The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The Chauvet Caves of southern France have the oldest known depiction of an owl in the world. Fascinatingly, this closely observed bird is drawn from behind, but with its head swivelled backwards 180 degrees, to meet the gaze of people walking towards it. The drawing dates back 36,000 years and we have been captivated by owls at least that long. We have fixated on this night hunter as predator, messenger, emblem of wisdom, something pretty to print on a tote bag or portent of doom.
Author Miriam Darlington sets out to tell a new story about owls. In her watching and deep listening to the natural world, she cleaves myth from reality to change the way we think about this magnificent creature.
In Episode 5, a full house of Long-Eared Owls.
Miriam Darlington was born and brought up in Lewes, Sussex. In 2008 she published a collection of poetry, Windfall, and the same year completed a book for young children, Footprints in the Sand, an ecological tale about rivers. In 2009 she gained funding to complete a book on otters in conjunction with a PhD at Exeter University and the book Otter Country was published in 2012. The Guardian, in its hugely positive review of the book, stated that "Darlington has earned her place alongside [Gavin] Maxwell and [Henry] Williamson."
Writer: Miriam Darlington
Abridger: Pete Nichols
Reader: Teresa Gallagher
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
iPM is the news programme that starts with its listeners. Email ipm@bbc.co.uk. Twitter: @BBCiPM. Presented by Luke Jones and Eddie Mair.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Clare Balding joins comedian Ed Byrne as he takes her for one of his favourite walks in the Peak District; to Stanton Moor and Robin Hood's Stride from Winster. They discuss how he became an enthusiastic hill walker and a passionate Munro bagger. Munro bagging is the ideal hobby for Ed as it combines a love of the outdoors and his nerdy desire to tick things off lists. Ed and Clare compare notes on their passion for kit, walking clothing and gadgets.
The route for their seven mile walk can be found on OL 24 , grid reference SK241605.
Producer Lucy Lunt.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
The latest weather forecast.
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Extraordinary stories, unusual people and a sideways look at the world.
"Casablanca is a perfect story about American mistrust of the rest of the world, about American isolation, so it was a wonderful fantasy for Americans as they got deeper into the war. "
Film critic - David Thomson.
Oscar night approaches; what will Paul Gambaccini be wearing as he sits back on the sofa to predict the winners and losers?
In the new series of "And The Academy Award Goes To..." he takes time to look back at three of the best - "Casablanca", "Titanic ", and "Argo" - Ben Affleck's drama about the US Embassy Siege.
Would he have predicted "Casablanca" as Best Picture back in 1944? Probably, because even now, 75 years later, this classic film-noir retains every inch of its power, and even seems to reflect on todays' world.
Packaged as a love story, underneath the Bogart and Bergman romance lies a hard hitting political thriller, a war story, a story of sacrifice. Gambaccini takes us deep into the heart of 'Rick's Café Americain' - a meeting place for refugees and exiles, vultures preying on those desperate to escape, and those damaged by war.
"I still my neck out for no-one", claims Rick - Humphrey Bogart - who presides over his bar, immaculate and cynical in white jacket and black bow tie, feigning indifference to the war tearing Europe apart, reflecting the "America First" attitude of non-intervention which dominated popular thinking in the USA, right up until the attack on Pearl Harbour. It was a remarkable piece of good timing that the original play, "Everyone Comes to Ricks", landed in the post room at Warner Brothers, just days after.
From that day on, Hollywood saw its role as helping to turn the tide of opinion, and "Casablanca" was immediately recognised as the perfect vehicle to influence public opinion to move towards supporting the war effort.
Paul talks to film-noir expert Alan K Rode, author of the very first biography about Casablanca's under recognised director, "Michael Curtiz - A Life in Pictures". Like many of the cast members he too was a refugee, going on to direct many great studio movies, including "Angels With Dirty Faces", "Robin Hood" and "White Christmas".
Noah Isenberg discusses his book "We'll Always Have Casablanca", re-examining the original drama on which the film was based, and the team of seven writers who helped create one of the finest scripts in Hollywood history. While Historian Nick Rankin notes the perfect timing of the films inception and release as the war progressed.
Paul is also joined by regular contributors Larushka Ivan Zadeh and David Thomson.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall.
Bridget Kendall presents an ideas discussion show in which some of the world's most eminent minds tackle the big questions of our age.
Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
This week the government's tax-free childcare scheme was extended to eligible working parents with children aged between nine and eleven, marking the final stage of the rollout. Victoria Todd, Senior Technical Manager, Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, explains who qualifies for it and what they should consider before applying.
Reporter Tony Bonsignore examines the issue of child maintenance and self-employed earnings as a bill on child maintenance evasion progresses towards its second reading. It's seeking to crack down on parents who use their self-employed status to "disguise the means they have available to financially support their non-resident children." Guest: Sumi Rabindrakumar from Gingerbread, the national charity for single parent families.
Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) intend to lobby government to make the necessary changes to introduce what would be the UK's first collective defined contribution (CDC) scheme. It follows Royal Mail's decision to close its defined benefit scheme, which essentially pays out based on years worked and salary earned. How would the CDC scheme work and is there room for another pension option? Hilary Salt, founder of First Actuarial, who advised the CWU on the new scheme and Hugh Nolan, Chair of the Defined Contribution Committee for the Association of Consulting Actuaries, discuss.
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Producer: Charmaine Cozier
Editor: Jim Frank.
Jeremy Hardy, Helen Lewis, Andy Zaltzman and Katy Brand take on the news.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Nairn Community & Arts Centre in Scotland with a panel including the chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation Bertie Armstrong, Scottish National Party MP Joanna Cherry, Conservative MEP author and columnist Dan Hannan and the leader of the Scottish Labour Party Richard Leonard MSP.
Listeners have their say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?
A space ship is heading towards earth. The world leaders respond - all that is except Donald Trump who believes it's all fake news. For reasons which gradually become clear the alien, (who's name is Geoff) has chosen Great Britain as his home from home. His impression of Britain comes from 70s television - a more innocent and cosy world. Swept up in a celebrity rollercoaster, Geoff enjoys his life in Britain, and Brits take him to their hearts. That is... until he becomes just a little too successful when he wins both Strictly and Bake Off, so beginning Geoff's fall from grace.
Written by Private Eye writers Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, together with Tom Coles, Ed Amsden, Sarah Campbell, Laurence Howarth, and others.
It stars Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.
A BBC Studios Production.
As part of the special programming celebrating 50 years of Just a Minute, Paul Merton talks to Nicholas Parsons about his life, and his 50 years of hosting Radio 4's beloved panel show, with guest appearances from some of the many regulars who have appeared over the years.
In a career which started in 1945, Nicholas Parsons has worked with an extraordinary range of people - from the golden age of British cinema in the 50s and 60s, to the seedy glamour of the Windmill Theatre where he rubbed shoulders with the cream of stand-up talent including Bruce Forsyth and Tommy Cooper. He formed a famous double act with the legendary comic Arthur Haynes, and worked with him on both sides of the Atlantic - all before Just a Minute was even thought of. In later years he worked with Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, guest starred in Doctor Who, and will shortly be heard as the voice of God in a TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens.
Not bad for a lad who started his career as an engineering apprentice on the Glasgow Docks...
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Studios Production.
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week.Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor:Jane Thurlow.
Naga Munchetty with coverage of the day's news.
Evan Davis and guests discuss why some restaurant chains thrive and others fail. Why are so many chains closing down branches now?
GUESTS
Paul Campbell, Founder, Hill Capital Partners LLP
Angela Hartnett, Chef and Owner of Murano, Café Murano and Merchants' Tavern
Sarah Willingham, Entrepreneur and Investor.
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The latest weather forecast.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Clive Anderson and Sara Cox are joined by Timothy Spall, Phill Jupitus, Monica Dolan and Philip Norman for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Iron & Wine and Graham Fellows.
Producer: Sukey Firth.
Becky Milligan looks back at the extraordinary life of South Africa's new president. From humble beginnings, he became a lawyer, established the country's most powerful trade union organisation and was a key player in negotiating the end of apartheid. After losing out at an earlier attempt to become president, he turned to business and rapidly became one of South Africa's richest men - while also attracting controversy over allegations about his role during the Marikana massacre of striking miners. As he takes power, what really makes him tick?
Producer: Smita Patel
Editor Hugh Levinson.
Greta Gerwig's latest film stars Saoirse Ronan. Lady Bird has been Oscar-nominated but will it impress our panel of reviewers?
Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz is considered one of the finest novels ever written. How does a brand new translation improve it?
For more than 35 years, Kettle's Yard in Cambridge was the home of Jim and Helen Ede and they opened it to the public allowing everyone to enjoy their art collection. Following 2 years of closure and a multi-million pound programme of improvements it has reopened
Howard Brenton's play, The Shadow Factory is the opening production for a new arts centre in Southampton. Set during The Battle of Britain it deal with the government initiative to make more fighter planes using the technology of the motor industry
Troy; Fall of a City is a new swords and sandals series on on BBC1
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Deborah Moggach, Meg Rosoff and Boyd Tonkin. The producer is Oliver Jones.
Twenty years ago, in February 1998, one of the most serious public health scandals of the 20th century was born, when researcher, Andrew Wakefield and his co-authors published a paper in the medical journal The Lancet suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. As we know, in the years that followed, Wakefield's paper was completely discredited as "an elaborate fraud" and retracted. Attempts by many other researchers to replicate his "findings" have all failed and investigations unearthed commercial links and conflicts of interests underpinning his original work. Wakefield himself was struck off the medical register.
And yet, the ripples of that episode are still being felt today all over the world as a resurgent anti-vaccine movement continues to drive down inoculation rates, particularly in developed Western societies, where measles rates have rocketed particularly in Europe and the United States.
But the Wakefield scandal hasn't just fostered the current ant-vax movement but has played a key role in helping to undermine trust in a host of scientific disciplines from public health research to climate science and GM technology.
Through the archive, science journalist Adam Rutherford explores the continuing legacy of the anti-vaccine movement on the anniversary of one of its most notorious episodes, and explore its impact on health, on research and on culture both at home and abroad.
Reading Europe - Russia: Bride and Groom. Radio 4's journey across Europe exploring the best in contemporary literature.
By one of the most exciting voices in modern Russian literature, Alisa Ganieva, Bride and Groom is a tragi-comic novel about family expectations, religious and cultural tensions, and power struggles in rural Dagestan. It's also a love story.
Episode 2
A death in the settlement further destabilises the community whilst the return of the infamous Khalilbek stirs mixed emotions. As Marat's wedding date draws closer the acts of fate that once kept pushing Marat and Patya closer together now suddenly start pulling them apart. Will there be a wedding after all?
Adapted for radio by Bethan Roberts from the translation by Dr. Carol Apollonio.
Directed by Helen Perry
A BBC Cymru/Wales Production
The Writer
Alisa Ganieva is an author from Dagestan. Her novel, Salam Dalgat! (published under a male pseudonym) won the 2009 national Debut Prize. Alisa's latest novel Bride and Groom was shortlisted for the 2015 Russian Booker Prize. In 2016 the Guardian named Ganieva number 9 on the list of Moscow's thirty most talented young people.
The translator
Dr. Carol Apollonio translated Ganieva's debut, The Mountain and the Wall and was awarded the Russian Ministry of Culture's Chekhov Medal in 2010.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
As restaurant prices double for the day and the world turns pink and fluffy, it's easy to be cynical about February 14th. Romance is a marketable commodity, partly because most of us grow up convinced that our most important aim in life should be to find true love, believing that the perfect partner is out there waiting, if only we can identify him or her, and then it will be hearts and flowers all the way to the grave. You don't have to be starry-eyed to argue that this vision of romantic love is a good thing; it holds families together, it inspires hard work and virtuous behaviour - and it affects the chemistry of the brain in a way that is similar, it seems, to cocaine. There is an alternative point of view; romantic love was invented a mere five hundred years ago and has been a nuisance ever since. In this view, a couple's aspiration to remain together and faithful until death do them part (which gets more ambitious as people tend to live for so much longer) is an unrealistic ideal; it under-values both shorter-term and less exclusive relationships, and it causes unnecessary family breakdowns over infidelities that ought to be forgiven - if not indeed permitted. Is Saint Valentine the harbinger of human happiness - or the devil in disguise? Witnesses are Katie Fforde, Prof Simon May, Dr Julia Carter and Andrew G Marshall.
To launch the new season of 'Brain of Britain', the champions of the three previous series, along with the highest-scoring runner-up in a final, compete for the coveted title 'Brain of Brains 2018'. Russell Davies tests their general knowledge with half an hour of particularly tricky questions, and has a special trophy for the champion of champions to add to their cabinet of accolades.
The winner will also go forward to the 'Top Brain' contest held next week, in which the three most recent winners of 'Brain of Brains' go head to head in the ultimate general knowledge quiz.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
Jacob Sam-La Rose joins Roger McGough to share his favourite poems from listeners' requests, including poems by Billy Collins, Imtiaz Dharker, Sharon Olds and Josef Komunyakaa.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
An original short story commissioned by BBC Radio 4. As read by Jonathan Forbes (Catastrophe).
'The Killers Come at Dusk' follows an Irish couple living in Lilongwe who, fearing that their child has contracted malaria, must confront every parent's nightmare as well as their own privilege.
Irish writer Eoin O'Connor has spent a number of years living in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2016 he was awarded the Imison Award for Best Radio Drama Script by a New Writer for his drama '30 Eggs'.
Writer ..... Eoin O'Connor
Reader ..... Jonathan Forbes
Producer ..... Michael Shannon.
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The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
This week's Bells on Sunday comes from St Vedast, Foster Lane in London. The tower, which was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire, is one of the most graceful in London. Its six bells were destroyed when the church was again gutted by fire, this time in an air raid in December 1940, and a new ring of six was provided from Whitechapel in 1963. The bells are heard here ringing Cambridge Surprise Minor by a band of ringers based at St. Mary Abbotts, Kensington.
The latest national and international news.
An exploration of great feats of recall, of the creative and imaginative pleasures of reminiscence and of the way memories help us tell our stories to ourselves.
In a journey that takes him from Mozart's prodigious memory to memories and the perception of time, Mark Tully tells stories by Dostoevsky, George Eliot, John Barry and The Kinks.
Mark also draws on contemporary poet Eilean Ni Chuilleanain and children's author Kenneth Grahame, the modernist composer Charles Ives and the choral work of Ralph Vaughan Williams to discuss interpretations of memory, time and immortality.
The readers are Jasper Britton and Grainne Keenan.
Presenter: Mark Tully
Producer: Frank Stirling
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4.
Sheep farming in Scotland is a sector which has more to lose than almost any other if an advantageous trade deal isn't brokered with the EU after Brexit, as most sheep meat produced here is exported - and the bulk of it goes to Europe.
It's a point that weighs heavily on John Fyall, the recently-appointed chairman of the National Sheep Association north of the Border, who has thrown himself into negotiations and promotion since his appointment.
As a new-entrant tenant farmer with only a few years of his tenancy left to run, he has a lot to weigh up in his own business too. And on top of all that he spends a few days every week negotiating deals and arrangements between farmers and the main contractors on one of Scotland's biggest construction sites.
Nancy Nicolson caught up with him as he was moving sheep on a frosty Sunday morning.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Will the Mandeans an ancient religion survive the 21st century? Can we live without being judged? Should we give to charity?
Naturalist and broadcaster Monty Halls makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Galapagos Conservation Trust.
Registered Charity Number: 1043470
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 'Galapagos Conservation Trust'.
- Cheques should be made payable to 'Galapagos Conservation Trust'.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Live from St Matthew's Church in Westminster.
BBC Radio 4's worship programmes during Lent this year take 'Stories of hope' as their theme. They follow Jesus' journey from the River Jordan, where he was baptised, to Jerusalem, where he was crucified and buried, and where he rose again from the dead. They begin on this the first Sunday in Lent by looking at ways in which people can make a fresh start in their lives after periods of trouble and distress.
The preacher is the Reverend Jeremy Davies, with reflections from Jonathan Aitken, the former MP who received an 18-month prison sentence for perjury. Music for the penitential season includes the hymns Forty Days and Forty Nights, and There's a Wideness in God's mercy. Director of Music: Nigel Groome. Producer: Ben Collingwood.
A link to Lent resources complementing the series can be found on the Sunday Worship web page.
In 1967, the philosopher Philippa Foot developed a thought experiment about a runaway trolley. It involved countless dilemmas designed to illustrate human behaviour.
But whatever the scenario, the rhetoric was always the same....the overwhelming desire was for the trolley to kill fewer people and save more.
AL Kennedy argues that today that rhetoric is in danger of being turned on its head.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
Ecologist Penny Anderson has always liked Red Grouse and they never fail to make her laugh as she reveals in this recollection about her encounters with this dumpy red bird.
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
Photograph: Fox Pix.
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.
Brian loses his cool, and Kirsty opens up.
Christopher Nolan is best known for reviving the Batman film franchise and for directing the blockbusters Inception and Dunkirk. His films have taken nearly $5 billion at the box office. Born in London in 1970 to an English father and an American mother, he discovered film-making at the age of seven. In what he describes as "a leap of faith", his father lent him his Super 8 camera - and he's not stopped making films since. From youthful experiments, manipulating his action figures and shooting stop motion animations, he progressed to making short films at university where he read English - although he spent more time at University College London's Bloomsbury Theatre, home to the film society, than the lecture theatre.
His first feature film, Following, had enough festival exposure and critical success to secure him his first official budget of $4.5 million to make his next film, Memento. In 2005 he was hailed for reinventing the Caped Crusader in the dark and gritty Batman Begins. He regularly works with the same actors and production team including his long-time producer, his wife, Emma Thomas. The couple's latest film, Dunkirk, is nominated in the best picture category of the Oscars this year and Christopher has a nomination for Best Director.
Presenter: Kirsty Young
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Sally Phillips welcome Britain's Got Talent runner-up (at the age of 14!) Jack Carroll, hostage negotiator Suzanne Williams and the traveller with big ideas about mastering little things, Robert Twigger.
This week, the Museum's Guest Committee contemplate how someone changed history by choosing her bus seat carefully in 1955, what life might be like if we paid each other more attention and why all of life might actually be a simulation in a future game of Football Manager.
The show was researched by Mike Turner and QI.
The Production Coordinator was Tamara Shilham.
The Associate Producer was James Harkin.
The Producers were Richard Turner and Anne Miller.
It was a BBC Studios Production.
Sheila Dillon celebrates the power of food to comfort us in hard times, especially during these dark days of the year. Dumplings, marshmallows, chicken soup, fried chicken, curried goat: all the things we long to eat when we're sad, or sick, or homesick. She talks to Antarctic explorers about the food they miss from home, and eating marshmallows at the South Pole; to teenagers in a Fried Chicken shop; to homesick Polish emigres eating proper Polish dumplings, and to a class of eight-year-olds about what their parents cook for them when they're sick. Chef Raymond Blanc goes into an almost mystical trance as he remembers the puddings his mother cooked for him as a child and their trembling caramel; he confesses this is what he craves now when he's sick. Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner reveals the secret of "Jewish penicillin", or chicken soup; Dr Rupy Aujla reflects on what you might call the culinary placebo effect; and Reggae singer Levi Roots explains about the consoling power of curried goat. Not forgetting Jill Archer's famous flapjacks - the Food Programme presents a comfort feast for February!
Presenter: Sheila Dillon
Producer: Elizabeth burke.
The latest weather forecast.
Global news and analysis.
In the latest programme of the monthly series, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom that reflect the range of contemporary life in the country. From politics to pastimes, from hallowed traditions to emerging trends, from the curious to the ridiculous, the programme presents a tableau of Britain today.
Eric Robson and the panel are hosted by the Newtown Linford Gardening Club in Leicestershire. Matthew Wilson, Matt Biggs and Christine Walkden answer the horticultural questions.
This week the panellists help an audience member with lichen, offer tips on how to prepare for opening a private garden to the public, suggest ways to protect trees form disease and advise on controlling pests in your carrot patch.
Each panellists also picks a historic gardener they wish they could have worked with, while Matthew Wilson takes a tour of nearby Attenborough Arboretum and Bob Flowerdew gives a masterclass in recycling coconuts.
Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
Fi Glover introduces conversations about love in the face of difficulty, smashing the menstruation taboo, common purpose between old and young, and life as a centenarian 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.
by Margaret Atwood
dramatised by Sarah Wooley
1/2
In Margaret Atwood's brilliant and contemporary re-working of the Grimm's fairy story, three old university friends
are about to be shockingly reminded of a dark secret from their pasts - which they had hoped was buried forever....
Zenia ..... Tanya Moodie
Roz ..... Teresa Gallagher
Tony ..... Barbara Barnes
Charis ..... Isabella Inchbald
West ..... David Reakes
Billy ...... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Uncle Vern ..... Rupert Holliday-Evans
Produced and directed by Marion Nancarrow
In "The Robber Bride" Margaret Atwood brilliantly turns this Brothers Grimm fairytale on its head, by re-casting all the roles as female. In the original tale, the Robber Bridegroom steals young maidens for his own ends, but Atwood casts the bridegroom as a predatory woman (described by Lorrie Moore in the New York Times as "Richard III with breast implants") and looks at the effects her manipulation has on three female friends in Toronto, as they go through university and into their adult lives, between 1967 and 1990.
Canadian born British actress Tanya Moodie stars as Zenia.
Mariella Frostrup talks to Australian crime writer Jane Harper about her new thriller Force of Nature; and Penelope Lively shares her love of the little know adult novels of E Nesbit, best known today for her children's books, including The Railway Children.
Poet, Liz Berry joins Roger McGough to present a selection of listeners' poetry requests.
The homeless being denied end of life care.
File on 4 hears the stories of the terminally ill left to die in hostels and on the street.
An estimated 4751 people will sleep rough tonight in England. Many are seriously, even terminally ill.
If you're living on the streets, who will care for you when the end comes?
File on 4 hears from homeless people living with life threatening illness, who can't find a regular bed for the night, let alone a place where their medical needs can be met.
A bed in a nursing home or hospice is usually not available to them. Hostels are left to do their best for the dying. But they say they aren't trained or equipped to give people a dignified death.
We speak to those battling to get homeless people basic medical care. And hear how when services fail, people are left to die on the street.
Reporter: Jane Deith
Producer: Emma Forde
Editor: Gail Champion.
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The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Carole Walker chooses her BBC Radio highlights.
Pat proves to be a friend indeed, and Joe struggles to let go.
Uncle Jeff (Philip Jackson), out of the blue, decides that his nephew Andy (Tom Palmer) needs a girlfriend. Andy decides that he does not. Jeff persists - Fish Shop Frank (Mark Benton) has his niece visiting from down south, and she is, by all accounts, "a lovely girl".
While waiting for Andy to agree, Jeff takes him to the local hypermarket ostensibly for supplies, but in fact because Jeff has read in a magazine that supermarkets are the ideal place for young singles to meet.
While Jeff is wrongly detained for shoplifting, Andy runs into an old flame from London, Liz (Shobna Gulati). She's staying with her Uncle Frank - so this is the "lovely girl" Jeff's been banging on about! How can Andy rekindle the relationship with his old flame without - annoyingly - oving Jeff right?
Writers: Ian Brown and James Hendrie
Producer/Director: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
The first in a series of three short stories about the intimate relationship we have with our computers and what they might say if they could talk.
A woman lies comatose in a hospital bed. A father yearns to hear his daughter's voice again. A computer begins to find its voice. But whose voice is it? An original short story for radio by Timothy X Atack.
Timothy X Atack is a writer, sound artist, composer and film maker. He's worked with Bristol Old Vic, BBC Radio, Neil Bartlett, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Paines Plough, Arnolfini, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, Raucous Collective, BAC, Edgar Wright, Channel 4 TV and BBC Film Lab amongst others. He's an artist in residence at Pervasive Media Studios, Watershed, a member of the radiophonic pop group Angeltech and a co-founder of Sleepdogs with director Tanuja Amarasuriya. His afternoon play The Morpeth Carol won the Radio Academy Award for Best Drama 2014.
Producer: Mair Bosworth.
How many people have UN staff raped?
It was reported in a number of the newspapers this week that UN staff are responsible for 60,000 rapes in a decade. We unpick the back of an envelope calculation that has resulted in this extraordinary figure.
Gender in literature
How are women depicted in books? Author Ben Blatt has carried out an analysis of the types of words used to describe them, and also their absence in some of the classics.
How many people did Stalin kill?
How do you extract facts from a regime that was so profoundly secretive? We speak to Professor James Harris and Professor Barbara Anderson about why there are so many different figures and how historians and demographers calculate death tolls by regimes.
The wealth of Mr Darcy
The male love interest of 'Pride and Prejudice' is supposed to be fabulously wealthy. It says in the early 19th century English novel that Mr Darcy has an income £10,000 a year - that seems to impress the fictional characters. Two hundred years later, it's not clear how remarkable it really is. We speak to Professor Stephen Broadberry of the University of Oxford.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Charlotte McDonald.
Photo: Morgan Tsvangirai
Matthew Bannister on
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change and Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013.
Douglas Botting, film maker, author and explorer who flew a hot air balloon across Africa and sailed a hovercraft down the Orinoco.
Professor Patricia Lindop, who researched the effects of radiation on human tissue.
Asma Jahangir, the lawyer from Pakistan who campaigned for the rights of the country's persecuted minorities.
And Vic Damone, the crooner who recorded more than two thousand songs.
Interviewed guest: Alex Magaisa
Interviewed guest: Anna Botting
Interviewed guest: Dr Giles Camplin
Interviewed guest: Patricia Dixon
Interviewed guest: Mohammed Hanif
Archive clips from: The Choice, Radio 4 07/12/2004; The World About Us: River of Death, BBC Two 19/01/69; Balloon From Zanzibar, BBC Two 23/08/62; The World About Us: Three Men in a Balloon, BBC Two 13/12/70; On The Bosom of the Air, Radio 4 19/09/1962; Hot to Handle: The Two Faces of Radiation, BBC One 17/03/66; Science and Society, BBC One 22/03/66; Nihal, BBC Asian Network 17/11/2010; Taking A Stand, Radio 4 01/01/2002; Outlook, BBC World Service, 22/11/2010; Woman's Hour, Radio 4, 07/06/2005; The Arthur Askey Variety Show, Radio 4 Extra, 07.06.2015; The John Dunn Show, Radio 2, 01/01/00.
The latest round in the fight over the future of the UK armed forces is raging in the corridors of Whitehall. As politicians and military top brass argue about money, wider questions about what we want the Army, Navy and RAF to do once again top the defence agenda.
Caroline Wyatt spent many years covering defence for the BBC and has heard warnings from retired generals about chronic under-funding many times. But with army numbers already down to a level not seen since before the Napoleonic Wars, big projects like the F-35 fighter jets in trouble, and a £2bn a year black hole in the defence budget, further salami slicing seems untenable. How then to prioritise which capabilities the UK must maintain and improve?
The UK faces an intensified threat from Russia, 'hybrid' warfare where cyber attacks and political destabilisation are used alongside military force, and advances in missile technology. Post Brexit, the UK's strategic position both globally and within the European defence space is unclear. How we want to deploy our armed forces - where, with whom, and at what cost - is once again up for debate.
Producer: Lucy Proctor.
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.
With Francine Stock
Alison Janney discusses her award winning role as Tonya Harding's mother in real-life ice-skating drama I, Tonya, and reveals why she's happy that she never met the real Mrs Harding.
Sally Potter talks about her latest film The Party, as it's released for home entertainment, and explains why she thinks there are so few female film-makers in this country and what can be done about the situation.
Tim Robey and Larushka Ivan-Zadeh present a beginner's guide to Greta Gerwig, as the actor's directorial debut Lady Bird is released in cinemas.
In another edition of Pitch Battle, historian Tracy Borman makes the case for a bio-pic of Anne Of Denmark, the woman behind the Gunpowder Plot.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
A Valentine Day's Special. Laurie Taylor explores changing attitudes to infidelity and considers a cross cultural history of rings. Wendy Doniger, Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago, asks why this piece of circular jewellery keeps re-occurring in myths and stories about seduction, love, sex and betrayal. What can it tell us about the shifting nature of power relations between men and women? She's joined by Adam Kuper, Visiting Professor in Anthropology at Boston University. Also, have attitudes hardened towards adultery? The visibility of non-monogamy suggests a challenge to dominant assumptions about the feasibility of lifelong sexual fidelity. However, infidelity remains the lone area of adult sexual practice that is disapproved of under any circumstances. Dr Jenny van Hooff, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, examines claims about the extent to which relationships have been de-traditionalised.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
Musician Joe Acheson of Hidden Orchestra describes how slowing down recordings he made of the diminutive wren song during a dawn chorus, sounded like the morning calls of gibbons across the rainforest.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. In this latest 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
Photograph: Sam Linton.
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Humanity is flourishing and the Enlightenment has worked, declares Steven Pinker. The Harvard psychologist has looked across health, prosperity, safety, peace and happiness, and sees signs that all are improving. He tells Andrew Marr how Enlightenment attitudes to reason and science have made this the best age in which to live. But Enlightenment values are under attack and Pinker calls for their vigorous defence. Dutch philosopher Rob Riemen also sees humanism under threat from fascism, with its politics of resentment and hatred of the life of the mind. But can reason, beauty and justice combat this threat? The neuroscientist Tali Sharot thinks reason and fear are not enough to make us change our minds. Only by understanding how the brain functions can we perfect the art of persuasion.
Producer: Hannah Sander.
Yorkshire is one of Europe's most geologically varied areas - a realm where mountain, plain, coast, chalk hills, wetland and heath intermingle.
In Richard Morris' Yorkshire, we discover the county through eyes of artists like J M W Turner, William Callow and Henry Moore - and the imagination of writers such as The Brontes, Winifred Holtby and J B Priestley.
We travel to the county's netherworld of caves, mines and tunnels, and confront dark subjects such as the part played by Whitby and Hull in the emptying of Arctic seas and shores of whales and bears.
Yorkshire explores the tumultuous history of the county and asks why it has so often been to the fore in times of conflict or tension - think Wars of the Roses, Civil War, Cold War, the miners' strike of 1984.
Both in area and population, Yorkshire today is larger than many member countries of the UN, yet remains just an English county. Richard Morris delivers a wide-ranging, lyrical and very personal history of God's Own County.
Richard Morris is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Huddersfield. He was Director of the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) from 1991 to 1999. His interest in churches, settlement, historical topography, cultural history and aviation are reflected in essays, articles and books. His book Time's Anvil: England, Archaeology and the Imagination was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and shortlisted for the 2015 Archaeological Book of the Year. His other publications include Churches In The Landscape (1989) as well as biographies of Guy Gibson (1994) and Leonard Cheshire (2000).
Written by Richard Morris
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Reader: Philip Jackson
Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Nobel laureate Doris Lessing's 1985 satire about a band of incompetent, bourgeois revolutionaries living in a London squat. Starring Olivia Vinall, Joe Armstrong and Sian Thomas. Dramatized by Sarah Daniels.
Alice and Jasper move into a new squat with other members of the Communist Centre Union. While Alice puts her energies into making the house habitable, the other revolutionaries are busy trying to court the IRA.
Directed by Emma Harding.
The nephew of an elderly brother and sister fights to save their home, a thatched cottage near the shores of Lough Foyle that has belonged to their family for over 300 years. Grace Dent tells their story.
The Quigley Cottage in Magilligan lies near the shores of Lough Foyle in Northern Ireland. It has belonged to the same family for over 300 years and has listed heritage status. Edward was born in it, and lives there with his elderly sister Eileen, without electricity or an indoor toilet. They cook with gas, and use gas lights. It is thought to the only cottage thatched with marram grass on the island of Ireland and dates from an age when local people scavenged the grass from nearby sand dunes to roof their homes.
In 2014, when a severe winter storm badly damaged a rear wall and caused part of the roof to collapse on top of Edward's bed, he was lucky to escape with his life. Now the cottage is almost too dangerous to live in. The rest of the roof and the rear wall could collapse at any time, and with winter storms approaching, they are desperate to find the money to their family home.
Their nephew Mark, an IT consultant who lives in Coleraine, has driven the campaign to save the cottage, but so far they haven't been able to secure the necessary funds. As winter draws in, Edward and Eileen must decide if they should leave their beloved cottage, and Mark makes one last attempt to raise the money for much-needed repairs.
Producer: Conor McKay.
On her way back from Hull station following a failed attempt to get onto the Vidal Sassoon hairdressing course in London, Sophie is knocked over by a car. By way of compensation the driver, Alison, a frequent church-goer, offers Sophie a disused hair salon that she has access to thanks to her church's outreach work. Sophie accepts Alison's offer. But with only a week to make the salon a going concern, will Sophie manage to make a success of it?
Written by Lucy Beaumont
Production Co-ordinator: Luke Mason
Produced by Sam Michell.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Brexit will mark a major change in how medicines and medical research is regulated in the UK. That could affect everything from the supply of medicine to what kind of research is done. Chris Morris explores the anxieties and opportunities created by this change.
Producer: Chris Bowlby.
News and discussion of consumer affairs.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Following on from her acclaimed Radio 4 series on British conservatism and British liberalism, Anne McElvoy now traces the story of British socialism.
In this opening episode, she visits New Lanark, the early 19th century Scottish mill village run by Robert Owen, to find out how it became the seedbed for his pioneering vision of socialism.
Owen was a successful businessman - but he was also the great early visionary of socialist ideas in Britain. What led him to argue for a utopian transformation of British life, based on ending capitalism and replacing it with small settlements based on communal ownership?
With: Lorna Davidson, Gregory Claeys
Producer: Phil Tinline.
'It takes a village to raise a child.' Feminist vlogger Chloe undertakes a radical domestic experiment, when she recruits some extra wives to help raise her baby daughter. Lauren Cornelius and Luke Bailey star in Julie Mayhew's witty new play. Part of a season of provocative women's writing about transgressive women.
Directed by Emma Harding.
Every three years the 'Brain of Brains' contest determines which of the most recent 'Brain of Britain' winners is named the champion of champions. In this contest the 'Brain of Brains' winners play for the ultimate general knowledge title, 'Top Brain 2018'. The winner of last week's 'Brain of Brains 2018' contest joins formidable former champions Mark Grant and Ian Bayley, in a nail-biting run-off for the title.
A listener also stands to win a prize by attempting to outwit the champions with questions of his or her own devising.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
Starting out in an artistic profession is hard enough - it's a precarious business - you can expect rejection letters and knockbacks, and to be working all night to hit deadlines. But taking the next step in your career can be even more challenging.
In this new series we spend time with young artists who are becoming recognised in their professions, as they look to take their career to the next level.
In this edition, we join 26 year old writer, actor and poet Ben Norris as he embarks on making a piece of theatre about long-distance running. While he seeks inspiration he talks about how he creates his work and the insecurity of being a millennial artist.
Producer: Ellie Richold.
There's nothing more human that adapting a tool to make your life better, it's the rationale behind every innovation. Aleks Krotoski explores how our digital tools can be reinvented in powerful ways by individuals seeking a better life. Whether it's how smuggled USB sticks filled with content from the outside world inspire North Koreans to defect to the south, or the way a single photo of woman running with her hair flowing inspires a campaign against compulsory Islamic dress in Iran. What ties these stories together is hope. And it's the hope that the world can be made better that makes us look to the tools we have and how they might be re-purposed to make that a reality.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Nicholas Parsons presents the iconic panel show. Paul Merton, Josie Lawrence, Jenny Eclair and Tony Hawks try to speak for a minute on a variety of topics.
Justin makes an unexpected offer, while Susan is delighted.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
How is the Civil Service preparing for Brexit? Amid all the political noise and constant media coverage around the UK's decision to leave the EU, no-one really knows what's going on behind the scenes. But in Whitehall thousands of civil servants are busy preparing for us to leave. What are they actually doing and can they deliver on time? Speaking to civil service insiders and their political masters, Ben Wright assesses this unprecedented complex peacetime task.
The complaint of many leave supporters in Parliament is that the Civil Service is inherently a remain-leaning institution which is failing to see the future opportunities Brexit may allow. Is the Civil Service is on board, or is it acting as a roadblock?
Reporter: Ben Wright
Producer: Adam Bowen.
Electricity is crucial to modern life - and in the digital or electric vehicle age, that dependence is going to grow even more. But will we all get the power we need? Chris Bowlby discovers what life is like when power suddenly fails, and how a revolution in the way we generate electricity is posing huge political questions. This could give everyone secure, cheap power - or leave society divided between those with a bright future, and those left increasingly in the dark.
Producer: Chris Bowlby
Editor: Hugh Levinson.
What are we eating? Where does it come from? Why does that make sense? In a new series, Charlotte Smith explores the global networks that supply us with food and asks why they have become so complex. Charlotte visits a Kent grape importer and finds out how many countries and how many varieties it takes to meet our demand for year-round grapes. She visits Wageningen University in the Netherlands to look at the technology that makes global food value chains possible. And with commentators and leading figures in research, she discusses the risks that complicated networks can create, and how food can be produced in a sustainable way for an ever growing global population.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
James Joyce' autobiographical masterpiece, read by Andrew Scott and abridged by Sara Davies.
Stephen Dedalus is growing up and absorbing the culture and religion of his native Ireland.
As he matures, he begins to question the values and ideas on which his life is built.
Stephen goes away to school for the first time. Wells pushes him into a ditch and during the fever that ensues, he has a vision of his own death. But it is the nationalist politician Parnell who has died.
Music is 'Oft in the Stilly Night' by Sir John Stevenson, performed by Robin Harris.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright are joined by CN Lester, author of 'Trans Like Me: A Journey for All of Us' to talk about language and gender identity. What does it mean to be transgender and how is language being used (by and about) people who identify as transgender, non-binary or genderqueer?
Producer: Mair Bosworth.
Cricket was once the most popular sport played in America. To begin this story, Geoff Boycott and veteran New York cricketer Clarence Modeste recall an extraordinary attempt to revive cricket with the Yorkshire county team playing at Staten Island Cricket Club in the midst of social unrest during 1964.
At that time, America was a turbulent place following the assassination of President Kennedy. The Civil Rights movement was under attack and there was rioting in the streets.
As The Beatles took to the stage of the Paramount Theatre in New York for their US debut, across town the Brylcreem boys of Yorkshire were beginning their attempt to bring cricket back to the USA. Gamesmanship, partying, and psychological warfare are recounted here by some of the survivors.
In the 1800s, before the American Civil War, cricket was the dominant sport in America. Presenter and cricket fanatic David Prest visits the home of US cricket in Haverford, Philadelphia to hear about the social history of the game and how it's surviving now - largely organised and played along ethnic team lines. The award winning-author Joseph O'Neill recounts the origins of his bestselling novel about cricket in the USA, Netherland, and describes how the police organise cricket facilities in New York for young Muslim players in poorer areas in an attempt to keep them from becoming isolated and succumbing to extremist ideology.
By contrast, we also visit the exclusive surroundings of Merrion Cricket Club in Haverford, Philadelphia where millionaires take tea on the pavilion.
Finally, the programme asks if America could ever become a cricketing nation once again.
Produced by Peter Curran
A Foghorn production for BBC Radio 4.
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.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
For professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology David Rothenberg, the blackbird is a beautiful melodic songster which helps explains the difference between bird song and bird call in this Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. In this latest 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: Tim Dee
Photograph: Tim Gardner.
News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Prof Sir John Burn was one of the first clinical geneticists in the UK. He talks to Jim Al-Khalili about the genetics of cancer and setting up the Centre for Life in Newcastle.
Jay Brave is a spoken word artist and entrepreneur who doesn't identify as "black", arguing that an understanding of ethnic background is far more important than race. But actress, director and fitness instructor Kelechi Okafor has an almost opposite approach to identity and is proud to be, and to identify as, "black".
Here they meet and discuss why they think the way they do, what their experiences have been, where their views meet, and how they see themselves as agents for change.
Producer: Toby Field.
Yorkshire is one of Europe's most geologically varied areas - a realm where mountain, plain, coast, chalk hills, wetland and heath intermingle.
In Richard Morris' Yorkshire, we discover the county through eyes of artists like J M W Turner, William Callow and Henry Moore - and the imagination of writers such as The Brontes, Winifred Holtby and J B Priestley.
We travel to the county's netherworld of caves, mines and tunnels, and confront dark subjects such as the part played by Whitby and Hull in the emptying of Arctic seas and shores of whales and bears.
Yorkshire explores the tumultuous history of the county and asks why it has so often been to the fore in times of conflict or tension - think Wars of the Roses, Civil War, Cold War, the miners' strike of 1984.
Both in area and population, Yorkshire today is larger than many member countries of the UN, yet remains just an English county. Richard Morris delivers a wide-ranging, lyrical and very personal history of God's Own County.
Richard Morris is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Huddersfield. He was Director of the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) from 1991 to 1999. His interest in churches, settlement, historical topography, cultural history and aviation are reflected in essays, articles and books. His book Time's Anvil: England, Archaeology and the Imagination was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and shortlisted for the 2015 Archaeological Book of the Year. His other publications include Churches In The Landscape (1989) as well as biographies of Guy Gibson (1994) and Leonard Cheshire (2000).
Written by Richard Morris
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Readers: Philip Jackson and Becky Wright
Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Nobel laureate Doris Lessing's 1985 satire about a band of incompetent, bourgeois revolutionaries living in a London squat. Starring Olivia Vinall, Joe Armstrong and Sian Thomas. Dramatized by Sarah Daniels.
Alice is on a mission to remove the concrete from the squat's toilets and to reconnect the electricity. Meanwhile, the other members of the Communist Centre Union squabble over who is entitled to live in the house.
Directed by Emma Harding.
Charlotte Smith continues her investigation into the complex global food networks that are able to give us what we want to eat, whenever we want it. In episode two, Charlotte looks at how money flows around the food chain and at the drive for ever more efficient production. Why have the Netherlands been so successful both as producers and exporters of food - and how are fraudsters making money out of the complexities of the global food system?
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
From Mussorgsky to Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, the unmistakable sound of bells rings through the greatest pieces of Russian music. Composer Llywelyn ap Myrddin takes us on a musical journey to discover the 'voice of the Russian sky' amid the throng at the Rostov-the-Great Bell Festival.
With the aid of pianist Yaroslav Timofeev and musicologist Gerard McBurney, Llywelyn sheds light on the unique complexity of the Russian bell's sound, its chaotic overtones and harmonics, and why its wild untuned state must have enraptured The Mighty Five composers in their quest for a truly national school of Russian music during the 19th century.
Woven into the very fabric of everyday Russian life for centuries, bell chimes sounded warnings, weddings and death knells. At different points they have been emblematic of both a deep patriotic conservatism and dangerous subversion. With the help of historians and expert campanologists, Llywelyn delves into the medieval origins of Russian bells, including colourful anecdotes which encapsulate the literal and symbolic power of the bell. Exclusive archival evidence sheds light on the layman reaction to the shocking abolition of bells during the Soviet era.
But what of the future of this age-old Russian tradition? Speaking with Oleg Gritsaenko at his thriving Litex bell foundry in Zhukovsky, Llywelyn gets to grips with the intricate playing style of the zvonar' (bell-ringer) and feels the heat of the fiery furnace with the next generation of bell-casters who are painstakingly rediscovering a lost art.
Recorded on location in Russia.
A Cast Iron Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Brexit and food - Chris Morris discovers what leaving the EU could mean for the British baked potato. How might Brexit affect the food we buy, and what it might cost? And why could post Brexit food fights break out between different parts of the UK?
Producer: Chris Bowlby
Editor: Hugh Levinson.
Consumer phone-in.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Anne McElvoy explores how Chartism emerged in the mid 19th Century as the first truly national working class mass movement and how it became a decisive marker in the story of British Socialism.
With: Dr Katrina Navickas of the University of Hertfordshire
Professor Malcolm Chase of the University of Leeds
and
Professor Jon Lawrence of the University of Exeter
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare.
59-year-old dentist Barbara (Belinda Lang) has been arrested; the victim of her alleged crime is 20-year-old Brazilian waiter, Fabio (Lino Facioli) - her new husband... Comedy drama from award-winning writer Ming Ho. Part of a season of provocative women's writing exploring female transgression. Ming Ho's previous play for BBC Radio 4, 'The Things We Never Said', won Best Radio Drama in the Writers' Guild Awards 2018.
Directed by Emma Harding
Immigration law advice ..... Colin Yeo.
From an island which resists invasion to a beloved city in which you can't be free - Josie Long presents a series of short documentaries where the landscape becomes a character.
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
In the last General Election environmental issues barely merited a mention. Nine months on and the Prime Minister is making keynote speeches on recycling and Michael Gove is issuing a flurry of policy initiatives to get the green-minded voter on-side.
Tom Heap sets out to discover why this remarkable transformation has taken place. Is it the Attenborough Effect, the power of the newly-green Daily Mail or a blatant attempt to woo the youth vote? Perhaps senior politicians have actually come to accept the gravity of Earth's predicament.
Producer: Alasdair Cross.
Why do we 'sleep tight'? Or 'keep mum'? Why do we 'let the cat out of the bag' or say something is 'above board'? Who was 'Larry' and how happy was he really? Why does it 'rain cats and dogs'? And what on earth are 'tenterhooks'? Who or what is a quaaltagh? or a dorbellist?
Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright are joined by Paul Anthony Jones, the writer behind the popular etymology blog Haggard Hawks to talk about the origins of popular phrases, forgotten words that deserve to be brought back into use and the journey of everyday words which have radically changed in their meaning and usage over time.
Paul is the author of Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons: The Origins of English in Ten Words, The Accidental Dictionary: The Remarkable Twists and Turns of English Words and - most recently - The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities: A Yearbook of Forgotten Words.
Producer: Mair Bosworth.
Hadley Freeman (Guardian columnist and author of Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned from Eighties Movies and Be Awesome: Modern Life for Modern Ladies) and Sathnam Sanghera (Times columnist and author of Marriage Material and The Boy With The Topknot) talk favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Choices include Spring by David Szalay, The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank and A Cat, a Man, and Two Women by Junichiro Tanizaki.
Produced by Mair Bosworth.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Brand new stand-up from Sara Pascoe.
Sara will be exploring our modern social world though theories of Evolutionary Psychology and more. How does our monkey past influence our modern lives and how come we can still get emotionally hijacked by our primitive emotions?
In this first episode Sara's taking on a subject that fascinates and intrigues as much as it repels us: Murder. Happily the human animal is much more of a pacifist than lots of our other mammal relations, including meerkats (the adverts have lied to us). But even the most patient among us has probably been driven to murderous thoughts on occasion, especially when your sister steals your clothes.
From sibling rivalry, to pair bonding this is an informative and hilarious look at one of the darker aspects of human behaviour.
Recorded on location at The RAF Museum, Collindale
Written by and starring Sara Pascoe
Production co-ordinator Toby Tilling
Producer Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios production.
Jennifer finds herself the talk of the town, and Pip needs reassurance.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Can the NHS afford to run and replace its ageing hospitals?
Many hospitals are crumbling and have huge backlogs of required maintenance work. It affects patients - sometimes life-saving operations are being cancelled due to lack of capacity - or practical problems such as leaks or faulty air conditioning.
Money from capital budgets has been used to plug gaps in day to day spending - meaning an ever growing black hole of building work is backing up. So where to get the money?
The Government is adopting plans which would encourage NHS trusts to sell off spare land and try to get money for new buildings from the commercial sector.
But private finance initiatives are no longer an option. Trust deficits make borrowing difficult and hospital leaders say its difficult to get access to the money they need - like wading through treacle, one says - because of perverse rules and regulations.
So how should we pay for much needed life support for our hospitals?
Reporter: Lesley Curwen
Producer: Rob Cave
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.
James Joyce' autobiographical masterpiece. Read by Andrew Scott and abridged by Sara Davies.
Stephen Dedalus is growing up, absorbing the culture and religion of his native Ireland.
The scandal of Parnell's affair and his subsequent death have divided Stephen's family. At his first Christmas dinner with the adults, Stephen witnesses a fearsome row.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
By Tim Key
In the first of a new series, misunderstandings, Siberian waitresses and a surprising new love interest come thick and fast as Tim Key takes a comic look at the concept of the unobtainable. With musical support from Tom Basden.
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production
The Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning comedian returns for a fourth series of his Late Night Poetry Programme. Currently performing his latest critically acclaimed solo show 'Megadate', Tim Key is never far from stage and screen - from Peep Show to Alpha Papa. But now he's back on late night Radio 4 doing what he does best - attempting to recite poetry whilst tormenting his friend and musician, the equally brilliant Tom Basden.
Praise for Tim Key
"...You never know when Key will suddenly toss you a fantastic joke or startlingly well-constructed line." Radio Times
"The show... has a kind of artistry and strange beauty that makes it unlike any other hour of stand-up you are likely to see." The Observer
"In any other sphere apart from comedy, we'd probably class this way of looking at the world as certifiable. Here it feels like genius." The Telegraph.
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.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
David Rothenberg on the jazz artist of the bird world - the humble robin. David explains what the song of the robin has in common with experimental free form jazz, not dissimilar to the sound of saxophonist Eric Dolphy who spent a long time listening to birds.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. In this latest 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: Tim Dee
Photograph: Christine Sweet.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Joanna MacGregor is one of Britain's most celebrated and established pianists and behind the scenes she's also head of piano at the Royal Academy of Music and Artistic Director of the Dartington Music festival. It's a hectic programme with all the challenges that face solo performers combined with a burning desire to prepare the next generation for the harsh world of solo and independent minded music making. 2017 was also a year that saw her tackle a recording and Wigmore Hall performance of Chopin's complete Mazurkas, a challenge few pianists have taken on in the past. Hers is a career balanced between the continuing stresses and rewards of recital work and the increasing concern for her pianist students who face an uncertain career as Britain's halting progress to Brexit threatens to provide yet another level of complication to what should inevitably be an international career.
Producer/Presenter: Tom Alban.
Yorkshire is one of Europe's most geologically varied areas - a realm where mountain, plain, coast, chalk hills, wetland and heath intermingle.
In Richard Morris' Yorkshire, we discover the county through eyes of artists like J M W Turner, William Callow and Henry Moore - and the imagination of writers such as The Brontes, Winifred Holtby and J B Priestley.
We travel to the county's netherworld of caves, mines and tunnels, and confront dark subjects such as the part played by Whitby and Hull in the emptying of Arctic seas and shores of whales and bears.
Yorkshire explores the tumultuous history of the county and asks why it has so often been to the fore in times of conflict or tension - think Wars of the Roses, Civil War, Cold War, the miners' strike of 1984.
Both in area and population, Yorkshire today is larger than many member countries of the UN, yet remains just an English county. Richard Morris delivers a wide-ranging, lyrical and very personal history of God's Own County.
Richard Morris is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Huddersfield. He was Director of the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) from 1991 to 1999. His interest in churches, settlement, historical topography, cultural history and aviation are reflected in essays, articles and books. His book Time's Anvil: England, Archaeology and the Imagination was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and shortlisted for the 2015 Archaeological Book of the Year. His other publications include Churches In The Landscape (1989) as well as biographies of Guy Gibson (1994) and Leonard Cheshire (2000).
Written by Richard Morris
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Readers: Philip Jackson and Becky Wright
Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Nobel laureate Doris Lessing's 1985 satire about a band of incompetent, bourgeois revolutionaries living in a London squat. Starring Olivia Vinall, Joe Armstrong and Sian Thomas. Dramatized by Sarah Daniels.
Alice continues her efforts to make the squat habitable, but resists Pat's attempts to confide about her strange relationship with Jasper.
Directed by Emma Harding.
Friends who grew up on opposite sides of the religious and class divide find unity of purpose in their band The Wood Burning Savages and in redeeming Derry. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
Star of BBC3's Josh and Radio 4 News Quiz regular Elis James hosts four stand-up shows from the four nations of the United Kingdom which explore what it means to be variously Welsh, English, Scottish and Northern Irish in today's United Kingdom.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Far away from the main Brexit negotiations in London and Brussels are the British Overseas Territories. Dots on the global map whose people may be strongly affected - and who are struggling to make their voices heard. Chris Morris travels to Gibraltar to see what's at stake, and discovers too a hidden but vital Brexit story in the Caribbean
Producer: Chris Bowlby
Editor: Hugh Levinson.
Consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Anne McElvoy explores how the values and principles of mutualism, based around a commitment to greater equality, and a push for working people to have more control over their lives became a central thrust of a socialist belief system. Her journey begins in Rochdale, where a small band of workers gave birth to the co-operative movement.
With:
Professor Tony Webster of Northumbria University
Gillian Lonergan of the Cooperative Heritage Trust
and
Professor Jon Lawrence of the University of Exeter
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare.
It's hard for Gemma to form new relationships when she has to reveal that she chose to leave her two young children. Katherine Jakeways' new play about a woman who breaks the rules. Part of a season of provocative writing by women about female transgression.
Directed by Emma Harding.
Financial phone-in.
Sociological discussion programme, presented by Laurie Taylor.
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Witness episode 3 of award-winning stand-up comedian Bridget Christie's BBC Radio 4 comedy series, Bridget Christie's Utopia.
As Bridget Christie struggles to come to terms with current world events - Kim Jong-un, the melting polar ice caps and parakeets in her garden reminding her of Brexit, she embarks on a comic quest for her Utopia - a way of living that will make her less anxious and enable her to have her first happy wee since the Brexit vote in 2016.
EPISODE 3 : COUNTRYSIDE
In this third episode of the series, Bridget explores the countryside - to see if that will make her happier. Could living on a rural commune or moving her family to the country be the answer to all her problems? Or will life still be completely rubbish? In her tour of the countryside, Bridget meets a woman who runs her own commune - Fran Blockley - in rural Wales. Could a new life in the countryside help this town mouse switch off?
Stand-up show recorded in front of a studio audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.
Starring: Bridget Christie.
With special guest Fran Blockley.
Producers: Simon Nicholls and Alison Vernon-Smith.
A BBC Studios Production.
Brian goes too far, and Shula attempts to ignite a spark.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Matthew Taylor, Claire Fox, Giles Fraser and Anne McElvoy.
Every year, to mark the Christian season of Lent, Radio 4 invites contributors to offer a personal take on an aspect of the Passion story. The series opens with the Science writer Sharman Apt Russell who writes about the hunger that is for more than bread alone.
Producer: Rosie Dawson.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
James Joyce' autobiographical masterpiece. Read by Andrew Scott and abridged by Sara Davies.
Stephen and his family have to leave their home and move to a smaller house in Dublin. Stephen discovers that his friends do not all share his literary tastes.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
A heady combination of maths, science and comedy with Festival of The Spoken Nerd trio: stand-up Mathematician Matt Parker, Physicist Steve Mould and Physicist-Musician Helen Arney. It's science that you can play along with at home as the team look at domestic phenomena that we relate to on a day to day basis. This week, we're in the kitchen.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
A BBC Studios Production.
The second of four 14 minute vignettes in a brand new series from John Kearns, the Winner of the Main Prize at the 2014 Edinburgh Comedy Festival, as well as the Best Newcomer Award in 2013. Passions flare and loyalty is tested at a football ground in London, in "Half-Time.".
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.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Music professor and philosopher David Rothenberg asks a simple question, why is the song thrush with its beautiful, exuberant and melodious song not famous for this Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. In this latest 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: Tim Dee
Photograph: Feathers Allan.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the achievements of the pioneering scientist Rosalind Franklin.
Yorkshire is one of Europe's most geologically varied areas - a realm where mountain, plain, coast, chalk hills, wetland and heath intermingle.
In Richard Morris' Yorkshire, we discover the county through eyes of artists like J M W Turner, William Callow and Henry Moore - and the imagination of writers such as The Brontes, Winifred Holtby and J B Priestley.
We travel to the county's netherworld of caves, mines and tunnels, and confront dark subjects such as the part played by Whitby and Hull in the emptying of Arctic seas and shores of whales and bears.
Yorkshire explores the tumultuous history of the county and asks why it has so often been to the fore in times of conflict or tension - think Wars of the Roses, Civil War, Cold War, the miners' strike of 1984.
Both in area and population, Yorkshire today is larger than many member countries of the UN, yet remains just an English county. Richard Morris delivers a wide-ranging, lyrical and very personal history of God's Own County.
Richard Morris is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Huddersfield. He was Director of the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) from 1991 to 1999. His interest in churches, settlement, historical topography, cultural history and aviation are reflected in essays, articles and books. His book Time's Anvil: England, Archaeology and the Imagination was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and shortlisted for the 2015 Archaeological Book of the Year. His other publications include Churches In The Landscape (1989) as well as biographies of Guy Gibson (1994) and Leonard Cheshire (2000).
Written by Richard Morris
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Reader: Philip Jackson
Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Nobel laureate Doris Lessing's 1985 satire about a band of incompetent, bourgeois revolutionaries living in a London squat. Starring Olivia Vinall, Joe Armstrong and Sian Thomas. Dramatized by Sarah Daniels.
Jasper and Bert are away in Ireland, attempting to court the IRA. And Alice's theft from her father's office leads to Jim getting the sack.
Directed by Emma Harding.
Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.
Dr Cadence Kinsey explores what happens when art breaks free from the gallery.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Series exploring the issues surrounding Britain's leaving of the European Union.
Consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Anne McElvoy traces the dreams, desires and romantic visions of those who saw revolution as the better way to improve humanity's lot in the final decade of the 19th Century.
With:
Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Professor Mark Bevir of the University of California, Berkeley
Professor Ruth Kinna of Loughborough University
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare.
By John Mortimer. Adapted for radio by Richard Stoneman.
Following in the footsteps of several distinguished former Rumpoles - Leo McKern, Maurice Denham, Timothy West and Benedict Cumberbatch - Julian Rhind-Tutt, one of Radio 4's most popular actors and much loved star of TV's Green Wing and The Hour, now dons the wig and white bands of the most erudite, astute, and seldom defeated of barristers in the annals of the Old Bailey.
After waking up with a raging tooth-ache, Rumpole finds himself in no mood to listen to his boring client Reginald Tring, who's accused of the manslaughter of his wife. As Reginald drones on with his mind-numbing evidence, Rumpole suffers throughout the trial, and argues even more angrily than usual with Mr Justice Gwent-Evans. And, when Rumpole accuses the judge of deliberately misleading the jury, Gwent-Evans warns him in no uncertain terms about his future conduct.
Rumpole finds himself on trial, with the end of his career in sight.
But, luckily for Horace, he has Phillida on his side. She goes searching for the truth, and galvanises not only Rumpole's defending counsel - Soapy Sam Ballard QC - but also Rumpole's wife.
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.
Clare Balding joins Christina Edwards as she returns to her childhood home in Greens Norton, Northamptonshire, to retrace the walk she took most nights as a teenager, when suffering from anorexia. Christina lived with her mother in a small cottage on the village green. At seventeen Christina stopped eating and as she explains to Clare, as hunger would wake her in the middle of the night, she'd slip out of the house, always accompanied by their dog Jamie and set off on a long walk around the village to try and tire herself out and soothe her mind. Jamie would never leave her side as she strode across the fields and along footpaths, always listening to the same album on her Walkman, The Waterboys, This is the Sea.
Christina now lives in New Zealand with her husband and three children, she talks to Clare about the strength it took to overcome her condition and how she still needs to battle with it today.
If you need support with eating disorders, help and support is available.
BBC Action Line
Producer Lucy Lunt.
With Francine Stock
Award winning film-maker Clio Barnard discusses her latest drama Dark River.
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.
When Peter is sent back to the mainland to undergo some urgent diversity training, Harry and Ann are given a replacement guard by The Minister. Warder Leo Hatchet is a tough, uncompromising new screw and soon makes his mark on the prison's regime. But in doing so, has he destroyed The Egg's ambiance? And what about Peter? Will The Minister allow him to return to The Egg, if Hatchet's already doing his job quicker and better? And in the second episode, The Egg is battered by a pair of mating whales, who are mating rather too enthusiastically. But they are also endangered, so Harry has to think of more creative ways than the harpoon to ward them away from The Egg.
Written by Dan Maier
Produced by Sam Michell
It is a production from BBC Studios.
Peggy's loyalty is misplaced, and there is a shock for Will.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Series looking at important issues in the news. Presented by David Aaronovitch.
What has happened to Margaret Thatcher's dream of creating a nation of shareholders? Over the last decade there's been a big increase in the amount of foreign ownership. ONS figures show foreign investors now own over fifty per cent of shares listed on the stock exchange. Evan Davis and guests discuss why this has happened and whether it matters.
GUESTS
John Dawson, Founding Partner, Statera
Gillian Karran-Cumberlege, Founder, Fidelio Partners
Gervais Williams, Fund Manager, Miton Group.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
James Joyce' autobiographical masterpiece. Read by Andrew Scott and abridged by Sara Davies.
Stephen accompanies his father to Cork, and is embarrassed by his behaviour. But like his father, he sees temptation all around.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
Multi-award winning storyteller Sarah Kendall brings her critically acclaimed trilogy of funny and moving, live shows to Radio 4.
Taking her audience on a trip, Sarah gives a unique snapshot of small-town life in Australia in the early nineties.
At a time when most people were seeing Australians through the filter of 'Home and Away' and 'Neighbours', Sarah's shows present a darker underbelly to the stereotype of the sun-loving, happy-go-lucky Aussie teenager.
Comedic and tragic in equal measure, Sarah's tales of her teenage life blend intricate narratives with a cast of memorable characters, bringing events to life in front of your very ears.
Episode 2: Touchdown
"This show is a story, and our story starts at the end. My parents came to see one of my shows, and I would end this particular show by telling a story about the time I swore at a teacher..."
Starting with a short routine from her comedy club set, Sarah admits that like with most stand-up routines, it had a punchline manufactured for the sake of a joke. Her mum challenges her to tell everyone what really happened the day she swore at that teacher and the result is this show. Denied the quick fix of a fabricated punchline it is transformed into a full, honest, coming-of-age story that explores the clumsiness of adolescents, their awkward relationships, and painful need for friendship and love.
*Contains strong language
Written and performed by Sarah Kendall
Producer - Carl Cooper
Production Coordinator - Emily Hallett
This is 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.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Children's author and poet Michael Morpurgo reflects on the swan, celebrating its mysterious beauty and the wonder of its wings as they pass overhead.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. In this latest 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
Photograph: Bryan Garnett.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Yorkshire is one of Europe's most geologically varied areas - a realm where mountain, plain, coast, chalk hills, wetland and heath intermingle.
In Richard Morris' Yorkshire, we discover the county through eyes of artists like J M W Turner, William Callow and Henry Moore - and the imagination of writers such as The Brontes, Winifred Holtby and J B Priestley.
We travel to the county's netherworld of caves, mines and tunnels, and confront dark subjects such as the part played by Whitby and Hull in the emptying of Arctic seas and shores of whales and bears.
Yorkshire explores the tumultuous history of the county and asks why it has so often been to the fore in times of conflict or tension - think Wars of the Roses, Civil War, Cold War, the miners' strike of 1984.
Both in area and population, Yorkshire today is larger than many member countries of the UN, yet remains just an English county. Richard Morris delivers a wide-ranging, lyrical and very personal history of God's Own County.
Richard Morris is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Huddersfield. He was Director of the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) from 1991 to 1999. His interest in churches, settlement, historical topography, cultural history and aviation are reflected in essays, articles and books. His book Time's Anvil: England, Archaeology and the Imagination was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and shortlisted for the 2015 Archaeological Book of the Year. His other publications include Churches In The Landscape (1989) as well as biographies of Guy Gibson (1994) and Leonard Cheshire (2000).
Written by Richard Morris
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Reader: Philip Jackson
Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
Nobel laureate Doris Lessing's 1985 satire about a band of incompetent, bourgeois revolutionaries living in a London squat. Starring Olivia Vinall, Joe Armstrong and Sian Thomas. Dramatized by Sarah Daniels.
Alice finally meets her revolutionary neighbour, the enigmatic Comrade Andrew.
Directed by Emma Harding.
For centuries, people have dreamed of perpetual motion machines, and many ingenious inventors have tried to come up with devices that will keep going forever with no external input. All have failed. But in recent decades there's been a new take on the idea. A large community of people now believe that it is possible to build a machine that will create free energy. Not only will it keep going forever, but it will also be able to do useful work. They say that this does not contravene any laws of physics because the machines harvest quantum "zero point energy" from the environment.
Indeed, many believe that such machines have already been successfully invented, but that they have been suppressed by the forces of Big Oil, who do not want to see their profits hit. There are many conspiracy theories, and talk of "men in black" who put the frighteners on inventors and even - in extreme cases - apparently go as far as to kill them.
Undeterred, reporter Jolyon Jenkins buys plans for a free energy machine online. For less than £100 it's going to give him energy independence from the big power companies. But it turns out to be tricky to build. Will he get it to work, or will the men in black get to him first?
Presenter/Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.
By Jeremy Front
Based on the novel by Simon Brett
A series of nasty accidents befall the cast of the play Charles is appearing in. Is it bad luck or is someone out to sabotage the production.
Directed by Sally Avens
As ever, Charles is his own worst enemy, a louche lush who can resist anything except temptation especially in the form of women and alcohol. His intentions may be good but somehow the results always go wrong.
He's been out of work so long now he feels he may never get a job and he's driving Frances his semi-ex-wife mad.
So when he's offered a small role in an awful play up in Rugland she nearly pushes him out the door.
But as always with Charles murder is never far behind.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Series exploring the issues surrounding Britain's leaving of the European Union.
Consumer news and issues.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
Anne traces how Keir Hardie, once Liberal trade unionist, became a socialist amidst the violent suppression of a Scottish miners' strike. And how to went on to become first an MP, and then leader of Britain's socialist Parliamentary party. She explores how Hardie worked in concert with ethical socialist Ramsay MacDonald - and how they had to choose between hardline socialists and the trade unions.
With: David Howell, Jim Smyth.
By John Mortimer. Adapted for radio by Richard Stoneman.
Following in the footsteps of several distinguished former Rumpoles - Leo McKern, Maurice Denham, Timothy West and Benedict Cumberbatch - Julian Rhind-Tutt, one of Radio 4's most popular actors and much loved star of TV's Green Wing and The Hour, now dons the wig and white bands of the most erudite, astute, and seldom defeated of barristers in the annals of the Old Bailey.
Rumpole's long-suffering wife Hilda - She Who Must Be Obeyed - narrates a fascinating tale of murder and romance that Horace would prefer to remain untold.
An instructing solicitor, Daniel Newcombe, asks Rumpole to defend a young man, Michael Skelton, who's accused of bludgeoning his father to death with a golf club. Hilda finds Daniel to be everything that Horace is not - well-groomed, charming, sensitive and complimentary.
After being wooed over lunch, she agrees to act as Daniel's 'spy', reporting back on Rumpole's defence preparations. However, when Hilda realises that Daniel is hiding the truth from her, and from everyone involved in the murder case, she's forced to consider whose side she ought to be on.
Hilda narrates the whole story with a refreshing honesty and witty candour that we thought only her husband could manage, and reveals a passionate and frustrated side, as Rumpole catches a glimpse of the true nature of his wife.
Cast:
Horace Rumpole............... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Hilda Rumpole ................. Jasmine Hyde
Daniel Newcombe ........... Stuart McQuarrie
Claude Erskine-Brown ..... Nigel Anthony
Mr Justice Graves.............. Stephen Critchlow
Mrs Beazley ..................... Cathy Sara
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.
Eric Robson and the panel are hosted by Bodnant Gardens in North Wales. Pippa Greenwood, Bob Flowerdew and Matt Biggs answer the audience's horticultural questions.
Producer: Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
By Alex Preston. A man who grew up surrounded by birds and birdsong misses them badly when, as an adult, he lives and works in the city. He decides to solve the problem by setting off on a journey.
Alex Preston is an author and journalist and teaches creative writing at the University of Kent. His most recent novel, In Love and War, was produced as a Book at Bedtime for BBC Radio 4. His personal anthology of nature writing, As Kingfishers Catch Fire, was published in 2017. Alex lives in Kent with his wife and two children.
Writer: Alex Preston
Reader: Joe Sims
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.
Radio 4's forum for audience comment.
Friends share musical taste but not their ways of enjoying it. 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.
Jeremy Hardy, Andy Hamilton and Susan Calman are amongst Miles' guests for the last episode in the current series.
The Grundys face a long night, and Toby offers support.
News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from the Life Science Centre in Newcastle with a panel including Labour's Brexit Minister Jenny Chapman MP, conservative peer Baroness Warsi and the General Secretary of the train drivers' union ASLEF, Mick Whelan.
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.
Anne McElvoy traces the emergence of British socialism through the 19th century, from Robert Owen's visionary schemes for a society based on villages sharing goods in common, to the arrival of Labour MPs in Parliament in 1906.
Along the way, Anne traces three competing approaches to changing Britain in the interests of working people: utopian visions of transformation, local co-operative societies, and plans to take control of the central state.
Producer: Phil Tinline.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
James Joyce' autobiographical masterpiece. Read by Andrew Scott and abridged by Sara Davies.
Stephen attends the spiritual retreat, where Father Arnall describes the details of damnation for sinners. Stephen feels that every word is meant for him.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
Lauren Laverne presents intimate late-night conversation.
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.
Friends who have put their political and cultural experiences into their creative work. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.