SATURDAY 07 SEPTEMBER 2019

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m000843y)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 Winds of Change (m0008440)
The Changing of the Guard

Political historian Peter Hennessy reads from his new study of Britain in the early 1960s.

The politics of the early 1960s were dominated by the premiership of Harold Macmillan. But when the ageing and infirm Prime Minister decided to resign, his replacement as leader of the Conservative administration was a lofty-voiced peer, Lord Home, who had been Macmillan’s Foreign Secretary. Obliged to give up his peerage, the former Fourteenth Earl, now plain Alec Douglas-Home, was PM for under a year - when he was defeated in October 1964 by his pipe-smoking nemesis, the Yorkshire-vowelled Labour leader, Harold Wilson, in one of the closest-fought British general elections of all time.

Written and Read by Peter Hennessy
Adapted for radio by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Simon Elmes

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0008442)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0008444)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0008446)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0008448)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000844b)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Fr Dermot Morrin, Honorary Catholic Chaplain at Edinburgh University.


SAT 05:45 Four Thought (m00081v3)
A Pleasure Culture of War

Historian Kasia Tomasiewicz discusses how to commemorate war.

Reporting for her first day shadowing the curatorial team at the Imperial War Museum, Kasia found herself conflicted. Feeling awe at the size of the tanks, planes and other machines of war, and remembering the pleasurable associations from Airfix kits and games with her siblings from her own childhood, she tried to balance these feelings with the awareness that the objects also embody death and destruction. How do these different responses affect what Kasia describes as the 'pleasure culture of war'?

Producer: Giles Edwards.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m00088fl)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m00081ws)
Jarvis Cocker's Edale

On a wet and windy summer's day Jarvis Cocker takes you to the remote village of Edale and Kinder a landscape he has fallen in love with. He first came across the Peak District while he was a pupil in his native Sheffield and came out on a school trip which he says no–one wanted to go on. However, after two days of exploring he says something happened – something clicked in his head and he didn’t want to admit it but he started to enjoy the landscape. Over the last 40 years it’s a region he has regularly visited and explored and is now truly hooked.

To introduce more people to this landscape especially people from the cities, Jarvis along with artist Jeremy Deller and the National Trust who own Kinder Scout has created a trail ‘Be Kinder’. The trail winds its way along a route stretching almost two miles from the tiny railway station in Edale to the foot of the plateau of Kinder Scout to mark the 1932 mass trespass on Kinder Scout. This mass trespass was all about allowing working class people access to the countryside something Jarvis wants to rekindle as he wants everyone to discover the magic and beauty he has found in this landscape.
The presenter is Jarvis Cocker and the producer is Perminder Khatkar.
Contributors: Jeremy Deller, actress Maxine Peake, Gordon Miller and MEP Magid Magid.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m00088fn)
Farming Today This Week: Land ownership

Charlotte Smith visits Mark Tufnell on his Calmsden estate in Gloucestershire to discuss land ownership - who owns what and who should own what in the future? As he shows Charlotte around, Mark, who is also Vice President of the Country Land and Business Association, gives his reaction to the week's political events and to Theresa Villiers's comments about preparations for a no-deal Brexit. They discuss Labour's proposals to transform the way land is owned and taxed, and the importance of conservation to the estate. All this set against the backdrop of a low-flying Biplane and a gaggle of rather enthusiastic geese.

Producer: Toby Field


SAT 06:57 Weather (m00088fq)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (m00088fs)
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m00088fv)
Richard Ayoade

Richard Ayoade became famous for playing Moss in the IT Crowd and went on to present Gadget Man, Travel Man and The Crystal Maze. He was nominated for a BAFTA for directing his first feature film Submarine and has directed music videos for Artic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend and Radiohead. Despite that, he describes himself primarily as a writer and his third book Ayoade on Top has just been published.

Choreographer, dancer and artistic director Kevin Turner was spotted for his talent as a child. However, as his career soared, his mental health suffered. He describes how he used dance to recover and now coaches other mentally ill people in how to use movement to heal.

When Isabel Vincent was in her 40s and living in New York, her friend Valerie suggested that she meet up with her 91 year-old father for dinner. To Isabel’s surprise they had an immediate spark and became best friends. She went to have dinner with him almost every week for five years until he died at 95-years old.

Actor Amanda Abbington became a national hero when, as Mary Watson, she took a bullet for Sherlock. Her new play, Son, explores the domestic struggle of divorce and depression and she joins us in the studio.

And singer Marty Wilde shares his Inheritance Tracks.

Producer: Laura Northedge
Editor: Eleanor Garland


SAT 10:30 My Dream Dinner Party (m00088fx)
Jane Horrocks's Dream Dinner Party

Actor Jane Horrocks hosts a dinner party with a twist - all her guests are from beyond the grave, her heroes brought back to life by the magic of the BBC radio archive.

She's joined by singer and entertainer Cilla Black, poet and novelist Sylvia Plath, TV celebrity chef Fanny Cradock (and her sidekick, Jonny), singer-songwriter Ian Dury and underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau.

While the Lancashire hotpot bubbles in the oven, the dinner party conversation becomes loud and mischievous – from the thrill of breaking taboos on stage, to the wonder of the sea, from the loneliness of fame to the joy of English eccentricity - and plenty of singing/performance around the dinner table.

Presented by Jane Horrocks
Produced by Sarah Peters and Peregrine Andrews
Researcher: Edgar Maddicott
Executive Producer: Iain Chambers

A Tuning Fork and Open Audio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m00088fz)
George Parker of The Financial Times looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The Editor is Jonathan Brunert


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m00088g1)
Mugabe Remembered

Robert Mugabe has died. How do you sum up such a complex and contradictory figure? Andrew Harding recalls his final encounter with Mr Mugabe and reflects on the perils of living too long.

In Germany the far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland is celebrating after doing well in two regional elections. Damien McGuinness has been meeting some of their supporters and says that their electoral success has led to a wider debate about why east Germans have not felt the benefits of unification.

Malaria is a constant threat to life in Burkina Faso. A newer threat comes from an Islamist-led insurgency that has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. But the cutting-edge research into tackling mosquitoes continues undisturbed, for now, as Jennifer O'Mahony reports.

The Romanian national football team is no great shakes at the moment and is unlikely to qualify for the European Championship finals in 2020. But another game, the origins of which are lost in the mists of time, is gaining popularity. Emma Levine has been to watch it being played in the town of Frasin.

In Papua New Guinea it’s estimated that 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, despite the country’s enormous mineral wealth. Charlie Walker says there’s one particular mineral that people are interested in..


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m00088g3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m00088g5)
Former Extra Energy customer shocked at new £4,000 bill

Money Box reporter Dan Whitworth investigates why a failed energy company is still sending bills to customers. Extra Energy ceased trading ten months ago. Last month former customer Diane received a letter demanding over £4,000 for supplying gas to her 2 bedroom home. Guest: Ellen Fraser, Energy Analyst at Baringa.

A savings account that pays a 50p bonus for every pound you save. Just imagine that. Well actually you don't have to because it exists. It's called a Help to Save Account, is backed by the government and was launched last year to encourage people on low incomes who claim certain benefits to save. The Treasury estimates that around 3.5million people could be eligible for the scheme, recent statistics from HMRC reveal only 132,000 accounts have been opened. Guest: Kelly Sizer, Senior Technical Manager, the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group.

Cara explains how she balances running her international online business with being a 14-year-old schoolgirl. Guest: Julian Hall, the founder of Ultra Education which teaches entrepreneurship in schools to 7 to 18 year-olds.

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Producer: Charmaine Cozier
Editor: Emma Rippon


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m000846x)
Series 100

Episode 2

Joining Angela Barnes to dissect the latest political machinations are Hugo Rifkind, Kerry Godliman, Simon Evans and Jessica Fostekew.

Boris Johnson's busy week of comings (new dog) and goings (his brother) plus some welcome light relief from Flirty the Emotional Support Horse.

Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production

Photo credit: Edward Moore @edshots


SAT 12:57 Weather (m00088g7)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m00088g9)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m000843j)
Hilary Benn MP, Kirsty Blackman MP, Nigel Evans MP, Antoinette Sandbach MP

Ed Stourton presents topical debate from Wilmslow Guild in Cheshire with the Chair of the Brexit Select Committee Hilary Benn MP , the Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party at Westminster Kirsty Blackman MP, Conservative MP Nigel Evans and the Independent MP Antoinette Sandbach.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m00088gc)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 15:00 Drama (m00088gf)
A Kestrel for a Knave

Robert Rigby’s dramatisation of Barry Hines’s 1968 coming-of-age novel set in a mining town in South Yorkshire.

Young Billy Casper is ridiculed and bullied at home and at school but he discovers meaning and purpose in his harsh day-to-day existence when he finds a beautiful kestrel he calls Kes. Life fleetingly takes on direction, meaning and some small status for Billy as he trains his hawk, but will this kind-of-contentment be short-lived?

Billy Casper ….. George Kent
Jud Casper ….. Joe McArdle
Mrs Casper ….. Kelly Harrison
Mr Crossley / Newsagent ….. Craig Cheetham
Mr Gryce / Butcher ….. Adrian Hood
Mr Farthing / Milkman ….. Lee Rufford
Youth Employment Officer / Mrs Rose ….. Olwen May
MacDowall ….. Daniel Rainford
Armitage ….. Daniel Corey
Anderson ….. Corey Westwood
Ellis / Tibbut ….. Troy Tipple
Young Boy ….. Isaac Bartram

Additional cast: Ronan Braisby, Dominic Cooper, Ethan Godbold, Olivia Sephton,
Ella McHugh, Grace McVeigh, Daniel King, Georgia Mahoney and Harvey Kitchen.

Recorded on location in Barnsley, Yorkshire. With thanks to The Civic and the Pauline Quirke Academy, Barnsley.

Sound Recordist: Alisdair McGregor
Sound Design & Music: Lucinda Mason Brown
Production Manager: Sarah Tombling
Director: Fiona McAlpine
Producer: Lucinda Mason Brown

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m00088gh)
Jackie Kay, Equal pay, Fussy eating, Period sex

In a week of extraordinary politics, how have female MPs and advisors fared? We discuss the “macho” culture and language of parliament with Katy Balls, deputy political editor at The Spectator and Helen Lewis, staff writer at The Atlantic.

National Poet for Scotland, Jackie Kay, on a new production of her 1980's play Chiaruscuro.

Sisters Maya and Gemma Tutton tell us about their campaign OurStreetsNow. They want to implemented a law like France has done to make verbal sexual harassment illegal and punishable by an on-the-spot fine.

What is the impact of high-profile Equal Pay cases? Sam Smethers from the Fawcett Society, Charles Cotton from the CIPD and Paula Lee from Leigh Day Solicitors discuss.

When does fussy eating become a danger to health? We get advice from Dr Victoria Aldridge, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at De Montford University, Dr Lucy Serpell, Clinical Lead for Eating Disorders at North East London NHS Foundation Trust and associate professor of Psychology of Eating Disorders at UCL and Clare Thornton-Wood, dietician and spokesperson of the British Dietetic Association.

Research tells us women are responsible for the majority of consumer decisions and most of the final decisions on which clothing, food and family holidays to buy. So how much power and responsibility do women consumers have for sustainability? We ask Lauren Bravo, author of How to Break Up with Fast Fashion, Kate Cawley, director of Veris Strategies and Dr Lucie Middlemiss, Associate Professor in Sustainability at Leeds University.

Why is having sex while you've got your period such a taboo subject? We talk to journalist Emma Barnett who's written Period, It's About Bloody Time and campaigner Nimko Ali, author of What We’re Not Told Not to Talk About (But We’re Going to Anyway).

Presented by Jane Garvey
Produced by Sophie Powling
Edited by Jane Thurlow

Interviewed guest: Helen Lewis
Interviewed guest: Katy Balls
Interviewed guest: Jackie Kay
Interviewed guest: Maya and Gemma Tutton
Interviewed guest: Sam Smethers
Interviewed guest: Charles Cotton
Interviewed guest: Paula Lee
Interviewed guest: Victoria Aldridge
Interviewed guest: Lucy Serpell
Interviewed guest: Clare Thornton-Wood
Interviewed guest: Laura Bravo
Interviewed guest: Kate Cawley
Interviewed guest: Lucie Middlemiss
Interviewed guest: Emma Barnett
Interviewed guest: Nimko Ali


SAT 17:00 PM (m00088gk)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 The Inquiry (m00088gm)
Why does Donald Trump seem to have such a problem with the truth?

Fact-checkers say the President of the United States has made more than 10,000 false or misleading statements since coming to office. Whether it’s the size of the crowd at his inauguration, the pay rise offered to the military or where his father was born, Donald Trump often says things that are untrue. And he doesn’t rush to correct them, even when they’re outright fabrications. Ruth Alexander examines Donald Trump’s long record of falsehoods, which stretch back even to his schooldays. And she explores his motives, both political and psychological.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m00088gp)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m00088gr)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00088gt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m00088gw)
Ben Elton, Mark Strong, Frans Bak, Gemma Cairney, Ashley Henry Trio, Lainey Wilson, Athena Kugblenu, Nikki Bedi

Nikki Bedi and Athena Kugblenu are joined by Ben Elton, Mark Strong, Gemma Cairney and Frans Bak for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Ashley Henry Trio and Lainey Wilson.

Producer: Sukey Firth


SAT 19:00 Profile (m00088gz)
David Gauke

This week David Gauke - MP for South West Hertfordshire - shook the government he served as a cabinet minister only a few weeks ago, voting to stop Boris Johnson taking the UK out of the EU without a deal. He's given the Tory rebels their label: the "Gaukeward Squad." Edward Stourton looks at the life of this unlikely rebel.

Producers: Darin Graham and Smita Patel


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (m00088h3)
Rojo, Hansard, James Meek, Rothschilds at Waddesdon Manor, Defending the Guilty

Argentinian film Rojo is set just before the 1975 military coup, looking at the simmering tensions and the complicity that made it happen and the way so many people turned a blind eye
Hansard at London's National Theatre is a debut play. A junior Tory minister under Margaret Thatcher comes into deeply personal conflict with his politically-opposed wife over Clause 28
James Meek's novel 'To Calais In Ordinary Time' tells a story about 14th century Europe, written in a distinctive argot scattered with arcane language, following the lives of several characters dealing with - among other things - the approaching Black Death.
A new display of items owned by The Rothschilds has opened at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. Items of immense value from ruby and emerald jewellery to Roman glassware and amber caskets, many of these items haven't been on public display before
Defending The Guilty is a comedy series on BBC2 exploring the world of barristers

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Mark Billingham, Barb Jungr and Julia Raeside.
The producer is Oliver Jones

Podcast Extra recommendations

Julia: The Dublin Murders by Sarah Phelps + The Portland Brothers + Box Of Delights podcast
Barb: Edna O'Brien -The Little Red Chairs + Jazzmeia Horn + Bob, Brel and Me
Mark: Peaky Blinders + Nick Lowe
Tom: Robert Harris - The Second Sleep + Mortimer and Whitehouse go Fishing


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m00088h7)
The First Political Youthquake

After years of young people in Britain demonstrating on everything from the Vietnam War to gay rights, in 1969 there was a political 'youthquake': those over 18 and under 21 got the vote. Politicians had to court a new youthful constituency - and young people had an incentive to become politically involved.
But, as Jo Coburn shows, the first political youthquake also saw new political figures emerge - such as Bernadette Devlin, first elected to Westminster in 1969. Devlin's outspoken approach was as important as her policies – and her gender. She wanted to be in Parliament because it was "where things happen".
Another outsider - Peter Hain - from South Africa transformed political protest not just with campaigns against visiting sports teams from apartheid South Africa but also, later in the 1970s, with the Anti-Nazi League which confronted the far-right extremism of the National Front. By then, a rejuvenated Conservatism under Margaret Thatcher was inspiring figures like the teenager William Hague - who would himself later lead the Tory party. Jo Coburn talks to both men and considers what the first political youthquake had taught them and how that shaped politics into the 1980s and 90s when they both held office.
Coming into the 21st century, Liz Truss, now a member of Boris Johnson's Cabinet, reflects on her - non-Conservative - early political experiences, including with CND and the Liberal Democrats, and how they convinced her that there is "unfinished business" from the first political youthquake. While Labour MP and former student campaigner Wes Streeting, says that on issues which matter to young people today - such as the environment on which Greta Thunberg campaigns - 1960s commitment needs to be harnessed to technology.

Producer Simon Coates


SAT 21:00 Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time (m00088hc)
Episode 2

In the second part of Marcel Proust’s allegorical contemplation on time, memory, art and love, Parisian dandy and intellectual socialite Charles Swann falls in love with the coquettish courtesan Odette de Crecy.

Swann is a regular guest at the musical soirees of Combray aristocrats, the Duke and Duchess of Guermantes. Odette is introduced to Swann and persuades Madame Verdurin, the rival socialite of little distinction, to invite him to one of her musical soirees. She does and Odette and Swann soon fall in love.

It is not long however before Odette’s past catches up with her as Swann struggles to control his emotions.

Cast:
MARCEL (narrator) ………Derek Jacobi
MARQUISE DE SAINTE EUVERTE..…… Pamela Miles
ODETTE ………… Bessie Carter
PROSTITUTE ………….Charlotte Blandford
ANOTHER PROSTITUTE ……… Phoebe Marshall
THE DUCHESS DE GUERMANTES (Oriane) ………Fenella Woolgar
MADAME DE VERDURIN ………. Frances Barber
PIANIST ………… Daniel Whitlam
DOCTOR COTTARD ……… Lloyd Hutchinson
MONSIEUR VERDURIN ………… Jeff Rawle
SWANN …………. Paterson Joseph
ELSTIR BICHE ………… Daniel Flynn
MADAME DE GALLARDON …………Christine Kavanagh
BRICHOT ………… Hugh Ross
FORCHEVILLE …………Nicholas Gleaves
REMI ……… Nicholas Armfield
SANIETTE ………. Roger Watkins
SERVANT ………Finlay Paul

Translated and adapted from the French by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Produced and directed by Celia de Wolff
Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Tombling
Recording and Sound Design: David Chilton and Lucinda Mason Brown
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (m00088hh)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 22:15 Across the Red Line (m00081v0)
Series 4

Does profit corrupt?

Anne McElvoy returns with the series that invites two public figures who disagree on an issue of principle to listen closely to each other’s arguments - and then to find out what drives them.

In the first edition of the new series, Anne brings together Blue Labour founder Lord Glasman and Lionel Barber, Editor of the Financial Times, to debate whether profit corrupts.

And Anne works with conflict resolution specialist Louisa Weinstein to foster a more exploratory conversation, to encourage both speakers to probe the values and experiences that underpin each other’s beliefs.

Producer: Phil Tinline


SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (m00082dl)
Series 33

Heat 1, 2019

(1/13)
The 33rd season of Radio 4's eclectic music quiz gets under way with three competitors hoping their musical knowledge could take them all the way to the Counterpoint title in the autumn. Paul Gambaccini's questions range from favourite symphonies to Hollywood musicals, and from classic pop and soul to opera and cantatas. As always the competitors will be asked to pick a musical topic on which to answer their own individual questions, with no prior warning of the subjects and no chance to prepare.

Taking part today are:
Alex Denman, a copywriter from Bristol
Neil Morgan, an airline pilot from Hampshire
Rufus Stilgoe, a writer from South London

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Mother Tongue (m00083f5)
The State We're In

The globe-trotting poetry series returns. Poet Imtiaz Dharker explores exciting voices from around the world in their own languages and in translation.

In this episode, she hears poems written in Icelandic, in Hindustani from India, and in Amharic from Ethiopia. While thinking about the phrase "The State We’re In", she explores how these three poets have written about injustices and citizenship in very different ways.

There’s Kristín Svava Tómasdóttir, an impressive young voice from Reykjavik’s vibrant poetry scene. She serves up perceptive social criticism and environmental concern with wry humour and understated Scandinavian dread. Imtiaz talks to her about poems inspired by the Icelandic financial crisis of 2008 and internet search engines. The English translations are by KB Thors.

Hussain Haidry is a spoken word poet living in Mumbai. In his poem Hindustani Musalmaan, or Indian Muslim, he explores the many influences that make up his identity and refuses to be defined by just one aspect – being a Muslim. It struck a chord a couple of years ago when it was widely shared on social media. Imtiaz talks to him and recalls her time living in Mumbai.

Finally, Imtiaz discovers Ethiopia’s rich tradition of "wax and gold" poetry, where satire runs just below the superficial meaning. We hear poems with a political twist from Zewdu Milikit, a poet from the ancient city of Gondar in the north west of Ethiopia. The translations from the original Amharic are by poet Chris Beckett, who we also hear.

Producer: Caroline Hughes
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4



SUNDAY 08 SEPTEMBER 2019

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m00088hk)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 00:30 Short Works (m000846j)
A Long Way to Go

On a long journey through deep space, a lone passenger passes the time with stories. An original short story for radio by Daisy Johnson.

Daisy's first short story collection, Fen, was published in 2017. Her debut novel, Everything Under, was shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize, making Daisy the youngest nominee in the prize's history.

Read by Sinead MacInnes and Barbara Flynn
Produced by Mair Bosworth


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00088hm)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00088hp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00088hr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m00088ht)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m00088hw)
St Mary the Virgin, Chislet in Kent

Bells on Sunday comes from St Mary the Virgin, Chislet in Kent. The tower has a ring of six bells. The tenor, cast in 1729, is tuned to E flat and weighs fifteen hundredweight. We hear them ringing a touch of Stedman Doubles.


SUN 05:45 Profile (m00088gz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (m0008b04)
The latest national and international news headlines.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0b5qn14)
Uncertainty

Rabbi Harvey Belovski goes back to his childhood and remembers the nervous boy who had an aversion to uncertainty - something that continued to trouble him well into adulthood.

Harvey explains that, when he was young, he was taken with the certainty shown by Abraham in the story of the Binding of Issac, where his total faith in God led him to the brink of sacrificing his son. According to Harvey, "we are always left in awe, or horror, that Abraham seemed to experience no doubt that he was doing the right thing."

Later, Harvey found another interpretation of the story in the writings of a Polish rabbi known as the Ishbitzer, who suggests that Abraham was being tested to see if he could embrace uncertainty - did God want Abraham to sacrifice Isaac or would Isaac become the father of a great nation? Abraham simply couldn't know, yet he was required to accept the doubt.

"This might seem trivial," Harvey says, "but it changed my world forever...I began to see doubt and complexity less as enemies to be eliminated, but as central features of a meaningful life."

Through traditional Jewish music and the compositions of Mozart and Chopin, he leads us on his journey from discomfort to mature acceptance that uncertainty is something to be embraced.

Presenter: Rabbi Harvey Belovski
Producer: Michael Wakelin
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0008b06)
The Baking Farmer

Lots of farmers grow wheat, but not many of them mill their own grains to make bread. JB Gill meets a farmer in South Essex who is doing just that.

George Young is passionate about food. He wants to have a direct connection with the people who eat what he grows. He is switching from growing commodity crops like wheat and barley that are sold on the global market, to growing more niche crops that he sells via a shorter supply chain.

JB Gill takes a look at some of his new crops - from hemp to buckwheat - and joins him in the kitchen where he's milling his own wheat to make bread.

Presented by JB Gill
Produced by Heather Simons


SUN 06:57 Weather (m0008b08)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0008b0b)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0008b0d)
Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme presented by Edward Stourton.


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0008b0g)
PAPYRUS - Prevention of Young Suicide

Bereaved father Andy Airey makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity PAPYRUS - Prevention of Young Suicide.

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 ‘PAPYRUS - Prevention of Young Suicide’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘PAPYRUS - Prevention of Young Suicide’.


SUN 07:57 Weather (m0008b0j)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0008b0l)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0008b0n)
Just as I am

A service celebrating the witness of people with disabilities in churches and worshipping communities. The service is led by the Rev Zoe Heming, Vicar of St Andrew's, Church Aston near Lichfield. It features members of L'Arche Community, WAVE Church in Muswell Hill, and the St Martin-in-the-Fields Disability Advisory Group. The service includes a reflection recorded a number of years ago for Sunday Worship by Jean Vanier, the founder of L'Arche who died earlier this year. Producer: Andrew Earis


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m000843l)
September Anxiety

For the September blues, writes Sarah Dunant, "usually time is the healer...you buckle down and get on with it...and by the end of October, things are on track for winter".

But not, she thinks, this year.

Sarah describes why she feels this year's September malaise has a different quality to it.

Producer: Adele Armstrong.


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0p9q)
Montserrat Oriole

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Liz Bonnin presents Montserrat oriole from the Caribbean island of Montserrat. In 1995, after being dormant for over 300 years, a volcano on erupted. The eruption not only destroyed Montserrat's capital but much of the wildlife couldn't escape, and one bird, the Montserrat oriole was almost silenced forever. The male is a colourful bird with coal-black head, wings and tail and underparts the colour of egg-yolk. It is one of the most endangered birds in the world, a bird caught between a rock and a hard place. Its forest home had already been reduced by cultivation and introduced predators. It was reduced to living in fragmented pockets of forest, two thirds of which were destroyed in the 1995 and later eruptions. This threatened to wipe out an already endangered bird. So, conservationists from Jersey Zoo moved 8 orioles into captivity to avoid natural extinction and now a captive breeding programme is successfully underway, such as this oriole specially recorded for Tweet of the Day at Chester Zoo.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0008b0q)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0008b0s)
Peggy's got some exciting news and Emma breaks down.

Writer, Keri Davies
Director, Kim Greengrass
Editor, Jeremy Howe

David Archer ….. Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Tony Archer ….. David Troughton
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Phoebe Aldridge ….. Lucy Morris
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Ian Craig ….. Stephen Kennedy
Rex Fairbrother ….. Nick Barber
Eddie Grundy ….. Trevor Harrison
Clarrie Grundy ….. Heather Bell
Will Grundy ….. Philip Molloy
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O'Hanrahan
Ed Grundy ….. Barry Farrimond
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Jim Lloyd ….. John Rowe
Adam Macy ….. Andrew Wincott
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Kate Madikane ….. Perdita Avery
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd
Oliver Sterling ….. Michael Cochrane
Roy Tucker ….. Ian Pepperell
Lexi Viktorova ….. Ania Sowinski
Peggy Woolley ….. June Spencer
Jakob Hakansson ….. Paul Venables
Vince Casey ….. Tony Turner


SUN 11:15 The Reunion (m0008b27)
The Alder Hey Organs Scandal

Twenty years ago, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool was at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in NHS history - the retention of organs from dead children. Sue MacGregor reunites parents and hospital staff who were caught up in events.

In the autumn of 1999, parents of children who had died at Alder Hey several years earlier were shocked to find out that the hearts, lungs, brains, and even reproductive organs of their children had been kept by the hospital without their knowledge. In most cases, the organs – as many as 2,000 of them – had not been used for medical research but were stored in a dusty basement cellar in central Liverpool.

Much of the blame was placed on the actions of Professor Dick van Velzen, a Dutch pathologist who conducted post-mortems on children between 1988 and 1995. The government’s Redfern Report accused him of systematically removing “every organ from every child" he came into contact with.

A census of hospitals across England found that more than 100,000 organs had been retained from children as well as adults, usually without the consent of relatives.

The retention scandals of the late 1990s and early 2000s transformed relations between doctors and patients, culminating in the Human Tissue Act of 2004, which required explicit consent for the retention of organs and tissue.

Joining Sue MacGregor around the table are Jan Robinson and Jan Valentine, parents who discovered their child’s organs had been retained; Dr Mark Caswell, consultant haematologist at Alder Hey; Kate Jackson, director of the hospital’s Serious Incident Team; and Clare Smith, Health and Family Correspondent for BBC North West.

Producers: Dan Hardoon and Kate Holland
Executive Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m0008b29)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (m00082f0)
Series 85

Episode 5

Stephen Fry, Jan Ravens, Pam Ayres and Paul Merton join Nicholas Parsons for the panel game where the challenge is to speak without repetition, hesitation or deviation.

A BBC Studios Production.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m0008b2c)
Ice Cream Nation

We might like the occasional 99 in the rain in the UK, but not for us the piled high gelato cones of Italy, the tubs of sweet American sundaes, nor the eiscafes of Germany and Austria. Right?

Yasmin Khan is on a mission to prove you wrong. In this programme Yasmin (Ice cream fanatic) uncovers the UK’s rich but lesser known ice cream culture, taking a trip down memory lane to visit people making ice cream in places where she's lived. She’ll hear about our overlooked regional specialities like the ‘lemon top’ of Redcar near Middlesbrough. And she’ll hear how our sweet tooth is driving a new market for high street dessert parlours and struggling dairy farms.

She’ll find how our love affair with ice cream all goes back to hundreds of years of immigration, from the Swiss Italians in the 19th century to young entrepreneurs today.

It’s not an ice cream renaissance, because our love of ice cream has never disappeared. (And also there is nothing wrong with a 99 in the rain.)

Presented by Yasmin Khan
Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury


SUN 12:57 Weather (m0008b2f)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0008b2h)
Global news and analysis, presented by Mark Mardell.


SUN 13:30 The Trouble with Social Mobility (m0001y8x)
Social mobility is that rare species: an idea popular across the political spectrum. After all, what reasonable person could object to talented young people from less privileged backgrounds being given access to top universities, top jobs, and top pay?

As a beneficiary of social mobility himself, Byron Vincent certainly doesn't. But he does have some questions about the practical effects on individuals and on the communities they leave behind. And he wonders whether the idea itself helps reinforce notions about the deserving versus undeserving poor - and whether the political focus on helping the talented blocks a broader discussion about opportunity and poverty.

In this programme Byron speaks to a variety of people who, like him, have been socially mobile. From rapper and social activist Darren McGarvey in Glasgow, to primary school deputy head Michael Merrick in Carlisle, and author and comedian Jackie Hagan in Manchester, he hears about the challenges facing those who are forced to move away to seek opportunity, and what happens to those who are left behind.

Producer: Giles Edwards


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000846g)
North Riding Coast

Peter Gibbs and the panel are on the North Riding Coast in Yorkshire. Bunny Guinness, Bob Flowerdew and Matthew Pottage answer the horticultural questions.

This week, the team tackles questions on judging a gardening competition, planting in stone planters and adapting with the changes in weather patterns. The panellists also discuss how best to utilise a greenhouse in autumn and winter months.

Away from the questions, Matt Biggs visits 99-year-old Christian Lamb, author and plant-hunter, at her home in London.

Producer: Laurence Bassett
Assistant Producer: Rosie Merotra

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (m0008b2k)
Sunday Omnibus - Sharing Emotions, Time and Work Ethic

Fi Glover presents the omnibus edition of the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen - with three conversations on the healing power of talking and laughing; spending time together; and sharing a strong work ethic.

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: Mohini Patel


SUN 15:00 Drama (m0001t0m)
The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales, Part 1

1/2 Queen of Ambridge amateur theatricals Lynda Snell takes charge of this barnstorming new adaptation of Chaucer’s classic tales. Join the cast of The Archers to enjoy stories of courtly love, deadly rivalry and boisterous sex - with a little bit of magic thrown in for good measure.

“A festive feast of spellbinding stories and bawdy banter … Another Lynda Snell triumph!” – The Borchester Echo

Written by Geoffrey Chaucer
Dramatised by Nick Warburton

Director …. Kim Greengrass
Producer …. Alison Hindell

Tellers of the Tales:
Ruth Archer & Chaucer .... Felicity Finch
David Archer & the Host .... Timothy Bentinck
Kirsty Miller .... Annabelle Dowler
Eddie Grundy .... Trevor Harrison
Lilian Bellamy .... Sunny Ormonde
Jazzer McCreary .... Ryan Kelly

The Knight’s Tale:
Theseus .... Nick Barber
Woman of Thebes .... Sunny Ormonde
Jailer .... Trevor Harrison
Palamon .... Barry Farrimond
Arcite .... James Cartwright
Emily .... Emerald O’Hanrahan
Soldier & Jolly Theban .... Ryan Kelly
Gatekeeper .... Timothy Bentinck
Diana .... Felicity Finch

The Miller’s Tale:
John .... Timothy Bentinck
Alison .... Annabelle Dowler
Nicholas .... James Cartwright
Absolon .... Nick Barber

The Wife of Bath’s Tale:
Knight .... Barry Farrimond
King Arthur .... Trevor Harrison
Queen .... Annabelle Dowler
Crone .... Carole Boyd

The Sailor’s Tale:
Merchant .... James Cartwright
Monk .... Nick Barber
Wife .... Emerald O’Hanrahan

Other roles played by members of the company.

Studio Managers, Andy Partington & Vanessa Nuttall
Production Co-ordinators, Sally Lloyd & Mel Ward


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0008b2m)
Deborah Levy, therapists in fiction, India's richest literary prize, Lorca's symbolism

The Man Who Saw Everything is the eighth novel by Deborah Levy, and her third in a row to be nominated for the Booker Prize. She tells Mariella Frostrup how the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing sparked the idea for the story.

Reading has long been seen as a form of therapy but for Open Book, therapist turned novelist Bev Thomas explores how therapists have fared in the pages of novels.

The JCB Literary Prize was established to help shine a light on India's literary writers. Now in its second year is it working? Literary Director Rana Dasgupta joins Mariella to discuss.

And author Joanna Glen explains how discovering Federico Garcia Lorca as a teenager gave her a lifelong love of novels that feature symbolism from the natural world.


SUN 16:30 Mother Tongue (m0008bsz)
A Sense of Belonging

The globetrotting poetry series. Poet Imtiaz Dhaker explores exciting voices from around the world in their own languages and in translation.

In this episode, she hears poems written in Catalan, Turkish, Kurdish and Livonian – an endangered language from the Baltic coast. As she thinks about the phrase 'a sense of belonging', she discovers how homelands and ties of the heart have inspired these three poets.

Catalan poet Manuel Forcano draws his inspiration from countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Speaking from his home city of Barcelona, he tells Imtiaz about his connection to ancient civilisations and why his poems are often charged with a heady eroticism. He reads poems from his collection Maps of Desire, translated by Anna Crowe.

Bejan Matur writes in both Turkish and Kurdish. She grew up in south east Turkey in a Kurdish Alevi family, and her almost mystical poems engage with the experience of the Kurdish people in Turkey. The English versions are read by the translator, poet Jen Hadfield, who was paired with Bejan Matur by the Poetry Translation Centre. Canan Marasligil produced the literal translations from Turkish to English.

Finally, there’s Valts Ernštreits, who writes poems in the Livonian language. It’s an ancient Finnic language, once widely spoken in Latvia but now classified as critically endangered by UNESCO. Valts talks to Imtiaz about his proud heritage and being part of possibly the smallest literature group in Europe. The English versions of his poems are read by the translator, Ryan Van Winkle.

Producer: Caroline Hughes
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 17:00 Birds and the Bees 2.0 (m000825m)
This September, English secondary schools prepare to roll out a new curriculum for Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). This overhaul of the subject has been carefully planned and consulted on. Its advocates - including government ministers - claim it will properly prepare teenagers for the relationships they will have and should know about in their adult lives, and help to banish from the classroom outdated adolescent sniggering and mass embarrassment. But how far are these aims likely to be achieved?
In this programme, journalist - and comedian - Jordan Dunbar puts the plans for the new RSE under the microscope. He revisits his native Northern Ireland to recall with friends and family his own sex education of 15 years ago - both at home and in school. And, deploying wit and humour, he assesses the changes that are now being made in RSE and discovers how young people will experience the curriculum. He talks with teachers, parents, educational specialists and young people themselves about the changes and what they want from RSE today.
Although the reforms to RSE in England have been long discussed, the guidance from the Department for Education on what should be taught and how may still come as an unwelcome surprise to some. So what will happen if parents - like those who have expressed opposition to relationships education in some primary schools - disapprove of aspects of the new curriculum and do not want their children to be taught them? What is the proper role of parents and schools in this most sensitive of subjects? And how will we know if the new approach to RSE is proving successful?


SUN 17:40 Profile (m00088gz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0008b2p)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (m0008b2r)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0008b2t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0008b2w)
James Walton

The best of BBC Radio this week with James Walton.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m000897c)
There is tension at the Parish Council meeting and Freddie's confidence is knocked.


SUN 19:15 Cooking in a Bedsitter (b09h2rby)
Series 2

Mutton Rissoles

Beattie Edmondson and Nikesh Patel star in Sue Teddern's romantic comedy, inspired by Katharine Whitehorn's cookery classic. Spring 1965. Trisha moves into a new bedsitter with the toast-loving Moira. Extracts from Cooking in a Bedsitter are read by Eleanor Bron.

Directed by Emma Harding

Trisha.....Beattie Edmondson
Deepak.....Nikesh Patel
June.....Ellie Darvill.


SUN 19:45 Stillicide (m0008b0x)
Episode 5: Chaffinch

Stephen Campbell Moore continues Cynan Jones' electrifying short story series set in the very near future.

Water is commodified and the Water Train that feeds the city is increasingly at risk of sabotage. And now ice bergs are set to be transported to a huge ice dock outside the capital city.

Today: an increasingly erratic executive at the Water Company faces media scrutiny over the building of the ice dock..

Reader: Stephen Campbell Moore
Writer: Cynan Jones
Producer: Justine Willett
Music: Original music by Kirsten Morrison


SUN 20:00 More or Less (m000846n)
Climate deaths, Austerity, Pet food

Challenging the idea of six billion deaths due to climate change

Does ‘the science’ predict 6 billion deaths by the end of this century due to climate change? That’s what Roger Hallam, co-founder of environmental campaigners Extinction Rebellion said on an edition of the BBC’s HARDtalk programme last month. We take a look at the origins of that number and we talk to Andy Haines, Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, whose estimates on the number of deaths are…..well……..lower.

How ‘back of the envelope’ calculations can help you

Do you struggle to multiply big numbers together? Do you get fazed by questions involving sizes and quantities? Rob Eastaway gives some tips on how to manage big or complicated numbers when you are stuck without the need of the internet or a calculator to help you.

Why we’ve had ‘austerity’ despite high government borrowing

A loyal listener emailed to ask, “How has it been that we’ve suffered years of ‘austerity’ when the actual amounts of borrowing were greater, not smaller, than in the previous years?” Tim Harford talks to Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government about the national debt, the deficit and fiscal headroom.

Do pets consume up to 20 percent of all meat globally?

More or Less listeners were surprised by a claim they read on the BBC website recently: “Pets are estimated to be consuming up to 20 percent of all meat globally.” So we – of course – investigated and will explain all.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m000846l)
Robert Mugabe, Alla Verber, Ciaran McKeown, Bill Anderson MBE

Pictured: Robert Mugabe

Matthew Bannister on

The former President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe. He was once hailed as a hero of the liberation struggle but later seen by many as a tyrant.

Alla Verber, the Russian socialite who brought high fashion to the newly wealthy in the post-Soviet society.

Ciaran McKeown, who joined Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams to found the Peace People of Northern Ireland.

Bill Anderson, described as Scotland's greatest ever Highland Games heavyweight athlete. He held countless records for throwing the hammer and tossing the caber.

Interviewed guest: Stanley Kwenda
Interviewed guest: Viv Groskop
Interviewed guest: Patrick Corrigan
Interviewed guest: Jack Davidson QC

Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: Today, Radio 4 06/09/2019; Alla Verber: Leading Russia's Fashion Revolution, ABC News 09/04/2010; BBC Sound Archive, 13/08/1976; PM, Radio 4 27/11/1976; The World This Weekend, Radio 4 28/11/1976; The Heavies, BBC 2S 04/01/1982; Scotland on Film: Aberdeen And Grampian, BBC 2S 05/03/2006; Braemar Games Commentary, AP 1970; Interview with Bill Anderson, BBC Sound Archive, 05/09/1963.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m00088g5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0008b0g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (m00081xf)
The Business of Clicks

Online retail spending has increased more than four fold in the last ten years - it now accounts for almost one in five pounds we spend shopping.

But whilst times are tough for our high streets, e-retailing is far from a licence to print money. With widespread discounting and a growing cost of delivery and returns, margins are being squeezed and many are finding it a struggle to survive.

In this programme, Adam Shaw investigates how the economics of e-commerce work, what the move to predominantly online will mean for many retailers and what our shopping environment may look like in 10 years time.

Presenter: Adam Shaw
Producer: Alex Lewis


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0008b10)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m00081wz)
The secret life of the stills photographer

With Antonia Quirke

What exactly does a stills photographer do on a film set ? Keith Bernstein, whose CV includes American Sniper and Argo, reveals the secrets of his trade.

Director Edward Watts reveals how he worked with film-maker Waad Al-Khateab to shape the 500 hours of footage she had shot during the siege of Aleppo into a 100 minute documentary called For Sama, that's won awards across the world.

Neil Brand reveals the original score for Love Story, and why Francis Lai was brought on board after Burt Bacharach and then Jimmy Webb had been sacked.


SUN 23:30 Shakespeare's Starling (m0006dmc)
How did Shakespeare's single starling take down a passenger plane and wreak environmental havoc across America?

There are hundreds of references to birds in Shakespeare's work, some many times over. But the starling is only mentioned once - in Henry IV Part 1 - and yet this speckled bird is now one of the most hated birds in the US. Multi award-winning radio producer Zoë Comyns explores how one man's Shakespeare-inspired folly continues to have a dire ecological impact more than a century later.

Eugene Schieffelin - Bronx resident, drug manufacturer and theatre aficionado - was a member of a group called the American Acclimatization Society. This society wanted to introduce European species into the United States. In March 1890, Schieffelin did just that - releasing sixty starlings in New York's Central Park. A year later he released forty more.

From those releases there are now almost 200 million starlings in North America today and they are causing devastation to indigenous habitats and farmers' crops. In 1962, a flock got caught in a plane's engine, bringing it down and killing 62 people, and every year almost $1 billion of crop damage is done by this invasive species.

Zoë Comyns explores the legacy of that single starling, Schieffelin's ill-fated deed and the serious and yet at times humorous attempts to eradicate the bird over the past one hundred years. It also explores how Shakespeare has become subsumed into American culture, in part due to acts such as the release of the starlings.

The programme features Professor James Shapiro from Columbia University, Professor Paul Menzer of Mary Baldwin University, the cast of the American Shakespeare Center - including KP Powell as Hotspur, Joe di Constanzo from the American Museum of Natural History, Dan Rausch from Washington DC Department of the Environment, envirohmental historian Harriet Ritvo, and business owner and nature educator Laurel Zoet.

It also includes Laurel's pet bird Pip the starling, who has quite a lot to say for himself.

Presenter and Producer: Zoë Comyns
A New Normal Culture production for BBC Radio 4



MONDAY 09 SEPTEMBER 2019

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0008b12)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Mastertapes (m0001mf3)
Series 8

The Good, The Bad & The Queen (B-side)

John Wilson continues with another recording for the series in which leading artists discuss the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience asks the questions. Both episodes feature exclusive live performances.

Having discussed the making of the 2007 album that gave them their name, "The Good, The Bad & The Queen" in the A-side of the programme, Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Tony Allen and Simon Tong responds to questions from the audience and perform live versions of their follow-up album, 2018's "Merrie Land".

Producer: Paul Kobrak


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m00088hw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0008b14)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0008b16)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0008b18)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0008b1b)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0008b1d)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Fr Dermot Morrin, Honorary Catholic Chaplain at Edinburgh University.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0008b1g)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


MON 05:56 Weather (m0008b1j)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0pjx)
Snow Petrel

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Liz Bonnin presents an Antarctic specialist, the delicate looking snow petrel. On a wind blasted Antarctic iceberg, small white hummocks sprout beaks to bicker and flirt with each other. These are snow petrels, one of the hardiest bird species in the world. Few bird species breed in the Antarctic and fewer still are so intimately bound to the landscape of snow and ice. But the near pure white snow petrel makes its home in places where temperatures can plummet to -40 Celsius and below. Returning to their breeding areas from October, the nest is a skimpy affair nothing more than a pebble-lined scrape in a hollow or rocky crevice where the parents rear their single chick on a diet of waxy stomach oil and carrion. But for a bird of such purity the snow petrel has a ghoulish diet, foraging at whale and seal carcasses along the shore. Although it breeds on islands such as South Georgia which are north of the summer pack ice, the snow petrel's true home is among snow and ice of its Antarctic home.


MON 06:00 Today (m000896m)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Schama on Blake (m000896p)
William Blake the visual artist is sometimes overshadowed by Blake the poet. As a major show at Tate Britain reminds us of his legacy as a brilliant printmaker and painter whose visionary imagination is unequalled in British art, Simon Schama takes a look at some of the treasures of the exhibition in the company of curators, Jonathan Jones of the Guardian and authors Jenny Uglow and Rachel Campbell-Johnston.

We hear how Blake's ambition to be Britain's Michelangelo was thwarted by circumstances and how his efforts, through a one man show, to establish a serious reputation ended in catastrophe.

Yet Blake, though desperately poor, remained true to his art. He didn't "sell out" as we would say and he was rewarded, late in life, with recognition from a group of young artists led by the Romantic landscape painter Samuel Palmer, who revered his genius.

Simon Schama gives a vivid account of Blake's life and the exceptional qualities of his work. It's a refreshing re-introduction to the artist that takes us much further than the familiar Blake of Songs of Innocence and Experience - glorious though those are!

Produced by Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4


MON 09:30 One to One (b08ffv2n)
Lucy Mangan on Responsibility

Lucy Mangan feels she avoids responsibility whenever possible. She has cats instead of dogs because she can't face a needy pet; she only has one child which is 'more than enough'. But she's always been fascinated by those who run towards responsibility rather than away from it. She talks to Bea Harvie, a post-graduate student, whose father got ill when she was thirteen. Bea chose to take on a lot of caring duties towards her younger siblings while her Mother was busy caring for her Father. She describes the experience as something she just got on with, and reveals that it also was a useful distraction from dealing with her own feelings about her Dad's illness. Until one day when she was sixteen and it all caught up with her. She says its like shaking up a bottle of fizzy pop: ' it's got to come out some way.'.


MON 09:45 Talking to Strangers (m0008985)
Episode 1

1/5

Malcolm Gladwell is an international best-selling author and host of the podcast Revisionist History.

In his new book, he explores what we should know about the people we don’t know. And, with his trademark style, he delves into our recent history, in order to understand the world we live in and the people we live amongst more clearly.

Reader: Malcolm Gladwell
Abridger: Anna Magnusson

Produced by Kirsty Williams with the assistance of Pushkin Industries.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000896t)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


MON 10:45 Blackwater (m0001x8c)
Episode 1

A multi-voiced dark story about secrets and lies in a small town

Golden girl Zoe’s been dead for ten years, her body dragged from the river Black after a night out to celebrate the end of school. But now a woman who says she’s Zoe has turned up in her hometown of Blackwater, on the Irish border, with no memory of the last decade. She claims she woke up in a forest nearby, bruised and bleeding, and doesn’t know where she’s been all this time. What happened to her? Is she really Zoe? If so, who’s in her grave?

Paul, a local boy whose band were playing in the venue where Zoe was last seen, went to prison for her murder. Now he’s out, but he’s lost everything and is shunned in the town. The people of Blackwater were easily convinced that a black boy murdered Zoe, and the evidence did stack up – but if she’s not even dead, then how did he get convicted? Did someone deliberately frame him? He’s determined to find out the truth and clear his name. But does he really know nothing about what happened?

Could it be that everyone involved with the case is hiding something? There’s Zoe’s uncle Phil, a former detective superintendent with an explosive secret. There’s Steve, the police officer who found ‘Zoe’s’ body in the river Black, and sent Paul to prison for her murder. And there’s Zoe’s friend Danny, who wasn’t where she said she was on that night ten years ago. When Paul and Zoe collide, they realise they’re the only ones who can help each other. As they sift through their conflicting memories of that day ten years ago, they start to discover that not everyone is happy Zoe’s back from the dead.

Clare Dunne ..... Zoe
Richard Clements ..... Steve

Claire McGowan ..... Writer
Celia De Wolff ..... Producer


MON 11:00 Splitters (m000896w)
Peter Snowdon tells the inside story of the lengthy planning, high hopes, internal disputes and deep disappointments of the MPs who tried to create a new political force in the UK. In a dramatic gesture they split away from their Labour and Conservative colleagues to form firstly an independent group and then a new party, Change UK. But under the pressure of organisational problems, political developments and electoral failure, their differences have forced them to since split apart themselves.


MON 11:30 Loose Ends (m00088gw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


MON 12:00 News Summary (m00089h5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 Short Works (m0008971)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

Eternity for Pinky and Mop

Five newly commissioned short stories to mark this year's BBC National Short Story Award, beginning with a tale of food and love by last year's winner Ingrid Persaud:

Mop comes home smelling of someone else's scent. Pinky thinks the way back to his heart is through lovely food. Then one day, someone turns up on the doorstep to influence events. But how?

Read by the author.

Producer Duncan Minshull


MON 12:18 You and Yours (m0008973)
News and discussion of consumer affairs.


MON 12:57 Weather (m0008975)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m0008977)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


MON 13:45 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (m0008979)
Series 2: 50 More Things...

Bicycle

On an early cycle ride, the bicycle engineer Pierre Lallement was mistaken for the devil: he did appear to be a strange centaur-like creature, and he was flying downhill at speed while screaming. Bicycle brakes had, after all, not yet been invented. The bicycle was to prove transformative. Cheaper than a horse, it freed women and young working class people to roam free. And the bike was the testing for countless improvements in manufacturing that would later lead to Henry Ford’s production lines. Tim Harford considers whether the bicycle has had its day – or whether it’s a technology whose best years lie ahead.

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon


MON 14:00 The Archers (m000897c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b08xcw6k)
Girls

Theresa Ikoko's award-winning play is the story of three teenage girls who are kidnapped from their school in Nigeria. With their world turned upside down, can their close friendships endure as they struggle to survive their ordeal. There are jokes and fights, hope and despair in equal measure as they wait to see if they have been abandoned to their fate.

Directed by Abigail Gonda

Theresa Ikoko won the Alfred Fagon Award in 2015 and the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright in 2016. She studied psychology and has a Masters in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Theresa has had a variety of roles in prisons, secure settings and social inclusion/community engagement projects and now works in the area of gangs and serious youth violence.


MON 15:00 Counterpoint (m000897f)
Series 33

Heat 2, 2019

(2/13)
Which title provided hits for both Bruno Mars and Billy Joel even though the songs were different? Which book by F Scott Fitzgerald has recently been on stage in the UK as a ballet version? And who was the first musician ever to be honoured with their own entire set of commemorative Royal Mail stamps?

You can find the answers to these and many other musical questions with Paul Gambaccini in this week's Counterpoint contest. Three amateur music lovers join Paul to compete for a place in the series semi-finals later in the year - and possibly for a chance to lift the 33rd annual Counterpoint trophy. As always, they'll have to prove the breadth of their musical knowledge and answer individual questions on a special topic of which they've had no prior warning.

Taking part today are:
Dan O'Malley, an IT project manager living in Dublin
Lucy Reynolds, a doctor and fitness instructor from London
Harry Shaw, a student from Cheltenham

Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m000897h)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

09/09/2019

Tamara Lawrance reads the first story in contention for this celebrated award.

Now in its fourteenth year, the BBC National Short Story Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story. Following the announcement of the shortlist on Radio 4's Front Row, on Friday, 6th September, the five stories in contention for the 2019 award will be broadcast each weekday afternoon on Radio 4 at half past three from Monday, 9th September. To find out who wins this year, listeners should tune into Front Row on Tuesday, 1st October where the hotly anticipated announcement will be made live from the BBC Radio Theatre.

The shortlisted entries for this year's BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University are an eclectic mix, spanning a breadth of themes and topics; from confronting modern social and cultural issues to the contemporary and the political, and then onto the fantastical and escapist. Rich in variety the stories are united in their quest for empathy and understanding in an increasingly intolerant world.

Produced by Gemma Jenkins


MON 16:00 House of Dreams (m000897k)
"I always say, it's my house - I'll do what I want. People choose to come into the house, that's fine by me, of course you're extremely welcome to come through the door, but when you come into my world it's my rules."

Step inside the House of Dreams...

Inspired by outsider art environments like Picassiette in Chartres, Palais Ideal in Hauterives, and the home of Bodan Litnianski, the artist Stephen Wright has been slowly transforming every inch of his East Dulwich home since 1998.

The surfaces inside and outside the house have been covered with found objects - broken dolls hanging from the ceiling, his parents' dentures cemented into the wall, photographs, records, discarded glasses, wigs and bottle tops. A riot of colour and texture, each object reverberant with past lives - the scent of old perfume on fabric, the marks of damage and use on a well-loved toy. The walls, floors and ceilings are also covered with hand-written 'memory boards' in black and white, detailing important events in Stephen's life. A life marked by painful loss and deep love.

"All of these [outsider artists] are fighting the world by doing this, that's what this is about... they are fighting the world. It's about imposing your own personality and your own vision on a world that is uniform."

Original music composed by Jeremy Warmsley

Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b0bjzq68)
Frankenstein

Frankenstein, the tale of a scientist who creates a creature that ultimately destroyed him, has been a popular subject for films for many years. But the religious content of the original novel written by Mary Shelley is lost on the big screen. Her story centres on the scientist Victor Frankenstein, who plays God. His creation identifies first with Adam and then with Satan in Paradise Lost. He has admirable human qualities but is deprived of love and affection and becomes brutalised. Joining Ernie Rea to discuss Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are Andrew Smith, Professor of Nineteenth Century English Literature at the University of Sheffield; Marie Mulvey-Roberts, Professor of English Literature at the University of the West of England; and Dr James Castell, Lecturer in English Literature at Cardiff University.

Producer: Helen Lee


MON 17:00 PM (m000897n)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000897s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m000897v)
Series 85

Episode 6

Graham Norton, Zoe Lyons, Jenny Eclair and Paul Merton join Nicholas Parsons for the panel game where the challenge is to speak without repetition, hesitation or deviation.

A BBC Studios Production.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m00088n0)
Jennifer finds herself out in the cold and Kirsty's new neighbour causes a stir.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m000897x)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


MON 19:45 Open Art (b078xpfl)
Harmless Poisons, Blameless Sins

Episode 1

Part of Radio 4’s collaboration with Artangel to commission new works from British contemporary artists.

Ben Rivers is one of two artists who were selected in the open call for proposals in 2013. The result has been Rivers’ most ambitious and multi-faceted work to date - a feature film (The Sky Trembles And The Earth Is Afraid And The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers), a multimedia installation at BBC Television Centre, a book, and this series of five audio pieces for broadcast on Radio 4.

The work revolves around the stories of the American novelist Paul Bowles and his muse, the renowned Moroccan writer and artist Mohammed Mrabet. Combining documentary and fiction approaches, the strange, poetic and sometimes brutal narratives often centre around the traditional Moroccan culture of smoking Hashish.

Mrabet’s stories were gathered, transcribed and translated by Paul Bowles, eventually published in a series of anthologies. Selecting from the collections entitled M’Hashish and Harmless Poisons Blameless Sins, Ben Rivers and sound designer Philippe Ciompi embed the tales in a mosaic of sounds from the dramatic Moroccan landscape.

Director: Ben Rivers
Sound Designer: Philippe Ciompi
Reader : Youssef Kerkour
Producer: Russell Finch
A Somethin’ Else production for Radio 4


MON 20:00 Statue No 1 (m00088jm)
There are no statues of Welsh women in Wales, aside from generic ones representing angels and mothers.

Writer Jasmine Donahaye looks at the commissioning of the first statue of a named woman in Cardiff, which was voted for by the public as part of the 'Hidden Heroines' campaign this year, and explores the way Welsh culture is generally skewed towards male symbols. Taking a tour of the civic centre, she asks why historically this has been the case, and looks at the way public art in the capital city at the moment reflects and reinforces that.

We look at the achievements of the five women who were shortlisted for commemoration and talk to those who knew the winner - Betty Campbell, an activist and Wales' first black head teacher, who died in 2017.

The imbalance in terms of representation in Wales matches the rest of the UK, but there is a particular edge to the situation here - the Welsh ideals of nationhood are, more than elsewhere, inextricably bound up with massed groups of men (male voice choirs, miners and rugby). Why has this come about and how does it pervade the way Wales thinks about itself today?


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m00081w6)
Marawi: the story of the Philippines’ Lost City

Marawi in the southern Philippines is a ghost town. In 2017, it was taken under siege for five months by supporters of Islamic State who wanted to establish a caliphate in the predominantly Muslim city. After a fierce and prolonged battle, the Philippine army regained control – but Marawi was left in ruins. Two years on, reconstruction has barely begun and over 100,000 people are yet to return home.
Philippines Correspondent Howard Johnson tells the story of Marawi from the siege to the present day, through the eyes of two of its residents: a Muslim who risked his life to save his community and a Catholic priest who was held hostage by extremists.

Produced by Josephine Casserly.

Image: Grand Mosque pockmarked by bullet holes and artillery fire in the Most Affected Area (MAA) or Ground Zero of the siege of Marawi
Credit: Howard Johnson/BBC


MON 21:00 Digital Future: the New Underclass (m000823p)
Dr Josie Barnard investigates the deep social divides created by the digital world.

Whether booking a flight to go on holiday or ordering a takeaway, digital technology is so embedded in everyday life that it's easy to assume everyone is on a level playing field. Or that those who aren't are part of an older generation who didn't grow up with computers. But that's a dangerous assumption.

22% of the British population lack the digital skills they need to get by day-to-day. That's more than one in five people who struggle with signing their child up to school, filling in a tax return, or even using a smartphone to make a call. And as more and more essential services move online, falling behind the pace of change carries severe consequences.

For young people., the risks of being left behind are buried under the assumption that they are digital natives - that they have supposedly grown up with an innate ability to use digital technology. But as the number of smartphone-only households grows, millions of children are in danger of their digital world shrinking around a tiny touchscreen.

Dr Barnard asks if this is simply a question of affordability and motivation, or whether more complicated factors are at play. She speaks to people struggling to find space at public computer banks to complete their Universal Credit forms, and a group who are jumping hurdles to get online because of their severe dyslexia, and gets behind the screens of smartphone-only teenagers to find out how the kind of device and the way we use it can be just as detrimental as not having it at all.

Presenter: Dr Josie Barnard
Producer: Emma Barnaby
Executive Producer: Deborah Dudgeon

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


MON 21:30 Schama on Blake (m000896p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m000897z)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


MON 22:45 Short Works (m0008971)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


MON 23:00 Art of Living (m0001hk3)
Lucy Jones, Painter

Tom Shakespeare visits the artist Lucy Jones at her home in Ludlow to talk about painting, freedom and flowers.

Lucy Jones may well be the best British painter you’ve never heard of. She was born with cerebral palsy, but she has no intention of identifying as a disabled artist. She is a simply an artist, and a very good one at that. Over the past forty years she has produced a large and distinctive body of work - landscapes, portraits and self-portraits in bold colours on large canvasses.

For this programme Lucy drives Tom out to visit one of the locations, on the border between England and Wales, which she returns to again and again to inspire her landscapes. They then visit her rural studio, to see a work in progress and finally regroup months later at Lucy's gallery in London.

Lucy is preparing for an upcoming exhibition and Tom Shakespeare has been asked to write about her for the exhibition catalogue. And so, as we progress from kitchen to field to studio and on to the gallery, Tom is making notes, building up his own portrait - of Lucy Jones, painter.

Producer Martin Williams.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0008981)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament



TUESDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2019

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0008983)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 00:30 Talking to Strangers (m0008985)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0008987)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0008989)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000898c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m000898f)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000898h)
Radio 4's daily prayer and reflection


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m000898k)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0pm9)
Black-footed Albatross

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Liz Bonnin presents the black-footed albatross of Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Two dusky-brown birds point their bills skywards to cement their lifelong relationship, these are black-footed albatrosses are plighting their troth in a former theatre of war. At only a few square kilometres in size, the island of Midway is roughly half way between North America and Japan. Once it was at the heart of the Battle of Midway during World War Two, but today it forms part of a Wildlife Refuge run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is home to white laysan albatross and the darker Black footed Albatross. Around 25,000 pairs of Black-foots breed here. Each pair's single chick is fed on regurgitated offal for six months, after which it learns to fly and then can be vulnerable to human activity on the airbase. But careful management of both species of albatrosses near the airstrip has reduced the number of casualties to a minimum.


TUE 06:00 Today (m00088m9)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Patch (m0005sxl)
Ferryside

Producer Polly Weston is sent to a random UK postcode in search of a story.

The series began with a random postcode generator, and a simple idea. In an age of echo chambers, maybe by going to a postcode completely at random, we'd find important stories which have been going unnoticed.

So far the generator has led her to the extent of illegal cigarette smoking in Lincolnshire, the north-south divide in Hertfordshire, disappearing crabs in Devon, and a mysterious story of land access in the Highlands of Scotland.

Now the wheel has been spun again. Over the next three weeks Chatham in Kent, Ferryside in South-West Wales, and a collection of villages outside Stoke-on-Trent all become her patch. In each episode she goes to a different postcode in search of a story - from why a ferry with wheels is causing a stir in Wales, to the startling situation which has led to a pharmacist in Medway becoming the "local hero".

This week - Ferryside, South West Wales.

Produced and presented by Polly Weston in Bristol.
Executive producer: Jolyon Jenkins.


TUE 09:30 One to One (b08g52z5)
Lucy Mangan on Responsibility

Lucy Mangan avoids responsibility wherever possible. She's got cats instead of dogs because she can't face a needy pet; she only has one child 'and that's more than enough.' But she's always been fascinated by those who run towards responsibility rather than away from it. Today she talks to Reverend Claire Herbert about a life dedicated to helping others. One of the first women priests to be ordained, Claire was working as a rector at St Anne's church in Soho when the Admiral Duncan bomb exploded. But she admits that being there for others has not been an easy road - in her 30s she took some time out from full-time church work to become a social worker and learn to be young 'perhaps for the first time'; she has realized that she needs to learn to play, and now gives herself permission sometimes to be 'naughty and horrible.'.


TUE 09:45 Talking to Strangers (m00088mc)
Episode 2

2/5
Malcolm Gladwell is an international best-selling author and host of the podcast Revisionist History.

In his new book, he explores what we should know about the people we don’t know. And, with his trademark style, he delves into our recent history, in order to understand the world we live in and the people we live amongst more clearly.

Reader: Malcolm Gladwell
Abridger: Anna Magnusson

Produced by Kirsty Williams with the assistance of Pushkin Industries.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m00088mf)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


TUE 10:45 Blackwater (m000204g)
Episode 2

A multi-voiced dark story about secrets and lies in a small town

Golden girl Zoe’s been dead for ten years, her body dragged from the river Black after a night out to celebrate the end of school. But now a woman who says she’s Zoe has turned up in her hometown of Blackwater, on the Irish border, with no memory of the last decade. She claims she woke up in a forest nearby, bruised and bleeding, and doesn’t know where she’s been all this time. What happened to her? Is she really Zoe? If so, who’s in her grave?

Paul, a local boy whose band were playing in the venue where Zoe was last seen, went to prison for her murder. Now he’s out, but he’s lost everything and is shunned in the town. The people of Blackwater were easily convinced that a black boy murdered Zoe, and the evidence did stack up – but if she’s not even dead, then how did he get convicted? Did someone deliberately frame him? He’s determined to find out the truth and clear his name. But does he really know nothing about what happened?

Could it be that everyone involved with the case is hiding something? There’s Zoe’s uncle Phil, a former detective superintendent with an explosive secret. There’s Steve, the police officer who found ‘Zoe’s’ body in the river Black, and sent Paul to prison for her murder. And there’s Zoe’s friend Danny, who wasn’t were she said she was on that night ten years ago. When Paul and Zoe collide, they realise they’re the only ones who can help each other. As they sift through their conflicting memories of that day ten years ago, they start to discover not everyone is happy Zoe’s back from the dead.

Aston Kelly ..... Paul
Sean Kearns ..... Phil

Claire McGowan ..... Writer
Celia De Wolff ..... Producer


TUE 11:00 The Long and Short of Life Expectancy (m00088mh)
Life expectancy in the UK appears to be stalling after years of dramatic improvements. The science writer and broadcaster Timandra Harkness asks why this is happening, who is affected, and how we should respond.
The average age of death for men and women in the UK was increasing steadily in the early part of the 21st century. But in the last few years, the figures have shown little to no improvement and for some groups life expectancy has actually been falling.
Although experts agree about the broad trends in mortality, there is disagreement about the causes, with a particular debate about the possible role of "austerity". In this programme Timandra talks to public health and policy experts, statisticians and an actuary advising on pension schemes, and her journey of investigation also takes her to a convent in Bedfordshire and to the Castlemilk estate in Glasgow.

Producer: Leala Padmanabhan


TUE 11:30 Art of Now (m00088mk)
Brazilian Art under Bolsonaro

What is like to be an artist in a country led by a far-right president? Brazilian artists and thinkers explore the cultural life of their country in the era of Bolsonaro.

Voted into office on a wave of support in January 2019, Jair Bolsonaro promised to be tough on crime and end the country's long struggle with government corruption. On his way to power he has offended many with his comments on race, homosexuality and the environment. He has also been critical of government funding for the arts and threatened to increase censorship.

In this edition of Art of Now, artists and thinkers from across the political spectrum discuss what Bolsonaro means for Brazil's cultural world. Wagner Schwartz was attacked for his piece featuring his own naked body, Antonio Neto is an experimental indigenous photographer afraid for his community's future, Fernanda Brenner runs a grass roots exhibition space in Sao Paulo, and Roger Moreira is a popular musician and strong supporter of the president.

Producer: Sam Peach


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m00088mm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 Short Works (m00088mp)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

Open Day

Five newly commissioned short stories to mark this year's BBC National Short Story Award:

In Ben Markovits' tale we follow a day in the life of Helen as she accompanies her son Michael to an open day, dreading when he will leave the nest for university.

And.. who is Sadie?

Reader Claire Skinner

Producer Duncan Minshull


TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m00088mr)
Call You and Yours: 10/09/2019

News and discussion of consumer affairs.


TUE 12:57 Weather (m00088mt)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m00088mw)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


TUE 13:45 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (m00088my)
Series 2: 50 More Things...

Dwarf Wheat

In 1968, Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich published an explosive book, The Population Bomb. Ehrlich predicted that populations would grow more quickly than food supplies, causing mass starvation. Ehrlich was wrong – food supplies kept pace. And that’s largely due to the years Norman Borlaug spent growing different strains of wheat in Mexico. The “green revolution” vastly increased yields of wheat, corn and rice. Yet, as Tim Harford describes, worries about overpopulation continue. The world’s population is still growing, and food yields are now increasing more slowly – partly due to environmental problems the green revolution itself made worse. Will new technologies come to the rescue?

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m00088n0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (m00088n2)
Eastern Star

Based on the true story of the then-young British journalist Christopher Gunness, who in 1988 was sent to Burma by the BBC World Service to go undercover as a backpacker and investigate rumours of civil unrest against the ruling military junta.

While there, in bizarre cloak-and-dagger fashion, he established a strong covert relationship with a Burmese human rights lawyer called U Nay Min and found himself at the centre of the 1988 Student Revolution - the event that brought Aung San Suu Kyi into international prominence. Gunness became the revolution's "voice" on the World Service, much lionised throughout the country, while Nay Min remained rigorously undercover as its chief architect.

When the revolution was brutally put down by the military, Nay Min was identified, arrested, imprisoned and tortured for 16 years. Gunness went on to an internationally successful career.

But 25 years later, Gunness and Nay Min meet again in a painful and troubled encounter.

A version of Eastern Star was performed, starring David Yip and Michael Lumsden, at the Tara Theatre in South London for three weeks in September 2018 to great critical and audience acclaim.

Cast:
Chris.....................Michael Lumsden
Nay Min...............David Yip
Nick.......................Nigel Pivaro
Morland...............Ian Kelly
Ba Swe..................Windson Liong
Jake.......................Matt Rippy
Receptionist /
Aung San Suu Kyi..........Julie Cheung Inhin
Win Aung /
Colonel.................Paul Chan

Written by Guy Slater

Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m00088n4)
Series 20

Mary Oliver

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"
- Mary Oliver

Josie Long heads out alone into nature to present short documentaries and adventures in sound inspired by the poet Mary Oliver. From a meditation on the seasons amid the changing climate to an exploration of wanting with Laura Barton.

Production Team: Andrea Rangecroft and Alia Cassam
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m00088n6)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

10/09/2019

Jessica Raine reads the second story in the running for this prestigious award.

Abridged and produced by Elizabeth Allard


TUE 16:00 A Believer's Guide to Atheism (m00088n8)
As a student, Michael Symmons Roberts was an evangelical atheist, keen to rid people of their religious beliefs. In the course of his studies, however, he lost his atheism and in the years since has become a practising Roman Catholic. He has always retained a great interest in atheism, believing that at its most nuanced it offers a means by which to examine his own faith, and in this programme he sets out to discover the state of non-belief stands in today's Britain.
He finds out that things have moved on from a decade ago when New Atheists like Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens and Harris brought their materialist rejection of belief so prominently into the public domain.
Now the majority of us identify as so-called 'Nones', without religion but not entirely in line with the rationalist atheists either. Instead the 'Nones' are likely to display beliefs in a wide range of supernatural phenomena such as ghosts and divination while rejecting the idea of a god. Some are driven more by social justice, others find their spiritual needs met by connecting with nature.
What is clear about questions regarding belief and non-belief right now is that things are multiple and complex, reflecting as ever the moment at which those questions are posed.
Michael speaks with eminent academics Linda Woodhead and Lois Lee; he meets Alom Shaha, author of 'The Young Atheist's Handbook' who was raised in a Muslim household; he attends an event held by the Edinburgh Skeptics, and also hears from the author of 'Doubt: A History', Jennifer Michael Hecht, about the state of atheism in America.

Producer: Geoff Bird


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m00088nb)
Series 49

Fiona Shaw nominates actress Eleonora Duse

Fiona Shaw, BAFTA award-winning star of Killing Eve, joins Matthew Parris to explore the life of one of history's most remarkable actresses whose name has slipped from public memory. She inspired Stanislavski's 'method', changed Chekhov's mind about acting, and took Chaplin's breath away - the nineteenth-century performer, Eleonora Duse. Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, professor of English and Theatre Studies at St Catherine's College, Oxford, helps Fiona and Matthew uncover the drama of Duse's life, both on and off the stage.

Producer: Camellia Sinclair


TUE 17:00 PM (m00088nd)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00088ng)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Paul Sinha's General Knowledge (m00088nj)
Episode 3

Paul Sinha - comedian, lapsed GP, Chaser and genuinely the fourth best quizzer in the United Kingdom - returns to tell you about... well, everything.

Paul has already told you about history in the Rose d'Or-winning Paul Sinha's History Revision, as well as Britishness (Paul Sinha's Citizenship Test), Magna Carta (The Sinha Carta), the Olympics (The Sinha Games) and, most importantly, cricket (The Sinha Test).

But, as a competitive quizzer, Paul learns fascinating facts all the time. As a curious man, he then looks up the stories behind those facts and they often turn out to be even more fascinating. In Paul Sinha's General Knowledge, he shares these stories with you.

In this week's episode, Paul explains the illustrious company he’s joined since the previous recording of this series - in a showbiz-themed episode that ranges over the great American songbook, the biggest-selling single to have never been a hit in America, and a Nobel Literature Laureate's contribution to action movies.

Written and performed by Paul Sinha
Produced by Ed Morrish

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m00088k6)
Jim springs more than one surprise and Tracy comes to the rescue.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m00088nl)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


TUE 19:45 Open Art (b079ctz1)
Harmless Poisons, Blameless Sins

Episode 2

Part of Radio 4’s collaboration with Artangel to commission new works from British contemporary artists.

Ben Rivers is one of two artists who were selected in the Open call for proposals in 2013. The result has been Rivers’ most ambitious and multi-faceted work to date: a feature film (The Sky Trembles And The Earth Is Afraid And The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers), a multimedia installation at BBC Television Centre, a book, and this series of five audio pieces for broadcast on Radio 4.

The work revolves around the stories of the American novelist Paul Bowles and his muse, the renowned Moroccan writer and artist Mohammed Mrabet. Combining documentary and fiction approaches, the strange, poetic and sometimes brutal narratives often centre around the traditional Moroccan culture of smoking Hashish.

Mrabet’s stories were gathered transcribed and translated by Paul Bowles, eventually published in a series of anthologies. Selecting from the collections entitled M’Hashish and Harmless Poisons Blameless Sins, Rivers and sound designer Philippe Ciompi embed the tales in a mosaic of sounds from the dramatic Moroccan landscape.

Director: Ben Rivers
Sound Designer: Philippe Ciompi
Reader : Youssef Kerkour
Producer: Russell Finch
A Somethin’ Else production for Radio 4


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m00088nn)
Sex offenders escaping abroad

Every year thousands of offenders are convicted of sexual offences and subjected to a monitoring regime designed to minimise their risk to the public. But critics claim the system for managing offenders in England and Wales is flawed and allows offenders to slip through the net and flee abroad. File on 4 has discovered there are 559 sex offenders who are currently missing. One of them is Daniel Erickson-Hull – a self-styled pastor who was convicted of downloading hundreds of indecent images of children. On his release from prison he was subject to an order banning him from having unsupervised contact with children, unsupervised use of the internet and from travelling abroad without informing the authorities. But he ignored the restrictions and fled abroad. File on 4 tracks Erickson-Hull down to Bulgaria where he’s immersed himself in a Roma community and posted videos of himself with dozens of children online. File on 4 asks whether the laws designed to keep the public safe from convicted sex offenders are fit for purpose.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m00088nq)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted


TUE 21:00 Science Stories (m00088ns)
Series 9

Alexis Carrel and the immortal chicken heart

Philip Ball tells the story of Alexis Carrel, the French surgeon who worked to preserve life outside the body and create an immortal chicken heart in a dish. His quest was to renew ageing flesh, repair and rebuild our bodies and keep them healthy far beyond the usual human lifespan. In the early twentieth century his science was pioneering but his mission to achieve eternal life was underpinned by a dark and terrifying agenda. Carrel was a racist who advocated eugenics to preserve the superior civilisation of the West.

Philip Ball discusses the history and cultural impact of the tissue culture techniques developed by Carrel with social historian Professor Hannah Landecker of the University of California at Los Angeles. And he finds out about the legacy of Carrel's research from Dr Madeline Lancaster of Cambridge University, one of the pioneers of the growth of brain organoids from stem cells; small clusters of neurons and other cells, rather like mini organs no bigger than a dried pea.


TUE 21:30 The Opportunity of Divorce (m0002mw8)
A new life in Europe has had the unexpected consequence of increased divorce rates within immigrant and refugee communities. Part of the reason is due to changing gender roles, but a lack of opportunities and the stress of adapting to a new language and culture also contribute to the break-up of relationships.

Sweden is renowned for gender equality. Almost all Swedish dads take paternity leave and there are more women in employment here than anywhere else in the EU. This has had a knock-on effect on immigrant communities. Until recently, Sweden admitted more refugees per capita than anywhere else in Europe. Sweden has a population of 9 million, and in 2016, 163,000 refugees arrived, so the country is very focused on efforts to help assimilate and settle new residents.

This hasn't necessarily been a positive thing in terms of relationships. A recent study showed uncharacteristically high divorce rates amongst immigrant communities. In Iran, for example, about 20% of marriages end in divorce, while 48% of Iranian women in Sweden had divorced within 15 years of marriage. So how does this translate in the UK?

Chitra Ramaswamy explores a very modern phenomenon.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m00088nv)
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


TUE 22:45 Short Works (m00088mp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


TUE 23:00 Some Kind of Man with Peter Curran (b0902r18)
The accomplished writer and broadcaster reflects on his comical life-long search for useful male role models in films, novels and real life. Peter grew up surrounded by his mum and five sisters - although, as the eldest, he wasn’t spoiled. Honestly.

In this programme, he goes mooching around the streets of his Belfast childhood, recalling torturous inquisitions from local lads about religion, and he takes the audience at The Queens Film Theatre in Belfast on a journey into the power of George Best, men in towelling trunks, polite gunmen at the front door, and the all-conquering laughter of girls.

Peter’s joined by some expert and inexpert witnesses to answer questions on gender, parenting and Darth Vader.

The programme was recorded as part of the Belfast Film Festival and Peter was joined on stage by one of Britain’s foremost experts on psychosexual medicine, Dr Ian Walsh; cinema historian and documentary director, Brian Henry Martin; and Good Vibrations record label owner and local legend, Terri Hooley.

The programme includes a vivid reading by the presenter’s mother of an excerpt from WF Marshall’s Ulster-Scots dialect classic about the cost of romantic indecision, Me and Me Da. As mentioned in the programme, the words are listed here:

I'm livin in Drumlister
An I'm getting very oul
I have to wear an Indian bag
To save me from the coul.

Me Da lived up in Carmin,
And kep a sarvint boy.
His second wife was very sharp,
He birried her with joy.
Now she wos thin, her name was Flynn
She come from Cullentra,
And if me shirts a clatty shirt
The man to blames me Da.

Consarnin weemin sure it wos
A constant word of his,
Keep well away from them that’s thin
Their tempers aisy riz.
Well, I knowed two I thought wud do
But still I had me fears,
So I skiffled back and forrit
Between the two, for years.

Wee Margit had no fortune,
She thought the world of me.
I'll tell the truth me heart wud lep
The sight of her to see.
And Margit she was very wee,
And Bridget she was stout.
But her face was like a gaol door,
With the bowlts pult out.

So I swithered back an forrit
Till Margit got a man.
A fella come from Mullaslin
And left me jist the wan.

But cryin cures no trouble,
To Bridget I went back,
An faced her for it that night week
Fornenst her own turf stack
I axed her there, and spoke her fair,
The handy wife she'd make me,
I talked about the land that joined
-Begob! She wudn't take me.

So I'm livin in Drumlister
And I'm getting very oul
I creep to Carmin wanst a month
To thry and make me sowl
The deil a man in this townland
Wos claner raired nor me,
And I'm dying in Drumlister
In clabber to the knee.

Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m00088ny)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament



WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2019

WED 00:00 Midnight News (m00088p0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


WED 00:30 Talking to Strangers (m00088mc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00088p2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00088p4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00088p6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (m00088p8)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00088pb)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Fr Dermot Morrin, Honorary Catholic Chaplain at Edinburgh University.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (m00088pd)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0ptz)
Adelie Penguin

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Liz Bonnin presents the adelie penguin on a windswept Antarctic shore. A huddle of braying shapes on a windswept shore in Antarctica reveals itself to be a rookery of Adelie Penguins. These medium sized penguins whose white eye-ring gives them an expression of permanent astonishment were discovered in 1840 and named after the land which French explorer Jules Dumont d'-Urville named in honour of his wife Adele. They make a rudimentary nest of pebbles (sometimes pinched from a neighbour) from which their eggs hatch on ice-free shores in December, Antarctica's warmest month, when temperatures reach a sizzling minus two degrees. In March the adult penguins follow the growing pack ice north as it forms, feeding at its edge on a rich diet of krill, small fish and crustaceans. But as climate change raises ocean temperatures, the ice edge forms further south nearer to some of the breeding colonies, reducing the distance penguins have to walk to and from open water. But, if ice fails to form in the north of the penguin's range it can affect their breeding success, and at one research station breeding numbers have dropped by nearly two thirds.


WED 06:00 Today (m00088j6)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 The Sound Odyssey (m00088j8)
This Is The Kit in Casablanca

Gemma Cairney brings together artists from two different countries to combine their talents to make a new piece of music.

Kate Stables is the staple of folk project This is the Kit who have released four albums - now based in Paris, Kate has found herself drawn to the hypnotic rhythms of Saharan music and gnawa music.

Dating back to the 12th century, gnawa, which is played on a three stringed instrument called the guembri, is the music of formerly enslaved black Africans who came to Morocco from Sub Saharan countries , and founded a model to preserve the traditions and folkloric music of their ancestors.

Traditionally, women do not play gnawa and performing in public is still a widespread taboo. But despite its deep traditions, modern Gnawa is evolving. Asmaa Hamzaoui is the daughter of a famous “maalem” (Gnawa master) Rachid Hamzaoui. Encouraged by her father, she has become the first female guembri player in Morocco and one of the first around the world with her band Bnat Timbouktou.

Kate will be travelling to Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco and home to gnawa music o to collaborate with Asmaa and see if they can merge together the banjo and the guembri to create something new.

Presented by Gemma Cairney
Produced by Jax Coombes
A BBC 6 Music Production for BBC Radio 4


WED 09:30 Four Thought (m00088jb)
Life in Letters

Helen Cullen makes the case for the art of letter writing.

In this talk, recorded at the Larmer Tree Festival, Helen reveals how writing letters has been a constant throughout her life and discusses its importance in deepening her relationships with her friends, family and partner. Helen, a novelist whose first book revolved around letters, argues that those of us who have fallen out of the habit of writing letters, or never acquired it in the first place, should take up our pens. And she makes a bold promise to anyone who writes to her.

Producer: Giles Edwards


WED 09:45 Talking to Strangers (m00088jd)
Episode 3

3/5

Malcolm Gladwell is an international best-selling author and host of the podcast Revisionist History.

In his new book, he explores what we should know about the people we don’t know. And, with his trademark style, he delves into our recent history, in order to understand the world we live in and the people we live amongst more clearly.

Reader: Malcolm Gladwell
Abridger: Anna Magnusson

Produced by Kirsty Williams with the assistance of Pushkin Industries.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m00088jh)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


WED 10:41 Blackwater (m00024s0)
Episode 3

A multi-voiced dark story about secrets and lies in a small town.

Golden girl Zoe’s been dead for ten years, her body dragged from the river Black after a night out to celebrate the end of school. But now a woman who says she’s Zoe has turned up in her hometown of Blackwater, on the Irish border, with no memory of the last decade. She claims she woke up in a forest nearby, bruised and bleeding, and doesn’t know where she’s been all this time. What happened to her? Is she really Zoe? If so, who’s in her grave?

Paul, a local boy whose band were playing in the venue where Zoe was last seen, went to prison for her murder. Now he’s out, but he’s lost everything and is shunned in the town. The people of Blackwater were easily convinced that a black boy murdered Zoe, and the evidence did stack up – but if she’s not even dead, then how did he get convicted? Did someone deliberately frame him? He’s determined to find out the truth and clear his name. But does he really know nothing about what happened?

Could it be that everyone involved with the case is hiding something? There’s Zoe’s uncle Phil, a former detective superintendent with an explosive secret. There’s Steve, the police officer who found ‘Zoe’s’ body in the river Black, and sent Paul to prison for her murder. And there’s Zoe’s friend Danny, who wasn’t were she said she was on that night ten years ago. When Paul and Zoe collide, they realise they’re the only ones who can help each other. As they sift through their conflicting memories of that day ten years ago, they start to discover that not everyone is happy Zoe’s back from the dead.

Danny ..... Roisin Gallagher
Zoe ..... Clare Dunne

Writer, Claire McGowan
Producer, Celia De Wolff


WED 10:55 The Listening Project (m00088jk)
Alison and Carl - Something for Yourself

Friends compare notes on the highs and lows of caring for elderly parents. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.


WED 11:00 Statue No 1 (m00088jm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


WED 11:30 Between Ourselves with Marian Keyes (m00088jp)
Ireland and the Irish

Marian Keyes is a publishing sensation - her works of fiction (Rachel's Holiday, The Break and others) have sold in their millions, across the globe. In this new series, Marian reads selections from her non-fiction writing whilst in conversation with her friend the actor Tara Flynn. This week's theme is Ireland and the Irish. Alongside the craic, Marian reads Passport Out Of Here and Do You Know The Bus Stop In Kilkenny? from her collection Under The Duvet.

Presenters: Tara Flynn and Marian Keyes
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4


WED 12:00 News Summary (m00088js)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 Short Works (m00088jv)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

Pauzwang Syndrome

Five newly commissioned short stories to mark this year's BBC National Short Story Award.

In Ned Beauman's Pauzwang Syndrome we hear from a doctor about a particular condition that also affects his own son Jack, in quite bizarre fashion.

Reader: Bill Nighy

Producer: Duncan Minshull


WED 12:18 You and Yours (m00088jy)
News and discussion of consumer affairs.


WED 12:57 Weather (m00088k0)
The latest weather forecast


WED 13:00 World at One (m00088k2)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


WED 13:45 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (m00088k4)
Series 2: 50 More Things...

Like button

Facebook’s “like” button is ubiquitous across the web. Seeing what people “like” helps Facebook understand its users – which means they can target adverts more effectively, and tailor newsfeeds so people spend more time on Facebook. Some say there’s nothing to worry about – targeted adverts are nothing new. Others worry that the Cambridge Analytica scandal shows how Facebook might shape our opinions. But perhaps what we should worry about most is that social approval can be addictive, and a “like” is social approval distilled into its purest form. Tim Harford asks how should we manage our compulsions in this brave new social media world?

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon


WED 14:00 The Archers (m00088k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Undercover Mumbai (m00088k8)
Episode 1

The body of a young woman, Nyla Ansari, is found in a bathtub in her parents' home, a bottle of pills beside her. It looks like a suicide, until the discovery of the video she made a year before claiming her father, a wealthy Indian businessman, was going to kill her.

Police inspector Alia Khan goes undercover, moving into the flat next door with her male colleague Junaid Qureshi. Posing as a newly married couple, their mission is to befriend Nyla's family, their servants and friends, and discover the truth.

Third series of the crime drama set and recorded in India. Written by Ayeesha Menon and directed by John Scott Dryden.

Cast:
Alia..............Prerna Chawla 
Junaid..............Tavish Bhattacharya
Ratna..............Shivani Tanksale
Shahnaz..............Shernaz Patel
Parvez..............Rajit Kapur
Jaz..............Sukant Goel
Roopkala..............Lovleen Mishra
Popo..............Rohit Malkani
Bhupinder..............Aseem Hattangady
Patel..............Jaimini Pathak
Roopkala's son..............Ajitesh Gupta
Mrs. Gomes..............Radhika Mital
Dr. Rao..............Sohrab Ardeshir
Dr. Rameshwari..............Anahita Uberoi
Sam, Insp. Kaur and Ensemble..............Vivek Madan
Pander, Bartender and Ensemble..............Nadir Khan
Nyla, Adele and Ensemble..............Abir Abrar
Poona and Ensemble..............Kamakshi Rai
Boy..............Dhruv Hemdev

Writer: Ayeesha Menon
Producer: Nadir Khan
Production Manager: Toral Shah
Production Assistant: Vivek Madan
Editing Assistant: Varrunn Bangera
Directed, recorded and edited by John Scott Dryden

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4


WED 15:00 Money Box (m00088kc)
The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.


WED 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m00088kf)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

11/09/2019

Katherine Press reads the third story in the running for this celebrated award.

Abridged by Rowan Routh
Produced by Gemma Jenkins.


WED 16:00 Mastertapes (m0001qjp)
Series 8

Don McLean (A-side)

John Wilson talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both episodes feature exclusive live performances.

A-side: American Pie by Don McLean

24-year old Don McLean’s debut album was rejected by 72 labels before it was released by Mediarts. It was only because that label was taken over by United Artists that his follow-up received the promotion it deserved.

His second album contained: a tribute to a 19th-century Dutch painter, which was cited as a personal inspiration by the late rapper Tupac Shakur; a song that was re-recorded 32 years later by George Michael in protest against the Iraq War; and an eight-and-a-half-minute single that in 2017 was designated an “aural treasure… worthy of preservation as part of America’s patrimony.”

Complete versions of the songs performed in the programme (and others) can be heard on the 'Mastertapes' pages on the Radio 4 website, where the programmes can also be downloaded and other musical goodies accessed.

Producer: Paul Kobrak


WED 16:30 The Media Show (m00088kj)
The programme about a revolution in media with Amol Rajan, the BBC's Media Editor


WED 17:00 PM (m00088kl)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00088kn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 The Quanderhorn Xperimentations (b0b7dl8f)
Series 1

It's Eating My Face

England 1952. A time of peace, regeneration and hope. A Golden Age. Unfortunately, it's been 1952 for the past 65 years.

Meet Professor Quanderhorn (James Fleet), a maverick scientific genius with absolutely no moral compass. Assisted by a rag-tag crew - his part insect son (Freddie Fox), reputedly a "major breakthrough in Artificial Stupidity"; a recovering amnesiac (Ryan Sampson); a brilliant scientist with a half-clockwork brain (Cassie Layton); a captured Martian hostage (Kevin Eldon) and a sinister factotum (John Sessions). He'll save the world. Even if he has to destroy it in the process.

With his Dangerous Giant Space Laser, High Rise Farm, Utterly Untested Matter Transfuser Booth and Fleets of Monkey-driven Lorries, he's not afraid to push the boundaries of science to their very limit. And far, far beyond.

But his arch nemesis, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, has plans to put a stop to his Infernal Xperimentations once and for all.

It's an Adventure beyond human understanding in Super-Vis-O-Sound.

Will our Crew of Brave Boffins survive? Tune in next week - if there is such a thing -for the next thrilling instalment.

An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 19:00 The Archers (m00088kq)
Leonard hatches a plan, and Pip is not impressed.


WED 19:15 Front Row (m00088ks)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


WED 19:45 Open Art (b079cw8r)
Harmless Poisons, Blameless Sins

Episode 3

Part of Radio 4’s collaboration with Artangel to commission new works from British contemporary artists.

Ben Rivers is one of two artists who were selected in the open call for proposals in 2013. The result has been Rivers’ most ambitious and multi-faceted work to date: a feature film (The Sky Trembles And The Earth Is Afraid And The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers), a multimedia installation at BBC Television Centre, a book, and this series of five audio pieces for broadcast on Radio 4.

The work revolves around the stories of the American novelist Paul Bowles and his muse, the renowned Moroccan writer and artist Mohammed Mrabet. Combining documentary and fiction approaches, the strange, poetic and sometimes brutal narratives often centre around the traditional Moroccan culture of smoking Hashish.

Mrabet’s stories were gathered transcribed and translated by Paul Bowles, eventually published in a series of anthologies. Selecting from the collections entitled M’Hashish and Harmless Poisons Blameless Sins, Rivers and sound designer Philippe Ciompi embed the tales in a mosaic of sounds from the dramatic Moroccan landscape.

Director: Ben Rivers
Sound Designer: Philippe Ciompi
Reader : Youssef Kerkour
Producer: Russell Finch
A Somethin’ Else production for Radio 4


WED 20:00 Across the Red Line (m00088kv)
Series 4

Is Discipline the Enemy of Learning?

Anne McElvoy returns with the series that invites two public figures who disagree on an issue of principle to listen closely to each other’s arguments - and then to find out what drives them.

In this edition, Anne brings together author and educator Dr Debra Kidd with Katharine Birbalsingh, headmistress of Michael Community School, to debate whether discipline is the enemy of learning.

And Anne works with conflict resolution specialist Louisa Weinstein to foster a more exploratory conversation, to encourage both speakers to probe the values and experiences that underpin each other’s beliefs.

Producer: Phil Tinline


WED 20:45 Four Thought (m00088jb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (m00088kx)
Verity's Wild Garden

Verity Sharp wants to turn her small garden into a haven for wildlife. She's inspired by the Rewilding movement, but her neighbours aren't too keen on wolves in Wiltshire.

Inspired by the work being done at Knepp Castle Estate in West Sussex, Verity loves the idea of abandoning the lawn mower and letting nature take control. But will her abandoned garden turn into a natural paradise or an embarrassing mess that lowers the tone of the neighbourhood?

Verity calls on the author of 'Wilding', Isabella Tree and rewilding pioneer, Germaine Greer for sage advice.

Producer: Alasdair Cross


WED 21:30 The Sound Odyssey (m00088j8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m00088kz)
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


WED 22:45 Short Works (m00088jv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


WED 23:00 Monty Python at 50: The Self-Abasement Tapes (m00088l1)
Episode 2

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Monty Python, Michael Palin hunts down lost Python sketches. This programme contains rare material never heard before on UK radio.

In this episode, the historical curiosities include a lost verse from Brave Sir Robin and an all new King Arthur Song. Also, Terry Jones remembers what it was like filming The Holy Grail at Doune Castle.

Starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin

Produced by James Peak and Andre Jacquemin
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4


WED 23:15 TEZ Talks (m0001ksr)
Series 3

13. What Are You Looking At?

Series 3. Episode 5. What Are You Looking At?

Comedian Tez Ilyas returns for a third series of TEZ Talks.

In this episode Tez talks about confrontations and awkward situations he has found himself in.

Written and performed by Tez Ilyas
Produced by Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Production.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m00088l3)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament



THURSDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

THU 00:00 Midnight News (m00088l5)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


THU 00:30 Talking to Strangers (m00088jd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00088l7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00088l9)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00088lc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (m00088lf)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00088lh)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Fr Dermot Morrin, Honorary Catholic Chaplain at Edinburgh University.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (m00088lk)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0qpk)
Trumpeter Swan

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Liz Bonnin presents the sonorous trumpeter swan of North America. Across an Alaskan wilderness powerful sounds and calls emanate from the largest and heaviest of all wildfowl, the pure white trumpeter swan. With a wingspan of up to 250 cm, the biggest male trumpeter swan on record weighed over 17 kilogrammes, heavier than mute swans. They breed on shallow ponds and lakes in the wilder parts of north west and central North America. Hunted for feathers and skins, they were once one of the most threatened birds on the continent, with only 69 birds known in the United States, although populations hung on in Alaska and Canada. Since then trumpeters have been protected by law and populations have recovered in many areas. Alaska and Canada remain strongholds and today reintroductions are returning this musical bird to their former range in the USA.


THU 06:00 Today (m0008b80)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 Impartial Journalism in a Polarised World (m0008b84)
Polarised politics, cacophanous culture wars and the advent of unchecked, unchallenged news at the click of a button. Can impartial journalism win out in a world of alternative facts and the re-tweet echo chamber of Twitter? If it doesn't, what becomes of democracy?

When radio arrived, it gave politicians the means of mass propaganda. Television brought us the politics of the soundbite and the twenty-four hour news cycle. But the digital age - unmediated opinion, unchecked sources - has put old-fashioned, impartial news itself under the spotlight. Are we - the BBC and others - any longer believed? Are we trusted? And what happens when we aren't? Do democracy and digital sit comfortably together or is one currently winning at the expense of the other?

James Harding was editor of The Times and then took the helm at BBC News. After 2016, the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump, he started to think that a different approach was needed, focused on slow news and opening up journalism. He set up Tortoise. In this noisy discussion, James and other journalists grapple with all of these matters, and attempt to navigate a digital future without losing our democratic past.

He's joined by the political editor of ITN, Robert Peston; staff writer on The Atlantic, Helen Lewis; presenter of BBC Radio 4's The World this Weekend, Mark Mardell; Talk Radio host, Julia Hartley-Brewer; and Gavin Haynes, editor-at-large of Vice UK.


THU 09:45 Talking to Strangers (m0008b90)
Episode 4

4/5

Malcolm Gladwell is an international best-selling author and host of the podcast Revisionist History.

In his new book, he explores what we should know about the people we don’t know. And, with his trademark style, he delves into our recent history, in order to understand the world we live in and the people we live amongst more clearly.

Reader: Malcolm Gladwell
Abridger: Anna Magnusson

Produced by Kirsty Williams with the assistance of Pushkin Industries.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0008b88)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


THU 10:45 Blackwater (m00026j1)
Episode 4

A multi-voiced dark story about secrets and lies in a small town.

Golden girl Zoe’s been dead for ten years, her body dragged from the river Black after a night out to celebrate the end of school. But now a woman who says she’s Zoe has turned up in her hometown of Blackwater, on the Irish border, with no memory of the last decade. She claims she woke up in a forest nearby, bruised and bleeding, and doesn’t know where she’s been all this time. What happened to her? Is she really Zoe? If so, who’s in her grave?

Paul, a local boy whose band were playing in the venue where Zoe was last seen, went to prison for her murder. Now he’s out, but he’s lost everything and is shunned in the town. The people of Blackwater were easily convinced that a black boy murdered Zoe, and the evidence did stack up – but if she’s not even dead, then how did he get convicted? Did someone deliberately frame him? He’s determined to find out the truth and clear his name. But does he really know nothing about what happened?

Could it be that everyone involved with the case is hiding something? There’s Zoe’s uncle Phil, a former detective superintendent with an explosive secret. There’s Steve, the police officer who found ‘Zoe’s’ body in the river Black, and sent Paul to prison for her murder. And there’s Zoe’s friend Danny, who wasn’t were she said she was on that night ten years ago. When Paul and Zoe collide, they realise they’re the only ones who can help each other. As they sift through their conflicting memories of that day ten years ago, they start to discover that not everyone is happy Zoe’s back from the dead.

Aston Kelly ….. Paul
Sean Kearns ….. Phil

Claire McGowan ..... Writer
Celia De Wolff ..... Producer


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (m0008b9g)
Colombia’s Kamikaze Cyclists

Precipitous mountain roads, specially modified bikes, and deadly consequences. Simon Maybin spends time with the young men who race down the steep roads of Colombia’s second city Medellin. Marlon is 16 and he’s a gravitoso - a gravity biker. He hooks onto the back of lorries or buses climbing the precipitous roads to reach high points around the city. Then, he lets gravity do its thing and - without any safety gear - hurtles back down the roads, trying to dodge the traffic. This year, two of his friends have died gravity biking and Marlon has had a near-fatal accident. But he’s not quitting. So what drives young men like him to take their lives into their own hands? And what’s being done to stop more deaths? Produced and presented by Simon Maybin.


THU 11:30 Art of Now (m0008b9j)
Scandinavia

Scandinavia rests in many minds as a liberal haven, championing equality and with a generous welfare system. So what do artists have to protest about?

Louise Morris challenges her idealised view of Denmark, Finland and Norway, exploring what lies beneath the region’s glossy international image by examining the work of Scandinavia’s political artists.

A curtain of reindeer skulls is suspended outside the Norwegian parliament building, swinging macabrely in the breeze. Pile o’Sápmi is the work of indigenous Sámi artist Máret Ánne Sara, a strident artistic protest against the Norwegian government’s order to cull her brother’s reindeers - something she says violates his human and cultural rights as well as jeopardising his income. Norway’s government states that their reindeer reduction policy, culling a percentage of people’s herds, is aimed at preventing the overgrazing of the tundra. Yet this policy has come into conflict with the ancestral and indigenous rights of the Sami.

Danish artist Jeanette Ehlers is determined to make history mark the present with her staggering performance art piece Whip It Good which explicitly visualises Denmark’s connection to the slave trade - a history Ehlers says is “swept under the carpet” and not taught in schools. Whip It Good’s raw physicality and powerfully simple imagery challenges anyone who dares efface colonial history.

Most of the artists in this programme touch on, in some way, the ghosts of injustice past and how that reverberates into the present if it is not acknowledged - offering salient lessons for any region seeking to build a more just future.

Executive Producer: Sarah Cuddon
Written and produced by Louise Morris

A Curtains For Radio production for BBC Radio 4


THU 12:00 News Summary (m0008b9l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 Short Works (m0008b8r)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

Liv by KJ Orr

Five newly commissioned short stories to mark this year's BBC National Short Story Award.

In Liv by KJ Orr, a father and daughter travel to a foreign city. They enjoy the sights and are waiting for someone too. But will this someone ever appear?

Reader Miranda Raison

Producer Duncan Minshull


THU 12:18 You and Yours (m0008b9n)
News and discussion of consumer affairs.


THU 12:57 Weather (m0008b9q)
The latest weather forecast


THU 13:00 World at One (m0008b9s)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


THU 13:45 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (m0008b9v)
Series 2: 50 More Things...

Blockchain

In a series about things that made the modern economy, blockchain may not yet deserve the past tense. But venture capitalists are pouring billions into startups and enthusiasts say blockchain could become as disruptive as the internet. How can we decide if they’re right? First we need to get our heads around the most famous blockchain – Bitcoin – and see why the underlying technology might have much wider applications. But, as Tim Harford explains, we need to think about all the challenges that first need to be overcome.

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon


THU 14:00 The Archers (m00088kq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Undercover Mumbai (m0008b9x)
Episode 2

The body of a young woman, Nyla Ansari, is found in a bathtub in her parents' home, a bottle of pills beside her. It looks like a suicide, until the discovery of the video she made a year before claiming her father, a wealthy Indian businessman, was going to kill her.

Police inspector Alia Khan goes undercover, moving into the flat next door with her male colleague Junaid Qureshi. Posing as a newly married couple, their mission is to befriend Nyla's family, their servants and friends, and discover the truth.

Third series of the crime drama set and recorded in India. Written by Ayeesha Menon and directed by John Scott Dryden.

Cast:
Alia..............Prerna Chawla 
Junaid..............Tavish Bhattacharya
Ratna..............Shivani Tanksale
Shahnaz..............Shernaz Patel
Parvez..............Rajit Kapur
Jaz..............Sukant Goel
Roopkala..............Lovleen Mishra
Popo..............Rohit Malkani
Bhupinder..............Aseem Hattangady
Patel..............Jaimini Pathak
Roopkala's son..............Ajitesh Gupta
Mrs. Gomes..............Radhika Mital
Dr. Rao..............Sohrab Ardeshir
Dr. Rameshwari..............Anahita Uberoi
Sam, Insp. Kaur and Ensemble..............Vivek Madan
Pander, Bartender and Ensemble..............Nadir Khan
Nyla, Adele and Ensemble..............Abir Abrar
Poona and Ensemble..............Kamakshi Rai
Boy..............Dhruv Hemdev

Writer: Ayeesha Menon
Producer: Nadir Khan
Production Manager: Toral Shah
Production Assistant: Vivek Madan
Editing Assistant: Varrunn Bangera
Directed, recorded and edited by John Scott Dryden

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4


THU 15:00 Ramblings (m0008b9z)
Ricky Ross and Lorraine Mcintosh of Deacon Blue in Fife

Clare Balding is joined by singers Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh of the band Deacon Blue to walk one of their favourite coastal routes in Fife. Starting at Elie they walk along the beach passing through the village of St Monan's ending in the picturesque fishing town of Pittenweem. Ricky and Lorraine have been married for over thirty years and perform together as part of the band, as well as having their own careers in broadcasting and acting. They say the secret to their enduring relationship is doing things together as a couple and sharing the same interests, one of which is walking. One of their favourite areas to walk is the East Neuk in Fife reputed to have some of the driest sunniest weather in the UK because of its sheltered position between the Rivers Forth and Tay.

Producer: Maggie Ayre


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0008b0g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m0008bb1)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

12/09/2019

Aimee-Ffion Edwards reads the fourth story in contention for this prestigious award.

Abridged by Rowan Routh
Produced by Gemma Jenkins


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m0008bb3)
Midnight Cowboy

With Antonia Quirke

John Schlesinger's partner Michael Childers takes us behind the scenes of Midnight Cowboy and reveals how he persuaded Andy Warhol to take part and the shocking reason why the artist is not in the finished film.


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0008bb5)
Gaia Vince and guests illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that is changing our world.


THU 17:00 PM (m0008bb7)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0008bb9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar (m0008bbc)
Series 3

Corbyn and the Left

Alexei offers his thoughts on Jeremy Corbyn and the Left, laments the decline of small business and explains what the 1997 film Starship Troopers can teach us all.

Written by Alexei Sayle
Performed by Alexei Sayle
Produced by Joe Nunnery
Music and Lyrics by Tim Sutton
A BBC Studios Production


THU 19:00 The Archers (m0008b8d)
David makes an enemy, and Elizabeth finds herself backed into a corner.


THU 19:15 Front Row (m0008b8g)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


THU 19:45 Open Art (b079cw8t)
Harmless Poisons, Blameless Sins

Episode 4

Part of Radio 4’s collaboration with Artangel to commission new works from British contemporary artists.

Ben Rivers is one of two artists who were selected in the Open call for proposals in 2013. The result has been Rivers’ most ambitious and multi-faceted work to date: a feature film (The Sky Trembles And The Earth Is Afraid And The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers), a multimedia installation at BBC Television Centre, a book, and this series of five audio pieces for broadcast on Radio 4.

The work revolves around the stories of the American novelist Paul Bowles and his muse, the renowned Moroccan writer and artist Mohammed Mrabet. Combining documentary and fiction approaches, the strange, poetic and sometimes brutal narratives often centre around the traditional Moroccan culture of smoking Hashish.

Mrabet’s stories were gathered transcribed and translated by Paul Bowles, eventually published in a series of anthologies. Selecting from the collections entitled M’Hashish and Harmless Poisons Blameless Sins, Rivers and sound designer Philippe Ciompi embed the tales in a mosaic of sounds from the dramatic Moroccan landscape.

Director: Ben Rivers
Sound Designer: Philippe Ciompi
Reader : Youssef Kerkour
Producer: Russell Finch
A Somethin’ Else production for Radio 4


THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0008b8j)
Combining original insights into major news stories with topical investigations.


THU 20:30 In Business (m0008b8l)
Plain sailing?

Rotterdam in the Netherlands is home to the biggest port in Europe, handling millions of tons of goods and thousands of ships every year. Port officials are proud of this vast and slick operation. They explain that much of its efficiency is down to a centralised system known as Portbase, which offers a means of dealing with custom declarations and other formalities electronically, without the use of physical paperwork. All port users – such as customs, freight forwarders, transport firms and ferry companies – must register with the system. Any ships or trucks that arrive and are not registered will be turned away.

But a giant spanner may be about to be thrown into the works of this smooth-running machine, if Britain makes an unruly departure from the EU. Intense work has long been underway to make Rotterdam ready for this event – but will these preparations be enough to stave off the problems that a no-deal Brexit might cause? Ruth Alexander has been to Rotterdam to find out.

Producer: Neil Koenig


THU 21:00 Impartial Journalism in a Polarised World (m0008b84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:30 I Was... (m0001xq8)
I Was Batman's Catwoman

Batman, the comic strip hero, was created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for Detective Comics. While Batman never had a radio series of his own, the character made occasional guest appearances in The Adventures of Superman starting in 1945. By 1966 a new era dawned for the caped crusader, finally appeared in the flesh, in full colour on TV in the Batman series. Played by the late Adam West, Batman was a ratings winner and introduced us to a range of fiendish criminals. The success of the series increased sales throughout the comic book industry, and Batman reached a circulation of close to 900,000 copies.

One recurring character, Catwoman, began to appear in season one of the television series. While most of Batman's romantic relationships tended to be short in duration, Catwoman was his most enduring romance during the series. The interplay and on-screen sexuality between both characters was pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable, especially as this was shown as a children's programme in mid-afternoon.

Julie Newmar was a classically trained ballerina appearing as Dorcas, one of the brides in the smash hit film of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers in 1955. Stints on TV and on Broadway in The Marriage Go 'Round - for which she was nominated for a Tony - led her to play the role of Catwoman for the first two seasons of Batman.

Batman's fame faded when the TV series ended but Julie's career did not. She guest-starred in many TV shows of the era including The Monkees, The Beverly Hillbillies, Star Trek, Hart to Hart, Columbo and The Bionic Woman.

In the 1970s, Newmar received two U.S. patents for pantyhose and one for a brassiere. The pantyhose were described as having "cheeky derriere relief" and promoted under the name "Nudemar". The brassiere was described as "nearly invisible" and in the style of Marilyn Monroe.

Newmar married J. Holt Smith, a lawyer, on August 5, 1977, and moved with him to Fort Worth, Texas, where she lived until their divorce in 1984. She has one child, John Jewl Smith (born February 1981), who has a hearing impairment and Down's syndrome.

In the 80s Batman's fortune was revived by a new comic series written by Frank Miller and most recently by a string of successful Dark Knight films directed by Christopher Nolan.

Shortly before Adam West's death in 2017, he and Julie reprised their TV roles for 'Batman Versus Two-Face', a superhero film produced by Warner Bros.

Written and Presented by Andrew McGibbon
Produced by Nick Romero

A Curtains For Radio Production for BBC Radio 4


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0008b8p)
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


THU 22:45 Short Works (m0008b8r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


THU 23:00 Kevin Eldon Will See You Now (m0008b8t)
Series 4

The Dusty Humbug

Kevin Eldon and his all-important cast enjoy a naked tractor ride, a dusty humbug and a love story with cannons.

Kevin Eldon is a comedy phenomenon. He’s been in virtually every major comedy show in the last fifteen years. But not content with working with the likes of Chris Morris, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, Stewart Lee, Julia Davis and Graham Linehan, he’s also created his own comedy series for BBC Radio 4.

After all the waiting - Kevin Eldon Will See You Now.

Also starring Morwenna Banks, Kate Duchêne, Justin Edwards (The Thick Of It), Miles Jupp, Paul Putner (Little Britain), David Reed (The Penny Dreadfuls), Catherine Shepherd and Dan Skinner.

Written by Kevin Eldon
with additional material by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris (A Touch Of Cloth and those modern Ladybird books).

Produced and directed by David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0008b8w)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament



FRIDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2019

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0008b8y)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 00:30 Talking to Strangers (m0008b90)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0008b92)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0008b94)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0008b96)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0008b98)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0008b9b)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Fr Dermot Morrin, Honorary Catholic Chaplain at Edinburgh University.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0008b9d)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0rd4)
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Liz Bonnin presents the raucous calling sulphur-crested cockatoo from Australia. It is with somewhat heavy irony that with its loud, jarring calls, the sulphur crested cockatoo is also known as the "Australian nightingale". These large white parrots with their formidable curved beaks and long yellow crests which they fan out when excited are familiar aviary birds. One of the reasons that they're popular as cage birds is that they can mimic the human voice and can live to a great age. A bird known as Cocky Bennett from Sydney lived until he was a hundred years old, although by the time he died in the early 1900s he was completely bald, and was then stuffed for posterity. In its native forests of Australia and New Guinea, those far-carrying calls are perfect for keeping cockatoo flocks together. They're highly intelligent birds and when they feed, at least one will act as a sentinel ready to sound the alarm in case of danger. So well-known is this behaviour that in Australia, someone asked to keep a lookout during illegal gambling sessions is sometimes known as a "cockatoo" or "cocky".


FRI 06:00 Today (m0008bjw)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 The Reunion (m0008b27)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Talking to Strangers (m0008bjy)
Episode 5

5/5

Malcolm Gladwell is an international best-selling author and host of the podcast Revisionist History.

In his new book, he explores what we should know about the people we don’t know. And, with his trademark style, he delves into our recent history, in order to understand the world we live in and the people we live amongst more clearly.

Reader: Malcolm Gladwell
Abridger: Anna Magnusson

Produced by Kirsty Williams with the assistance of Pushkin Industries.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0008bk0)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


FRI 10:45 Blackwater (m00029gw)
Episode 5

A multi-voiced dark story about secrets and lies in a small town.

Golden girl Zoe’s been dead for ten years, her body dragged from the river Black after a night out to celebrate the end of school. But now a woman who says she’s Zoe has turned up in her hometown of Blackwater, on the Irish border, with no memory of the last decade. She claims she woke up in a forest nearby, bruised and bleeding, and doesn’t know where she’s been all this time. What happened to her? Is she really Zoe? If so, who’s in her grave?

Paul, a local boy whose band were playing in the venue where Zoe was last seen, went to prison for her murder. Now he’s out, but he’s lost everything and is shunned in the town. The people of Blackwater were easily convinced that a black boy murdered Zoe, and the evidence did stack up – but if she’s not even dead, then how did he get convicted? Did someone deliberately frame him? He’s determined to find out the truth and clear his name. But does he really know nothing about what happened?

Could it be that everyone involved with the case is hiding something? There’s Zoe’s uncle Phil, a former detective superintendent with an explosive secret. There’s Steve, the police officer who found ‘Zoe’s’ body in the river Black, and sent Paul to prison for her murder. And there’s Zoe’s friend Danny, who wasn’t were she said she was on that night ten years ago. When Paul and Zoe collide, they realise they’re the only ones who can help each other. As they sift through their conflicting memories of that day ten years ago, they start to discover that not everyone is happy Zoe’s back from the dead.

Richard Clements ….. Steve
Roisin Gallagher ….. Danny

Claire McGowan ..... Writer
Celia De Wolff ..... Producer


FRI 11:00 Don't Log Off (m0008bk2)
Series 10

Wanderlust

Marco loves Beijing - and being Chinese born he should feel at home. But instead he always feels a bit different from those around him, because he was brought up in Australia. His wanderlust is never ceasing, flying across the world is his way of finding contentment, bringing new perspectives back to China with him. But will he ever feel settled?
Nosaiba is from Sudan, but for three years she has been living with her parents in Saudi Arabia. Life for women has become a little less restrictive. She can go out alone, and even drive. But in fact, she feels mainly boredom - missing friends in Sudan, and also the demonstrations that have been taking place there - she lives in one place, but her heart is in another.
Kutay lives in Istanbul, but missed the sea. He was a mariner, travelling across the world, and finding it a wonderful, challenging place. But when he fell in love with an American woman, he left his job, and made plans to go on the road with her... until... let's not give it all away..

Wanderlust - pits, perils, and wonder, with Alan Dein.

Producer: Sara Jane Hall


FRI 11:30 Quiz Nite! (m0008bk4)
1. Pub Quiz

Quiz Night!

A series of comedy plays written by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, each with a quizzing theme.

Episode 1. "Pub Quiz"

Disaster has struck the reigning champions of the Red Lion Sunday Quiz Night, who find their team a man down with just hours to go - much to the distress of their captain, ex-GP Charles.

Charles’ wife Anne offers step into the breach, but she’s never quizzed before and with their unbeaten record at stake, he turns her offer down. Furious, she forms a team of her own and the battle is on...

Writers... Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis

Charles... Kenneth Cranham
Anne... Harriet Walter
Rob... Martin Trenaman
Sally... Mina Anwar
Enid... Marcia Warren
Maurice... Don Gilet
Basia... Jayde Adams
Dominic... Steve Punt
Dave... Hugh Dennis

Producer... Julia McKenzie

This is a BBC Studios Production


FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0008bk7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 Short Works (m0008bk9)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

Her Face

Five newly commissioned short stories to mark this year's BBC National Short Story Award.

In Her Face by Elizabeth Day, a couple travel to a health spa in Mexico. She's a high flyer, he's unemployed, they are not getting on. Then one day they go hiking together.

Reader Kevin McNally

Producer Duncan Minshull


FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m0008bkc)
News and discussion of consumer affairs.


FRI 12:57 Weather (m0008bkf)
The latest weather forecast


FRI 13:00 World at One (m0008bkh)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


FRI 13:45 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (m0008bkk)
Series 2: 50 More Things...

Factory

The factory age began with a thunderclap, the climax to a tale of espionage, assassination, and vaulting ambition. Factories have absorbed our attention ever since, from the "dark Satanic mills" of William Blake's poem, to the conditions that obsessed Engels and Marx, through to the vast industrial parks of Shenzhen, where iconic consumer products are assembled. Tim Harford asks if factories have been a force for improving the conditions of ordinary workers? And what comes next for the factory in an increasingly service-driven age?

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon


FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0008b8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Undercover Mumbai (m0008bkm)
Episode 3

The body of a young woman, Nyla Ansari, is found in a bathtub in her parents' home, a bottle of pills beside her. It looks like a suicide, until the discovery of the video she made a year before claiming her father, a wealthy Indian businessman, was going to kill her.

Police Inspector Alia Khan goes undercover, moving into the flat next door with her male colleague Junaid Qureshi. Posing as a newly married couple, their mission is to befriend Nyla's family, their servants and friends, and discover the truth.

Third series of the crime drama set and recorded in India. Written by Ayeesha Menon and directed by John Scott Dryden.

Cast:
Alia..............Prerna Chawla 
Junaid..............Tavish Bhattacharya
Ratna..............Shivani Tanksale
Shahnaz..............Shernaz Patel
Parvez..............Rajit Kapur
Jaz..............Sukant Goel
Roopkala..............Lovleen Mishra
Popo..............Rohit Malkani
Bhupinder..............Aseem Hattangady
Patel..............Jaimini Pathak
Roopkala's son..............Ajitesh Gupta
Mrs. Gomes..............Radhika Mital
Dr. Rao..............Sohrab Ardeshir
Dr. Rameshwari..............Anahita Uberoi
Sam, Insp. Kaur and Ensemble..............Vivek Madan
Pander, Bartender and Ensemble..............Nadir Khan
Nyla, Adele and Ensemble..............Abir Abrar
Poona and Ensemble..............Kamakshi Rai
Boy..............Dhruv Hemdev

Writer: Ayeesha Menon
Producer: Nadir Khan
Production Manager: Toral Shah
Production Assistant: Vivek Madan
Editing Assistant: Varrunn Bangera
Directed, recorded and edited by John Scott Dryden

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0008bkp)
British Library

Kathy Clugston and the panel are at the British Library, London. James Wong, Anne Swithinbank and Bob Flowerdew answer the audience's horticultural queries.

Producer: Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Jemima Rathbone

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m0008bkr)
BBC National Short Story Award 2019

13/09/2019

Stephen Campbell Moore reads the fifth story in contention for this prestigious award.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0008bkt)
Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently.


FRI 16:30 More or Less (m0008bkw)
Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.


FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (m0008bky)
Mel and Andrew - Tied Together

A young couple discuss why they chose to live on two narrow boats tied together. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.


FRI 17:00 PM (m0008bl0)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0008bl2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m0008bl4)
Series 100

Episode 3

A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Patrick Kielty


FRI 19:00 The Archers (m0008bl6)
Writer, Nick Warburton
Director, Marina Caldarone
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Jill Archer ….. Patricia Greene
David Archer ….. Timothy Bentinck
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Josh Archer ….. Angus Imrie
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Phoebe Aldridge ….. Lucy Morris
Neil Carter ….. Brian Hewlett
Ian Craig ….. Stephen Kennedy
Eddie Grundy ….. Trevor Harrison
Will Grundy ….. Philip Molloy
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O'Hanrahan
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd ….. John Rowe
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Kate Madikane ….. Perdita Avery
Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Freddie Pargetter ….. Toby Laurence
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd
Oliver Sterling ….. Michael Cochrane
Lexi Viktorova ….. Ania Sowinski
Philip Moss ….. Andy Hockley
Leonard Berry ….. Paul Copley
Joy Horville ….. Jackie Lye


FRI 19:15 Front Row (m0008bl8)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


FRI 19:45 Open Art (b079cw8w)
Harmless Poisons, Blameless Sins

Episode 5

Part of Radio 4’s collaboration with Artangel to commission new works from British contemporary artists.

Ben Rivers is one of two artists who were selected in the Open call for proposals in 2013. The result has been Rivers’ most ambitious and multi-faceted work to date: a feature film (The Sky Trembles And The Earth Is Afraid And The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers), a multimedia installation at BBC Television Centre, a book, and this series of five audio pieces for broadcast on Radio 4.

The work revolves around the stories of the American novelist Paul Bowles and his muse, the renowned Moroccan writer and artist Mohammed Mrabet. Combining documentary and fiction approaches, the strange, poetic and sometimes brutal narratives often centre around the traditional Moroccan culture of smoking Hashish.

Mrabet’s stories were gathered transcribed and translated by Paul Bowles, eventually published in a series of anthologies. Selecting from the collections entitled M’Hashish and Harmless Poisons Blameless Sins, Rivers and sound designer Philippe Ciompi embed the tales in a mosaic of sounds from the dramatic Moroccan landscape.

Director: Ben Rivers
Sound Designer: Philippe Ciompi
Reader : Youssef Kerkour
Producer: Russell Finch
A Somethin’ Else production for Radio 4


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0008blb)
Baroness Chakrabarti, Peter Hitchens, Sarah Wollaston MP

Julian Worricker presents political debate from St Mary's Church in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, with a panel including the Shadow Attorney General Baroness Chakrabarti, the political columnist Peter Hitchens and the Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Wollaston.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m0008bld)
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.


FRI 21:00 The Listening Project (b0b1hy9q)
The Listening Project at Tara Theatre

Fi Glover hosts an evening at Tara Theatre in south London, as part of its 'I'll Say It Again' season of work by women artists to celebrate the centenary of Women's Suffrage. On the panel on stage with her at Britain's first purpose-built multicultural theatre are some of the women who make up this special season: Eileen Page (Eleanor of Aquitaine, Mother of the Pride); Dina Mousawi (Complicite Cooks, Syria Recipes from Home): Medhavi Patel (We Are the Lions Mr Manager); Jules Haworth, (Half Breed). The panellists will talk about their productions and share their responses to the Listening Project conversations curated by Fi.

Producer: Marya Burgess.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0008blg)
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


FRI 22:45 Short Works (m0008bk9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (m00088nb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0008blj)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament


FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (m0008bll)
Pauline and Stephanie - The Love Bubble

Two friends share their thoughts on the pleasures of grand parenting. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.