Jill Lepore uncovers the history of Simulmatics, the forgotten US data company that paved the way for Facebook, Amazon and Cambridge Analytica.
After a disastrous campaign in Saigon, the writing is on the wall for Simulmatics. But the theories and practices that the company were built on will transform commerce, politics and communication.
Jill Lepore is Professor of American History at Harvard University. A staff writer at The New Yorker and host of podcast The Last Archive, she is an award-winning writer of books on diverse topics, from American democracy to Wonder Woman.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
A journey through the seasons in the company of an oak tree. Beginning in winter with the sounds of melting ice and a lone robin singing its plaintive melody, we travel through the seasons, noting not only the changes in the oak tree, but the wildlife which relies on the tree for food and shelter. In spring the young leaves break free of their bud scales and the number of young caterpillars in the foliage can be so great that on a fine day their droppings or frass can sound like rain. By late spring, oaks support huge populations of insects and this in turn attracts more birds; Great Tits, Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts and Tree creepers. In early summer, the wood warblers, whose song has been likened to a small coin spinning on a marble slab return and on warm summer nights the air is filled with the sound of oak bush crickets; which sing by drumming their hind leg against a leaf. They are accompanied by bats. Autumn arrives and with it the storms. Undeterred a storm cock continues to sing from its high perch. Jays are a common sight now collecting large numbers of acorns. Wood pigeons too gorge themselves on acorns whilst squirrels chase after one another up and down the Oak branches prior to mating. As the days shorten and winter approaches, another year in the life of the oak comes to an end, accompanied by roe deer and foxes calling in the darkness of the shortening days. Producer Sarah Blunt.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Over the past decade there’s been an explosion in “Snowdrop Mania” – galanthophiles, or snowdrop fans, desperate to get their hands on the newest species of snowdrops, paying hundreds, or even upwards of a £1000 at auction for a single bulb.
Two years ago, Radio 4 producer Polly Weston heard of a man in Somerset who had discovered and named many of the most sought after varieties – Alan Street. Polly pictured following him around the countryside in search of the snowdrop which might make him his fortune. The truth turned out to be very different. Alan works for a family-owned nursery, where new varieties of snowdrop seed themselves around a little woodland – thanks in part to the huge number of species they already grow, working in collaboration with the family’s bees. Alan’s lost count of the number he’s discovered and named – “50, 70, 100 or more perhaps… I’ve more than enough.” Yet he still keeps looking. He isn’t interested in money – the auctioning of snowdrops to the highest bidder makes him uneasy – and has spawned the unfortunate side effect of snowdrop crime – people stealing snowdrops. As we record, 13,000 are dug up one night from an abbey in Norfolk. Alan is ever vigilant. Once upon a time, snowdrop bulbs were only ever swapped by galanthophiles, just for the love of it.
Through the seasons, Alan tends and protects this small landscape, and cultivates each of his newly discovered, and rare varieties. We begin to realise the meaning behind each one – many are named after people, many of whom Alan knew and have now gone. It takes years for new varieties to become established and ready to be shared. But as we follow the progress of Alan’s snowdrop landscape through 2020, we approach a snowdrop season which has never been so meaningful or welcome.
16/01/21 Farming Today This Week: EU exports, Emergency Sugar Beet Pesticides, Sea Shanties
The Scottish Government is calling on Westminster to pay compensation to food companies caught up in what it describes as a ‘catastrophic’ post-Brexit export situation. Fish and shellfish firms in particular have faced delays getting exports to the EU. Some are warning they may go out of business after consignments arrived in France rotting. Meanwhile the Scottish Fishermen's Federation has written to the Prime Minister saying some boats aren't putting to sea while others are landing their catch in Denmark to avoid the delays.
We discuss the Government's controversial decision to allow sugar beet growers to use an EU-banned neonicotinoid pesticide. Farmers used to use the seed coating to prevent the aphid-transmitted virus yellows disease from spreading, but since it was banned, yields have been severely affected. The Labour party and more than 40 wildlife and environment groups are calling on the Government to reverse it's decision to give emergency authorisation for it's use this year.
Plus it could be a sign of how much we're missing those get togethers during this lockdown, but the age-old traditional sea shanty has gone viral on the popular video app Tik Tok.
Labour peer Baroness Joan Bakewell has been a television presenter for over fifty years, most recently fronting Landscape Artist of the Year which returned to our screen this week. She joins Richard and Nikki to explain why she has taken up watercolours in lockdown.
Marc Hamer was homeless and worked on the railways before enrolling in art college. After discovering a creative outlet in gardening, Marc spent years creating and maintaining the garden of the mysterious, aristocratic Mrs Cashmere which is the subject of his memoir Seed to Dust.
Jonny Oates ran away from home to Ethiopia aged 15 to contribute to famine relief efforts but his trip didn't go as he planned . He subsequently became a teacher in Zimbabwe, parliamentary adviser in the first democratic South African Parliament and Chief of Staff to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in the coalition government.
Last June , Annie Birney and her partner Eoin Boyle swapped their lives in Dublin for a summer as caretakers of Great Blasket Island off the coast of Ireland. After beating over 24,000 applicants to the post, they spent three months looking after holiday guests on the remote island without electricity, WiFi or hot water. Annie joins us to discuss their extraordinary adventure.
Jay Rayner hosts the culinary panel show from home. He's joined by Dr Annie Gray, Tim Anderson, Anna Jones and Rob Owen Brown as they answer questions sent in by the audience.
This week, the panellists debate the perfect way to butter toast, the versatility of peanut butter and using up frozen grapes.
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world
If there is a hundred pounds or more credit on your electricity or gas account you can get it back. We tell you how to do it and explain what the situation is if the firm has gone bust.
Simon York is the man in charge of tackling fraud at Her Majesty’s Revenues & Customs. We find out how much of the furlough grants have been lost to criminals.
What happens to drivers whose car is parked on the street but can’t afford to get it taxed or MOT’d?
This week Andy's guests are Nish Kumar, Felicity Ward, Lucy Porter and Gavin Webster.
A titanic clash between Team Lock em Up and Team Lock em Down. In an attempt to distract from the globe's currently lower than average performance, this week's programme features some "future news".
Written by Andy Zaltzman with additional material from Max Davis, Alice Fraser, Simon Alcock and Celya AB.
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from Broadcasting House in London with the doctor and broadcaster Saleyha Ahsan, the Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green, the Chief Executive of UK Music Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and the Home Office and Justice Minister Chris Philp.
Rosie Millard has reported on people following their dreams and striving for success in the unpredictable world of the creative arts throughout her 30 years as an arts journalist and broadcaster. In the background, there lurks the same narrative arc: that luck and persistence will win the day. All you need to do is follow your dream, and success will be yours! But nothing's ever simple. Many people don't ever achieve the success they wanted or expected, for others it’s just a long hard slog, and then there are many whose ambitions are reframed as they go through life.
Rosie explores what constitutes success and failure, particularly in the creative industries. And who gets to make that judgement anyway? In this programme, she asks author Debbie Bayne, who is in her early sixties and still unpublished, how and why she keeps on writing.
Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor dramatised for radio by Clare McGowan.
It is 1847 and American journalist Grantley Dixon is investigating a murder on board the Star of the Sea of bankrupt landowner, husband and father Lord David Merridith. The ship is bound for New York and full of fleeing refugees escaping from Ireland and the Potato Famine that has torn the country they have left apart.
The ship is full of characters, all of whom may have a reason as to why they would want to kill Lord Merridith, but who is the actual murderer. Someone on board this ship is hungry for vengeance and and has a need to see justice executed…
Could it be Laura his wife, or their maidservant Mary or the pitiful Pius Mulvey who drags his maimed leg behind him as he stalks the deck at night….
There are many characters for Grantley to choose from.
Few novels have been written about the Irish Potato famine by the great writers but Joseph O’Connor shows us in glorious technicolor just what effect this famine had on Ireland and its people.
Grantley Dixon ... Kyle Soller
Lord David Merridith ... Johnny Flynn
Laura ... Georgina Beedle
Pius ... Rory Keenan
Mary ... Charlene McKenna
Captain ... Daniel Flynn
Leeson ... Carl Prekopp
David's father ... Stephen Critchlow
Doctor Mangan ... Niall Buggy
Nicholas Mulvey ... Kwaku Fortune
Jonathan ... Ronan Casey
Robert ... Alfie Hurley
Young Mary ... Joni Martin
Young David ... Hugo Mallon
Mary's mother ... Tallulah Bond
Tony Robinson, Noel Clarke, Rebeca Omordia, Passenger, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Sara Cox, Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson and Sara Cox are joined by Tony Robinson, Rebeca Omordia and Noel Clarke guests for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Passenger and Ayanna Witter-Johnson.
An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines
16. Oliver Stone
Covid-19 hasn’t gone away and, due to travel restrictions, neither has Louis Theroux. In the second outing of his podcast series, he tracks down more high-profile guests he’s been longing to talk to - a fascinating mix of the celebrated, the controversial and the mysterious.
In this episode, multi award-winning film director Oliver Stone talks to Louis about surviving Vietnam, using Scarface to kick his drug addiction and who he thinks has been the worst US President.
Terry Gross’s remarkable conversations have become a daily fixture for millions of Americans. Since 1975, the presenter of Fresh Air, one of National Public Radio’s most popular shows, has interviewed thousands of public figures - including musicians, Hollywood actors, Nobel Prize-winning authors and US Presidents.
In this Archive on 4, the writer Dolly Alderton turns the tables on Terry to find out how this unlikely host, who describes herself as shy, insecure and self-conscious, mastered the art of the radio interview. These interviews rarely happen face to face. Instead, they are conducted remotely, with Terry in Philadelphia and her guests in recording studios all over the world. Like a priest in a confession box, she is entrusted with their innermost thoughts and feelings.
Dolly picks out some of the most funny, poignant and revealing radio interviews of all time from the Fresh Air archive, including Terry’s unforgettable conversations with Maurice Sendak, Elton John, Lizzo and James Baldwin. Terry also reflects on some of her prickliest on-air encounters, with stars like Gene Simmons and Hillary Clinton.
Still in search of gold to rescue the people trapped in Hartley's mine, Pilgrim comes to Ouldmeadow where he helps an old friend make a final river trip.
Pilgrim ..... Paul Hilton
George ..... Karl Johnson
Baz ..... Paul Ready
Val ..... Elaine Claxton
Maeva ..... Roslyn Hill
Lucy Ash asks why we draw. Are some people simply more visual than others? And what do we reveal through our drawings?
Drawing is something we all do unselfconsciously as children before we learn to write. It is a form of expression that goes back 40,000 years and began on the walls of caves. But why do we draw? Is it to make our mark on the world, to decorate our surroundings, or is it a way of communicating with others when words fail us?
Lucy Ash talks to Stephen Wiltshire, world famous for his incredibly detailed pen and ink cityscapes; to David Hockney renowned for both his traditional draughtsmanship and his enthusiasm for new technology, and to Lizzie Ellis, who comes from a remote community in central Australia and draws with a stick, telling stories through her traditional form of Aboriginal women's art.
Helen Lewis returns with a new series of interviews with people offering radical solutions to the big problems we face, and explores how their personal experiences drive their work and thinking.
In his book Philanthropy from Aristotle to Zuckerberg, journalist Paul Vallely draws on centuries of history, as well as his own experience as a reporter on the Ethiopian famine in the 1980s and later working with Bob Geldof, to argue for a radical rethink of philanthropy.
Today's super-donors, Vallely says, are often focused on data-driven 'effective altruism'. Helen asks him why he calls for them to combine that with a rediscovery of philanthropy's traditions of reciprocity and mutual respect.
Joining Paul Gambaccini for the wide-ranging music quiz are competitors from around the UK, hoping their knowledge across all genres of music will carry them through to the series semi-finals coming up next month. The musical extracts that await them include Mozart, Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley and Wagner. And will anyone choose the specialist round on 80s Power Ballads?
Kenneth Steven makes his selection of poetry from listener requests. His choices reflect his love of the natural world and what he calls 'wildscape' - something he writes about in his own poetry. He was born in Perthshire and now lives on the west coast of Scotland.
SUNDAY 17 JANUARY 2021
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m000rcv7)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Disability: A New History (b01snjq4)
Beauty and Deformity
Peter White draws on the latest research to reveal the lives of physically disabled people in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Today, he explores ideas of beauty and deformity which had a real impact on the lives of people with disabilities.
In the 18th century, you could be transformed from beautiful to 'deformed' overnight. We hear the first-hand account of one woman who suffered this transformation - the writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a society beauty who caught smallpox when she was 26: 'How am I changed! Where's my complexion, where the bloom that promised happiness for years to come?'
Mourning loss of beauty was not just natural human vanity, because beauty was thought of as a moral quality, not just skin-deep - and ugliness was deeply shameful. The belief was that outward deformity revealed inner wickedness.
Peter explores how this idea changed under the impact of a greater scientific understanding of the world. But surprisingly, science did not encourage more tolerance - in fact, it led to a much narrower definition of what was "normal". He also discovers that disability was thought to be contagious in the 18th century, and that all women were believed to be deformed because the ideal body was male.
With historians Naomi Baker and Judith Hawley, and historical sources including manuals for parents to correct the appearance of their children as well as 18th century doctors' advertisements. Voices from the past are brought vividly to life, with actors Emily Bevan, Ewan Bailey and Gerard McDermott.
Producer: Elizabeth Burke
Academic adviser: David Turner of Swansea University
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:30 Short Works (m000r5p3)
Covert
An original short work for BBC Radio 4 by the Irish author Louise Nealon. Read by Julia Dearden.
Louise Nealon studied English literature in Trinity College Dublin, and then completed a masters in creative writing at Queen's University Belfast in 2016. She is the winner of the Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition 2017 and her debut novel 'Sowflake' will be published in May 2021. She lives on her family farm in County Kildare, where she divides her time between reading, writing and milking cows.
Reader ..... Julia Dearden
Writer ..... Louise Nealon
Producer ..... Michael Shannon
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000rcv9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000rcvc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000rcvf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m000rcvh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m000rbq9)
Holy Trinity, Ossett in West Yorkshire
Bells on Sunday comes from Holy Trinity, Ossett in West Yorkshire. The impressive Church of Holy Trinity was built in 1865 of Yorkshire stone in the early Gothic style and features a tall tower and spire rising some two hundred and twenty six feet. The central tower originally housed a peal of eight bells cast by John Taylor of Loughborough. These were recast again by Taylors as a ring of ten bells in 1934. Following various augmentations, the tower now houses sixteen bells with a tenor tuned to the note D that weighs twenty seven and a quarter hundredweight. We hear them ringing Cambridge Maximus.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m000rbpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News (m000rbnb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b06p4ln3)
Obsession
John McCarthy considers obsession - a single-minded focus on an activity or desire which can lead to great achievement, or to social and moral malfunction.
Charles Darwin recognised in himself that "passion for collecting which leads a man to be a systematic naturalist, a virtuoso, or a miser" and Nabakov explored the murky world of sexual obsession in his novel Lolita but, in his biography, drew on the moral consequences of his own boyhood obsession with butterfly collecting - the desire to pursue his hobby overriding friendship.
In this programme, there are readings from works by Ruth Padel, Helen Macdonald and AE Housman and the former ballerina Deborah Bull talks to John about whether the popular idea of the wilfully determined dancer is an accurate reflection of the world of classical ballet.
The readers are Alice May Feetham, Peter Marinker and Helen Macdonald. Deborah Bull is Assistant Principal (Culture and Engagement), Kings College London.
Producer: Natalie Steed
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m000rbnd)
Finding Opportunities in Lockdown
Caz Graham catches up with some of the farmers she's met in the past, and learns about how they've been finding new ways of working and new routes to reach their customers during the last difficult nine months. She finds that, for some, lockdown has sparked new ideas and brought new opportunities which have acted as a catalyst for change and growth.
Raw milk cheesemaker Martin Gott in south Cumbria explains how juggling milk supply and lockdowns led to making entirely new cheeses from his farm’s sheep and goats’ milk. He’s also been working with cheesemongers and chefs to supply the many cheese-lovers who’ve turned to online purchases to get their fromage fix, whether from monthly cheese subscription boxes or as part of fine dining experiences delivered direct to the door.
Yorkshire strawberry-grower Annabel Makin-Jones realised that lockdown and concerns about food security had led to shoppers embracing local and home-grown food. She saw a gap in the market and expanded her brand into forced rhubarb. It’s grown in the Yorkshire 'rhubarb triangle' - just six miles from her strawberry farm near Leeds.
Produced and presented by Caz Graham.
SUN 06:57 Weather (m000rbng)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m000rbnj)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m000rbnl)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m000rbnn)
Autistica
Broadcaster Ken Bruce makes the BBC Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Autistica.
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 ‘Autistica’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Autistica’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 1107350
SUN 07:57 Weather (m000rbnq)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m000rbns)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m000rbnv)
I will sing with the Spirit
From All Saints Leighton Buzzard with Alexander, BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year 2020. Last July ten young people competed for the coveted title BBC Radio 2 and Songs of Praise Young Chorister of the Year. Today Sunday Worship visits the parish church where Alexander's family worships. A former cathedral chorister, you can hear Alexander's magical voice as soloist and with his parish choir - where he first started singing. Preacher: The Revd Cate Irvine; Director of Music: Paul Dickens; Producer: Ruth Thomson.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m000r5pm)
Whose Free Speech?
John Gray argues that the social media bans on Donald Trump pose many risks.
"The country is already divided between political tribes that hardly speak to one another," he writes. "More than any other advanced country, American has developed a dangerously binary type of public life. "
He fears curbing free speech - in the way the tech giants have done with Donald Trump - risks threatening America's very stability.
Producer: Adele Armstrong
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qkbj)
Melodious Warbler
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Brett Westwood presents the melodious warbler. A lemon-yellow warbler singing on a sunny Spanish hillside will be the well-named Melodious Warbler. They are slightly smaller than blackcaps, moss-green above and pale yellow below. You may occasionally see them in the UK in late summer or autumn. The song is melodious and the bird often includes nasal chattering phrases that sound like house sparrows.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m000rbnx)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m000rbnz)
Writers, Adrian Flynn and Katie Hims
Director, Gwenda Hughes
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Helen Archer ….. Louiza Patikas
Josh Archer ….. Angus Imrie
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Harrison Burns ….. James Cartwright
Neil Carter ….. Brian Hewlett
Rex Fairbrother ….. Nick Barber
Toby Fairbrother ….. Rhys Bevan
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd ….. John Rowe
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler
Philip Moss ….. Andy Hockley
Fallon Rogers ….. Joanna Van Kampen
SUN 10:54 Tweet of the Day (m000rbp1)
Tweet Take 5: Bittern
Having become extinct as a breeding bird in Britain once before during the late Victorian era, the bittern, a member of the heron family, slowly began to recolonise wetlands in the 20th Century. By the late 1990's however the bittern population was once again in decline and reduced to just 11 males. Once more the bird was facing its second extinction in the British Isles. Today as habitats are improved and wetlands created its fortunes are much improved with well over 100 males now booming their calls across wetlands in spring. Which delights nature writer Stephen Moss, Matthew Clapper from the RSPB and presenter Kate Humble in this extended version of Tweet of the Day.
Producer : Andrew Dawes for BBC Audio in Bristol.
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs (m000rbp3)
Samantha Power
Samantha Power was the USA's youngest ever ambassador to the UN, during President Barack Obama’s second term, and is a writer and academic. She has just been invited to join president-elect Joe Biden's administration.
Samantha was born in London but grew up in Ireland. At the age of nine, she moved to the US with her mother and younger brother following the breakdown of her parents’ marriage.
Her first ambition was to be a sports broadcaster, but watching live footage of events in Tiananmen Square in 1989 led her to change course and she became a war correspondent instead, reporting on the conflict in Bosnia in the early 1990s. After returning to the US, she wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book in which she examined what she saw as America’s repeated reluctance to confront genocide in the 20th century.
In 2013 she was appointed ambassador to the UN. She stepped down in 2017 and became professor of global leadership, public policy and human rights at Harvard. Shortly after this edition of Desert Island Discs was recorded, she accepted the role of Administrator of the US Agency for International Development.
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley
SUN 11:45 Charisma: Pinning Down the Butterfly (b06810q1)
The New Corinthians
Francine Stock's final attempt to pin down the alluring yet elusive quality of charisma.
10.The New Corinthians
Francine Stock examines the paradox at the heart of charisma today: that we recognise its intangibility and often debunk it, but continue to crave it and even believe we can buy it.
Her starting point is the banking crisis of 2008. She talks with Elesa Zhendorfer about her new book on the role of charismatic leadership in the volatile world of banking; and hears from business journalist and broadcaster Peter Day, who passionately denounces the narcissistic role of so-called charismatic leaders in business and finance today.
Francine then returns to the beginnings of her search, hearing about today's version of charismatic Christianity in today's largely secular society, and its attempts to use charisma for the common good, in accordance with St Paul's original definition.
Francine Stock concludes by wondering whether we can turn this gift of grace to shared advantage: "After all," she states, "We get the charismatics we deserve."
Producer : Beaty Rubens.
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m000rbp5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:04 The Unbelievable Truth (m000r36s)
Series 25
Episode 1
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Frankie Boyle, Sara Pascoe, Miles Jupp, and Holly Walsh are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as London, divorce, names and bats.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m000rbp7)
What to Eat to Save the Planet?
As scientific evidence grows showing an urgent need for us to reduce the environmental impact of food we eat, Sheila Dillon looks for practical ways we can change our diets. From increasing UK investment in plant protein, to producing meat differently; from embracing veganism to counting carbon.
She speaks to chef Tom Hunt, author of 'Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet'; farmer Ed Dickson of 'Wild By Nature'; British pulse entrpreneur Nick Saltmarsh of 'Hodmedod'; food writer Hattie Ellis and Edwin Bark, CEO of plant based meat manufacturer 'Plant & Bean'.
Presented by Sheila Dillon.
Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.
SUN 12:57 Weather (m000rbp9)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m000rbpc)
Global news and analysis, presented by Mark Mardell.
SUN 13:30 A Plague On All Our Houses (m000q9bp)
On the registry of births and deaths in Stratford-upon-Avon from 1564, an entry appears - three months after Shakepeare's birth - of the death of a man. Next to it, written in Latin, "hic incepit pestis" - 'here begins the plague'.
Throughout this year of living with the Covid pandemic and with theatres closed, Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, comes to a new understanding of Shakespeare and how the various outbreaks of the plague during his lifetime must have affected his writing more than perhaps previously thought. He charts the progression of Shakespeare's writing from comedy to tragedy, thinking about the impact of the plague and in particular how it may have influenced Shakespeare to change the ending of one play in particular - King Lear.
With contributions from Professor James Shapiro Professor Emma Smith Roz Sklar and Amy Hurst of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Professor Miri Rubin.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000r5p1)
GQT at Home: Witch-hazel and Walnut Trees
Kathy Clugston hosts the horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts. Anne Swithinbank, Bob Flowerdew and James Wong answer questions concerning gardening rituals, peculiarly flowering lilacs, and sprucing up a rental garden.
Away from the questions, Jacquie Felix-Mitchell gives her top tips for moving to a new house and garden, and Kirsty Wilson celebrates witch-hazel's brightening power in these cold winter months.
Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Rosie Merotra
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Disability: A New History (b01snxyf)
Finding a Voice
Peter White draws on the latest research to reveal the lives of physically disabled people in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Today - Finding a Voice: Peter discovers William Hay, an 18th-century MP born with spinal curvature who has left us a remarkably revealing account of his life.
Peter comments, 'This series has been full of surprises for me - surprises even after making programmes about disability for 30 years. But perhaps this discovery has been for me the most startling. It's a book which very few people know about, and even fewer have read - a personal exploration of what it's like to be disabled in the 18th century. It's full of insights we like to think of as modern.'
In his book 'On Deformity', William Hay describes his life as a disabled MP, in Parliament and on the streets. He reveals the daily humiliation of being a man of restricted growth and his fear of rowdy crowds. But he also proudly challenges the conventional thinking of the time that his disability makes him ill. He gives advice to other men in his situation about which careers they should follow. And he excels at self-deprecating humour - sometimes, he confesses, he feels like 'a Worm'.
Hay's essay is seen by historians as ground-breaking - because in William Hay, disability had for the first time found a voice. But Hay is a challenging role model for modern disability activists.
With historians David Turner, Naomi Baker, Tim Hitchcock and Chris Mounsey and readings by Jonathan Keeble.
Producer: Elizabeth Burke
Academic adviser: David Turner of Swansea University
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 15:00 Drama (m000rbpg)
Heart of Darkness
By Joseph Conrad
Adapted by Anita Sullivan
A new adaptation of Conrad’s classic novel, reimagining it for the 21st Century.
Maya is an environmental scientist, sent into the heart of the Congo Rainforest after contact is lost with a research team. But what was the nature of their research? And what has become of their charismatic team leader – Kurtz.
Conrad's classic, reimagined as a 21st Century, immersive audio thriller. Award-winning radio dramatist, Anita Sullivan, reshapes the story for a world of deforestation and climate catastrophe.
Maya…. Georgia Henshaw
Leon…. Peter Bankole
Blaise…. Jude Akuwudike
Daisy…. Ashleigh Haddad
Kurtz…. Stephen Hogan
The Commissioner…. Steve Toussaint
Script Consultant…. Ange Kasongo
Lingala Consultant…. Tracey Nyemba
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m000rbpj)
Raven Leilani
Luster by Raven Leilani tells the story of Edie, a drifting 20-something woman in New York who begins an affair with a married man, and finds herself moving into his marital home. It's a darkly comic novel about the shifting tensions between race, sex, money and identity, constantly questioning the balance of power. Raven Leilani talks to Elizabeth Day about her debut.
Also on the programme, the life and work of twentieth century Danish writer Tove Ditlevsen. Her tumultuous biography - she struggled with drug addiction and mental health problems, and was married four times - has often overshadowed her work but now she is enjoying a renaissance and being celebrated for her writing. Olga Ravn and Jessica Harrison explore her literary strengths.
And Canadian writer Eric Dupont sends us a postcard from Montreal.
SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (m000rbpl)
Eve Ewing
Chicago poet, sociology professor and comic writer Eve Ewing chooses poems from Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Ada Limon, Danez Smith and others. Producer Sally Heaven
SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m000r3pg)
Undue Influence
In the age of social media and the selfie, the perfect look is everything.
That's what influencers tell their followers. Some are also happy to provide a 'how-to guide' to obtaining the perfect body. What they don't mention though, is that they are cashing in, being paid by clinics to promote procedures, some of which are risky and dangerous.
It’s a story that begins on social media. Young women posting online about their experiences of plastic surgery. The online videos, posted to their followers, show their surgeon smile and wave for the camera.
But a big part of their stories is missing. They’re not normal patients. Because these influencers have access to a market of thousands of other young women, they get their surgery for free in exchange for the promotions. Offline the situation is less than picture perfect. File on 4 hears from the women whose lives were changed by the pursuit of the perfect body.
Producer: Kate West
Reporter: Joice Etutu
Editor: Gail Champion
SUN 17:40 Profile (m000rbpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000rbpq)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 17:57 Weather (m000rbps)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000rbpv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m000rbpx)
Colin Murray
Presenter: Colin Murray
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production support: Elodie Chatelain
Studio Manager: Sue Stonestreet
Contact potw@bbc.co.uk
The full programmes of all of the selections featured can be accessed in the Related Links section on the Pick of the week homepage.
SUN 19:00 Stillicide (m0007wr5)
Episode 3: Butterflies
Hattie Morahan 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 being towed to a huge ice dock outside the capital city - a huge megalopolis that is draining the country of its resources.
Today: transported by the abundance of nature in in one of the few parks left in the city, a nurse takes a thrilling decision...
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Writer: Cynan Jones
Producer: Justine Willett
Music: Original music by Kirsten Morrison
SUN 19:15 Stand-Up Specials (m000rbpz)
Imran Yusuf: Relabelled
We all have labels. Some we're given and some we actively choose. In his first show for Radio 4 Imran Yusuf ponders one label he was born with - man.
How do you learn to be a man and what does being a 'man' even mean? In this autobiographical audience show, Imran looks at where he got his role models from as a boy, what he thought being a man was all about and how that view changed radically as he became an adult. Jackie Chan might have been his inspiration when he was young but it was a woman who sparked self-awareness and change.
This is a very funny and honest account of his life and changing attitudes to manliness.
Imran earned a Best Newcomer nomination in the Fosters Awards for his first Edinburgh show in 2010.
Written and presented by Imran Yusuf
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith
A Yada-Yada Audio production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 The Last Resort (m000rbq1)
Richard
A caravan-park on the Northern Irish coast is beset by a series of impossible thefts, forcing its disparate group of residents to come together to find their missing belongings. However, in this uncanny place where static caravans teeter on an eroding a cliff-edge overlooking the ocean, each holidaymaker soon finds themselves similarly wavering between certainty and doubt; one world and the next; the past and the present; and even reality and fantasy.
Author
Jan Carson is a writer and community arts facilitator based in Belfast. Her most recent novel ‘The Fire Starters’ was awarded the EU Prize for Literature 2019 and the author was acclaimed as “one of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation” by the Sunday Times. She has also written ‘Wings’ for BBC Three, ‘UnRaveling’ for BBC Radio 3, several short stories for BBC Radio 4’s ‘Short Works’ series and was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2020.
Reader: Christopher Grant
Writer: Jan Carson
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
SUN 20:00 More or Less (m000r4t9)
How effective is one dose of the vaccine?
A lot has changed since More or Less was last on air. We give you a statistical picture of the second wave: how bad is it, and is there hope?
The new vaccine regime is to delay the booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine for up to 3 months. But is the first dose 52% or 90% effective? A new virus variant is meant to be 70% more transmissible, what does that mean? Plus, one of our youngest loyal listeners has a question about her classmates names.
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m000r5p5)
Michael Apted, Kay Ullrich, Katharine Whitehorn, Reginald Foster
Julian Worricker on the film-maker Michael Apted, famous for his work on the 7UP documentary series, but who also directed nearly 30 feature films.
Kay Ullrich, an MSP after the first elections to the Scottish parliament, who Nicola Sturgeon described as one of the most influential figures in her life.
Katharine Whitehorn, whose column in the Observer revolutionised the journalism that women wrote....and read.
And the Vatican Latinist, Reginald Foster, who served four Popes, and who would never acknowledge that the language he was expert in was anything other than alive.
Producer: Neil George
Interviewed guest: Claire Lewis
Interviewed guest: Shelley Joffre
Interviewed guest: Nicola Sturgeon
Interviewed guest: Julie Welch
Interviewed guest: David Willey
Archive from: Today Programme, Radio 4 TX 8.
1.2021; On Top of A Column, Radio 4 TX 14.
7.1971; A Point of View, Radio 4 TX 12.
9.2008; Reginald Foster, High Priest of Latin, Radio 4 TX 16.
4.1992; Today Programme, Radio 4 TX
27.12.2008; A World in Your Ear, Radio 4 TX
19.12.2003
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m000rbq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m000rbnn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 The Corrections (m000p0st)
Trojan Horse: The anonymous letter
In 2014 an anonymous letter was sent to journalists detailing a 5 step plan to Islamise schools in Birmingham. The so-called Trojan Horse Affair sparked hundreds of articles and several investigations. But the letter was not all it seemed. The Corrections asks, what was going on behind the headlines?
Presenter Jo Fidgen speaks to key players, reporters and media watchers about how the coverage measured up to the reality. How did a local education story become a national security issue? And what dilemmas do journalists face when in receipt of an anonymous tip-off?
In a 3-part series, Jo explores how two incompatible narratives developed; how the controversial word ‘extremism’ entered the fray; and what the affair revealed about Britishness. Narrative consultant John Yorke is on hand to explain how storytelling techniques possibly influenced the direction the Trojan Horse story took, and why – in the end – we hear only the version that supports our tribe.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Editor: Emma Rippon
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m000rbq5)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m000r4w5)
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
With Antonia Quirke
Brothers Bill and Turner Ross discuss their film Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, set in the last night of a bar on the outskirts of Los Angeles, that resides somewhere between fiction and documentary
Neil Brand reveals how a little known movie called Chappaqua changed the course of contemporary classical music
Kenneth More was one of the most popular actors in Britain in the 1950's, but he's never been the subject of a biography. So, Nick Pourgourides decided to do something about it. The result, More, Please has just been published.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b06p4ln3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 18 JANUARY 2021
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m000rbq7)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Word of Mouth (m000r3nx)
How to Disagree
Michael Rosen and philosopher Darren Chetty explore ways of disagreeing that could help to unite us, and provide a more productive way of communicating in an increasingly divided society.
Producer Beth O'Dea
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m000rbq9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000rbqc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000rbqf)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000rbqh)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m000rbqk)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000rbqm)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m000rbqp)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
MON 05:56 Weather (m000rbqr)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03thvvc)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
John Aitchison presents the lesser spotted woodpecker. Lesser spotted woodpeckers are the smallest of our three woodpeckers and about the size of a house sparrow. They have horizontal white stripes across their backs, hence their old name of 'barred woodpecker'. The lesser spotted woodpecker is one of our most elusive birds. For most of the year it's relatively silent but in late February and March, males begin to stake out their territories in old woods and orchards by calling loudly and drumming softly.
MON 06:00 Today (m000rdc5)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m000rd1w)
Francis Bacon revealed
Francis Bacon is one of Britain’s greatest twentieth century artists – a painter who captured and exposed the darker, stranger sides of life. He is the subject of a new biography, Revelations, by Annalyn Swan and Mark Stevens. Swan tells Andrew Marr how Bacon often fashioned his own autobiography, revelling in story-telling while immersed in the Soho nightlife.
Francis Bacon never hid his homosexuality, even at a time when it was illegal in Britain. The celebrated script writer Russell T Davies is well-known for his depiction of the gay scene in Manchester with his 1990s series, Queer as Folk. He now turns his attention to what happened in the decades of the HIV/ AIDs crisis in the Channel 4 series, It’s A Sin.
The composer Mark-Anthony Turnage took inspiration from a Francis Bacon’s triptych in his work Three Screaming Popes, combining expressionist complexity with English lyricism. 2020 was planned as a celebratory year for Turnage’s 60th birthday with several premieres scheduled. All were cancelled due to Covid-19. The composer discusses these works and what is inspiring him in the new year.
Producer: Katy Hickman
MON 09:45 English Pastoral by James Rebanks (m000rd25)
Episode 1
Lake District farmer James Rebanks, author of the hugely popular The Shepherd’s Life, considers the environment, legacy and how to live a good life on the land.
Encouraged by his grandfather, young James takes his first tentative steps in farming.
Read by Bryan Dick
Abriged by Siân Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000rdc8)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
MON 10:45 Lamentation (m000rd1r)
Episode 1
1/10. Drama based on the best-selling novel by C.J. Sansom. In 1546, the court of Henry VIII is on the edge of anarchy as Catholic and Protestant factions vie for power. While heretics are burned at the stake, the Queen, Catherine Parr, rashly decides to write a confessional book about her religious beliefs. When the manuscript is stolen its contents could endanger her life. In desperation, she enlists the help of her old friend, the lawyer Matthew Shardlake.
Dramatised by Colin MacDonald.
Shardlake…………………Justin Salinger
Barak………………………..Bryan Dick
Queen Catherine……..Jessica Hardwick
Lord Parr………………….Robbie Jack
Henry VIII………….……. Michael Mackenzie
Richard Rich……………..Simon Donaldson
William Paget……………Gavin Mitchell
Charles Stice……………..Matthew Barker
William Cecil……………..James Rottger
Myldmore…………………Kenny Blyth
Okedene……………………Mark McDonnell
Cranmer………………….. Crawford Logan
Mary Odell………………….Francesca Dymond
Barwic…………………………Mark Jeary
Elias…………………………..Caleb Hughes
Garet………………………….Harri Pitches
Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland
MON 11:00 The Power of... (m000rdcb)
The Power of Night
Lucy Cooke meets some of the animal kingdom’s nocturnal inhabitants to understand why it pays to stir once the sun goes down.
She examines some of the extraordinary nocturnal adaptations from the largest group of mammals, the bats, to the mysterious long fingured lemur, the Aye Aye, to hear why the dark has proved evolutionarily advantageous. In an increasingly crowded planet, could future survival for many diurnal animals depend on a nightlife?
Producer Adrian Washbourne
MON 11:30 How to Vaccinate the World (m000rdcd)
Roll On The Roll Out
The vaccines are finally here, and countries around the world are running a race against time to get them into our arms as fast as possible. At the moment, Israel is leading the way, and the UK is currently forth in the world for vaccine doses administered. But, if the aim in Britain is to get 15 million people their first jab by mid February, we’re going to have to get more vaccines quickly. And that’s no mean feat because making vaccines is a complicated business, and delivering them isn’t easy either, even when you have the storks of Yeovil on your side. Tim Harford explains why on this edition of How To Vaccinate The World.
Producers: Sandra Kanthal and Josephine Casserly
MON 12:00 News Summary (m000rdcg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000rs6h)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 12:06 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rd0t)
Episode 6
Twenty-six year-old Sybil is happy enough with her job cataloguing fossils and archaeological finds in an institute of prehistoric studies, and contentedly in love with her boyfriend Simon, whose artisanal spelt pasta makes up for his inexplicable love of camping and the outdoors. But her world is turned upside down when she has an accident and an unwelcome encounter with her glamorous, assertive former university tutor at Streatham Ice Rink. Things become much worse when she learns that Helen is now Chair of the Trustees at the Institute; before long Sybil can’t ignore the growing evidence of just how far Helen is prepared to go to fulfil her career ambitions. As Sybil tries to find solace for her broken heart, revenge becomes the main thing on her mind.
6/10:
Sybil is regretting signing up for the poetry class, and worrying that she’s losing touch with reality.
The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line is Ruth Thomas’s third novel. She’s published three short story collections and her prizes include the John Llewellyn Rhys Award, the Saltire First Book Award and the VS Pritchett Prize.
Ell Potter is an actor, writer, comedian and and award-winning narrator who was named an Audible ‘breakout star’ whilst still at Drama School. She co-created the hit stage shows ‘Hotter’ and ‘Fitter’, and this year co-wrote and starred in the podcast drama ‘Lem N Ginge’.
Reader: Ell Potter
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
MON 12:20 You and Yours (m000rd0w)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m000rd0y)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m000rd10)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
MON 13:45 Bodies (m000rd12)
Episode 1: Cutting and Crisis - Rediscovering the human body
The human body is the battleground where our most fundamental ideas about the way the world is come into sharp focus.
When we think and talk about the body, we are suddenly very aware of that pattern of thinking which frames concepts in opposition, divides the world up between dark and light, material and immaterial, technology and humanity, invisible and visible, mind and body, body and soul.
In this new ten part series, academic and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts traces how human knowledge of anatomy has grown and changed over time, and how this changing understanding has in turn affected our understanding of who we are.
Episode 1: Cutting and Crisis - Rediscovering the human body
Professor Alice Roberts is an anatomist. She cuts up bodies to reveal another world of astonishing detail beneath the skin. In this episode, Alice introduces her time-travelling tour of anatomical knowledge, from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age. She begins by asking how we see our bodies and examines one idea that has forever dogged our concept of the body - the soul and the need for it to somehow be meshed into our picture of the body.
Presenter: Professor Alice Roberts
Actor: Jonathan Kydd
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:00 Drama (m000rd14)
Because I’m a Mother
Jessica Hynes and Sinead Matthews star in an original drama by Caroline Bird, about dual motherhood, cannibalising life to make art, and making babies when you and your partner are both women.
Marcie, an artist, takes a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a show in New York about motherhood, but must leave her baby son behind in the UK for ten weeks to do so. While Marcie builds the giant installation which represents the culmination of 20 years' work, her wife Dawn is back home with their little boy - child-proofing the cupboards and trying to scrape pureed carrot out of the inside of the radiator. Over a series of video calls, the couple’s relationship comes under strain, and in New York, Marcie must navigate the world of high end galleries and media calls, answering impossible questions about the nature of motherhood and art.
Caroline Bird is the author of six books of poetry, the most recent of which – The Air Year – won the Forward Prize for Best Collection in 2020. Her fifth collection, In These Days of Prohibition, was shortlisted for the 2017 TS Eliot Prize and The Ted Hughes Award. Her theatre credits include: The Trojan Women (Gate Theatre, 2012,) The Trial of Dennis the Menace (Purcell Room, 2012,) Chamber Piece (Lyric Hammersmith, 2013,) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Northern Stage, 2015,) The Iphigenia Quartet (Gate Theatre, 2016.) She was shortlisted for Most Promising New Playwright at the Off-West-End Awards, and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Her new play, Red Ellen, about the life of Ellen Wilkinson, was recently featured in The Guardian’s ‘Future Plays’ series.
Marcie - Jessica Hynes
Dawn - Sinead Matthews
Evalyn - Tracy Wiles
Lucy - Haley McGee
Podcaster - Kerry Shale
With other roles voiced by members of the cast.
Written by Caroline Bird
Studio Production by Michael Harrison
Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio in Bristol
MON 14:45 The Why Factor (b07jys1w)
Series 3
Age of Consent
Mike William investigates the age of consent. It used to be 12 in England, it's currently 14 in Italy - less for so-called "Romeo and Juliet" couples who have only three years' age difference. The Why Factor explores the real reasons we draw a line on sexual relationships.
Presenter: Mike Williams
Producer: Ben Carter
Editor: Andrew Smith
The Why Factor broadcasts weekly on the BBC World Service.
MON 15:00 Counterpoint (m000rd16)
Series 34
Heat 7
(7/13)
Paul Gambaccini's questions in this heat of the musical quiz range from Bernstein to Saturday Night Fever and from Andre Previn to Roxy Music. Recorded under lockdown conditions with all contestants joining in from home, the show nevertheless takes them well beyond their comfort zones.
Playing this week are
Helen Barker, a social worker from Manchester
Ian Clark, a retired music librarian from Leytonstone in East London
Nicki Cockburn, a mature student from Llandudno
The winner will take another of the places in the semi-finals which begin later this month.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m000rbp7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Dante 2021 (m000rd19)
Episode 2
Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy is commonly considered the greatest single work of all European literature, but this three-part epic poem isn't only for those with a taste for medieval Italy.
Seven hundred years after Dante's death in 1321, Katya Adler, the BBC's Europe Editor and lover of all things Italian, sets out to discover why the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso are such key works for the 21st Century.
With Michael Sheen as Dante.
Three guides conduct Katya through their region of the afterlife - just as Virgil, and Dante’s great lost love Beatrice, do in the original - taking her to hell and back again.
Each guide proposes seven reasons why Dante (a great lover of numerology as well as a great poet) is such a powerful contemporary read - adding up to 21 reasons in the 21st year of the 21st century.
2. Professor Matthew Treherne from the Centre for Dante Studies at the University of Leeds is Katya's guide through the second region of the afterlife - Purgatory. The author of a forthcoming book on "Dante for the Twenty-First Centry : Ecology, Finance and Time", Matthew explains to Katya why the roots of the 2008 financial crisis go right back to Dante's Florence, and he draws her attention to lessons we might learn in the era of Covid and political polaristaion from Dante's depiction of the souls in Purgatory as they struggle to listen, change and make themselves anew.
Specially commissioned music by Emily Levy, sung by Michael Solomon Williams, Jon Stainsby and Emily Levy.
Further contributions from Joseph Luzzi, Professor of Comparative Literature and Faculty Member in Italian Studies at Bard College, USA, and author of five books including My Two Italies, and the deeply moving In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love
Italian readings by Alessio Baldini
Producer: Beaty Rubens
MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m000rd1c)
Under our Night Sky
Under The Night Sky
Brian Cox and Robin Ince discover the importance of the night sky to human history and how our relationship with the stars has changed over the centuries. They are joined by star-gazer Jon Culshaw, astronaut Tim Peake, astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith and astronomy writer Stuart Clark as they chart the changing nature of our relationship with the sky above us. They discuss ancient cave paintings depicting Orion's belt, the astronomical revolution that came with our understanding of how planets orbit the Sun, and how astronauts like Tim who have "touched the sky" have seen the stars in a totally unique way. Has our ever expanding knowledge about the stars twinkling above us removed some of the magic, or have modern missions and the incredible images of space we now see brought us closer, quite literally, to the sky above us?
Producer: Alexandra Feachem
MON 17:00 PM (m000rd1f)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000rd1k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m000rd1m)
Series 25
Episode 2
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Sindhu Vee, Lloyd Langford, Zoe Lyons, and Henning Wehn are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as vegetarians, bananas, squid, and Eurovision.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m000rcp9)
Kirsty lashes out, and Brookfield fear someone is out to get them.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m000rd1p)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
MON 19:45 Lamentation (m000rd1r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 How the Irish Shaped Britain (m000rd1t)
McAlpine's Fusiliers
In the second part of “How the Irish Shaped Britain,” Fergal Keane continues his exploration of the profound influence the Irish have had on Britain.
In this episode we begin with the years of the Great Famine. Millions leave Ireland, many of them heading for the port cities of Britain, where they are far from welcome. But soon they become an integral part of the workforce in the factories and shipyards of Scotland and England. Then, in the second half of the 19th century, Irish Fenians, partly in revenge for the famine, launch the first terrorist bombing campaign to hit these shores.
In parallel with that, Irish MPs flex their muscles in Westminster; while on the cultural stage Irish playwrights and writers are bringing the 'English language back to the English'. It’s a pattern that stretches through the decades, to the reconstruction of Britain’s bombed out cities after World War Two and the building of a more modern Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, with the successors of the Irish navvies digging their way underground. Irish descendants also begin to shape the British musical scene.
It’s a tale of rejection and assimilation, of hatred and tolerance, of separateness and of mixing. In the story of how the Irish shaped Britain, as Fergal points out, there are all kinds of narratives and counter-narratives being told at the same time.
Produced by John Murphy and Adele Armstrong.
Mixed by Eloise Whitmore.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m000r4v1)
Shipwreck
The migrant shipwreck that rose again… In April, 2015 more than a thousand refugees and migrants drowned when the old fishing boat they were travelling on sank. It was the worst shipwreck in the Mediterranean since World War Two.
But the people who died are not forgotten. Not by their families and friends - and not by a professor of forensic pathology at the University of Milan.
“There’s a body that needs to be identified, you identify it. This is the first commandment of forensic medicine,” says Dr Cristina Cattaneo.
Crossing Continents tells the story of the raising of the fishing boat from the Mediterranean's seabed, and Dr Cattaneo's efforts to begin to identify the people who lost their lives on that moonless night on the edge of Europe.
Producer and presenter: Linda Pressly
Editor: Bridget Harney
MON 21:00 The Power of Three (m000q3hc)
Episode 2
Cole Moreton presents a deeply personal account of what it’s like to have and to be triplets, as his children Ruby, Josh and Grace turn 18 and prepare to leave home.
Cole and his wife Rachel tell the story of how they struggled to bring up the triplets, as well as a toddler, which left them at breaking point. We hear from experts and the experiences of other parents of triplets.
The series also examines how triplets can often think and feel differently to other children, facing challenges as they grow; school years can especially can be hard – retaining identity, and dealing with teachers and friends. At the end of this episode, life-changing A-Level results loom for Ruby, Josh and Grace.
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4
MON 21:30 Start the Week (m000rd1w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m000rd1y)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
MON 22:45 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rd0t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
MON 23:00 Loose Ends (m000rcv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000rd21)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m000rd23)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 00:30 English Pastoral by James Rebanks (m000rd25)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000rd27)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000rd2c)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000rd2h)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m000rd2m)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000rd2r)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m000rd2w)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkylk)
King Eider
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Arctic specialist the king eider duck. Relatives of the larger common eider found around the British coast, king eiders breed around the Arctic and sub-Arctic coasts of the northern hemisphere. As true marine ducks they can dive to depths of 25 metres on occasion, to feed on molluscs and marine crustaceans. The drake King Eider has colourful markings; having a black and white body with a reddish bill, surmounted by an orange-yellow shield. His cheeks are pale mint-green and his crown and nape are lavender-grey. He uses his bill pattern and head colours in a highly ritualised display to woo his mate, fluffing up his chest and issuing an amorous coo-ing call.
TUE 06:00 Today (m000rcng)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m000rcnl)
Cath Noakes on engineering Covid-safe buildings
Producer: Anna Buckley
TUE 09:30 One to One (m000rcnn)
The Dream of Success: Rosie Millard with opera singer Patrick Egersborg
What constitutes success and failure, particularly in the creative industries? And who gets to make that judgement anyway? Rosie Millard has reported on people following their dreams and striving for success in the unpredictable world of the creative arts throughout her 30 years as an arts journalist and broadcaster. She says in many cases there is the same narrative arc, that luck and persistence will win the day. All you need to do is follow your dream, and success will be yours. But this is just a fairy tale, surely! So what does success and failure really mean in the artistic world? Many people don't ever achieve the success they wanted or expected, for others it’s just a long hard slog, and then there are many whose ambitions are reframed as they go through life.
In this programme Rosie talks to Norwegian opera singer Patrick Egersborg, who has written a blog about the beginning of the end of his dream.
Produced by Jo Dwyer for BBC Audio in Bristol
TUE 09:45 English Pastoral by James Rebanks (m000rcpk)
Episode 2
James Rebanks, author of the hugely popular 'The Shepherd’s Life', considers the environment, legacy and how to live a good life on the land.
During a childhood shaped by the traditions and rhythms of the farming year, James becomes aware of the huge pressure bearing down on his father.
Read by Bryan Dick
Abriged by Siân Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000rcns)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 10:45 Lamentation (m000rcnv)
Episode 2
2/10. Drama based on the best-selling novel by C.J. Sansom. The Queen’s stolen manuscript falls into the hands of a printer known for his radical religious beliefs - but when he is murdered the book is taken by his assailants.
Dramatised by Colin MacDonald.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland
TUE 11:00 Science Stories (b083pdvb)
Series 4
The Day The Earth Stopped Standing Still
Prior to 1543 it was generally believed that the earth lay static in the centre of the universe, while the Sun, moon, planets and stars revolved around it in various complex paths, some even looping back and forth, as described by the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy over a millennium before. This Ptolemaic system sat comfortably reconciled with philosophy and biblical scripture, not to mention immediate experience and observations.
In the 16th century astronomy and astrology were closely intertwined, as the art of predicting where the small dots of light on the night sky would appear had consequences if you were the sort of person who based your actions on horoscopes. But astronomers didn't have the right to start telling philosophers and theologians how the universe was actually constructed - what its mechanisms were - they merely observed the moving dots of light and used mathematics to predict where they would be the next night, week or month. This was an essential function for the Catholic church too - as the all-important date of Easter is based around a complicated lunar pattern.
But also at that time in northern Europe, Martin Luther and others had begun a protestant revolution, fundamentally questioning the authority of the Pope and Vatican.
It was an auspicious time for a fairly middle ranking Catholic cleric, Nicolaus Copernicus, working in a remote corner of northern Poland to drop a note around telling other astronomers that he'd worked out a new system that made for better astronomical calculations by making the moon travel round a spinning earth, and the earth and all the planets travel around the Sun.
If that were the true shape of the universe, the bible could no longer be literally true.
It took 30 years, but eventually a keen young Austrian mathematician convinced him to publish his book.
So a German radical protestant published a book by a mild-mannered Polish Catholic cleric, a book that allegedly simplified the cosmos, rightfully placing the Sun at the centre of our local universe, kicking off the scientific revolution and leading to the European enlightenment.
But as Phil Ball explains, the real story of 'De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium' - 'On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres' - is not quite as straight forward as all that.
TUE 11:30 Not Enough Pride for Charley Pride (m0009b00)
With millions of records sold around the world, prestigious awards and a cultural and racial legacy, why don't we all know more about Charley Pride?
In 1925, a Nashville-based radio show, WSM's Barn Dance, was launched. Later known as the Grand Ole Opry, one of its first stars was "Harmonica Wizard" DeFord Bailey - an African-American and the first black musician to perform on the Opry. He was one of the earliest African-American stars of country music, but the voice that dominated the next generation belonged to Charley Pride.
He was born to sharecroppers in Sledge, Mississippi in 1934 and the Opry was a feature in the cabin where he grew up. Pride would impersonate the jingles and mimic the acts. His voice was being trained for future success. Not that Pride knew this - he wanted to break out of poverty by playing baseball.
Despite moderate success, injury forced Charley out of baseball and into music. His back-up plan became his career when he followed the recommendation of Country singer-songwriter Red Sovine to visit a Nashville studio for an audition. He was signed on the spot.
His new manager and label were aware that, in order for his voice to make it to Country radio, they couldn't reveal that Charley was black. So they released his debut single without a picture of him on the cover.
Following his debut single in 1966, Pride went on to become the most successful artist on the RCA record label in the 1970s. In total, he has lent his revered baritone to 56 albums and gained 29 US Number One singles. He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1993, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2017.
Now well into his 80s, Charley Pride continues to tour worldwide. We hear about the life and career in his own words.
Presented by Jacqueline Springer
Produced by Tom Woolfenden
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m000rcpp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000rs6k)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 12:06 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rcnz)
Episode 7
Twenty-six year-old Sybil is happy enough with her job cataloguing fossils and archaeological finds in an institute of prehistoric studies, and contentedly in love with her boyfriend Simon, whose artisanal spelt pasta makes up for his inexplicable love of camping and the outdoors. But her world is turned upside down when she has an accident and an unwelcome encounter with her glamorous, assertive former university tutor at Streatham Ice Rink. Things become much worse when she learns that Helen is now Chair of the Trustees at the Institute; before long Sybil can’t ignore the growing evidence of just how far Helen is prepared to go to fulfil her career ambitions. As Sybil tries to find solace for her broken heart, revenge becomes the main thing on her mind.
7/10 :
Sybil’s visit to the North Brixton Library brings a surprise meeting with the maker of origami frogs.
The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line is Ruth Thomas’s third novel. She’s published three short story collections and her prizes include the John Llewellyn Rhys Award, the Saltire First Book Award and the VS Pritchett Prize.
Ell Potter is an actor, writer, comedian and and award-winning narrator who was named an Audible ‘breakout star’ whilst still at Drama School. She co-created the hit stage shows ‘Hotter’ and ‘Fitter’, and this year co-wrote and starred in the podcast drama ‘Lem N Ginge’.
Reader: Ell Potter
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
TUE 12:20 You and Yours (m000rcp1)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m000rcp3)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m000rcp5)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
TUE 13:45 Bodies (m000rcp7)
Episode 2: The skull cup and the shape-shifters - The body in prehistory
The human body is the battleground where our most fundamental ideas about the way the world is come into sharp focus.
When we think and talk about the body, we are suddenly very aware of that pattern of thinking which frames concepts in opposition, divides the world up between dark and light, material and immaterial, technology and humanity, invisible and visible, mind and body, body and soul.
In this new ten part series, academic and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts traces how human knowledge of anatomy has grown and changed over time, and how this changing understanding has in turn affected our understanding of who we are.
Episode 2: The skull cup and the shape-shifters - The body in pre-history
What did our pre-historic ancestors think of the human body? Did they see it as the same as the animals they hunted – a collection of bones, muscle, sinews and blood vessels. Or was it somehow separate? Professor Alice Roberts contemplates tantalising glimpses of human bodies from our deep past – a human skull used as a drinking vessel, a statue of a half-man half-lion being, tiny figurines of Ice Age women.
Presenter: Professor Alice Roberts
Actor: Jonathan Kydd
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m000rcp9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (m000h7xr)
Breaking Blake
George Blake, a member of MI6, passed secrets to the Russians and was sentenced to an unprecedented term of 42 years imprisonment. But after only four years, he was sprung from Wormwood Scrubs. Many assumed the KGB was behind the daring break-out.
The truth is much stranger.
Barnaby Kay revisits this incredible story.
Cast:
George Blake................................Michael Maloney
Michael Randle.............................Elliot Levey
Anne Randle..................................Claire Rushbrook
Pat Pottle.......................................Tony Gardner
Sean Bourke..................................Lloyd Hutchinson
Alim/Doctor....................................Walles Hamonde
Hawkins/Nice Barry........................Ben Crowe
Boys...............................................Kellan & Merryn Dowley
News reports.................................David Holt
Secretary/Mum..............................Freya James
Director ........................................Barnaby Kay
Sound Recordist and Designer ......David Thomas
Production Coordinator ................Sarah Tombling
Producer........................................Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m000rcpc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
TUE 15:30 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m000rcpf)
Series 17
The Mosquito Conundrum
The doctors put mosquitoes on trial, as listener Cathy in the UK asks, ‘What is the point of mosquitoes?’ in response to our show about wasps.
Mosquitoes have undeniably played a role in killing millions of people. Malaria is the single biggest cause of death in human history. But Erica McAlister, senior curator of flies and fleas at the UK’s Natural History Museum, reveals that not all mosquitoes are interested in biting us for a blood meal, or are involved in transmitting disease. Only the females of about 10 species are the most problematic for humanity, from around 3600 true species of mosquito. Limited research indicates that many play important roles in ecosystems, for example as pollinators on land and as food sources during their larval stage in aquatic environments.
Nonetheless, those roughly 10 species cause devastating disease. Kate Jones’ research at University College London examines the interface of ecology and human health. Malaria and dengue fever alone cause over 300 million infections annually. And there are many more diseases transmitted by mosquitoes: Zika, West Nile fever, Yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis – the list goes on, and with urbanisation and climate change, the picture is constantly changing.
So what can be done? Should we try to annihilate the disease-carrying species? Insecticide use has historic and ongoing controversy, as the difficulties of needing to stop deaths in the short term risks longer term environmental damage, with unforeseen and possibly greater consequences for humanity. So Adam turns to new, genetic technology with zoologist Matthew Cobb. Can and should we modify mosquitoes to wipe themselves out, by wrecking local populations with sterile males, or use a technique called a gene drive to perpetuate debilitation through generations? Or could life find a way to evolve past our attempts at control, and cause greater problems? The doctors deliberate and try to decide a verdict on mosquitoes’ fate.
Presenters: Hannah Fry & Adam Rutherford
Producer: Jen Whyntie
A BBC Audio Science Unit production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m000rcpj)
Being a Polyglot
Alex speaks 15 languages fluently. Does he have a special gift or could we all do this? Plus, what does 'to Donald Duck' mean in Hungarian?
Producer Sally Heaven
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m000rcpn)
Caroline Catz on Delia Derbyshire
The actor Caroline Catz chooses Delia Derbyshire, the musician and composer who is best known for her work at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop where she realised the theme tune to Doctor Who. With Dr David Butler from the University of Manchester who looks after Delia's archive.
Producer: Toby Field
TUE 17:00 PM (m000rcps)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000rcpx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Beta Female (m000rcpz)
Series 1
Episode 2
Beta Female is a semi-autobiographical sitcom by Amna Saleem, starring Kiran Sonia Sawar (Black Mirror, Pure) as Amna, a young woman trying to find her place in the world - in her work, in her relationships, and in her family.
The Nanny Flat: Amna is forced to visit her cousin to have her relative poverty rubbed in her face.
Amna ... Kiran Sonia Sawar
Theo ... Tom Stourton
Maya ... Sukh Ojla
Mum ... Sudha Bhuchar
Nora ... Evelyn Lockley
Written by Amna Saleem
Produced & directed by Ed Morrish
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m000rcq1)
Pip vows revenge, and Shula struggles with a terrible dilemma.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m000rcq3)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
TUE 19:45 Lamentation (m000rcnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m000rcq5)
Women Who Abuse
Women are seen as the caring, nurturing sex, safe to be left in charge of children.
But stigma and stereotyping around female perpetrated abuse means it can be seen as a lesser crime, with many victims deeply reluctant to report their ordeal to the authorities.
Experts tell File on 4 that current case numbers are the ‘tip of the iceberg’, while the early indicators of abuse, like online grooming and social media befriending, can be brushed aside when the abuser is a woman.
File on 4 hears from adult survivors who describe decades of trauma and shame caused by their female abusers, as well as the difficulties they faced in reporting the crime.
Psychologists and campaigners say the criminal justice system urgently needs to better support victims to give evidence.
They describe how abusers are still able to take advantage of laws that leave children in informal settings, such as sports clubs and choirs, open to abuse, settings where female abusers can thrive.
And although societal perceptions of female child sexual abuse are changing, many deeply traumatised victims risk being left behind.
Reporter: Melanie Abbott
Producer: Helen Clifton
Editor: Gail Champion
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m000rcq7)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m000rcq9)
A weekly quest to demystify health issues, bringing clarity to conflicting advice.
TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m000rcnl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m000rcqc)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rcnz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
TUE 23:00 Fortunately... with Fi and Jane (m000rdvm)
174. Tapestry Drying Racks, with Fearne Cotton
This week on Fortunately, Fi and Jane are joined by presenter, podcaster and author Fearne Cotton. Fearne talks about her new book Speaking Your Truth, thinks up a new mammoth hobby and coaxes Jane to reveal her greatest artistic creation. Before Fearne there's poltergeists, mock invigilation and a call to action for blue blooded listeners.
Get in touch: fortunately.podcast@bbc.co.uk
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000rcqf)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
WEDNESDAY 20 JANUARY 2021
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m000rcqh)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
WED 00:30 English Pastoral by James Rebanks (m000rcpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000rcqk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000rcqm)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000rcqp)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m000rcqr)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000rcqt)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m000rcqw)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b096jf3k)
Stephen Moss on the Great Crested Grebe
In the last of five recollections about his encounters with birds, writer and wildlife programme-maker Stephen Moss recalls his first encounter with what he describes as 'the most beautiful bird' he had ever seen - the Great Crested Grebe.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series,a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
Photograph: Tori Andrews.
WED 06:00 Today (m000rdkj)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m000rccm)
Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.
WED 09:30 Steelmanning (m000rdzx)
Episode 2
Timandra Harkness tries to test her views by steelplating the arguments of her opponents on a range of controversial topics. Each week, she will debate a subject with a different sparring partner, who will receive coaching to fortify their case. In this episode, Timandra talks to the General Secretary of CND Kate Hudson to tackle the issue of nuclear power. Other contributors include the journlaist and environmental activist Mark Lynas and former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption.
Producer: Peter Snowdon
WED 09:45 English Pastoral by James Rebanks (m000rdm4)
Episode 3
James Rebanks, author of the hugely popular 'The Shepherd’s Life', considers the environment, legacy and how to live a good life on the land.
The constant pressure to squeeze more out of the land intensifies as the family farm risks being left behind.
Read by Bryan Dick
Abriged by Siân Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000rdkq)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 10:45 Lamentation (m000rdks)
Episode 3
3/10. Drama based on the best-selling novel by C.J. Sansom. Shardlake pretends to question the Queen’s household about the theft of a ring – while discreetly
searching for her missing confessional book.
Dramatised by Colin MacDonald.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland
WED 11:00 How the Irish Shaped Britain (m000rd1t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 11:30 Rob Newman (b08n2wcs)
Rob Newman's Neuropolis
When You're Snarling
One of Britain's finest comedians, Rob Newman, is our guide on a unique audio odyssey of the brain, taking in everything from love and guilt to robot co-workers and the unlikely importance of prehistoric trousers.
It's a witty, fact-packed series mixing stand-up and sketches, challenging notions of neuroscience with a new theory that's equal parts enlightening and hilarious.
Rob offers an alternative to some of the more bizarre claims in modern popular science, as well as rejigging theories of our brains in light of what we know about nature, artificial intelligence and Belinda Carlisle.
Created by the award-winning team behind Robert Newman's Entirely Accurate Encyclopaedia of Evolution.
Written by and starring Rob Newman
Co-starring Claire Price and Richard McCabe
Producer: Jon Harvey
Executive Producer: Richard Wilson
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:00 News Summary (m000rdv4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000rs6p)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 12:06 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rdkx)
Episode 8
Twenty-six year-old Sybil is happy enough with her job cataloguing fossils and archaeological finds in an institute of prehistoric studies, and contentedly in love with her boyfriend Simon, whose artisanal spelt pasta makes up for his inexplicable love of camping and the outdoors. But her world is turned upside down when she has an accident and an unwelcome encounter with her glamorous, assertive former university tutor at Streatham Ice Rink. Things become much worse when she learns that Helen is now Chair of the Trustees at the Institute; before long Sybil can’t ignore the growing evidence of just how far Helen is prepared to go to fulfil her career ambitions. As Sybil tries to find solace for her broken heart, revenge becomes the main thing on her mind.
8/10:
Helen’s exciting new marketing initiatives at the Institute can’t be ignored, however hard Sybil tries.
The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line is Ruth Thomas’s third novel. She’s published three short story collections and her prizes include the John Llewellyn Rhys Award, the Saltire First Book Award and the VS Pritchett Prize.
Ell Potter is an actor, writer, comedian and and award-winning narrator who was named an Audible ‘breakout star’ whilst still at Drama School. She co-created the hit stage shows ‘Hotter’ and ‘Fitter’, and this year co-wrote and starred in the podcast drama ‘Lem N Ginge’.
Reader: Ell Potter
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
WED 12:20 You and Yours (m000rdkz)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m000rdl1)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m000rdl3)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
WED 13:45 Bodies (m000rdl5)
Episode 3: Slaughterhouse Anatomy - The body in ancient Egypt
The human body is the battleground where our most fundamental ideas about the way the world is come into sharp focus.
When we think and talk about the body, we are suddenly very aware of that pattern of thinking which frames concepts in opposition, divides the world up between dark and light, material and immaterial, technology and humanity, invisible and visible, mind and body, body and soul.
In this new ten part series, academic and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts traces how human knowledge of anatomy has grown and changed over time, and how this changing understanding has in turn affected our understanding of who we are.
Episode 3: Slaughterhouse Anatomy - The body in ancient Egypt
The first civilisation to leave us traces of medical knowledge is ancient Egypt. And among these records of ancient injuries and remedies, one set stands out – the Edwin Smith papyrus. For the first time, magic spells are mixed with a rational and proto-scientific understanding of the human body. Professor Alice Roberts uncovers the papyrus's examples of anatomical thinking - its description of membranes around the brain, of cerebrospinal fluid, and the relation between neck injuries and paralysis. She asks where this anatomical knowledge came from – could it be from the battlefield or ritual embalming rites?
Presenter: Professor Alice Roberts
Actor: Jonathan Kydd
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4
WED 14:00 The Archers (m000rcq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (m000rdl7)
Safe from Harm
Thought-provoking winning drama by the inaugural Wales Writer in Residence award winner Rhiannon Boyle.
Safe From Harm tells the frank and powerful story of Alys, a teacher and mother whose life unravels when a colleague is arrested for possessing indecent images of children. Unable to cope, Alys contacts a celibate paedophile in an attempt to better understand the danger they pose. Her primal urge to forever protect her children becomes so all consuming Alys slowly loses her grip on reality. Sian Reece-Williams (Hidden, Emerdale) plays Alys.
The Wales Writer in Residence is a prestigious scheme, aimed at furthering a writer’s career across stage, sound and screen. It is a partnership between BBC Cymru Wales and National Theatre Wales, along with BBC Writersroom Wales, with the intention of supporting new writing talent.
Alys ….. Sian Reece-Williams
Christian ….. Oliver Ryan
Ianto ….. Sion Pritchard
Mum ….. Rhian Morgan
Tyler ….. Alfie Ford
Taya ….. Nerys Stocks
Kyden ….. Iolo Reynolds
Sound design was by Catherine Robinson
Safe From Harm was a BBC Writersroom Wales production
Directed by Helen Perry
WED 15:00 Money Box (m000rdl9)
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on personal finance.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (m000rcq9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 The Media Show (m000rdlc)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world
WED 16:30 PM (m000rdlf)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000rdlk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m000rdlm)
Series 2
If You Go Away
Conversations from a Long Marriage is a two-hander, starring Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam, as a long-married couple who met in the Summer of Love and are still passionate about life, music and each other. We listen to – and empathise with - their dangling ‘conversations’ covering everything from health scares, jealousy and confessions, to TV incompatibility and sourdough bread.
In EPISODE 4, Joanna has a health scare and tells Roger that she’s frightened they’ll both die before HS2 is completed and ‘I don’t want to be in a world if we are not in it.’ He struggles to respond with a sensible answer. Then they both receive very bad news.
Written by Jan Etherington. Produced and directed by Claire Jones. Production co-ordinator Beverly Tagg. A BBC Studios Production.
WED 19:00 The Archers (m000rc4z)
Elizabeth puts her foot in it, and Brian offers some words of advice.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m000rdlp)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 19:45 Lamentation (m000rdks)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 The Spark (m000rdlr)
Linda Scott and the Double-X Economy
Helen Lewis returns with a new series of interviews with people offering radical solutions to the big problems we face, and explores how their personal experiences drive their work and thinking.
In her book The Double-X Economy, the economist Linda Scott explains how, in her view, cultural assumptions hold back women's economic potential.
Drawing on both recently-available data, and her own first-hand experience in the developing world, she tells Helen how she thinks this potential could be liberated using a series of practical solutions. And why she believes that liberating the Double-X economy could change the world for the better.
Producer: Phil Tinline
WED 20:45 What Is a Story? (b061tfn2)
Ghosts at Home
Marina Warner looks at 'Ghosts at Home'.
A look at the world of contemporary fiction. In the company of leading contemporary writers, she considers a story and story writing from a different angle.
Marina speaks with writers as diverse as Julian Barnes, Michelle Roberts, Fanny Howe, Marlene van Niekerk, Alain Mabanckou, Lydia Davis, Edwin Frank, Elleke Boehmer, Wen-Chin Ouyang, Daniel Medin, Nadeem Aslam and Laszlo Krasznahorkai.
There are questions around the boundaries between fact and fiction which Marina believes are central to any consideration of storytelling, since readers' pleasure depends so much on trust built up between the storyteller or writer and the audience.
With discussions on the reasons for writing, writers as witnesses and political interaction.
Marina was Chair of the Man Booker International Prize 2015 and the series draws on the expertise of the International Booker judging panel, the views of the shortlisted writers, as well as other key literary talent.
Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio first broadcast in July 2015.
WED 21:00 Mysteries of Sleep (b09h34y9)
Series 1
Sleepwalking
Why do some of us do bizarre things in our sleep? Like riding a motorbike, using a shoe to 'phone for a pizza or even having sex while sleeping? These are complex behaviours and yet sleepwalkers aren't aware of what they're doing and often have no memory of their strange night-time activities.
These sleep disorders are known as non-REM parasomnias and include conditions like night terrors and sleep eating.
So why does it happen? Sleepwalking usually occurs during deep sleep, when something triggers the brain to wake - but not completely. So the areas that control walking and other movement wake up, yet other parts, involved in awareness and rational thinking, remain asleep. What's confusing is that sleepwalkers look awake - their eyes are open - but they're really not awake. They're not really asleep either. The brain is awake and asleep at the same time. We have known this happens in some animals, who can sleep with half of their brain at a time. But recently, we have learnt that similar things can happen in the human brain.
In the first of a three-part series, neurologist, Dr Guy Leschziner, talks to patients he's been treating at his sleep clinic at Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London. They include Jackie who began sleepwalking as a child and continued her strange night-time behaviour as an adult, riding her motorbike whilst sleeping.
We hear from James whose night terrors have become so violent his wife has begged him to get help; from Alex who rescues people from floods in his sleep. And we talk to Tom, whose recent diagnosis of sexsomnia has had a significant impact on his life.
These remarkable sleepwalking experiences help us to understand the complex workings of the human brain.
Presenter: Dr Guy Leschziner
Producer: Sally Abrahams.
WED 21:30 The Media Show (m000rdlc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m000rdlt)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rdkx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
WED 23:00 Bunk Bed (m000rdlw)
Series 7
Episode Three (with Guy Garvey and Rachael Stirling)
What happens when a married showbusiness couple are taken from the familiar surroundings of their own home, and have to lay down in a dark room with two men they don’t really know?
The singer Guy Garvey from the band Elbow is known for his poetic anthems such as One Day Like This. The actress Rachel Stirling is known for TV hits such as Tipping The Velvet and The Detectorists. Will their affection for each other survive the scrutiny of Patrick Marber and Peter Curran in a late-night horizontal ramble? It’s Bunk Bed.
Subjects discussed include separate sleeping arrangements as the key to happiness, tweeting at night, unintended rude cockney-rhyming slang in the title of an Elbow album, the call of the Eider duck, depressing songs, and a mind-boggling story about rude happenings when the late comedians Frankie Howerd and Bob Monkhouse shared a house together.
A Foghorn Company production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:15 The Skewer (m000rdly)
Series 3
Episode 2
Jon Holmes's award winning satirical river of sound returns to twist itself into the news.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000rdm0)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
THURSDAY 21 JANUARY 2021
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m000rdm2)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
THU 00:30 English Pastoral by James Rebanks (m000rdm4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000rdm6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000rdm8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000rdmb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m000rdmd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000rdmg)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m000rdmj)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b092p0hy)
Samuel West on the Collared Dove
Actor Samuel West laments how the beautiful collared dove is saddled with a morose call that sounds like the chant of a bored football fan echoing down own our streets.
Producer: Tom Bonnett
Picture: Pat Adams.
THU 06:00 Today (m000rc41)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m000rc43)
The Plague of Justinian
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the plague that broke out in Constantinople 541AD, in the reign of Emperor Justinian. According to the historian Procopius, writing in Byzantium at the time, this was a plague by which the whole human race came near to being destroyed, embracing the whole world, and blighting the lives of all mankind. The bacterium behind the Black Death has since been found on human remains from that time, and the symptoms described were the same, and evidence of this plague has since been traced around the Mediterranean and from Syria to Britain and Ireland. The question of how devastating it truly was, though, is yet to be resolved.
With
John Haldon
Professor of Byzantine History and Hellenic Studies Emeritus at Princeton University
Rebecca Flemming
Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Cambridge
And
Greg Woolf
Director of the Institute of Classical Studies, University of London
Producer: Simon Tillotson
THU 09:45 English Pastoral by James Rebanks (m000rc45)
Episode 4
James Rebanks, author of the hugely popular 'The Shepherd’s Life', considers the environment, legacy and how to live a good life on the land.
“The old faith that the natural world has limitless reserves and resources has been tested to destruction.”
Rebanks considers how best to balance the need for food security with good stewardship of the land.
Read by Bryan Dick
Abriged by Siân Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000rc48)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 10:45 Lamentation (m000rc4b)
Episode 4
4/10. Drama based on the best-selling novel by C.J. Sansom. Shardlake unlocks the mystery of how the Queen’s confessional book was stolen from a locked chest – when there was only one key which she kept around her neck.
Dramatised by Colin MacDonald.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (m000rc4f)
Europe’s Most Dangerous Capital
Bucharest, in Romania, is arguably Europe’s most dangerous capital city. It’s not the crime that’s the problem – it’s the buildings. Many of them don’t comply with basic laws and building regulations. Permits are regularly faked. And yet Bucharest is the most earthquake prone European capital. A serious quake would cause many of the buildings to collapse, with a potential loss of life into the thousands. Some years ago a red dot was put on a number of buildings in the city which were in danger of collapse. Nothing else has happened since. A microcosm of the problem is a type of building called ‘camine de nefamilisti’ or, ‘homes for those without families’. These were built during the Ceaucescu era to temporarily house workers brought in from the countryside and people who were still single after university. The single room flats, the size of a prison cell, with one communal shower and three Turkish style toilets per floor were never meant for families. But after the fall of Communism many of these ‘matchboxes’ ended up in private hands and conditions deteriorated with whole families moved into spaces designed for a single person. Simona Rata grew up in one of these buildings. For Crossing Continents she returns to the ‘camine de nefamilisti’ and finds little has changed since her childhood. The overcrowded blocks with poor sanitary conditions make tackling Covid difficult and the stability of the buildings remains a source of grave concern.
Reporter and producer: Simona Rata. Editor, Bridget Harney
THU 11:30 Dub Revolution: The Story of King Tubby (m000rc4h)
28 January 2021 would have been legendary sound engineer King Tubby’s 80th birthday. The sonic experiments he created in his tiny studio in the ghettos of Kingston Jamaica during the early seventies helped create a genre that’s now part of the very fabric of contemporary music – Dub.
Tubby’s productions pre-empted today’s remix culture, were instrumental in the creation of rap an inspired an eclectic mix of artists from Massive Attack to Primal Scream. Dub went on to inform Jungle, Rave,Techno, Ambient right up to Grime in the 21st century.
Don Letts celebrates the godfather of Dub, with contributions from Dennis Bovell, Adrian Sherwood, Hollie Cook and Mad Professor.
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:00 News Summary (m000rc4k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000rs6m)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 12:06 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rc4m)
Episode 9
Twenty-six year-old Sybil is happy enough with her job cataloguing fossils and archaeological finds in an institute of prehistoric studies, and contentedly in love with her boyfriend Simon, whose artisanal spelt pasta makes up for his inexplicable love of camping and the outdoors. But her world is turned upside down when she has an accident and an unwelcome encounter with her glamorous, assertive former university tutor at Streatham Ice Rink. Things become much worse when she learns that Helen is now Chair of the Trustees at the Institute; before long Sybil can’t ignore the growing evidence of just how far Helen is prepared to go to fulfil her career ambitions. As Sybil tries to find solace for her broken heart, revenge becomes the main thing on her mind.
9/10:
Sybil gets the evidence she has been hoping for to prove Helen’s professional deceit.
The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line is Ruth Thomas’s third novel. She’s published three short story collections and her prizes include the John Llewellyn Rhys Award, the Saltire First Book Award and the VS Pritchett Prize.
Ell Potter is an actor, writer, comedian and and award-winning narrator who was named an Audible ‘breakout star’ whilst still at Drama School. She co-created the hit stage shows ‘Hotter’ and ‘Fitter’, and this year co-wrote and starred in the podcast drama ‘Lem N Ginge’.
Reader: Ell Potter
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
THU 12:20 You and Yours (m000rc4p)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
THU 12:57 Weather (m000rc4r)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m000rc4t)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
THU 13:45 Bodies (m000rc4w)
Episode 4: Archetype and Anatomy - The body in ancient Greece
The human body is the battleground where our most fundamental ideas about the way the world is come into sharp focus.
When we think and talk about the body, we are suddenly very aware of that pattern of thinking which frames concepts in opposition, divides the world up between dark and light, material and immaterial, technology and humanity, invisible and visible, mind and body, body and soul.
In this new ten part series, academic and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts traces how human knowledge of anatomy has grown and changed over time, and how this changing understanding has in turn affected our understanding of who we are.
Episode 4: Archetype and Anatomy - The body in ancient Greece
Images of ideal bodies are everywhere we look today. We are invited to look, to enjoy, to judge, to compare to these bodies. Can anyone match up to the ideal? This is not a new problem. In ancient Greece idealised images of the human body were everywhere and an explicit connection was drawn between physical and moral beauty. And it was from this society that the first true anatomist emerged – Aristotle. Professor Alice Roberts celebrates his wonderful studies of animal anatomy and the analogies he drew.
Presenter: Professor Alice Roberts
Actor: Jonathan Kydd
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4
THU 14:00 The Archers (m000rc4z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (m000rc51)
Domino
Three generations of men from one family play dominos. But this is more than a game - it is a struggle for power. Rudolph Walker, Paterson Joseph and Stefan Adegbola star in Archie Maddocks' drama of long-buried resentments and dark secrets.
Directed by Emma Harding
Horsea.....Rudolph Walker
Quashie.....Paterson Joseph
Rico.....Stefan Adegbola
August.....Damian Lynch
Nurse/Resident.....Jane Whittenshaw
THU 15:00 Open Country (m000rc53)
Windows
From tower blocks to stately homes, the office to the garden shed, schools, hospitals or even a prison cell. Windows of all shapes and sizes admit light and connect us to green or urban landscapes, and if you are very fortunate – wildlife! During the winter months and through lockdowns, we are spending more time indoors and perhaps looking out of a window.
For this Open Country, we meet 3 people who each have a unique relationship with windows and who live and work on both sides of the glass to understand why they are so important to our mental health and well-being? Interviewed are Professor John Mardaljevic from Loughborough University, window cleaner Amy Owens and retired psychologist Marco Del Aberdi.
Presented by Helen Mark and produced by Marcus Smith.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m000rbnn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (m000rbpj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m000rc55)
The Dig
With Antonia Quirke
The Dig production Designer Maria Djurkovic reveals how she re-created the famous burial mounds in Sutton Hoo in a field just outside Guildford.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m000rc57)
Dr Alex Lathbridge and guests illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that is changing our world.
THU 17:00 PM (m000rc59)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000rc5c)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Elephant in the Room (m000rc5f)
Series 2
Episode 3
Sarah Millican's hit panel show returns, using surveys to discover who is the most Average Jolene and who is the most Maverick Matilda. This week's sparkling panel features Scarlett Moffatt, Lindsey Santoro, Sindhu Vee and Josh Pugh.
Surveys on subjects including childhood, daily rituals and favourite cheese are the basis for Sarah's questions to the panellists, discovering who is the closest to, and furthest from, the average. Surprising quirks, hilarious insights and unexpected anecdotes are revealed along the way.
The winner will be the most average. But joint winner will be the most different - the furthest from the norm.
A little bit like a dinner party, but one where you know all of the spoons.
Written by Sarah Millican, Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, Jess Fostekew and Juliet Meyers.
Produced by Lianne Coop.
A Chopsy production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m000rc5h)
Writers, Liz John and Adrian Flynn
Director, Gwenda Hughes
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
David Archer ….. Timothy Bentinck
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Helen Archer ….. Louiza Patikas
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Rex Fairbrother ….. Nick Barber
Shula Hebden-Lloyd ….. Judy Bennett
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler
Philip Moss ….. Andy Hockley
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Lee Bryce ….. Ryan Early
Vince Casey ….. Tony Turner
Russ Jones ….. Andonis James Anthony
THU 19:15 Front Row (m000rc5k)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 19:45 Lamentation (m000rc4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m000rc5m)
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders explore major news stories.
THU 20:30 The Untold (m000n5dm)
The Perfect Bench
A year ago, when Sam graduated with a masters in Modern History, and headed back to his hometown near Bristol, he had no idea what the year would bring. But it wasn’t this.
Suddenly, something Sam’s done has become an international news story. As he finished his degree, his friends convinced him to start up an Instagram page – rating public benches. It was a joke. But in the gloomy days of readjusting to life at home without a job, back sharing his childhood bedroom with his brother, it became a lifeline – something he bonded with his Dad over, and eventually, a hobby which got him a girlfriend. 180 benches later, he's never awarded a 10/10, but through the international trauma of 2020, his quest for the perfect bench has captured the imagination of the news cycle.
With this unexpected fame, he’s been faced with a dilemma. One of the marking criteria is whether the bench is dedicated to anyone. The page has become a touching tribute to deceased strangers he has never met. Now, bereaved relatives have begun contacting him, asking him to rate their loved one’s bench. To Sam, it would undermine the integrity of the page, and he would never want to upset anyone by writing something which might disappoint. Yet, as a consequence of his principles, something remarkable happens.
Presented by Grace Dent
Produced in Bristol by Polly Weston
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m000rc57)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (m000rc43)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m000rc5q)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rc4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
THU 23:00 Fred at The Stand (m000rc5s)
Series 3
Amy Matthews, Emmanuel Sonubi, Neil Delamere and Omid Djalili
Fred MacAulay introduces some of the funniest comedians in the UK doing what they do best – pure stand-up comedy. And since we can’t all get together in The Stand Comedy Club this year, everyone is gathering virtually for a live gig like never before!
Featuring actual Hollywood superstar and stand up comedian Omid Djalili, the razor sharp wit of Neil Delamere, gags and revelations from Emmanuel Sonubi, and undoubtedly one of the fastest rising stars on the circuit Amy Matthews.
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000rc5v)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
FRIDAY 22 JANUARY 2021
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m000rc5x)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 00:30 English Pastoral by James Rebanks (m000rc45)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000rc5z)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000rc61)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000rc63)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m000rc65)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000rc67)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m000rc69)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x457w)
Grey Partridge
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the Grey partridge. The grey partridge, a plump game bird, is now a rarity across most of the UK. Found on farmland, a partridge pair will often hold territory in a few fields beyond which they seldom stray during their whole lives. They should be doing well but increasing field sizes, which reduce nesting cover and the use of pesticides, which kill off vital insects, have taken their toll.
FRI 06:00 Today (m000rc9t)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m000rbp3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 English Pastoral by James Rebanks (m000rc9w)
Episode 5
James Rebanks, author of the hugely popular 'The Shepherd’s Life', considers the environment, legacy and how to live a good life on the land.
Combining old methods with new thinking as he tends to his family farm, Rebanks sees the land around him come to life as his hard work begins to pay off.
Read by Bryan Dick
Abridged by Siân Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000rc9y)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 10:45 Lamentation (m000rcb0)
Episode 5
5/10. Drama based on the best-selling novel by C.J. Sansom. Shardlake’s investigations lead him to the Tower of London where he encounters a prison guard with links to religious radicals.
Dramatised by Colin MacDonald.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland
FRI 11:00 Three Pounds in My Pocket (m000rcb2)
Series 4
Episode 3
Different generations of South Asians reflect on what it means to belong in Britain. Since 2014, Kavita Puri has been charting the social history of this community in post-war Britain. Many came with as little as three pounds due to strict currency controls.
Many of these early pioneers expected to return to the Indian subcontinent. Their instinct on arrival was to keep their heads down, work hard, and accept the humiliations that came their way. For their children - many of whom were born here - their relationship to Britain was quite different: this was their home. There was nowhere else for them to go back to.
Following this summer's wave of protests after the death of George Floyd, we look at the conversations that have opened up among British South Asians - and the different demands for progress and equality made by the different generations.
Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Hugh Levinson
Historical consultants:
Dr Florian Stadtler, University of Exeter
Dr Edward Anderson, Northumbria University
FRI 11:30 Skeletons in the Cupboard (m000rcb6)
See Me Afterwards
Guilt drives sisters Maureen and Lesley to return from an idyllic life in rural France to dispose of the body left in the cellar of their mother's empty house. But David's body has gone and there is no trace of it ever having been there.
Has David been found by the police?
A Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m000rcbb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000rs6r)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 12:06 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rcbg)
Episode 10
Twenty-six year-old Sybil is happy enough with her job cataloguing fossils and archaeological finds in an institute of prehistoric studies, and contentedly in love with her boyfriend Simon, whose artisanal spelt pasta makes up for his inexplicable love of camping and the outdoors. But her world is turned upside down when she has an accident and an unwelcome encounter with her glamorous, assertive former university tutor at Streatham Ice Rink. Things become much worse when she learns that Helen is now Chair of the Trustees at the Institute; before long Sybil can’t ignore the growing evidence of just how far Helen is prepared to go to fulfil her career ambitions. As Sybil tries to find solace for her broken heart, revenge becomes the main thing on her mind.
10/10:
Sybil confronts Helen and ends up in hospital, but there’s a silver lining in this particular cloud.
The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line is Ruth Thomas’s third novel. She’s published three short story collections and her prizes include the John Llewellyn Rhys Award, the Saltire First Book Award and the VS Pritchett Prize.
Ell Potter is an actor, writer, comedian and and award-winning narrator who was named an Audible ‘breakout star’ whilst still at Drama School. She co-created the hit stage shows ‘Hotter’ and ‘Fitter’, and this year co-wrote and starred in the podcast drama ‘Lem N Ginge’.
Reader: Ell Potter
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
FRI 12:20 You and Yours (m000rcbl)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
FRI 12:57 Weather (m000rcbq)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m000rcbv)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
FRI 13:45 Bodies (m000rcbz)
Episode 5: The Living and the Dead - Opening up the body
The human body is the battleground where our most fundamental ideas about the way the world is come into sharp focus.
When we think and talk about the body, we are suddenly very aware of that pattern of thinking which frames concepts in opposition, divides the world up between dark and light, material and immaterial, technology and humanity, invisible and visible, mind and body, body and soul.
In this new ten part series, academic and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts traces how human knowledge of anatomy has grown and changed over time, and how this changing understanding has in turn affected our understanding of who we are.
Episode 5: The Living and the Dead - Opening up the body
In the city of Alexandria, in the 3rd century BCE, physicians were allowed to do something that had been completely out of bounds for centuries before and would then be outlawed for centuries afterwards - dissect human bodies. The handiwork of two Alexandrian pioneers – Herophilus and Erasistratus – went on to form the basis for the theories for perhaps the most influential anatomist of all time, a Roman called Galen. Although he never dissected a human body himself, his theories of anatomy shaped Western thinking for more than a thousand years.
Presenter: Professor Alice Roberts
Actor: Jonathan Kydd
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m000rc5h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (m000rcc3)
Islander
The two-hander female cast sing all the songs, perform a whole host of characters, while weaving, building and layering their voices to create all the sound effects into an expansive, ethereal soundscape for the ears and imagination.
Performed and sung by Kirsty Findlay and Bethany Tennick
Winner of Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical Award – Edinburgh Fringe 2019
Conceived and directed for the stage by Amy Draper, with musical book by Stewart Melton and music and lyrics by Finn Anderson, for Helen Milne Productions.
Produced and Directed for BBC Audio Drama North by Pauline Harris
(Photography by Jassy Earl)
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000rcc7)
GQT at Home: Episode Forty
Peter Gibbs hosts this week's gardening Q&A, joined by a panel of green fingered experts to answer questions sent in by listeners via social media and email. Matt Biggs, Pippa Greenwood and Matthew Pottage tackle this week's queries,
Producer - Daniel Cocker
Assistant Producer - Rosie Merotra
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m000rccc)
Island
An original short work for radio by Nina Allan.
In a world not unlike ours, Janet flees the city after a devastating loss.
Read by Alexandra Mathie
Nina Allan is an award-winning writer of speculative fiction. Her next novel, THE GOOD NEIGHBOURS, is published in March.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m000rcch)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to unsung but significant.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m000rccm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m000rccp)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000rccr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m000rcct)
Series 104
Episode 4
A satirical review of the week's news
FRI 19:00 Front Row (m000rccw)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
FRI 19:45 Lamentation (m000rcb0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m000rccy)
Kate Andrews, Larry Sanders, Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from Broadcasting House in London with a panel which includes the economics correspondent at The Spectator Kate Andrews, the Green party's health and social care spokesperson Larry Sanders and the Conservative MP and the UK's international champion on adaptation and resilience for COP26 Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Studio direction: Maire Devine
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m000rcd0)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
FRI 21:00 Bodies (m000rcd3)
Omnibus Episode 1
In this first omnibus episode, anatomist Professor Alice Roberts introduces her time-travelling tour of anatomical knowledge, from the cave men to DNA. She asks how we see our bodies and examines one idea that has forever dogged our concept of the body - the soul and the need for it to somehow be meshed into our picture of the body.
What did our pre-historic ancestors think of the human body? Did they see it as the same as the animals they hunted – a collection of bones, muscle, sinews and blood vessels. Or was it somehow separate? Alice contemplates tantalising glimpses of human bodies from our deep past – a human skull used as a drinking vessel, a statue of a half-man half-lion being, tiny figurines of Ice Age women.
The first civilisation to leave us traces of medical knowledge is ancient Egypt. And among these records of ancient injuries and remedies, one set stands out – the Edwin Smith papyrus. For the first time magic spells are mixed with a rational and proto-scientific understanding of the human body.
Images of ideal bodies are everywhere we look today. We are invited to look, to enjoy, to judge, to compare to these bodies. Can anyone match up to the ideal? In ancient Greece idealised images of the human body were everywhere and an explicit connection was drawn between physical and moral beauty.
And In the city of Alexandria, in the 3rd century BCE, physicians were allowed to do something that had been completely out of bounds for centuries before and would then be outlawed for centuries afterwards - dissect human bodies.
Presenter: Professor Alice Roberts
Actor: Jonathan Kydd
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m000rcd7)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 The Snow And The Works On The Northern Line by Ruth Thomas (m000rcbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
FRI 23:00 Americast (m000rcdc)
Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel follow the the US election.
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000rcdh)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament