The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Sarah Millican reads from her frank and funny memoir - which is part-autobiography, part-self-help book.
Wooden spoons at the ready... After making the earth-shattering discovery that old, dead bananas can be turned into delicious cake, Sarah searched for the perfect recipe for banana bread, found it thanks to John Barrowman, Millicanised it and shares it with us today.
Read by Sarah Millican
Written by Sarah Millican
Abridged by Kirsteen Cameron
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
A short reflection and prayer with Canon Noel Battye.
Jenny meets the American man who helped cure her son's leukemia.
iPM is the news programme that starts with its listeners. Email ipm@bbc.co.uk. Twitter: @BBCiPM. Presented by Luke Jones and Eddie Mair. Produced by Emma Close.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Clare Balding meets a group of five friends from Stoke on Trent who have been walking The Two Saints Way www.twosaintsway.org.uk , a route that's taken them from Chester to Lichfield. All retired or semi-retired professional women, they all have very personal reasons for taking this pilgrimage. They like to mark various stages of the walk with a song, taking it in turns to decide on the type of music required for the particular location. They are accompanied by Buddy, a Border Terrier cross Jack Russell who has been with them for every step of the way. They women call themselves The Fast Girls Walking Group on account of the brisk pace they like to keep, so Clare will not be dawdling as they explain to her their love of their home town and why they believe The Potteries are wrongly overlooked as a great walking area.
The route can be found on OS Explorer 258 Stoke on Trent and Newcastle Under Lyme . The walk takes them from Stoke Minster to Lord Sutherland's Monument.
Ful
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 are joined by chef, restaurateur and TV presenter Rick Stein whose latest culinary journey has taken him to California and Mexico.
Showjumper Nick Skelton went on to win Olympic Gold after breaking his neck in a fall.
After 60 years, Lin Sunderland has fulfilled her ambition to become a lighthouse keeper.
Mary-Ann Ochota has been travelling the waterways of Britain, discovering how boats have shaped our lives.
Plus, Inheritance Tracks from musician Nitin Sawhney. Nitin chooses So What by Miles Davis and Mustt Mustt by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Massive Attack remix).
The Road to Mexico by Rick Stein is published by BBC Books.
Gold by Nick Skelton is published by Orion.
Britain Afloat presented by Mary-Ann Ochota is currently on BBC 2 , Saturdays at 8.00pm.
Nitin Sawhney's latest project is the score for the film Breathe which is released on the 27th October.
Jay Rayner and panel visit the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. Dr Annie Gray, Rob Owen Brown, Nisha Katona and Tim Hayward answer the questions.
Producer: Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
Food Consultant: Anna Colquhoun
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
Sam Coates of The Times looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The Editor is Marie Jessel.
Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The latest news from the world of personal finance.
Satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Miles Jupp.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Brockenhurst College in Hampshire with a panel including the Chair of the Brexit Select Committee Hilary Benn MP, Director-General of the CBI Carolyn Fairbairn, Conservative MP Anna Soubry and Daily Telegraph columnist and historian Tim Stanley.
Listeners have their say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?
The Book of Dust, Part One: La Belle Sauvage
Twenty two years after the publication of Philip Pullman's NORTHERN LIGHTS, the author returns to the world of HIS DARK MATERIALS with a brand new trilogy.
LA BELLE SAUVAGE, read by Simon Russell Beale, is the first volume of THE BOOK OF DUST. Set ten years before the events of HIS DARK MATERIALS, this novel explores the origins of that story.
We open in Oxford, at The Trout Inn, with a pot boy named Malcolm Polstead, and the whisper of a mysterious baby girl, hidden at the local convent, in the care of the nuns...
For this highly anticipated novel, Radio 4 has cleared the Saturday afternoon schedule on 21st October for a special omnibus edition, featuring extra material, to be followed by a Book at Bedtime broadcast on weekdays from Monday 23 October - Friday 3 November.
Full coverage of the day's news.
What is the business case for having a diverse workforce? Evan Davis and guests debate whether a mix of talents in the workplace leads to better companies and translates into more profits.
Joining the programme:
Ruby McGregor-Smith, former Chief Executive of MITIE, and author of a government commissioned review: Race in the Workplace.
Jane Farrell, group Chief Executive of Equality Works
Scott Page, author of The Diversity Bonus.
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The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Clive Anderson and Tom Allen are joined by Jenson Button, Frank Skinner and Rupert Goold for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Brandy Clark and Trio Da Kali.
Producer: Sukey Firth.
As the EU commission meets to discuss the progress of Brexit negotiations, Mark Coles profiles the man some say really runs Europe, Martin Selmayr - right hand man to the President of the European Commission.
Just what impact is the passionate European having on the process of Britain leaving the EU? And does he deserve his reputation as the 'Monster at the Berlaymont'?
Armando Iannucci's film The Death of Stalin is described as "A comedy of terrors" and "A comedy of hysteria". How funny can a film about the death of the man whose regime saw the murder of hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens actually be?
There's a new trilogy of Philip Pullman books on the way; it's both the sequel and prequel to His Dark Materials. We're looking at Part 1 of The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage
An exhibition of work by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov at Tate Modern in London profiles the lives of 2 Russian conceptual artists from their beginnings, un-sanctioned by the state, to their more modern, still uncompromising work
Albion is the latest play by Mike Bartlett (Doctor Foster, King Charles III) opening at London's Almeida Theatre
Gunpowder; a Guy Fawkes drama beginning on BBC1 comes in 3 episodes - concluding just in time for Bonfire Night
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Melissa Harrison, Alex Preston and Amanda Craig. The producer is Oliver Jones.
Peter Curran looks back at the culture of cars - as the driverless era approaches.
It's lasted barely 11 decades, yet the era of the driver and the car is slowly coasting to a close. Fewer young people are learning to drive while the technology behind autonomous vehicles is set to come of age.
Peter traces his enthusiasm for driving back to his disreputable teenage years in Belfast. He starts this Archive on 4 with Mr Toad of the Wind in the Willows who, in 1908 (the year of the model T Ford), promised his friends he'd never drive again - only to break his promise almost instantly. The Toad story is prophetic. For many, cars are compulsive.
Using choice archive, Peter looks at the diverse role of driver - from Barbara Cartland's posh Chauffeur to the hapless guests featured on Road Rage School. And he tracks the car as style icon, with special reference to the lovable Morris Minor, the stylish Mini and the all-things-to-all-drivers Ford Cortina, whose pre-launch codename was the Archbishop.
Peter Curran identifies one car as prophetic. The VW Beetle - part of a plan by Adolf Hitler to allow all workers the freedom associated with motoring - starred in its own 1968 movie, the Love Bug. Herbie was the first-ever driverless car, though he was propelled by magic and belief, not artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile Alexei Sayle thinks future generations will marvel at the idea that their ancestors were allowed to drive cars "in the same way chemists were allowed to put opium in cough syrup."
A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
Elena Ferrante's story of a life long friendship between Lila and Lena comes to an end in this sad and surprising final chapter.
While deep in conversation with her old lover Nino and holding his child with Lena, Lila loses sight of her own daughter who suddenly disappears. Lila's world will never be the same and, despite Lena's attempts to help her friend try to come to terms with her loss, their past comes back to haunt them and one of them finally decides that there is only one way forward.
Does this free the other or hold her prisoner to her past forever?
Written by Elena Ferrante
Translated by Anne Goldstein
Dramatised for radio by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
Following claims of rape or sexual harassment made by dozens of women against the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, a picture emerges of one of the most powerful men in Hollywood exerting pressure on young actresses at the start of their careers, often in hotel rooms and offices. While the allegations of non-consensual sex are denied, the story has prompted a collective soul-searching in Tinseltown and beyond. How was Harvey Weinstein's behaviour tolerated, why did so few people speak out against him, and how many other Weinsteins are out there? Some say this is not an aberration, just a typical example of unrestrained male behaviour. They believe that many men would do the same sort of thing if they thought they could get away with it. For others, the problem has less to do with gender and is more about a general abuse of power. They argue that in showbiz - as in other sectors such as fashion and sport - there is not enough accountability, and there needs to be stricter mechanisms to deal with bullying at work. Central to both those interpretations of the problem is the concept of moral complicity. To what extent are those who tolerate a crime also responsible for it? Do we all have a moral duty to speak out about unacceptable behaviour, even if that comes at huge personal cost? Or are we too quick to label those who knew, and did nothing, as 'hypocrites'? Should we do more to encourage and support the reporting of suspicions? Or is there a danger of creating a society of greater division and mistrust?
Producer: Dan Tierney.
The quotable and quote-filled quotations programme 'Quote ... Unquote' continues. Join Nigel Rees as he quizzes Sally Phillips, Matthew Parris, Kate Williams and Frog Stone.
For over forty years, Nigel Rees has been joined by writers, actors, musicians, scientists and various comedy types. Kenneth Williams, Judi Dench, PD James, Larry Adler, Ian KcKellen, Peter Cook, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ustinov... have all graced the Quote ... Unquote stage.
Join Nigel as he quizzes a host of guests on the origins of sayings and well-known quotes, and gets the panel to share their favourite anecdotes.
Episode 3 Panellists:
Historian Kate Williams
Actor and Screenwriter Frog Stone
Actor and Writer Sally Phillips
Columnist and Broadcaster Matthew Parris
Presenter ... Nigel Rees
Reader ... Charlotte Green
Producer ... Katie Tyrrell
Production co-ordinator ... Beverly Tagg
This is a BBC Studios Production.
Writer and poet Bridget Minamore explores how women - particularly women of colour - have pushed back against the poetry establishment to create their own literary narratives.
Poetry as an escape from oppression and as a way to amplify the voices of the overlooked is nothing new. But, so often, resistance writers are male.
How have women in general and women of colour resisted dominant narratives in poetry? And how have they challenged those established voices of dissent to create their own literary spaces for resistance?
The themes explored in the programme range from 21st-century Peckham to ancient Iraq and the slave plantations of the Caribbean, as Bridget goes on a journey to uncover the lines of resistance followed by women throughout history. She talks both to established writers and teenage poets struggling to make their mark.
At the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton, south London, poet Malika Booker tells Bridget, "Story is in our DNA". The women of the Octavia poetry collective explain how the internet both helps and hinders the process of creative resistance. With the help of Arabic literature specialist Dr Marlé Hammond and British-Egyptian writer Sabrina Mahfouz, Bridget draws links from Muslim women writing in 11th-century Spain to how Muslim women write in Britain today.
And in a surprising exchange with history professor Eleanor Robson, Bridget discovers that a writer of poetry from 4,000 years ago, long cherished by contemporary feminists, isn't all that she seems to be.
With poems by Sarah Lasoye, Warsan Shire, Malika Booker, Enheduana, Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, Seema Begum and Bridget Minamore herself.
Produced by Matthew Teller
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
A new short story by novelist Ruth Thomas, author of 'Things to Make and Mend'. At a dinner party, a mother, still adjusting to her daughter leaving home for the first time, meets a teenager who is just as lost as she is.
Reader: Alexandra Mathie
Writer: Ruth Thomas
Producer: Claire Simpson.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Bells on Sunday this week comes from the Church of All Saints, Stand in Greater Manchester. The church was designed by Sir Charles Barry who was also the Chief Architect of The Houses of Parliament. Its tower contains a complete ring of eight bells cast by Gillett & Johnson of Croydon in 1912. The Tenor weighs twenty two hundredweight and is tuned to E Flat.
We hear them now ringing Grandsire Triples.
The latest national and international news.
Academic Sarah Goldingay argues that as adults we lose something vital when we stop being playful. We are taught that as we age, we must "grow up" and "knuckle down" and that it's "time to face reality". According to Sarah, we have much to gain by rekindling the playfulness of our early years.
Sarah draws upon her own experiences as a theatre practitioner to reveal the ways actors can incorporate playing to get over creative blockages, injecting a welcome dose of surprise, novelty, and fun into their work.
Brian Eno's "Oblique Strategies" are, according to Sarah, a fine example of how playful provocations can breathe life back into our creative endeavours when we're running low on ideas.
In the west, playing is all too often seen as a subversive distraction from "serious work" but Sarah explains that not all cultures understand play in the same way. In India play is intrinsic, fundamental and at the very heart of a divine universe. According to Hindus, the universe itself is a playful expression of the consciousness of God. Drawing upon the work of the philosopher Alan Watts, Sarah explains that when Hindus speak of the creation of the universe they call it the play of God not the work of God.
Sarah concludes by explaining that, for her, playing isn't something worthless and transitory but a way into leaps of unbounded imagination, experimentation, and joy.
Presenter: Sarah Goldingay
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Brett Westwood relives programmes from 50 years of the Living World archives. In this episode from 2009, Lionel Kelleway is in Dorset with Dr Anita Diaz from Bournemouth University, for the sika deer rut.
Lionel heads to Purbeck in Dorset with Dr Anita Diaz to experience the sights and unusual sounds of sika at the start of the rutting season. Sika Deer are aliens to the UK but now are well established as part of the British landscape, though Purbeck has one of the larger concentrations. As the night draws in, the sika come off the salt marsh around Poole Harbour to graze the grasslands of Purbeck. This being the rutting season, the sika are noisily proclaiming their status, with a call once described as a mournful whale song across the English countryside.
Producer Andrew Dawes.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Trevor Barnes visits 'Imagining the Divine,' a new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum of some of the oldest religious art from India to Ireland..
Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi is the first person from the African continent to be installed as the new Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome next week. It is a key position in the Anglican Communion and comes as the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches are forging a closer relationship on common issues.
Baroness Elizabeth Berridge previews the report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief ahead of its launch next week.
This week people from the Baha'i faith, will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of their founder's birth. Dr Julia Haviland tells Edward about the faith and the key message of Bahá'u'lláh's life and teaching.
The Archers has been bringing us the latest news from the farming community of Ambridge for over 50 years. We will be taking a look at "God in Ambridge" with Revd Dr Jonathan Hustler who has contributed to a new book on The Archers: Custard, Culverts and Cake.
In the aftermath of this week's debate on Universal Credit, Kevin Bocquet visits a food bank run by The Trussell Trust and the Bishop of Manchester David Walker comments on the impact the welfare reform is having on claimants.
Edward speaks to Preet Kaur Gill, Labour MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK Sikhs, about how and why Sikhs were excluded from the Government's Hate Crime Action Plan.
Producers
Carmel Lonergan
Peter Everett
Editor
Amanda Hancox
Photo Credit : Footprints of the Buddha (c) Trustees of the British Museum.
Clare Balding makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Village Water.
Registered Charity Number: 1117377
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 'Village Water'.
- Cheques should be made payable to 'Village Water'.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
From St Salvator's Chapel in the University of St Andrews.
Marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation from the UK's designated Reformation City,
Led by the Chaplain, The Rev Donald MacEwan; Preacher: Professor Ian Bradley.
St Salvator's Chapel Choir directed by Thomas Wilkinson; Organist: Sean Heath
Readings: Joel 2:21-22, 26-29
Romans 1: 7-17
Hymns: All people that on earth do dwell (Tune: Old 100th)
Alone thou goest forth, O Lord (Tune: Martyrs)
Nun danket alle Gott (Harmony by Bach) / Now thank we all our God
Dear Lord and Father of mankind/I have a dream, a man once said (Tune: Repton)
Anthem: Buxtehude - Ecce super montes
Organ Voluntary: Scheidemann - Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl
Producer: Mo McCullough.
Mary Beard ponders why email is governed by so few rules and conventions.
"Fifty years ago, when I was at high school", Mary writes, "we spent many hours learning how to write a letter".
She wonders why no one today seems to be teaching the art of writing a persuasive email.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
Birdwatching's irreverent Tweeter YOLOBirder remembers rescuing redwings when snow hit the North East, standing with a bird in each hand.
Producer: Andrew Dawes
Photograph: John Thistle.
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.
Lilian receives a shocking proposition, and there is serious trouble at the vets.
Edna Adan Ismail is a midwife and campaigner. As a 12 year old growing up in British Somaliland, her dream was to build her own hospital. It took her some 50 years and all her savings to realise her ambition, and the state of the art hospital she built is a testament to her passion and dogged determination.
Nursing and midwifery have been her life since she won a scholarship to study in the UK in the mid-1950s, when she cycled to appointments in her black raincoat to deliver babies all around London. Married at one time to the prime minister of Somalia, she juggled the high profile role of First Lady with shifts at her local hospital. "I was born with this desire to fix things," she says.
As her country's first female foreign minister, she broke deep-rooted taboos by publicly condemning the widespread practice of female genital mutilation - FGM. Her opposition stems from personal experience - she was only eight years old when she endured the invasive procedure herself.
Now 80, she lives on site at her beloved hospital, where more than 22,000 babies have been born since it opened in 2002.
Presenter: Kirsty Young
Producer: Paula McGinley.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Lloyd Langford, Henning Wehn, Ellie Taylor and John Finnemore are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as dinosaurs, China, cake and bees.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
In this final programme of the series How We Eat, Sheila Dillon explores eating as a family, the reality and the myth. As working hours increase and with both parents working, it becomes more and more difficult to sit down together with the children for meals. Separate meals, often in front of the tv, are more the reality in Britain today.
But in this programme Sheila meets two families who believe that there is nothing more important than eating together. The Parker family have two children of their own, but they have also fostered dozens of children, some with special needs. Crucial to the success of their extended family, they believe, is the fact that they sit together every night at six o'clock round the table to eat. Sheila Dillon joins them to find out why this structure is so important to the children they look after. She visits too the Brooks family, who sit down together every Friday night for the Jewish Friday night dinner. Emma Brooks married into Judaism and found it strange at first; she reflects on the demands but also the benefits of this ritual meal.
So what exactly can family meals do for us? Sheila talks to best-selling child psychologist Steve Biddulph whose books ("Raising Boys", "Raising Girls") are in 4 million homes, and finds out why he thinks eating together is crucial if you want to solve conflict and raise happy children. He gives his top tips for successful family meals. But many people, Sheila included, remember dreadful family rows over the childhood dinner table. With historian Chris Kissane, the programme explores whether the family dinner, like the perfect family itself, has always been more of a myth than a reality.
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Global news and analysis.
In the latest edition of the programme reflecting contemporary life in the United Kingdom, Mishal Husain introduces pieces on the dilemmas faced by those who own diesel-fuelled cars; how one mother of an army fatality in Afghanistan has fought for what she regards as proper recognition of her son's sacrifice; and on what can be retrieved after a flood inundates a remote community.
Horticultural advice from GQT's Garden Party Potting Shed. Throughout the day at this year's 70th Anniversary Garden Party each panellist offered a one-on-one horticultural surgery for audience members on site at Ness Botanic Gardens. Here are the highlights from those sessions.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
Fi Glover introduces three conversations about the support of women friends 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.
In 1913, the Romanov dynasty celebrated three hundred years since they had claimed the Russian throne. Despite social unrest, public festivities
were enjoyed and Tsar Nikolai II believed he held the hearts of the people. But four years later, following disastrous military campaigns in the
First World War, and with a populace fired by revolutionary rhetoric, his grudging attempts to move with the times were not enough and he was
forced to abdicate. By Mike Walker.
Director Alison Hindell
For the centenary of the Russian Revolution, Radio 4's ambitious chronicle of Russian leaders reaches the present day.
Earlier series of TSAR have covered the reigns of Ivan IV (aka The Terrible), Boris Godunov, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Alexander I, and
Alexander II, the liberator of the serfs.
The final season takes in Nicholas II and the Revolution, Stalin and finally, Putin.
The dramas are produced by Alison Hindell and Sasha Yevtushenko.
Mariella Frostrup celebrates the 40th anniversary of the classic travel book In Patagonia. She's joined by the Observer theatre critic Susannah Clapp, who edited the book, and travel writer William Dalrymple who both admire its ground breaking mix of memoir, history and reportage.
Also on the programme, Nathan Englander talks about his new novel Dinner at the Centre of the Earth. Best known for his short story collections this is a spy thriller and a love story based around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Sandi Toksvig discusses her tale for children set in the American Midwest in the mid nineteenth century, and Dennis Glover on the difficulties of fictionalizing George Orwell, a larger than life character who seems to have been misrepresented in fiction.
Anna Scott-Brown hears more stories from the people who stop to sit beside her on benches around the country.
In this edition, she sits on a bench in Inverleith Park in Edinburgh. Throughout the programme, a specially commissioned work by the Edinburgh-based poet Janette Ayachi draws on the voices of those passing their time in the park.
From the bench there is a panoramic view of both the medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town. The layering of this strangely three dimensional city of roads and bridges, arches and spires is echoed in the layering of story. A schoolgirl practices her reading, while a man always ready to use his fists regrets a life dominated by drugs. Refugees from Syria are finding their feet as they learn to master the language, while one man connects to his homeland in Africa through song. A local churchman talks of pilgrimage and a museum curator of holding the past - present and future together - as one woman speaks of her fear of aging.
Hidden lives are revealed and common threads recur as Anna's gentle but insistent and sometimes extremely direct questions elicit poignant and profound responses from those sitting on the bench.
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.
Fifteen years ago, promising young footballer Kevin Nunes was shot dead on a country lane in Staffordshire. Five men were convicted of his killing, and jailed for life. But just four years later, their convictions were quashed, following concerns about the way police handled a key prosecution witness.
The Court of Appeal Judge said it appeared to be "a serious perversion of the course of justice," and an investigation was launched into misconduct claims against four of the UK's most senior officers.
Now, as the report into the police investigation is finally released, File on 4 speaks to those at the centre of the saga. Will the family of Kevin Nunes will ever get the justice they seek, and what does the case tell us about police transparency and accountability?
Reporter: Phil Mackie
Producer: Laura Harmes.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
This week - if you hail from the Potteries, prepare to drool as Claire Balding mentions something guaranteed to make your mouth water. "The Boss" - Bruce Springsteen - on why it was the inspiration of British rock groups that set him on the road to superstardom. Bloomin' 'eck, there's a new opera's been written in the York- sheer dialect. Well I'll go to the foot of our La Scala!
A male bullfinch is a big hit with the listeners as are John Finnemore's bees. We journey to Peru and hear from Jane Fonda and Robert Lindsay.
Presenter: John Waite
Producer: Stephen Garner
Production support from Kay Bishton, Alice Platt and Tim Fernley.
Lilian is torn, and Rex imparts sad news.
Cack-handed private eyes Max and Ivan are in a state of penury, with mad landlord Malcolm going to extreme lengths to get his hands on their rent. Nonetheless, Max seems ready to jack in the business when he discovers that his Great Uncle Bernard (guest star Richard Wilson) might be in trouble.
But when he and Ivan investigate Bernard's retirement home and meet the terrifying Sister Geraldine, all might not be as it seems.
Written by Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez
Developed by John Stanley Productions
Produced by Ben Walker
A Retort production for BBC Radio 4.
The story of a disappearance - told backwards.
The fourth in a 15-part short story series by the acclaimed writer John McGregor. Thirteen-year-old Becky Shaw has gone missing on a holiday to the Peak District. Her disappearance now sparks the memories of a national park ranger, who recalls a walk he led over the moors the previous summer.
The fifteen stories of The Reservoir Tapes each stand alone but together build a compelling portrait of a community rocked by tragedy, as they explore events that precede and follow the disappearance the teenage girl. A companion to Jon McGregor's critically acclaimed Man Booker longlisted novel Reservoir 13, these stories and their different perspectives offer tantalizing glimpses as to might have happened to Becky.
Writer: Jon McGregor is an acclaimed British novelist who has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize three times. His third novel, Even the Dogs, won the International Dublin Literary Award.
Reader: Joe Armstrong is an British actor known for his roles in the TV series Happy Valley, Robin Hood and The Hollow Crown, in which he played an on-screen son to his father Alun Armstrong in Henry IV, Part I.
Producer: Justine Willett.
Roger Bolton airs listener criticism of a Today programme interview with the director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders on sexual harassment.
A record number of sex offenders have been brought to justice in England and Wales and convictions for both rape and other sexual offences have risen sharply. But despite topping the news agenda, some listeners were not happy with John Humphrys' tone and line of questioning.
Also, Radio 4's Commissioning Editor of Drama and Fiction Jeremy Howe discusses his decision to run The Omen as last week's Book at Bedtime.
Following regulatory changes, Roger talks to Sophie Chalk from Voice of the Listener and Viewer, a public service lobby group, about who now holds accountability for the BBC - its Board or Ofcom.
And how did a particular programme or report change your life? Listener Ed Green tells us why Glyn Worsnip's A Lone Voice affected him.
Producer: Kate Dixon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
Matthew Bannister on
Sean Hughes, the comedian who pioneered stand up with a narrative and was a team captain on "Never Mind the Buzzcocks".
Architect David Marks who mortgaged his house as he battled to turn his design for the London Eye into an international landmark.
Major Khush Ahmad-ul-Mulk, the last surviving son of the Mehtar of Chitral who ruled the state in the North West of Pakistan for over forty years.
Sir Brian Barder who was Britain's ambassador to Ethiopia during the famine of the 1980s. He was involved in delicate negotiations to get aid through to the starving.
And Marge Calhoun from California - known as "The First Lady of Surfing".
Interviewed guest: Terry Eselun
Interviewed guest: Julia Barfield
Interviewed guest: Asad Ul Mulk
Interviewed guest: Owen Barder
Interviewed guest: Jonathan Steele
Interviewed guest: Rhona Cameron
Interviewed guest: Bruce Dessau.
From driverless cars to "carebots", machines are entering the realm of right and wrong. Should an autonomous vehicle prioritise the lives of its passengers over pedestrians? Should a robot caring for an elderly woman respect her right to life ahead of her right to make her own decisions? And who gets to decide? The challenges facing artificial intelligence are not just technical, but moral - and raise hard questions about what it means to be human.
Presenter: David Edmonds
Producer: Simon Maybin.
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.
Francine Stock talks to Rungano Nyoni, the Welsh/Zambian director of I Am Not a Witch, about the surreal adventures of a young girl accused of witchcraft.
Francine discusses newly discovered movies from Africa, including a silent drama from 1915, which form a season called Africa's Lost Classics, curated by Lizelle Bisschoff, who explains why we rarely get to see films from that continent.
Comedian Rosemary Fletcher tries to work out why so many brilliant female characters end up playing the side-kick to the mediocre male lead.
Dina is an award-winning documentary about a couple on the autism spectrum who try to make a new life for themselves after she survived a violent attack. Director Dan Sickles explains how he crafted a 100 minute documentary out of 550 hours of material.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Whither the Welfare State? Laurie Taylor talks to Chris Renwick, Senior Lecturer in Modern History at the University of York and author of a new book examining the origins and purpose of the 'cradle to grave' welfare provision introduced under a Labour government in 1948. They're joined by Ruth Patrick, Post Doctoral researcher at the University of Liverpool, whose five year study of current welfare reform considers the impact of benefit sanctions and stigma. What does day-to-day life involve for those who receive out-of-work benefits? Is the political focus on moving people from 'welfare' and into work the right one? How do we balance the rights and responsibilities of contemporary citizenship in a time very different from the post war period? They're joined by Matthew Oakley, Senior Researcher at the Social Market Foundation.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
A short reflection and prayer with Canon Noel Battye.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
Actor and keen birdwatcher Samuel West on hearing first the call of a dipper above the water of a fast flowing river.
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
Photo: Keith Docherty.
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Are humans distinguished not just by a capacity to think, but by our need to believe - where the search is not so much for my place in the world, but for our place in the cosmos? Neil MacGregor, the former Director of the British Museum, discusses Living with the Gods, his Radio 4 series, in which he focuses on the expression of shared beliefs, across thousands of years, and around the globe, through objects from the Museum's collections and beyond.
The curator Jennifer Sliwka looks at a world in black and white, in a celebration of the monochrome in art across the centuries, from medieval sacred works, where the elimination of colour was thought to focus the mind, to contemporary paintings.
The historian Dan Jones tells the story of the ultimate holy warriors, the Knights Templar, a story of power, politics and fanaticism.
The writer Caspar Henderson takes a step back to consider the awe-inspiring - from divine visions to transcendent moments - and to ask whether we are in danger of losing our sense of wonder in the modern world.
Presenter Andrew Marr
Producer Katy Hickman
Photograph: (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, begins this series about the role and expression of shared beliefs with the Lion Man, a small ivory sculpture which is about 40 000 years old. The figure has a human body and the head of a lion - it is a being that cannot exist in nature. While we shall never know what the Lion Man meant to the community in which it was created, we do know that it mattered enough for the group to allow someone to spend about 400 hours carving it.
The programme visits the cave in southern Germany where fragments of ivory were discovered in 1939. These fragments were gradually pieced together by archaeologists decades later to re-assemble the figure. Some smoothing on the torso suggests that the Lion Man was passed from person to person in the cave.
Neil MacGregor begins the series with this object because, in his words, 'what the archaeologists did as they pieced together the Lion Man is what societies have always done: work with fragmentary evidence to build a picture of the world. You could say that it's when a group agrees on how the fragments of the cosmic puzzle fit together that you truly have a community - one that endures, encompassing the living, the dead and the yet unborn. What this whole series is about is the role that such systems of belief - and perhaps even more the rituals that express those beliefs - have played in the creation, and sometimes in the destruction, of societies. Are we humans distinguished not just by a capacity to think, but by our need to believe - in a context where the search is not so much for my place in the world, but for our place in the cosmos - where believing is almost synonymous with belonging?'
Producer Paul Kobrak
The series produced in partnership with the British Museum, with the assistance of Dr Christopher Harding, University of Edinburgh.
Photograph: (c) Museum Ulm, photo: Oleg Kuchar, Ulm.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Kieran Hodgson returns as Pliny the Younger, with Nigel Barrett as his trusty slave, Venta, who was captured during the Roman conquest of Britain. Based on real events in first century Rome.
The Emperor Domitian rules Rome with a rod of iron, and is dangerously unstable and paranoid. There are spies everywhere. Venta, Pliny, his mother Marcella, and Doris the Greek cook will have to have all their wits about them if they are to prevail.
As a teenager Pliny witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius from his home across the bay. Many years later, following a request from his uncle Tacitus who is an historian, he takes time off from being a lawyer to travel to Pompeii and Herculaneum where he hopes to find out what happened to his uncle, Pliny the Elder, who died in the eruption. But upon returning to his villa outside Rome, he finds a letter from the Emperor which throws the whole household into a panic.
By Hattie Naylor.
A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
Wired Love: A Romance of Dots and Dashes, published in 1879, was a ground breaking book about a long-distance romance conducted over the telegraph wire - aptly termed The Victorian Internet. Written by the previously unknown Ella Cheever Thayer, Wired Love's Manhattan publisher trumpeted it as "a bright little telegraphic novel" that told "the old, old story - in a new, new way". But Thayer's story was grounded in Victorian reality. Men and women alike worked as telegraph operators, with predictable results. At least one wedding was conducted over the wires and Electrical World magazine even warned of "the dangers of wired love".
Presenter Lucy Hawking looks at how the invention of the telegraph led to social changes in the role of women as well as providing the inspiration for this first on-line romance novel, published over 100 years before the internet. Finding parallels in today's e-mail world she profiles the life of Ella Cheever Thayer, discusses the appeal of the novel and talks to Laura Otis, Britt Peterson and Thomas C Jepson, about the revolutionary technology and the social changes it encouraged.
Presenter: Lucy Hawking
Drama adapted by Danny Westgate
Performers: Samantha Dakin, Tom Bevan and Anna Farnworth.
Sound Design: Nick Romero
Producer: Julian Mayers
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
Susan Calman is the least relaxed person she knows. She has no down time, no hobbies (unless you count dressing up your cats in silly outfits) and her idea of relaxation is to play Grand Theft Auto, an hour into which she is in a murderous rage with sky high blood pressure. Her wife had to threaten to divorce her to make her go on holiday last year. Her first for four years. But she's been told by the same long-suffering wife, that unless she finds a way to switch off, and soon, she's going to be unbearable.
So Susan is going to look at her options and try to immerse herself in the pursuits that her friends find relaxing, to find her inner zen and outer tranquillity. Each week she will ditch the old Susan Calman and attempt to find the new Susan Calm, in a typically British leisure pursuit; this week John Finnemore takes her on a spontaneous holiday, and in other episodes she goes hillwalking with Muriel Gray, watches a cricket match with Andy Zaltzman and visits an art gallery with Phil Jupitus.
Keep Calman Carry On is an audience stand up show in which Susan reports on how successful she's been - both at relaxing and at the pursuit itself - as well as playing in and discussing a handful of illustrative clips from her efforts. It's an attempt to find out how people find solace or sanctuary in these worlds and how Susan can negotiate her own place in them.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Jay Owens argues that dust is a lot more interesting than we think, and we ought to pay more attention to it.
Jay has spent years researching dust, and produces a popular newsletter on the subject. In this fascinating Four Thought, recorded at the Design Museum in London, she shares some stories from the field of dust research that up until now have only been known to other 'dust people', as she calls her fellow dust researchers.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
News and discussion of consumer affairs.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
In these personal, entertaining and deeply thoughtful essays, Philip Pullman examines the art of storytelling.
Written over a period of 30 years, they reflect on a wide range of topics including the origins of his own stories, the practice of writing and the storytellers who have most inspired him.
Today's essay reveals how his days at Oxford in the sixties provided the inspiration for the setting of His Dark Materials.
Adapted and produced by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
As Louise recalls the loss of her mother as a young girl she finds herself remembering and reliving her childhood experiences and emotions - the overwhelming grief, isolation, and desperate desire for love and reassurance. Louise is a spirited girl with a vivid imagination and it is to her imagination she retreats to deal with the grief and loneliness she experiences. For there she can conjure up her favourite TV stars and musical heroes for company: Cheyene Bodie, Tommy Steele, Harry Secombe and Cliff Richard.
When her father introduces her to the beautiful Margaret to whom he will soon be married, Louise is delighted and imagines a perfect, happy future with her new family and her new mummy. But when tragedy strikes her family for a second time, Louise retreats further into herself and her imaginary world and comes up with a desperate plan; one she hopes will make what's gone wrong right and make her family happy once again.
A new two-part drama from Lucy Gannon (The Best of Men, Soldier Soldier, Frankie, Bramwell) starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Amy Beth McNulty.
Writer ..... Lucy Gannon
Producer ..... Heather Larmour.
With more than the average quota of quotes, the quotations programme 'Quote ... Unquote' continues. Nigel Rees welcomes back the Author, Simon Brett, the Broadcaster Vanessa Feltz, Columnist, Michele Hanson and Poet and Writer Henry Normal.
For over forty years, Nigel Rees has been joined by writers, actors, musicians, scientists and various comedy types. Kenneth Williams, Judi Dench, PD James, Larry Adler, Ian KcKellen, Peter Cook, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ustinov... have all graced the Quote ... Unquote stage.
Join Nigel as he quizzes a host of guests on the origins of sayings and well-known quotes, and gets the panel to share their favourite anecdotes.
Episode 4 Guests:
Detective Fiction Author Simon Brett
Guardian Columnist Michele Hanson
Broadcaster Vanessa Feltz
Poet and writer Henry Normal
Presenter ... Nigel Rees
Reader ... Charlotte Green
Producer ... Katie Tyrrell
Production co-ordinator ... Beverly Tagg
This is a BBC Studios Production.
At the estuary's edge, where the city meets the mouth of the Humber River, actor Laura Elsworthy joins acclaimed artist Michael Pinsky next to his gigantic interactive artwork. 'The City Speaks' uses voice recognition software to captures the public's words and transcribes them into huge text. The speaker can then watch their words scroll twenty metres overhead across the Humber's tidal surge barrier. Michael wanted to create a platform for the city to raise its voice, but to do that, first it has to 'learn' Hullensian. Laura tests out some of her best Hull slang into the artwork.
In this programme Laura premieres her response to Pinksy's artwork, a monologue in which she reflects upon growing up in Hull. Laura remembers people telling her she would never make it as an actor with an accent, especially from somewhere so disconnected and remote. Joined by some of Hull's heroes and artists; Jean Bishop aka The Bee Lady, Yvonne Blenkinshop, the last of the 'Headscarf Revolutionaries', and the award winning young playwright Tom Wells, Laura discovers why being from Hull has made her the unique and determined actor she is today.
Aleks Krotoski explores living in a digital world.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Lloyd Langford, Henning When, Ellie Taylor and John Finnemore are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as boxing, snails, bras and parents.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
Shula suspicions are aroused, and Emma gets her mojo back.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
The events in Charlottesville were just one example of the sharp rise in the number of violent confrontations in America between far-right white nationalists and left-wing groups known as 'antifa' - short for "anti-fascists".
Those on the right claim they're fighting to defend free speech or other deeply held American principles. But their opponents say they're promoting extremism and a brand of racial division far out of line with mainstream thought.
Fights that once took place between the two groups online are now spilling out onto the streets of places like Berkeley, California and Portland, Oregon - liberal enclaves where far-right activists have held rallies and which have been turned into scenes of violence, and even murder.
Mike Wendling has travelled to America's west coast to talk to underground antifa organisers and find out what they want - and what they're prepared to do to achieve their aims.
What does the dangerous state of the Houses of Parliament tell us about our politics? There are increasing fears of a catastrophic fire, asbestos leak or major systems failure in the famed buildings. But after years of warnings, MPs and Lords are still struggling to decide what to do. Some say Parliament must remain active in the buildings while urgent work is done. Others say they must be vacated for renovation - and that this is an opportunity for a complete rethink of how our parliamentary democracy functions.
Chris Bowlby visits the buildings' secret and hazardous corners and talks to key figures in the debate, discovering a story of costly but revealing political paralysis
Producer: Chris Bowlby
Editor: Hugh Levinson.
Brett Westwood explores how the venerable, slow moving and long-lived turtle has become a symbol of good fortune and stability while being hunted for tortoiseshell and turtle soup. Featuring Molokai the turtle and his keeper at the National Sea Life Centre Jonny Rudd, conservation scientist Professor Brendan Godley from the University of Exeter, documentary-maker Tran Le Thuy telling the story of a legendary turtle in Vietnam and Gregory McNamee who dives into the cultural world of turtles.
Producer: Eliza Lomas
Photo: National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham (Molokai).
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
The Book of Dust, Part One: La Belle Sauvage
Twenty two years after the publication of Philip Pullman's NORTHERN LIGHTS, the author returns to the world of HIS DARK MATERIALS with a brand new trilogy.
LA BELLE SAUVAGE, read by Simon Russell Beale, is the first volume of THE BOOK OF DUST. Set ten years before the events of HIS DARK MATERIALS, this novel explores the origins of that story.
We open in Oxford, at The Trout Inn, with a pot boy named Malcolm Polstead, and the whisper of a mysterious baby girl, hidden at the local convent, in the care of the nuns...
Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk to geneticist Steve Jones about how language is used to talk about genetics, and how genetics influences language.
Producer Sally Heaven.
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 short reflection and prayer with Canon Noel Battye.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Actor and Birdwatcher Samuel West discusses the stocky almost brutish looking bullfinch and it's rather wheezy complex high pitched song.
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
Photo: Gareth Hardwick.
News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
When Ellen Stofan was just four years old, she witnessed the worst rocket launch-pad disaster in NASA's history convinced that her father, (who was a rocket engineer) was on board. He wasn't. Nonetheless, for many years NASA was not her favourite place. In 2013, however, she became she became their chief scientist, a post she held for 4 years. Barak Obama dreamt of putting people on the red planet by 2032 and Ellen did everything she could to develop a realistic plan to make this happen. (A 2032 arrival is ambitious but NASA is considerably closer than it was before Ellen took charge of the science.)
Her research career began studying radar data from a Soviet mission to Venus, trying to see beyond the thick toxic cloud that surrounds it. She wanted to understand how Venus evolved so very differently from its nearest neighbour, earth. She has also used radar data from satellites to study planet earth. And in 2008, was the lead author on a paper that revealed the extent of the lake on Saturn's moon, Titan. It contains hundreds of times more gas and liquid hydrocarbons than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on earth.
Producer: Anna Buckley.
Broadcaster Peter Curran talks to guests about the Northern Ireland they left behind - they grew up there but then came over to mainland UK. With them he explores how they perceive the people and the politics, now that they don't live there, and how their childhood affected their own world view.
Neil MacGregor continues his series on the expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world and across time.
Many societies have seen the mesmerizing phenomenon of fire as a symbol of the divine. Neil MacGregor focuses on sacred fire which comes to represent the state itself: the perpetual fire in the Temple of Vesta in Rome, the great Parsi fire temple in Udvada, India, and 'la Flamme de la Nation', the Flame of the Nation, constantly burning beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Producer: Paul Kobrak
The series is produced in partnership with the British Museum.
Photograph: (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.
As part of our Best Place to be a Woman research we discovered that Islington in North London was the worst. It's a diverse and vibrant borough with a smart and stylish reputation but it's also the most densely populated in England and Wales and has a high crime rate, poor environment and lack of affordable housing. Jane Garvey meets some of the women living and working there.
Annie who works on Chapel Market tells us about living in Islington all her life and how it's changed over the last sixty years.
Luana, Ru and Yetunde - all 23 years old - talk to Jane Garvey about growing up in Islington.
Peri-natal programme manager at The Manor Gardens Trust, Jana Gigl explains the challenges some women face with housing and poverty when they have young children in the borough.
And Woman's Hour listener, Rachel Short introduces us to her friends Leah Mitchell-Waite, Bryony Christie and Lindie Wright who tell us they love living and working in Islington because of its strong sense of community.
Presented by Jane Garvey
Produced by Jane Thurlow.
Pliny has been commanded by Emperor Domitian to hold a banquet for General Agricola who has recently returned from a successful conquest of Britain. The feast will take place at Pliny's villa outside Rome. But all is not what it seems. The Emperor is a jealous man and Pliny becomes suspicious when he sends one of his personal slaves to oversee the menu. By Hattie Naylor
A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
Brett Westwood meets a rhinoceros nose to nose and is blown away - by the sense of wonder engendered by this prehistoric-looking yet gentle and water-loving animal. Rhinos are now being wiped out at a frightening rate but when they first arrived in Europe they were hailed as the unicorn made manifest. With the help of zoologist Mark Carwardine, author of The Pope's Rhinoceros Lawrence Norfolk, rhino historian Kelly Enright and poet Kate Sutherland Brett traces the strange history of the relationship between rhinoceros and man.
With readings by Lia Williams of extracts from Rhinoceros Odyssey from How to Draw A Rhinoceros by Kate Sutherland, and Rhinoceros by Adrian Stoutenburg.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
A series in which poets and storytellers respond to stories underneath the world news headlines.
What defines home and our sense of belonging? In Sunderland 61% of the city's population voted to leave the European Union. Set against a historical political backdrop of industrial decline and deprivation in the region, increasingly the fabric which defined and shaped the character of the city and its people is disappearing. In the final part of The Headline Ballads performance poet Bohdan Piasecki visits Sunderland to find out what makes us who we are, and how we hold onto our sense of identity when the city in which we live is changing beyond all recognition? He weaves the story of Sunderland's lost heritage using the personal testimonies of the people who live there, documenting their fierce pride in their city and explores how it's trying to redefine itself.
Produced by Cecile Wright.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Benedict Wilkinson challenges how we think about terrorism and uses stories of two very different terrorists to make the case for a different approach.
Benedict is a senior research fellow at the Policy Institute at King's College, London, and researches the strategies of different terrorist groups. He argues that terrorists' embrace of violence always comes from a position of weakness, and that it frequently fails to achieve their own political objectives.
As a result, he argues that the way in which we confront terrorists needs serious reconsideration.
Producer: Katie Langton.
Consumer phone-in.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
In these personal, entertaining and deeply thoughtful essays, Philip Pullman examines the art of storytelling.
Written over a period of 30 years, they reflect on a wide range of topics including the origins of his own stories, the practice of writing and the storytellers who have most inspired him.
In today's essay, Philip remembers the impact of reading Milton's Paradise Lost aloud for the first time at school, and how the memory of that moment influenced His Dark Materials.
Adapted and produced by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
As Louise recalls the loss of her mother as a young girl she finds herself remembering and reliving her childhood experiences and emotions - the overwhelming grief, isolation, and desperate desire for love and reassurance. Louise is a spirited girl with a vivid imagination and it is to her imagination she retreats to deal with the grief and loneliness she experiences. For there she can conjure up her favourite TV stars and musical heroes for company: Cheyene Bodie, Tommy Steele, Harry Secombe and Cliff Richard.
When her father introduces her to the beautiful Margaret to whom he will soon be married, Louise is delighted and imagines a perfect, happy future with her new family and her new mummy. But when tragedy strikes her family for a second time, Louise retreats further into herself and her imaginary world and comes up with a desperate plan; one she hopes will make what's gone wrong right and make her family happy once again.
A new two-part drama from Lucy Gannon (The Best of Men, Soldier Soldier, Frankie, Bramwell) starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Amy Beth McNulty.
Writer ..... Lucy Gannon
Producer ..... Heather Larmour.
A new study suggests farmed fish could be key to feeding a growing global population. Fish are an efficient source of protein and already over half the fish we now eat are farmed. However, this phenomenal growth in the production of salmon and other popular seafood has had a detrimental effect on their wild cousins. Wild salmon numbers have fallen and conservationists blame the fish farms for the spread of disease, sea lice and the pollution of habitats. Most farmed fish also require a diet which includes smaller wild fish in order to help them create Omega-3 which has well documented health benefits for us all. This too has an impact on the wild fish stocks with many key species now under pressure.
Tom Heap investigates the dramatic and novel approaches which the industry may need to adopt in order to keep up with our appetite for fish suppers and it seems the best solution for the health of our oceans might be to take the fish we eat and the food we need to feed them out of the sea altogether.
Producer: Helen Lennard.
From The Red Lion to the Bucket of Blood, how did your local get its name? Michael Rosen asks Word of Mouth's resident linguist Dr Laura Wright about her research into pub names. And guest Eddie Gershon explains how the JD Wetherspoon pub chain goes about naming new pubs.
Produced by Mair Bosworth.
Writer, actress and filmmaker Alice Lowe and comedy writer Andrew Hunter Murray talk favourite books with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Alice's choice is The First Bad Man, the bizarre and hilarious debut novel by Miranda July. Andrew recommends Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson, a charmingly funny rags-to-riches tale first published in 1938. And Harriett champions The Millstone, Margaret Drabble's 1965 novel about a young, unmarried academic who becomes pregnant after her first sexual experience.
Produced by Mair Bosworth.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Episode 1 : The Writer In The Van
Ed Reardon is back, and after being sent down from University for misappropriation of funds he finds himself temporarily living in a hotel trying to write the first in a new series of novels about his eponymous hero, Inspector Masterson, for which he has high hopes. These are soon dashed by Ed's agent, Ping, who informs him he must write 'grip-lit' with a girl in the title who gets drunk, goes to bed with everyone and then gets chopped up.
Ping also palms Ed and Jaz Milvain off with her new assistant, Maggie, a jam-making, sock knitting 'older' lady (who also designs draft excluders) whilst she goes "oop North" to trawl the universities for the next generation of stand-ups. Whilst Jaz is furious with being "tossed on the scrapheap" Ed decides to give Maggie a chance and is soon rewarded when she gets him a writing gig on "Your Motorhome Magazine". This turn of events not only furnishes him with a small but steady income, but also a new home with floral upholstery, carpet on the ceiling and the advantage of letting him and his companion , Elgar, celebrate the freedom of the open road
The regular cast this series are joined by guests Monica Dolan, Vicki Pepperdine, Don Gilet, Karl Theobald and Tyger Drew-Honey.
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis
BBC Studios Production.
Matt makes a new enemy, while Noluthando proves to be a bad influence.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Drug dealers from big cities are exploiting thousands of teenagers to traffic Class A drugs to smaller rural towns in what's known as County Lines.
Children - some as young as 9 -are being used as runners to move drugs and cash from cities like London and Manchester hundreds of miles away to other areas of the UK.
It's a massive problem which until recently was being ignored.
File on 4 hears from some of the exploited young people who spent their teens travelling around the UK for months at a time living in drugs dens selling heroin and
crack cocaine.
They do this by taking over the homes of vulnerable people - drug users or the elderly - to sell drugs from and then refuse to leave -a practice called 'cuckooing' which can have tragic consequences.
These trafficked children often find themselves trapped by the gangs unable to escape because of the threat of violence or in order to pay back debts.
Are the authorities are doing enough to protect children from being exploited in this way? Or are they being let down by being viewed as criminals themselves rather
than the victims of organised crime?
Reporter: Simon Cox
Producer: Emma Forde
Editor: Gail Champion.
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Dr Mark Porter presents a series on health issues.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
The Book of Dust, Part One: La Belle Sauvage
Twenty two years after the publication of Philip Pullman's NORTHERN LIGHTS, the author returns to the world of HIS DARK MATERIALS with a brand new trilogy.
LA BELLE SAUVAGE, read by Simon Russell Beale, is the first volume of THE BOOK OF DUST. Set ten years before the events of HIS DARK MATERIALS, this novel explores the origins of that story.
We open in Oxford, at The Trout Inn, with a pot boy named Malcolm Polstead, and the whisper of a mysterious baby girl, hidden at the local convent, in the care of the nuns...
Fred MacAulay introduces some of the funniest comedians in the UK doing what they do best - pure stand up comedy. Recorded at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh.
This week, Jamie MacDonald jokes about his life as a blind comedian, Jo Caulfield bemoans relationships, Funmbi Omotayo tells us about his experiences with the police and Paul Foot... well, Paul Foot needs to be heard to be believed.
Produced by Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4.
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 short reflection and prayer with Canon Noel Battye.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Keen Birdwatcher and actor Samuel West recalls the chattering calls of the long tailed tit, the first bird he ever identified by sound.
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
Photo: Kevin Mayhew.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
A three part series about the connection between risk and creativity, narrated by the actor Noma Dumezweni.
This week - three different performers, each of them taking chances and pushing themselves to their artistic limits, in the hope of creating their very best work live and in the moment.
Since undergoing a mid-career stage fright where she thought she would never set foot on stage again, Juliet Stevenson confronted her inhibition by taking on some of her most challenging theatrical roles. These include Winnie in Samuel Beckett's virtual one-hander Happy Days, where she delivers a two hour monologue submerged in earth. We also hear how, in a recent production of Mary Stuart, Juliet learnt both parts of Mary and Elizabeth I and her character for the night was determined by a coin-toss live on stage.
The singer Laura Mvula plays her most ambitious concert to date with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican. She describes overcoming her terror of performing to reach this stage. She says, "What if I am not good enough to do this? What if I'm not justified to stand in front of this orchestra? Who am I to make these 70 plus middle aged white people play my music?"
Mark Springer is a pianist who thrives on throwing himself into the unknown. We join him in Bologna as he prepares to deliver a completely improvised performance. The audience doesn't know what Mark will play. And neither does he. He describes his process as "spontaneous composition", writing new music in real time.
With Robert Icke and Andi Oliver.
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
Neil MacGregor continues his series on the expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world and across time, and focuses on water, including a visit to the Ganges at Varanasi, India.
In Islam, Christianity and Judaism, water is an essential part of religious practice. But for no faith does water - and one particular kind of water - play such a significant role as for Hindus. To bathe in the river Ganges is not just to prepare to meet the divine, but already to be embraced by it. The river Ganges is the goddess Ganga, and the waters of this river, which govern life and death, have not only determined many aspects of Hinduism, but in considerable measure shaped the identity of the modern state of India.
Producer Paul Kobrak
The series is produced in partnership with the British Museum.
Photograph: (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
General Agricola has just returned from the successful conquest of Britain and Pliny has been commanded by the Emperor Domitian to throw the welcome party. But the Emperor is a jealous man and has sent his personal slave to oversee the preparation of dishes for the feast. When the conquering hero mysteriously falls ill and dies, someone has to pay a heavy price. By Hattie Naylor
A BBC /Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
A father and son reflect on whether hair colour dictates personality. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
Early-bird poet Ian McMillan investigates why some people are happiest being early and others are content to be late.
Ian often arrives hours early for a performance and the thought of being late brings him out in a cold sweat. Infuriated at being repeatedly kept waiting by his tardy friend and fellow performer, composer Luke Carver Goss, he tries to find out why people have such different ideas about what being on time means.
Luke and Ian share their experiences of timekeeping to try and understand each other's approaches to punctuality - and end up writing a song, "I'm Not Late, I'm Running Late".
Ian also talks to social psychologist and author Oliver Burkeman, another early bird, about whether he should be irritated by being kept waiting - or more forgiving. Oliver says no-one is late or early by accident - it's always revealing of a deeper need.
Perhaps Ian runs on "industrial time", a throwback to his industrial roots. This was when the clock began to rule the working day instead of the sun and - according to Katy Belshaw, curator of industrial heritage at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry - when people began to talk not about time passed, but about time spent.
Ian shares his strong emotions about the possibility of being late with psychotherapist Sarah Carson, who questions him about his past to find out where his fear began. Finally, Ian sets himself the challenge of meeting his friend Luke on time - not early or late, just exactly on time. But how will this make Ian feel?
A Pennine production for BBC Radio 4.
Meera Syal stars as Slough's Miss Marple, as she finally solves the Lapsley Hall mystery. With Justin Edwards and Vincent Ebrabim.
The discovery of Briony's body proves Mrs Sidhu's point, but the not the way she intended. As her obsession deepens, Tez attempts an intervention. Meanwhile Lady Lucas plunges forward with wedding plans.
Mrs Sidhu's determination to solve the case leads her to the mortuary, with unsettling results for Inspector Burton's breakfast. With the wedding closing in, Mrs Sidhu juggles her problems with Mr Varma and solving the murder before the killer strikes again.
Writer: Suk Pannu
Studio Engineers: Phil Horne, Leon Chambers
Editor: Leon Chambers
Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
Executive Producer: Chris Pye
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Lucy Hurst-Brown asks why so many learning disabled people are so lonely.
Having worked with learning disabled people for 25 years, Lucy describes a system which has moved a very long distance from the impersonal, institutional care of the twentieth century, but which still has a long way to go before learning disabled people are properly integrated into their communities.
And in describing how she and her colleagues realised they may be causing the problem, and how they set about finding a solution, she also challenges all of us to play our part.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
Consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
In these personal, entertaining and deeply thoughtful essays, Philip Pullman examines the art of storytelling.
Written over a period of 30 years, they reflect on a wide range of topics including the origins of his own stories, the practice of writing and the storytellers who have most inspired him.
In today's essay, he turns his attention to fairytales and the power they have on a child's imagination.
Adapted and produced by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
Vashti MacLachlan's drama about the impact of Multiple Sclerosis on a young couple.
Sarah and Tom have just taken on an allotment. For Sarah cultivating vegetables is the answer to life's ills. Her partner Tom has Multiple Sclerosis and it is progressing fast. While Tom tries to open Sarah's eyes to the bleak reality of his worsening MS, Sarah does all she can to keep things growing, including their love.
'The Sod' is an unsentimental earthy love story written by a writer new to radio with first-hand experience of Sarah's predicament.
With songs performed by BBC North Staff Choir
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
Rent controls are common across Europe - could they work in the UK too? It's a popular idea with voters but detractors say it could destroy the private rental sector.
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.
Andy Hamilton is a familiar and much-loved voice on Radio 4. Now for the first time on the network, he presents a collection of observations and reminiscences about both his personal life and his 40 years working in comedy.
Over this 4 part series, Andy looks at Childhood, Politics, The Human Body and Animals. Using comic observation and personal anecdotes he will explore each theme, examining how much (or how little) things have changed in the 60ish years he's been on this planet. Each programme will provide 30 minutes of thoughtful, social history, but packed with laughs.
In this episode Andy shares his political memoirs, from being escorted from the playground in 1963 for singing a rude song about the Profumo affair, through encounters with Jim Callaghan, although he won't be talking about Brexit because life is too short.
Andy was born in Fulham in 1954, read English at Cambridge and then in 1976 began writing comedy for BBC radio, on programmes like Week Ending and The News Huddlines. In 1990, he and Guy Jenkin created Drop the Dead Donkey for Channel 4. Andy has spent much of his working life making acute observations about politics and family life. In 2007, again with Guy Jenkin, he created the massive TV hit, Outnumbered, which celebrated the chaos of life with young children. More recently they created the highly topical Ballot Monkeys and Power Monkeys for Channel 4, which charted the absurdities of the General Election and then the EU Referendum. For over 20 years he has been playing the part of Satan in his R4 sitcom, Old Harry's Game. Andy is also a popular panellist on shows such as The News Quiz and Have I Got News For You.
Adam goes too far, and Roy is shocked by a familiar face.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Giles Fraser, Melanie Phillips, Matthew Taylor and Anne McElvoy.
A lifelong supporter of state education, headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh chose a Conservative Party conference platform to declare Britain's state education system badly broken. She explains to presenter Dominic Lawson how she came to change her mind about Britain's education system.
She grew up a passionate supporter of socialism and became a teacher in Britain's state schools. But what Katharine Birbalsingh found there made her change her mind about the fundamentals of how schools are run and how pupils are taught. She chose the Conservative conference of 2010 to make a platform speech which attacked well-meaning liberals for ruining the education chances of many from low-income and ethnic minority backgrounds. Revealing herself to be a supporter of the new Conservative-led government, she felt ostracised by the state education system and has struggled for years to found her own free school.
Having established the Michaela Community School in north London, she is able to put her radical ideas into practice there, leading some to dub it the 'Strictest school in Britain'.
In "Why I Changed My Mind", Dominic Lawson interviews people who have changed their mind on controversial matters.
Producer: Jonathan Brunert.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
The Book of Dust, Part One: La Belle Sauvage
Twenty two years after the publication of Philip Pullman's NORTHERN LIGHTS, the author returns to the world of HIS DARK MATERIALS with a brand new trilogy.
LA BELLE SAUVAGE, read by Simon Russell Beale, is the first volume of THE BOOK OF DUST. Set ten years before the events of HIS DARK MATERIALS, this novel explores the origins of that story.
We open in Oxford, at The Trout Inn, with a pot boy named Malcolm Polstead, and the whisper of a mysterious baby girl, hidden at the local convent, in the care of the nuns...
by Jenny Eclair
Performed by Doon Mackichan
Produced by Sally Avens
The second in a series of comic monologues where four women share a secret.
A dead woman returns to her old home to see the changes made by her husband and his new wife and when she doesn't like what she sees she decides to take revenge.
Doon Mackichan is one of our leading comic actors. She wrote and starred in Smack The Pony and Doon Our Way and has recently been seen in Plebs and Two Doors Down.
Sam Bain (Peep Show, Fresh Meat) has adapted his novel Yours Truly, Pierre Stone into a dark and disconcerting 4 x 15 radio comedy. The story is told in Pierre's own voice as he records messages for his most favourite TV star, Tess Daly and asks her all about her life, messages that are doomed to go forever unanswered.
But Pierre's passion to find out more about Tess's favourite dress gets in the way of him dealing with his own problems, including a mother in hospital and mounting uncertainty about where his next meal is coming from...
Pierre is a TV trivia obsessed innocent living in a world whose bigger challenges he would rather not think about.
Starring Alex Macqueen (The Thick of It) as Pierre.
Produced by Gareth Edwards
A BBC Studios 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 short reflection and prayer with Canon Noel Battye.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Actor Samuel West is especially fond of ducks, especially the eider duck, which for Samuel sound like a coven of Frankie Howerds gossiping around the village pond.
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
Photo: Steve Balcombe.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the development of theories about dinosaur feathers, following discoveries of fossils which show evidence of feathers. All dinosaurs were originally thought to be related to lizards - the word 'dinosaur' was created from the Greek for 'terrible lizard' - but that now appears false. In the last century, discoveries of fossils with feathers established that at least some dinosaurs were feathered and that some of those survived the great extinctions and evolved into the birds we see today. There are still many outstanding areas for study, such as what sorts of feathers they were, where on the body they were found, what their purpose was and which dinosaurs had them.
With
Michael Benton
Maria McNamara
and
Steve Brusatte
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
Neil MacGregor continues his series on the expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world, and focuses on light.
He experiences the sunrise whilst inside the monumental stone passage tomb at Newgrange, Ireland, a structure older than Stonehenge or the pyramids in Egypt. Here, on the winter solstice, thanks to the design of the tomb, a bright, narrow beam of sunlight reaches deep inside the structure.
He also considers the story of Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess, whose decision to hide herself in a cave plunged the world into darkness, and reflects on how - centuries later - the image of rising sun became closely linked with Japanese national identity.
Producer Paul Kobrak
The series is produced in partnership with the British Museum
Photograph: (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Venta has been arrested, accused of murdering a famous war hero, and flung into prison. There he meets Calvin, fellow convict and dwarf, who reveals the terrible fate that awaits them both when Emperor Domitian reopens the Colosseum with a spectacular Games. By Hattie Naylor.
A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.
Follow artist Fiona Graham-Mackay as she paints a portrait of Royal Ballet principle dancer Edward Watson.
The relationship between an artist and her sitter is unique, a bit like being in the therapist's chair. The painter stripping away the layers to reveal the true likeness of her subject and, in the hush of the studio, conversations meander in unexpected ways.
"It's an adventure - waiting to see what comes out."
While Fiona sketches and paints, we hear about Edward's life as a ballet dancer, overcoming his self-doubt, being an introverted performer, and those lonely moments on stage in front of an audience.
Fiona Graham-Mackay has painted hundreds of portraits, including Prince Michael of Kent, Seamus Heaney and Lord Carrington. In all her sittings she has always been fascinated by the conversations with her subjects and continues to be amazed by how people open up in ways that surprise even themselves as she paints them. What is revealed goes beyond anything you might expect in an ordinary interview.
Producer: Eve Streeter
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
VV Brown explains why after years of relaxing, weaving and extending it, she has embraced her natural hair.
A singer-songwriter, model and record producer, VV has long needed to take care of her image. But recent changes in her life have prompted her to ask why that has meant covering up her natural hair.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
Consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
In these personal, entertaining and deeply thoughtful essays, Philip Pullman examines the art of storytelling.
Written over a period of 30 years, they reflect on a wide range of topics including the origins of his own stories, the practice of writing and the storytellers who have most inspired him.
In his penultimate essay, Philip remembers being a teacher and writing the school play every year. He also examines how he writes, how stories have a habit of telling themselves and how meaning is often only revealed at the end.
Adapted and Produced by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
By Daniel Thurman.
A comedy featuring Rosemary Brown the psychic dinner lady from Balham to whom some of history's greatest composers dictated new music from beyond the grave.
Director: David Hunter.
How do you keep history alive? It's claimed the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh - fought in 1547 between the Scots and the English - has largely been forgotten despite being the largest Battle fought on Scottish soil. Helen Mark travels to Musselburgh in East Lothian to see re-enactors gather from across the UK to live as the forces did and fight to the (acted) death to remember the battle in front of an audience. The current Duke of Somerset - who descends from the leader of the English troops braves a return to Scotland to see the event. The areas on which the original battle was fought may not give many clues if it were not for the efforts of the Battlefield Group who fight to protect sites like this and mark their significance in our history.
What do The Mask, Thor and Eric The Viking have in common ? And what has this all got to do with Richard Wagner ? Francine Stock knows the answer.
Adam Rutherford investigates the news in science and science in the news.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Batman was an orphan; Lisbeth Salander, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, was an orphan; Superman was an orphan and a foundling. Cinderella was a foster child. Darth Vader - well, they can't all be winners. Lemn Sissay returns to BBC Radio 4with a comic and poetic look at the treatment of children raised in care, orphans and foster children in popular culture, comparing them with reality. Because it surely says something about how we view them that we create so many for fiction.
Lemn will explore the gap between fiction and reality, based on his own experiences of growing up in care as well as those of some special guests.
3. Is It A Bird
The most important thing that John and Martha Kent taught Clark, the boy they found in a strange-looking pod that crash-landed on their Kansas farm, was to keep his true self secret. People wouldn't understand that you can lift cars, melt steel beams with your eyes, or fly. People will be scared of you because you are different. Every adoptee and every care leaver knows this feeling. Lemn examines how he hid his feelings, his experiences, his identity, in order to fit in better with the world around him.
Lemn also talks to comedian and adoptee Deborah Frances-White about secret identities - and how to go about reinventing yourself.
Written and performed by ... Lemn Sissay
Guest ... Deborah Frances-White
Producer ... Ed Morrish
LEMN SISSAY'S ORIGIN STORIES IS A BBC STUDIOS PRODUCTION.
Shula struggles to remain calm, and Jill has concerns.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Series looking at important issues in the news. Presented by David Aaronovitch.
Evan Davis presents the business magazine.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
The Book of Dust, Part One: La Belle Sauvage
Twenty two years after the publication of Philip Pullman's NORTHERN LIGHTS, the author returns to the world of HIS DARK MATERIALS with a brand new trilogy.
LA BELLE SAUVAGE, read by Simon Russell Beale, is the first volume of THE BOOK OF DUST. Set ten years before the events of HIS DARK MATERIALS, this novel explores the origins of that story.
We open in Oxford, at The Trout Inn, with a pot boy named Malcolm Polstead, and the whisper of a mysterious baby girl, hidden at the local convent, in the care of the nuns...
Comedian Liam Williams recounts his youthful misadventures in this autobiographical sitcom. Episode four finds Liam post-graduation and back in his parent's house while his girlfriend enjoys the trip of a lifetime on the other-side of the world. Adjusting to the real world won't be easy.
Ladhood is written and performed by Liam Williams and starred.
Al Roberts
Emma Sidi
Freya Parker
Kieran Hodgson
Paul G Raymond
Sally Grace
Paul Copley
The Producer is Joe Nunnery
It is a BBC Studios Production.
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 short reflection and prayer with Canon Noel Battye.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Actor and birdwatcher Samuel West laments on the lost call of the once very common summer visitor, the turtle dove.
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: Sarah Blunt
Photo: Ian Clarke.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Neil MacGregor continues his series on the expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world and across time.
He focuses on the natural world and seasonal change: the Yupik people of Alaska depend on the seal, and ancient Egyptians looked to the god Osiris to bring fertility to their arid land.
Both societies, in radically different climates, devised practices that acknowledged the fact of their dependence on the natural world - and engaged everybody with the responsibility of co-operating with it.
Producer Paul Kobrak
The series is produced in partnership with the British Museum
Photograph: (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Venta the slave has been moved to the cells under the Colosseum, along with his new friend Calvin, a dwarf convicted of stealing a chicken. Doris the Greek cook comes to visit. She has gazed into the entrails of a small rodent and seen death - but whose death she can't be sure. Then, from the Imperial Box Emperor Domitian gives the signal for the Games to begin. Tigers enter the arena, pitted against Gladiators. Soon Venta and Calvin will have to meet their fate.
By Hattie Naylor
A BBC Cymru/Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
Savitri Devi was born in France in 1905, to an English mother and a Greek father. She moved to India in 1932, where she married a prominent Hindu Brahmin and took a Hindu name. She was a devotee of Hitler, a proponent of the caste-system and believed in Aryan supremacy. She wrote dozens of books and recorded hours of interviews.
The resurgence of the far-right is bringing theories that once seemed entirely discredited back into circulation. In this programme, Maria Margaronis explores Devi's life and legacy; asking how influential her ideas are for far-right groups in Europe, America and India.
Producer: Shabnam Grewal.
This week's Big Problem with Helen Keen is; Women
You may not immediately identify women as a problem but, when 'normal' has meant 'male' for centuries how does that affect our perception of women from the past and how does it affect women in the present.
As humanity faces a very big raft of very varied problems, many of them of its own making, here is a series of optimistic, scientifically literate yet comically nimble shows that offer a sweeping overview of the biggest challenges we face and the science behind them. We look at the often surprising solutions of past generations and the likely and unlikely solutions of the future and present a scrupulously researched comedy celebrating human ingenuity.
Written by Helen Keen, Jenny Laville, Lloyd Langford and Carrie Quinlan and special thanks to Marc Abrahams and Dr Stuart Richie.
Cast: Helen Keen, Jon Culshaw and Susy Kane.
Producer was Katie Tyrrell and it was a BBC Studios Production.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Hannah Jane Walker makes the case for being a bit sensitive.
As a child Hannah was told to toughen up, not to be so sensitive, but now she says her sensitivity is who she is, and it's how she makes her income. And she thinks that people should embrace their sensitivity, and not pretend to be tough if they're not.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
Consumer news and issues.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
In these personal, entertaining and deeply thoughtful essays, Philip Pullman examines the art of storytelling.
Written over a period of 30 years, they reflect on a wide range of topics including the origins of his own stories, the practice of writing and the storytellers who have most inspired him.
In today's final essay, Philip recalls how, at the age of sixteen, he discovered visionary 18th century poet William Blake through the "hellish rapture" of beat poet Alan Ginsberg's Howl.
Adapted and produced by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
Two strangers bump into each other in the bread aisle of the local supermarket. It's a meeting that will mark both their lives in unexpected places and unexpected ways.
Both are currently following the map of their lives, Glenn makes marble kitchen tops and is married to Claire, surrounded by the monotonous demands of family life, and Suzanne is married to psychotherapist Guy who is definitely 'on the verge'.
An encounter with an attractive stranger releases butterflies in your belly. That attractive stranger is now talking to you and you just can't stop yourself from imagining what their life's like - how their life could revitalize yours and how your new life together would be the answer to all your questions.
It just so happens that this stranger's inventing a version of your life too.
Fast forward ten years and they are reminded of what could have been in 'Another Life'.
Starring Stephen Tompkinson and Natasha Little with Adrian Lukis and Beth Goddard.
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
Eric Robson and the panel pay a visit to Exeter. Bob Flowerdew, James Wong and Anne Swithinbank answer the audience's horticultural questions.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
An original short story for Radio 4 from the writer/performer Eva O'Connor. Eva's one woman show 'My Name is Saoirse' won the First Fortnight Award at the Dublin Fringe 2014 and the Argus Angel at the Brighton Fringe 2015. Eva's recent play 'Overshadowed', about a young girl's struggle with anorexia, won the 2015 Fishamble New Writing Award and has recently been adapted into a 8 x 10′ series for BBC3.
Writer ..... Eva O'Connor
Reader ..... Eva O'Connor
Producer ..... Michael Shannon.
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.
Radio 4's forum for audience comment.
Friends whose siblings have Down's Syndrome find much to celebrate. 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.
Satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Miles Jupp.
Matt makes a risky move, and Jennifer cannot keep up.
News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Solomon Browne Hall in Mousehole in Cornwall with a panel including Dan Jarvis MP and the Chair of the House of Commons Health Select Committee Sarah Wollaston MP.
A reflection on a topical issue.
Peter Snow takes Alan Johnson MP on a journey in his time travelling DeLorean to the dark days of the Victorian Mill, and forwards to the end of work as we know it.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
The Book of Dust, Part One: La Belle Sauvage
Twenty two years after the publication of Philip Pullman's NORTHERN LIGHTS, the author returns to the world of HIS DARK MATERIALS with a brand new trilogy.
LA BELLE SAUVAGE, read by Simon Russell Beale, is the first volume of THE BOOK OF DUST. Set ten years before the events of HIS DARK MATERIALS, this novel explores the origins of that story.
We open in Oxford, at The Trout Inn, with a pot boy named Malcolm Polstead, and the whisper of a mysterious baby girl, hidden at the local convent, in the care of the nuns...
Lauren Laverne and guests reflect on how we can find the right balance between work and rest.
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.
Aspiring footballers are clear they will always look after their mothers and not let success change them. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.