Capitalism' was nominated for Foster's Best Comedy Show at Edinburgh last year. He's written and starred in his own series for Radio 4 (Liam Williams: Ladhood) and BBC 3 (Pls Like).
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
Horticultural panel programme.
A young girl growing up amongst extreme wealth finds comfort in her shabbiest possessions. This new story by Molly McGrann is inspired by the Frank Ocean track.
Read by Camille Marmié
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.
Radio 4's forum for audience comment.
When you're in Year 5 learning is a serious business and it's important to avoid distractions. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Recorded the day before transmission, the satirical sketch show remains as sharp and topical as ever. Impressions and caricatures are the charming couriers of explosively satirical truth-bombs.
The series is written by Private Eye writers Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, together with Tom Coles, Ed Amsden, Sarah Campbell, Laurence Howarth, James Bugg, Laura Major, Max Davis, Jack Bernhardt and others.
The series stars Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Deborah Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.
A BBC Studios Production.
Tom tries to muscle in, and Lilian says her piece.
News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from The Braid Museum and Arts Centre in Ballymena County Antrim.
A reflection on a topical issue.
No other conductor has made such an impact on Marin Alsop as Leonard Bernstein. He taught her at several points along her path to becoming a professional conductor and imparted his humanistic perspective on life and his love of sharing great music with others. He instilled in her his beliefs, his values, his dedication to education, as well as his understanding of conducting. Her sense of gratitude to Bernstein is part of the subject of this programme.
We hear Marin talk very personally about her memories of working with the maestro at the famous Tanglewood music center in Massachusetts and watching him conduct concerts in New York.
We also hear the reflections of Leonard's daughter, Jamie Bernstein, who remembers - as a child - watching the Young People's Concerts that Bernstein presented to vast televisions audiences across America while director of the New York Philharmonic.
John Mauceri and Matthew Barley who, like Marin, benefitted from Bernstein's teaching and mentoring offer their perspectives on his huge capacities as a teacher, conductor and composer.
The programme considers the music Bernstein himself composed, in particular West Side Story, Kaddish and Mass. Marin discusses what makes Bernstein's music so rewarding and complex, so innovative, experimental and widely appreciated. She admires his commitment to harmony, to tonal music - the place where he felt music communicated most deeply to people.
Presented by Marin Alsop
Produced by Isabel Sutton
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest weather forecast.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
A short story about emigration, backstory and new beginnings by Kit de Waal. Read by Burt Caesar.
"I met my father in 1969 when I was ten, I don't mean we were estranged; he lived with us, I saw him every day. But one evening, at the kitchen table, while he polished his heavy winter boots, he started talking about coming to England and the day he got off the boat and I saw then he had a life that stretched back before I was born. So that's how I met him and this is what he told me..."
Kit de Waal was born in Birmingham to an Irish mother and Kittian father. She worked for fifteen years in criminal and family law and writes about the urban underbelly, the forgotten and overlooked. Kit de Waal's short stories have been shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Prize 2014 , the Bath Short Story Prize 2014 and longlisted for the Bristol Prize 2014. She won the Readers' Prize at the Leeds Literary Prize 2014 and the Bridport Prize for Flash Fiction 2014. Her first novel 'My Name is Leon' will be published by Penguin in Spring 2016.
Producer: Mair Bosworth.
Lauren Laverne presents intimate late-night conversation.
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.
A 6 year old finds his mother's memories of a childhood without smartphones incomprehensible. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.