Henry Goodman reads from John Preston’s biography. Today, Maxwell is at sea. His reputation and business empire are in peril.
The life story of the larger-than- life newspaper owner Robert Maxwell, takes us from his birth to his mysterious death at sea. Maxwell remains an enigma, he was a hugely successful businessman who came from humble beginnings as an Orthodox Jew in Czechoslovakia, and whose father sold animal skins for a living, Maxwell became a British war-hero, decorated for his heroism, then a Labour MP, all the while amassing a huge fortune as the owner of publishing and newspaper businesses.
But when he fell from his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, in the middle of the night in 1991, another story was revealed - of debts and unscrupulous dealings. No-one had ever fallen so far and so quickly.
John Preston's gripping biography sets out to give the definitive account of Robert Maxwell's rise and fall and to explain why underneath this apparent model of society lay an amoral and bloated wreck.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with The Reverend Lucy Winkett
Our urban parks and gardens create green lanes and oases of open spaces within our towns and cities. They are also conduits for wildlife as well as for people. St James' Park in Newcastle upon Tyne does have lush green turf but it is less of an oasis and more of a battlefield because since 1892 it has been the home of Newcastle United football club, and so regularly pounds with the clamour of human voices. At these times its anything but tranquil! On the northern boundary is Leazes Park a formal Victorian park opened in 1873. In this programme, Chris was keen to record the changing soundscape across these two connected parks over the course of a single day, match day. The recordings begin at
in the city centre as revellers start to leave the night clubs and make their way home; many of them crossing Leazes Park. A trail of food cartons provide rich pickings for mice which in turn are preyed upon by the park's tawny owls and foxes. At
, a robin sings stimulated by the glow of the street light. The first light of the day brings joggers and then parents with children to the park, where their excited chatter mingles with the calls of mallards and coots on the lake. Over the next few hours the park and city are transformed as fans gather for the match. Many arrive at Newcastle Central Station where their enthusiastic and almost deafening chants, are punctuated by the growls and barks of police dogs. The fans are escorted to the stadium. Inside, the match is an orchestra of sound as the voices of the fans ring out with excitement and anticipation, despondency and joy until the final whistle is blown. After the match, the fans disperse, and then the real magpies, return to the park to their night roost; their wild sounds filling the air. Producer Sarah Blunt
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Anneka Rice is a self-declared obsessive rambler who says she feels out of sorts if she doesn’t walk every day. Today she takes Clare on her favourite route along the banks of the Thames where she discusses how the river ‘tethers’ her, something she needs following a childhood that left her feeling ‘untethered’. Anneka became a household name in the 1980s thanks to the TV series Treasure Hunt, which followed her zipping about in a helicopter and racing against the clock to find clues on behalf of studio-bound contestants. Next came Challenge Anneka where she led groups of volunteers in the creation of community-based projects. At the height of her TV success, she took time out to study at Chelsea College of Art and now spends much of her time painting.
Clare and Anneka start the walk at approx Grid Ref: TQ215764, and walk along the Thames Path in the direction of Kew Gardens, then return on the opposite side of the river ending at Dukes Meadows Bandstand, Grid Ref: TQ214767
Chi-chi Nwanoku is a double bass player and founder of Europe's first professional majority black and minority ethnic orchestra, Chineke!. Chi-chi is the eldest of five children, born to a Nigerian father and an Irish mother. Early on, she discovered two competing passions: playing the piano and 100 metre sprinting. She explains to Nikki to Richard how at 5ft tall, she has managed to find success playing the largest orchestral instrument.
Musician David Gray is best known for his folk inspired songs which have netted him multiple Ivor Novello awards and Brit nominations. He’s also played the Royal Albert Hall and toured around the world. He celebrates nearly 30 years in the charts with his new album ‘Skellig’.
Louise Allen was adopted as a baby and suffered abuse throughout her childhood but found solace in art and writing. The artist now fosters her own children and has written the best-selling Thrown Away Children series based on her experiences on both sides of the care system.
Burley Smith was Junior Third Mate on the “Ship of Miracles” – a US ship that rescued 14,000 North Korean refugees at the beginning of the Korean War in 1950. It was referred to as “the greatest rescue operation ever by a single ship” by the US Maritime Administration. He joins us discuss his role in this extraordinary rescue.
Greg James, host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show and self-confessed 'proud radio nerd', rummages through the BBC's treasure house of archives, using current stories and listener suggestions as a springboard into the vaults of audio, video, documents and photographs.
On the eve of Valentine's Day, Greg heads back to 1961 to see, stepping out of a Rolls Royce, the man who 'sells love and makes it pay', in a realm of 'satin, stardust, red roses, and bleeding hearts' - Britain's leading greetings card manufacturer offered the nation romantic advice ahead of his most lucrative day, and his star verse writer shared her winning lines. And - if your surname is Card, and you have a child born on 14 February, what do you call him? At least, later in life, Mr Valentine Card enjoyed regular BBC appearances around his birthday.
And it's almost exactly 50 years since Marc Bolan brought an early burst of glam rock to the nation's living rooms, appearing on Top of the Pops wearing a silver satin sailor suit, with glitter teardrops painted below his eyes. We hear memories of Marc from John Peel and Annie Nightingale, and find out what happened to that sailor suit.
In a landmark outside broadcast from 1939 we hear the trumpets from the tomb of Tutankhamun, and in a week when the latest lockdown viral moment sees wheat cereal topped with baked beans, Greg tracks down some other outrageous food combinations.
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world
A satirical review of the week's news with Andy Zaltzman and guests Felicity Ward, Anand Menon, Jessica Fostekew and Simon Evans.
This week the panel mull over prison sentences for going on holiday, not being allowed to go on holiday in the first place and euphemistic food names.
Written by Andy Zaltzman with additional material from Madeleine Brettingham, Max Davis and Alice Fraser.
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion with a panel all aged under 30: the Plaid Cymru MP Ben Lake, the Youth Representative on Labour's NEC Lara McNeill, the entrepreneur Bejay Mulenga and the Conservative MP Jacob Young.
The Wash is a large rectangular-shaped tidal estuary in East Anglia bordering Lincolnshire and Norfolk. Wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson has long been fascinated by both the mystery of King John's treasure which it's claimed was lost and buried in the mud here, and the wildlife of the Wash. This is a strange and haunting habitat; a no man's land where twice each day the tide sweeps in across the mud and drives tens of thousands of wading birds off their feeding grounds and onto a temporary roost by the shingle and gravel pits at the R.S.P.B. reserve at Snettisham in Norfolk. It's a bewitching spectacle, especially on a spring tide. At low tide the birds disperse and only the feint roar of the distant sea can be heard across the vast expanses of exposed mud. Beneath the mud however there are the sounds of crustaceans and worms; a rich food supply and the reason why so many thousands of birds are attracted to The Wash. As the tide turns, rivulets of water trickle across the mud. The tide gathers pace, and as it does it so, it forces the birds towards the shore and into the air. Huge flocks numbering hundreds then thousands of birds are pushed off the mud and onto the gravel pits. When Chris visited, the birds were roosting well away from the water and in complete darkness. Yet soon after the tide turned and by some unknown signal the knots' chattering calls increased and then the leading edge of the flock suddenly took off and thousands of birds departed creating a huge wave of sound rather like the take-off of a large jet aircraft. Within a few minutes quiet and calm was restored to the gravel pits. For Chris, it's these wild sounds of the birds revealed as the tides ebb and flow which are the real hidden treasures of The Wash. Producer Sarah Blunt.
A young man bumps into Stella on the street and knocks her off her feet. He then utters the words "I didn't even see you." For Stella those words are more of a wound than the bruises on her face and she begins to question everything about her life.
Stella ..... Sophie Thompson
Doug ..... Roger Ringrose
Hendrix ..... Luke MacGregor
Art Teacher ..... Stefan Adegbola
Monica ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Stu ..... Hasan Dixon
Ian ..... Ian Dunnett Jnr
As the years have gone by, Stella has begun to feel invisible. She doesn’t like it one bit and now it’s time for her to step out from the cloud that’s casting a shadow over her. It is time for Stella to claim something back. But what? Uplifting, poignant and delightful light comic touches in this Rachel Joyce drama about growing older and learning the art of forgiveness.
Stella is played by Sophie Thompson. She has worked in television, audio drama, film and theatre. Her credits include - Four Weddings and A Funeral, Emma and Harry Potter. EastEnders, Detectorists and Sandylands. Sophie won an Oliver Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Into the Woods and was nominated for her role as Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls.
Roger Ringrose has worked in television, audio drama, film and theatre. Recent credits include the film - Scandal in '97, the TV series Berlin Station and for the theatre, Witness for the Prosecution. He has a number of audio drama credits including playing Mr Tulliver in The Mill on the Floss.
Rachel won the Peter Tinniswood Award for To Be A Pilgrim which went on to become her award winning novel – The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry – now in the process of being made into a film for Netflix. Her most recent published novels include The Music Shop and Miss Benson's Beetle in 2019. Her most recent audio drama was Christmas by the Lake.
What are the long-term implications for the Covid crisis for the British economy. The government has borrowed more money over the last 12 months than ever before in peacetime. The ratio of public debt to national income is above 90%. If it rises even further do we need to worry? How will the chancellor manage the economic pain caused by coronavirus? What will it mean for tax and spending - and is there a route back to growth? Evan Davis and guests discuss.
Dame Minouche Shafik, director of London School of Economics and Political Science, former deputy governor of the Bank of England
Professor Alice Roberts, Josh Widdicombe, Omari McQueen, Dr Jonathan Clements, Sabiyha, Hafdis Huld, Sindhu Vee, Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson and Sindhu Vee are joined by Professor Alice Roberts, Josh Widdicombe, Dr Jonathan Clements and Omari McQueen for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Sabiyha and Hafdis Huld.
Davie Martindale joined Livingston FC as a volunteer six years ago, picking up bibs and cones after training sessions. Now he is managing a team that's about to play in the Scottish League Cup Final..
It has been an unconventional and bumpy rise to the top. Martindale went to jail in 2006, doing time for his involvement in organised crime, Mark Coles talks to his family, friends and football colleagues about his past, his leadership style and what the future may hold. Will his chequered history thwart his ambition?
20. Justin Theroux
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 the last episode of the series, Louis catches up with actor, writer and director Justin Theroux - who also happens to be Louis's cousin. With Justin in Mexico and Louis in Texas, they discuss family holidays in Cape Cod, ADHD and the perils of fighting with rocks. .
"Meeting Myself Coming Back" ,the series in which John Wilson takes key figures back in time through the archives returns with Alastair Campbell, former Labour spin doctor, as the first guest.
For almost a decade after Tony Blair was elected leader of the Labour Party in 1994, Alastair Campbell was one of his most trusted advisors, serving as press secretary and then Downing Street director of Communications. Under his press management, the party went on to reinvent itself as New Labour and in 1997 won its first General Election for nearly 20 years.
But Campbell was also often embroiled in controversy, such as the alleged "sexing up" of the dossier that formed part of the basis for war with Iraq in 2003 .There were also accusations that he was too powerful.
John surprises Alastair with clips from his past, from his early days as a sports journalist in Devon to his time at the heart of Government and his subsequent activities as a mental health campaigner.
Brief Lives by Tom Fry and Sharon Kelly.
A teacher is arrested for an unlawful relationship with a fifteen year old pupil. The teacher admits it. But Frank and Sarah realise that this is a far from straight forward case.
Mike Williams investigates the biochemistry of the brain’s reward system in an effort to detect the cause of addiction. How can things which initially bring such pleasure become such a destructive force? Mike talks to scientists and former addicts who speak frankly as he searches for some answers.
“America is back”, said President Joe Biden, ushering in a new era of US foreign policy. There is a lot in his in-tray. Having announced an end to US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, he faces a coup in Myanmar, Russia’s election meddling and the “very credible case” of genocide against the Uighurs in China. There has been a sense for some time that liberal democracy is in retreat, politically, morally and perhaps also militarily. The result, according to some, is that we have become toothless in holding aggressive actors and rogue regimes to account. David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee, has described this as the ‘Age of Impunity’, where “war crimes go unpunished” and “militaries, militias, and mercenaries in conflicts around the world believe they can get away with anything”. Others might argue we have short memories, and the last century is full of tyrants we neglected to confront, atrocities we failed to prevent and conflicts we made worse through our morally-motivated interventions. If the US is resetting the global democratic order, recommitting to alliances and international agreements, what should be its guiding principles? Is there a place for morality in global affairs, or has it always been about realpolitik and enlightened self-interest? As a nation and as a group of nations, is it time to assert strong moral values on the global stage, whatever the consequences, or is it better to be pragmatic and honest about the problems we can and can’t solve? With David Miliband, Dr Joseph Nye, Prof Adrian Pabst and Prof Patrick Porter.
This year's Counterpoint tournament reaches the semi-final stage, with Paul Gambaccini welcoming back three of the heat winners from earlier in the series, all competing via remote link in a time of Covid lockdown.
The pace hots up and the competitors can expect the questions to be tougher, as the race is on in earnest for places in the 2021 Final. As always, they'll be tested on their knowledge of a wide variety of music, with plenty of musical extracts both rare and familiar.
Michael Symmons Roberts begins a bold new three-part series examining the fascination poets have forever held with notions around metamorphosis and the body.
From Homer’s account of Circe’s transformation of men into swine and Ovid’s great classic Metamorphosis, the conceit has been picked up through the centuries by many of our greatest writers including Shakespeare, Kafka and Stevenson.
Over the course of the series, Michael examines how poets today are engaging with the theme of transformation, whether that is through re-imagining classical works from a feminist perspective or using it as a means to explore identity in the 21st Century. Some of the biggest and most interesting names in contemporary poetry shaer their thoughts - Jorie Graham, Michael Longley, Alice Oswald, Patience Agbabi, Fiona Benson, Will Harris, Andrew McMillan and more.
In this first episode, Michael talks with Professor Edith Hall about the reasons metamorphosis was such source of fascination for writers in Ancient Greece and Rome. He also speaks with writers including Cheri Magid and Fiona Benson who are re-writing Ovid’s tales with renewed emphasis upon the sexual assaults that so often feature in these foundational stories and which have frequently been air-brushed out of historical translations.
Part Two will deal with the possibilities that technology and science offer in terms of future transformations, while Part Three will consider the changes that take place in our bodies over the course of a lifetime.
SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2021
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m000s7kl)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Disability: A New History (b02143yp)
Sex and Marriage
Peter White explores sex and marriage between disabled people and reveals the shameful history of eugenics in Britain.
The programme begins with a document from Buckingham Palace - an order for some glamorous undergarments for a Royal Trousseau. They were sewn by the women of the Girls' Friendly Society, a group of disabled seamstresses who made a living by sewing sexy underwear. But they themselves had no expectation of marriage, or a sex life. In fact, if they were discovered not to be a virgin they were expelled from the group.
For disabled women - or men - the idea of sex or marriage was taboo. The programme traces the fear of 'bad blood' - the early and shameful history of the eugenics movement in Britain. It was a potent mixture of bad science and fear, and it ran right through society. The birth control pioneer Marie Stopes, for instance, became hysterical at the prospect of her son marrying a girl who had bad eyesight and refused to attend the wedding.
But despite such fears, there were of course romantic relationships between disabled people - not surprising, when so many of young people were living together in residential institutions in the 19th century. New research from a Swansea institution for the deaf reveals that the official rules about sex, and the reality of what happened, were very different.
With historians Professor Joanna Bourke, Mike Mantin and Vivienne Richmond. Documents are brought vividly to life by actors Euan Bailey, Gerard McDermott and Madeleine Brolly.
Producer: Elizabeth Burke
Academic adviser: David Turner of Swansea University
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:30 Short Works (m000s3pl)
Progress by Jo Lloyd
With their rural house yet to join the National Grid, a couple disagree about what constitutes progress in this specially commissioned work for for radio.
Writer Jo Lloyd grew up in South Wales and won the BBC National Short Story Award in 2019 for "The Invisible", inspired by the life of an 18th Century woman from Carnarvonshire. It is one of the stories included in her debut collection The Earth, Thy Great Exchequer, Ready Lies which is published by Swift Books in February 2021
Reader: Amanda Lawrence
Producer: Ciaran Bermingham
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000s7kn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000s7kq)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000s7ks)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m000s7kv)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m000s7kx)
The Minster and Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Southwell in Nottinghamshire
Bells on Sunday comes from the Minster and Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Southwell in Nottinghamshire. There has been a church on this site since early Saxon times. In 1711, the church was struck by lightning, destroying its ring of eight bells. A new ring of eight was subsequently recast by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester. Since then, individual bells were replaced by various founders and in 1961 the bells were augmented to twelve bells by John Taylor of Loughborough. The tenor weighs twenty five and a quarter hundredweight and is tuned to the note of D. We hear them ringing Cambridge Surprise Maximus.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m000s7kc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News (m000s83z)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b03nrnqr)
In the Interest of Boredom
The Desert Fathers complained of the 'noonday demon' that tempted them away from God. Pliny wrote of people ending their lives because of taedium. But it was Charles Dickens who gave it the name we use today: boredom. He called it the 'chronic malady' of modern life.
John McCarthy explores this most frustrating of moods, that strips the world of meaning and forces us to face ourselves. With readings from David Foster Wallace, Fernando Pessoa and Evagrius Ponticus, and music by Alain Chamfort, Shostakovich and Erik Satie.
Producer: Jo Fidgen
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m000s841)
British Flowers for 2021
For Valentine’s Day, Verity Sharp is out hunting for interestingly shaped bits of shrubbery and the hint of buds breaking, and catches up with flower farmer Georgie Newbery. Two years ago Verity visited Georgie at her cut flower business in Somerset, where she grows the plants on her farm. The world has since changed, and for this programme Verity hears how Georgie's business has adapted and thrived.
Produced by Beatrice Fenton
SUN 06:57 Weather (m000s843)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m000s845)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m000s847)
Every Day Sounds That Make Us Happy; Dissappeared Christian and Black Church Domestic Abuse.
What every day sounds make you happy; the sound of a coffee pot percolating, a cat purring or Church bells ringing? Musician Tommy Perman asked that question and has produced an album using everyday sounds. William Crawley talks to Tommy about why and how he made the album happen?
On 13 February 2017, Malaysian Christian worker Raymond Koh was abducted. His family has been lobbying for his release or news of his fate ever since. They say they've received minimal cooperation from the Police or government. The family believe he was abducted for his faith and the Christian work he and his wife did among the destitute and people with HIV. He is not the only “disappeared” Christian in Malaysia in recent years. This will be the first time his wife Susanna has spoken to Western media about her and the family’s ordeal.
A resource - thought to be the first of its kind - to help black majority churches response effectively to the issue of domestic abuse has been developed after it became apparent that women felt the churches weren't doing enough about the issue and in some cases were even turning a blind eye. It comes at a time when domestic abuse offences have increased across the board during the pandemic. It's the work of the Black Church Domestic Abuse Forum (BCDAF) which was formed five years ago to address the issue. We hear from Kim Bacchus and Dr Ava Kanyeredzi both involved in the work.
Producers:
Carmel Lonergan
Catherine Earlam
Editor:
Tim Pemberton
Photo Credit: Roel Knappstein
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m000s849)
Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI)
Katie Gee, who was attacked with acid as a teenager, makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI).
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 ‘Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI)’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI)’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 1154961
SUN 07:57 Weather (m000s84c)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m000s84f)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m000s84h)
Facets of Love
‘This is love’. Those are the words of John, the ‘beloved disciple’ - seeing out his latter years with the congregation of his beloved church in Ephesus. In the centuries since, poets and musicians of every hue have been happy to complete the sentence for him. To Han Suyin it was a ‘many splendored thing’, to Freddie Mercury it was a ‘crazy little thing’, and to William Thackeray it was a thing which makes fools of us all. Maybe all are true, but St John himself does not leave it undefined. With Baptist Minister the Revd Richard Littledale. Reading: 1 John 4: 7 – 21. Producer: Andrew Earis
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m000s3qm)
Going Underground
Will Self reflects on a year of not travelling on the London underground... and why he's starting to miss it.
"On winter days," writes Will, "when it's dark first thing, then twilight, then dark again, the tube achieves its most magical state."
And he says that, without the tube, the city seems to have lost its foundations.
Producer: Adele Armstrong
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hky3h)
Satin Bowerbird
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents Australia's satin bowerbird. Then male is a blackish looking bird with bright purple eyes, whose plumage diffracts the light to produce an indigo sheen with a metallic lustre. He builds a U-shaped bower of sticks on the forest floor into which he hopes to lure a female. But brown twigs on a brown woodland floor aren't very eye-catching, so he jazzes up the scene with an array of objects from berries and bottle-tops to clothes-pegs and even ballpoint pens. All have one thing in common: they are blue. The male dances around his bower to attract the greenish females: often holding something blue to impress her. As he poses, he calls enticingly to advertise his prowess. Once she's made her choice, she will leave to build her nest and rear her young alone.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m000s84k)
News with Paddy O'Connell including Valentines under lockdown and making British fish sexy. Reviewing the news coverage TV legend John Stapleton, comedian Stephen K Amos and political journalist Katy Balls.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m000s84m)
Writer, Katie Hims and Daniel Thurman
Director, Peter Leslie Wild
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Tony Archer .... David Troughton
Brian Aldridge.... Charles Collingwood
Alice Carter ... Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter ... Wilf Scolding
Susan Carter ... Charlotte Martin
Neil Carter.... Brian Hewlett
Justin Elliot.... Simon Williams
Emma Grundy .... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Shula Hebden-Lloyd .... Judy Bennett
Tracy Horrobin.... Susie Riddell
Kirsty Miller .... Annabelle Dowler
Peggy Woolley ... June Spencer
SUN 10:54 Tweet of the Day (m000s84p)
Tweet Take 5 : Chaffinch and Brambling
The cheery song of the chaffinch is a familiar sound in the landscape, especially welcome as one of the first birds to sing at the end of winter. Their northern equivelent the brambling breeds across northern Europe and are regular winter visitors to Britain. In this extended version of Tweet of the Day featuring the chaffinch and the brambling with we discover more from ecologist Brian Briggs, wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson and wildlife cameraman John Aitcheson.
Producer : Andrew Dawes
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs (m000s84r)
Malala Yousafzai, activist
Malala Yousafzai is an activist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize when she was 17 - becoming the youngest winner in its history. Today she is known globally for her human rights advocacy and her ongoing campaign to ensure all children have equal access to education.
She was born in the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan where her father Ziauddin was a prominent activist who believed boys and girls should sit side by side in the classroom and co-founded a school which Malala attended. After the Taliban began to establish its presence in the Valley, day-to-day life became synonymous with danger and fear – people were taken from their homes and killed for speaking out against the regime. Education for girls was forbidden and schools were shut down or bombed.
In 2009 Malala began writing an anonymous blog for BBC Urdu in which she spoke out about what was happening in Swat Valley. This made her a target. In 2012 she was shot by a Taliban gunman as she sat on the school bus. Two girls sitting alongside her were also shot. What Malala calls ‘the incident’ generated headlines around the world. Her injuries were severe and she was airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. After a long and painful recovery she settled in Birmingham with her family.
Now 23, Malala graduated from the University of Oxford last year and continues to campaign globally for girls’ education through the Malala Fund which she co-founded with her father.
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley
SUN 11:45 The Battles That Won Our Freedoms (m0001yd8)
4 Freedom of the Press
In this episode, Phil Tinline asks Dr Robin Eagles to explain how the 18th century journalist, politician and libertine went to prison for criticizing the King. And how, undaunted by gaol, exile and a duelling injury, Wilkes fought back - and managed to get the government to concede the right of the press to write about, and criticize, Parliament.
And Phil asks Milton Keynes journalist Sally Murrer what she makes of Wilkes' battles, given her own experience. In 2007 Sally was bugged, arrested and charged with aiding and abetting misconduct in public office in relation to her conversations with a source in the police. More than a year passed before the evidence was finally ruled inadmissible, with the judge citing her right to freedom of expression.
First broadcast in 2019.
Producer: Phil Tinline
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m000s84t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:04 The Unbelievable Truth (m000s1sr)
Series 25
Episode 5
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 goats, sound, fighting and ghosts.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m000s811)
Charles Campion: A Life Through Food.
The writer Charles Campion, who passed away recently, was an obsessive collector of food stories. With the help of Jay Rayner, Cyrus Todiwala, Nigel Barden, Mark Hix and Angela Hartnett, Dan Saladino finds out why.
Charles had first worked in advertising, then became a chef in his own hotel-restaurant and eventually turned to food writing. He made numerous appearances on The Food Programme and was a longstanding judge in the BBC Food and Farming Awards. As Jay Rayner explains in this edition, 'the food world will be all the poorer for him not being in it.'
Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Photo credit: Dominick Tyler.
SUN 12:57 Weather (m000s84x)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m000s84z)
Edward Stourton looks at the week’s big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 The Listening Project (m000s851)
Conversations for Future Generations
Fi Glover presents friends and strangers in conversation as the nation adjusts to the 'new normal'. In this week's programme: Yvonne and Maurice, both diagnosed with HIV, reflect on the challenges of living with the condition; Matt and Jen share their passion for chess and celebrate the surge of popularity the game is currently enjoying in lockdown; and Carol and Mark talk through the similarities and differences between what women and men look for when online dating.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moments of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in this decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Mohini Patel
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000s3pg)
GQT at Home: Sunken Beds and Nostalgic Scents
Kathy Clugston hosts the horticultural Q&A. Matthew Wilson, Chris Beardshaw and Bunny Guinness answer questions from the virtual audience on a variety of subjects, from how best to propagate a rose to salvaging a sunken bed.
Away from the questions, Jacquie Felix-Mitchell teaches you how to create your own secret garden from scratch, and Ashley Edwards advises on what to sow now.
Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Jemima Rathbone
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Disability: A New History (b02147h7)
Brave Poor Things
Disabled children are everywhere in popular fiction - Tiny Tim, What Katy Did, The Secret Garden. But what about the real children of the 19th century? What were their lives like, and where can we hear their voices?
In this 9th programme in the series, Peter White searches for documents which reveal the reality of children's lives.
He discovers new research into the history of the Brave Poor Things, a charity which set out to 'save' disabled children across the country through organised games, outings, and a Guild song:
'A trouble's a ton, A trouble's an ounce
A trouble is what you make it.
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts
But only how did you take it.'
The literature of the Brave Poor Things includes quotes from children - like this girl:
'O! I am so glad to be a cripple!' said a happy-faced girl one day when away in the country. 'Glad?' questioned someone. What DO you mean? And she answered, 'I can't help being glad. It is so beautiful to belong to the Guild, and I couldn't unless I had lost my leg.'
That's from fund-raising propaganda - but it's not a real girl's voice. Using images of pathetic children to raise money for charity has had a powerful legacy.
Just occasionally, there is a real child's voice. Peter discovers a letter from a little girl in a Swansea Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and it is almost unbearably moving:
'I do feel homesick. When are you coming to see me? Do you know how long I have to stop here? The children are all dumb here, I am the only girl that can speak.'
With historians Julie Anderson, Joanna Bourke and Mike Mantin.
Producer: Elizabeth Burke
Academic adviser: David Turner of Swansea University
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 15:00 Hardy's Women (m000s853)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Episode 1
New three-part dramatisation of Thomas Hardy's novel about beautiful, poor, young Dorset woman Tess Durbeyfield, told from Tess's point of view. In today's episode, Tess's father is convinced that the family's fortunes are about to improve.
Cast
TESS ..... Faye Marsay
ANGEL ..... Matthew Tennyson
ALEC ..... Robert Emms
ROSIE ..... Bettrys Jones
CAR D'ARCY ..... Alex Tregear
FELIX ..... Hasan Dixon
CUTHBERT ..... Chris Lew Kum Hoi
JOAN DURBEYFIELD ..... Maggie Service
JACK DURBEYFIELD ..... Roger Ringrose
ABRAHAM ..... Aaron Gelkoff
ELIZABETH/ LIZA LU ..... Ell Potter
ISAAC ..... Noah Leggott
LILY ..... Tayla Hutchinson
MRS D’URBERVILLE ..... Elizabeth Counsell
TOM ..... David Seddon
PARSON ..... Tony Turner
Author, Thomas Hardy
Dramatist, Katie Hims
Musical arrangement, Colin Guthrie
Hardy adviser, Professor Graham White
Director, Mary Peate
NOTES:
During 2021 on Radio 4, Hardy’s Women takes a fresh look at some of the novels of Thomas Hardy through the eyes of his female protagonists. Tess of the D’Urbervilles is the first dramatisation. Later titles include Jude the Obscure, The Woodlanders, The Hand of Ethelberta and Two on a Tower.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m000s857)
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke talks to Elizabeth Day about his new novel A Bright Ray of Darkness, the story of a young actor who finds solace and equilibrium on the stage, while his private life is crumbling. He discusses the parallels between his own life and that of his hero; and the difficulties of writing convincingly, and unpretentiously about acting.
Also on the programme Francis Spufford talks to Elizabeth Day about his new novel Light Perpetual, which imagines how five fictional young children in south east London would have lived, had they not been killed by a bomb in World War Two. Through their possible futures, he creates a chronicle of the sweeping social changes in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century and paints an intimate portrait of lives lived during those changes. Professor David Edgerton joins him to cast an historian's eye over the period.
And Ashley Audrain, author of The Push, on the new ways that psychological thriller writers are depicting motherhood.
Book List – Sunday 14 February and Thursday 18 February
A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke
The Hottest State by Ethan Hawke
Ash Wednesday by Ethan Hawke
The Push by Ashley Audrain
Lullaby by Leila Slimani
Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
Mothers: An Essay on Love and Cruelty by Jacqueline Rose
The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferranti
Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
The Rise and Fall of the British Nation by David Edgerton
SUN 16:30 Modern Metamorphoses (m000s859)
Episode 2
In the second episode of this three part series, Michael Symmons Roberts considers how poets and artists are reacting to the various ways science and technology are already transforming our bodies and will continue to do so in future - in sometimes extraordinary ways.
Keisha Thompson discusses her new work about gene-hacking, while Jill Magid describes the reactions of her parents to her decision to transform her ashes into a diamond in the name of art.
Michael also considers how other bodily transformations have become so much a part of our modern lives - in the form of Marvel movies and body-building, for example, or tattooing, as discussed by Andrew McMillan and Helen Mort respectively.
Rachel Mann describes the difficulties of articulating the physical elements of her transition as a trans woman in her poems, while Jorie Graham urges caution in accepting the metamorphic possibilities offered by technology simply because they are available.
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m000s19p)
Unmasked: Stories from the PPE Frontline
After the Covid-19 pandemic hit, reserves of personal protective equipment quickly dried up. Stories about frontline staff lacking the kit they needed made headlines night after night and photos of nurses wearing bin bags for protection began circulating on social media. In response, the government began hunting down new supplies just as global demand surged. It started using emergency powers to award PPE contracts worth tens of millions of pounds without opening them to competition, leading to claims that some companies were favoured because of their political connections. Phil Kemp investigates what the government got for the £12.5 billion it spent on PPE and uncovers concerns about the quality of some of the kit that was bought. The Department of Health and Social Care said it had been working tirelessly to deliver PPE to protect health and social staff throughout the pandemic with nearly eight billion items delivered so far.
Producer: Anna Meisel
Editor: Gail Champion
SUN 17:40 Profile (m000s7kc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000s85c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 17:57 Weather (m000s85f)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000s85h)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m000s85k)
Johny Pitts
Your favourite restaurant’s closed, your usual weekend away is off the cards and you can’t even pay a visit to the florist - not to worry! For Valentine’s Day, we've been looking for love in the best of this week’s radio, and we're diving deeper than just the romantic - celebrating family with Louis Theroux, ancestral ties with Jason Moran, travel with Bill Bryson and other stories that will make your heart sing…
Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production support: Emmie Hume
Studio Manager: Sue Stonestreet
SUN 19:00 Stillicide (m0008qgv)
Episode 7: Rooftop
Cynan Jones' electrifying series set in the very near future - a future a little, but not quite like our own.
Water is commodified and the Water Train that feeds the city is increasingly at risk of sabotage. And now ice bergs are set to be towed to a huge ice dock outside the capital city, sparking large-scale protests.
Today we return to police marksman, John Branner, who readies himself on a London rooftop as the protest march begins...
Reader: Richard Goulding
Writer: Cynan Jones
Producer: Justine Willett
Music: Original music by Kirsten Morrison
SUN 19:15 Stand-Up Specials (m000s85m)
Rachel Parris: Austensibly Feminist
Comedian Rachel Parris, a Jane Austen fan and geek, assesses one of our greatest writer's feminist credentials.
Although Jane Austen wrote about a particular class of women at a particular period in our history , the portraits she drew have resonated with millions of subsequent readers. But rarely is she considered from a feminist perspective.
In this stand-up comedy show recorded in front of a live, virtual audience, Rachel Parris asks us to re-appraise Jane Austen's work and see it in a new light. Albeit a little irreverently.
Do Austen's books pass the Bechdel test? What do her sisters tell us about the sisterhood? What have her women got in common with women today and what can we learn from what Jane Austen had to say about marriage, men and money?
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 The Last Resort (m000s85p)
Malcolm
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: Seamus O'Hara
Writer: Jan Carson
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
SUN 20:00 More or Less (m000s2jq)
Brexit exports, cladding and are 1 in 5 disabled?
Are exports to the EU from the UK down 68% since Brexit? This apocalyptic statistic is being widely reported, but does it really tell us what’s happening at Dover and Folkstone?
Ministers are tweeting reassuring numbers about flammable cladding on high rise buildings. We’re not so sure.
Is it really true that one in five people are disabled?
Plus, if you assembled all the coronavirus particles in the world into a pile - how big would it be?
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m000s3pq)
George Shultz, Yvonne Conolly, Maureen Colquhoun, Christopher Plummer
Matthew Bannister on
George Shultz, the US Secretary of State during the Reagan years who came close to brokering a deal to abolish all US and Soviet nuclear weapons.
Yvonne Conolly, Britain’s first black female head teacher who overcame racism to become a role model for others.
Maureen Colquhoun, the first UK member of parliament to be openly in a same sex relationship. When they heard the news, her local Labour Party deselected her.
Christopher Plummer, the Canadian born actor who played many roles on stage and screen, but will always be remembered as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music.
Producer: Neil George
Interviewed guest: Angela Errigo
Interviewed guest: Rose Gottemoeller
Interviewed guest: Philip Taubman
Interviewed guest: Denise Patrick
Interviewed guest: Dame Angela Eagle
Interviewed guest: Peter Tatchell
Archive clips from: Maureen Colquhoun on Countdown to Number 10, Radio 4 TX 3.
5.1979; I Was Britain’s First Black Headteacher, BBC World Service TV, TX 8.
3.2020; West Indian Teacher, Pathe News TX 1969; William Shatner’s memories of Christopher Plummer, BBC World News TX 5.
2.2021
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m000s7jm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m000s849)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 Analysis (m000s1sy)
Rogue Cops
Is it possible to identify rogue cops before they commit offences? Can we change police culture to improve police interactions with the public? The brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis shone a spotlight on how police treat suspects, particularly black suspects. In this Analysis, David Edmonds asks what the science of criminology has discovered about how such tragedies can be stopped. Producer Bethan Head.
Editor Jasper Corbett
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m000s85r)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m000s2rc)
Christopher Lee on The Lord Of The Rings
With Antonia Quirke
This year sees the 20th anniversary of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. To mark the occasion, Antonia revisits her encounter with Christopher Lee in 2001 and hears from London Voices, the choir who sang Elvish on the soundtrack.
Bait director Mark Jenkin continues his exclusive series of audio diaries as he prepares to make a film in lockdown. This week, he begins to scout locations for his supernatural drama Enys Men.
There's another Scene Stealer from writer Nat Segnit: the actor who rarely made it to the final reel, Elisha Cook Jr.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b03nrnqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2021
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m000s85t)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Sideways (m000s7n1)
1. Siding with the Enemy
Best-selling author Matthew Syed explores the ideas that shape our lives with stories of seeing the world differently.
A criminal walks into a Swedish bank brandishing a machine gun. He takes a handful of bank workers hostage. The police lock the victims and their captors in the vault and then things start to get weird. Despite being held captive and threatened with violence, the hostages side with the criminals.
Stockholm Syndrome is born.
In this episode, Matthew Syed reexamines the birth of this peculiar psychiatric disorder and discovers that all is not what it seems.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Music, Sound Design and Mix: Benbrick
Series Editor: Russell Finch
Executive Producers: Sean Glynn and Max O'Brien
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m000s7kx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000s85w)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000s85y)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000s860)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m000s862)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000s864)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with The Reverend Lucy Winkett
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m000s866)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
MON 05:56 Weather (m000s868)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04mlvwc)
Arabian Babbler
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the Arabian babbler of a Yemeni Desert. Arabian babblers could almost be described as feathered meerkats. They're sociable, charismatic and always on the alert. These energetic and curious birds are found around the Arabian peninsula and in Egypt, often in dry scrubby places. They have long tails, curved bills and a bounding gait, and their sandy plumage is superb camouflage against the parched ground where they roam in search of insects and seeds. If on their travels, a group of babblers discovers a snake they will mob it with loud shrieks, raising their wings and calling to each other until they see it off. Arabian babblers don't use their social skills just to chase away predators. They spend all their time in groups of usually four to six adult birds and in these groups their relationships are fluid. They are also co-operative breeders and help each other to rear their chicks, a communal way of life that helps to forge bonds between these very vocal birds.
MON 06:00 Today (m000s800)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m000s802)
Living online and IRL
What happens when real life collides with your digital existence – the writer and ‘Poet Laureate of Twitter’ Patricia Lockwood talks to Andrew Marr. In her highly original novel, No One is Talking About This, Lockwood’s narrator becomes overwhelmed as drama in the human world encroaches on the life she leads online.
Roisin Kiberd is part of the internet generation and believes the line between online and IRL has become so porous as to become meaningless. From the lure of endless scrolling, to the glamour of self-optimisation and the boundless possibility of connectivity, Kiberd explores the ups and downs of this new reality in a series of essays, The Disconnect.
In a new series on Radio 4, Sideways, Matthew Syed exploits different ways of seeing the world to connect disparate ideas and offer new insights. He examines the online craze of ‘randonauting’ – in which an app sends people on random adventures – to unpick the misunderstanding of probability using digital and real life examples.
Producer: Katy Hickman
MON 09:45 How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (m000s81w)
Ep 1 - 51 Billion to Zero
Bill Gates sets out his far-reaching plan for how the world can get to net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 and avoid a climate catastrophe. Read by William Hope.
Bill Gates is a technologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, and in his new book he brings these three strands together to propose an urgent, comprehensive and accessible plan to get the planet to net-zero emissions, before the worst effects of climate change are upon us.
He sets out the climate science simply and explores initiatives like wind power, which are already contributing to a reduction in greenhouse emissions, but he goes on to argue that these existing methods aren't enough to eradicate the 51 billion tons emitted across the globe annually. So he then turns to innovations in technology to get us all the way to zero, from new processes for making steel and cement, to developing the science fundamental to creating plant and cell-based meats, and growing wheat and rice varieties capable of enduring a warmer planet. Lastly, he sets out a roadmap for governments and policymakers to adopt, to ensure that in every continent and country our precious planet remains inhabitable. His ideas are authoritative, expansive and inspiring.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000s806)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
MON 10:45 World of Curls (m000s808)
Relaxer
In Peckham, between the Chicken Shop and the Afro Food Cash & Carry, you'll find World of Curls. Ronkę and her fellow hairdressers Blessing and Peaches will relax or braid, weave or cut.
Going to the hairdresser is where Black women learn about their culture, through the hair styles they see being created, the languages they hear and the stories they'll never forget. And Ronkę shares her worries about her daughter Bim. She is getting into trouble at school and Ronkę and her husband Seun fear this will be a stumbling block for her future. What exactly are their options?
Yolanda Mercy’s Quarter Life Crisis was the first play to be heard on Radio 1Xtra and has been performed in Edinburgh, London, and Lagos, It was chosen to be one of the reopening season shows at the Bridge Theatre, London shows in Autumn 2020 where it played to full houses. Her first TV show BBW was commissioned and broadcast by Channel 4. She is currently on attachment at Soho Theatre as part of Soho Six.
Jade Lewis is a theatre director and directed the stage version of Quarter Life Crisis. Her recent work includes Resident Director on Nine Night at the National Theatre and Trafalgar Studios. She was nominated for the Stage Debut Director’s Award for Superhoe at the Royal Court and was selected by Audible to work on their new writing for audio drama series GNR8T.
Together they have created World of Curls.
Cast:
Ronkẹ Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ
Seun Yinka Awoni
Nicola & Bim Emerald Crankson
Blessing Deborah Bahi
Sound Engineer Wilfred Acosta
Sound Designer Richard Haynes
Written by Yolanda Mercy
Directed by Jade Lewis
Produced by Caroline Raphael
A Dora production for BBC Radio 4
Photograph credit: Kiraly Saint Claire
MON 11:00 My Name Is... (m000s80b)
My Name Is Elvis
Elvis lives in Stroud in Gloucestershire. He makes a living performing poems to a paying audience who sometimes also buy his books. But Elvis hasn't seen a real audience since Burns Night 2020. As lockdown two begins, he seeks advice on how to carry on. Funny, uplifting and filled with his trademark verse, this is the story of a man, his charismatic alter ego, and his cats.
With contributions from Mrs Elvis, plus Luke Wright, who did 100 online shows in 100 days; Lottie and Miles from the Prince Albert pub, home to many raucous nights in Stroud; and the producer Frank Stirling, who explains the joys of the virtual audience.
Produced in Bristol by Miles Warde
MON 11:30 How to Vaccinate the World (m000s80d)
Incentives
More than a 100 million people around the world have received a jab for Covid 19. But, we’re greedy - we want more. The virus is mutating, so vaccinations need to happen faster. And our vaccines are good, but will have to get better. Economists like to talk about incentives to get products to market faster, but will these tools that will work for the development of vaccines? This week Tim Harford puts this question to Professor Michael Kremer, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics,
Anna Mouser of the Wellcome Trust and Patrick Tippo of Biovac in South Africa.
Producers: Sandra Kanthal and Josephine Casserly
Listener Questions can be sent to: vaccine@bbc.co.uk
MON 12:00 News Summary (m000s80g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000s80j)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 12:06 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000s80l)
Episode 6
1944: In the fictional south London borough of Bexford, a German rocket explodes, destroying an entire store and part of the high street. Among the dead are Valerie, Jo, Vern, Alec and Ben - four year-olds who were accompanying their mothers to Woolworths.
‘Their part in time is done’ but what of their possible futures? In ‘some other version of the reel of time’ their might-be and could-be lives are played out across the next 65 years.
It's 1979 and the printers dispute at The Times Newspaper shows no sign of ending yet. Vernon Taylor finds himself on the street in need of a place to stay.
Francis Spufford’s first novel, Golden Hill, won the Costa First Novel Award, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, and the Desmond Elliott Prize. His second novel takes its title from the Book of Common Prayer - Give to the departed eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them.
Written by Francis Spufford
Read by Jamie Parker
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
MON 12:20 You and Yours (m000s80n)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m000s80q)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m000s80s)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
MON 13:45 Life Chances (m000s80v)
Acton High
20 years ago, journalist Athar Ahmad walked through the gates of his secondary school in west London. The school was what everyone in the area described as a ‘rough’ school but its students all felt as though they faced many of the same challenges and went through many of the same experiences.
But three of Athar’s classmates wouldn’t make it to the age he is now.
In this raw and personal series, Athar asks why the lives of his classmates went down such different paths and why three of them ended up dead - murdered brutally and violently.
As Athar tries to make sense of what happened, he explores issues around multiculturalism, identity and life for communities in the UK, told through the prism of a school at the crossroads of modern Britain.
Presenter: Athar Ahmad
Producer: Georgia Catt
MON 14:00 Homeschool History (m000skm0)
William Shakespeare
Join Greg Jenner in 16th century England to meet the bard himself, one of England's greatest writers, William Shakespeare.
How did he go from the son of a glove maker in Stratford Upon Avon to a famed theatre owner, actor and writer in London? What was life really like in a Shakespearean theatre? And which Disney film was influenced by his work hundreds of years later?
Produced by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:15 Faith, Hope and Glory (m000s80x)
Series 1
Clement and Gloria
It's 1948, and two years since Clement and Gloria rescued an abandoned child in Tilbury Dock, and completed their unusual family. Now, they pursue their separate lives until their daughter Joy forces them to admit what is most valuable to them.
Cast
Gloria ..... Pippa Bennett Warner
Clement ..... Stefan Adegbola
Hope ..... Danielle Vitalis
Neville ..... Chris Jack
Olubuki ..... Rex Obano
Martina ..... Clare Perkins
Ida ..... Emma Handy
Gerard ..... Hasan Dixon
Stephens ..... Ian Dunnett Jnr
Post Mistress ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Sallow ..... Roger Ringrose
Writer, Rex Obano
Director, Jessica Dromgoole
Producer, Mary Peate
MON 15:00 Counterpoint (m000s80z)
Series 34
Semi-final 2
(11/13)
Paul Gambaccini welcomes another three of this season's heat winners to compete for a place in the Final of the musical general knowledge tournament. All of the competitors, and Paul himself, are joining in from home in a contest recorded under Covid lockdown conditions.
The questions range across pop music of the 80s, Mozart operas, theme music from classic 70s crime movies and the musical accompaniment to Stephen Fry's Greek myths. As always, the semi-finalists will have to pick a theme on which to answer a set of individual questions, with no prior warning of the categories they're given to choose from.
Today's returning semi-finalists are
Peter Almond, a semi-retired solicitor from Bristol
David Hale, an audio technician from South London
Anju Sharda, a civil servant from Hertfordshire.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m000s811)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Sketches: Stories of Art and People (m000s813)
Remaking
The writer Anna Freeman hears stories of people using art and creativity to reinvent, rebuild and to remake old traditions.
Callen Martin was taken into care at the age of four and grew up with a foster family. Through his childhood and teenage years he escaped into books whenever things were tough, but rarely saw an accurate reflection of his own experiences. Today, he is working on his first novel for young adults - writing the characters and experiences he always wanted to see.
Growing up in the Midlands, as small girl Parv Kaur didn't go out and play with her brothers and sisters. Instead, she'd sit in the back room watching her father rehearse with his band and became fascinated and enthralled with the bhangra music they played. She loved music but couldn't see there was a place for her in the male-dominated world of bhangra. She grew up to become the UK's first female dhol drummer, and now leads an all-female bhangra group, playing weddings, TV shows and even Glastonbury.
Eleanor Kerr-Patton is an art jeweller who uses her jewellery to explore her relationship with her own mental health. She uses a process inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi, a traditional method of repairing broken pottery with golden lacquer to show rather than hide the broken places.
Produced by Mair Bosworth and Maggie Ayre
MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m000s815)
A History of Rock
A History of Rock
Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by rock enthusiasts Ross Noble, paleontologist Susie Maidment and geologist Chris Jackson to look at the history of rock. Unfortunately for Ross, this turns out to mean actual rolling stones, rather than THE Rolling Stones. We hear what secrets the study of rock reveals about the very birth of our planet, to the incredible creatures that walked the Earth many millions of years ago, preserved in our ancient stones.
Producer: Alexandra Feachem
MON 17:00 PM (m000s817)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000s81c)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m000s81f)
Series 25
Episode 6
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.
Sarah Millican and Gary Delaney, Marcus Brigstocke and Rachel Parris, and Lucy Porter and Justin Edwards are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as nudity, horses and Valentine's Day.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m000s81h)
Tony reaches the end of his tether and Lynda has a cunning plan.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m000s81k)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
MON 19:45 World of Curls (m000s808)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 After Trump (m000s7m5)
The Economy
James Naughtie looks at how Joe Biden will deal with Donald Trump's economic legacy.
In this third part of his series examining the Trump presidency and how Joe Biden will chart a different course, James turns his attention to the US economy: for so long the engine of the world economy. He finds some stark differences - where Donald Trump saw deregulation as the path to economic growth, Joe Biden will take the opposite approach, with a focus on tackling climate change a key part of his economic message. But away from the environment, on their approaches to tax cuts and economic stimulus, as well as how they approach international trade, the differences are far less stark. James finds that in some of these areas, President Trump's change of course is unlikely to be reversed.
Producers: Giles Edwards and Jonathan Brunert.
MON 20:30 Analysis (m000s81m)
Flying Blind
What do we really know about the policy choices confronting us? Covid-19 has been a brutal lesson in the extent of our ignorance. We face hard decisions, and argue about them ferociously, when in truth we’re often in the dark about their full consequences. But Covid is not unusual in this respect - and we could learn from it. Other areas of life and policy are similarly obscured. Not that we like to admit it. How well, for example, do we know what the economy is up to? Quite possibly not nearly as well as you might think - even to the extent that it’s recently been suggested the first estimates of GDP can’t be sure of telling the difference between boom and bust - the problem really can be that extreme. Some recessions have turned out to be illusions. In this programme Michael Blastland examines our collective ignorance and how it affects policy and debate, asking if public argument needs a lot more humility.
Producer Caroline Bayley
Editor Jasper Corbett
MON 21:00 Black and Blue (m000s18d)
Hugh Muir has spent much of his journalistic career chronicling the working lives of Britain’s black and minority ethnic police officers. In this programme, he investigates claims that racism is on the rise within policing in the UK.
In 1990, the Met acknowledged that it had a problem holding on to its black officers and decided to ask black and Asian staff why so many of them were leaving. Almost all the force’s black police officers attended a two-day meeting at the then Bristol Polytechnic that summer. They had no choice - it was mandatory. The officers all shared experiences of racist ‘banter’ and other mistreatment they had suffered on the job. Many found it therapeutic.
However, 30 years on from the ‘Bristol meeting’, black officers say that despite some initial improvements, not much has changed. Some even contend that racism within policing got worse. And since the backlash that followed the killing of George Floyd last year, black officers now face growing hostility from outside as well as from within.
For this programme, Hugh has spoken to several black and minority ethnic officers, both serving and retired. They include Andrew George, President of the National Black Police Association, and retired superintendent Leroy Logan, whose life story was recently adapted for the screen by the Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen in his film anthology Small Axe.
“I think black cops deserve more internal and external support as the key to making the real progress we all say we want,” Hugh says.
Produced by George Luke
A Cast Iron Radio production for BBC Radio 4
MON 21:30 Start the Week (m000s802)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m000s81q)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
MON 22:45 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000s80l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
MON 23:00 Loose Ends (m000s7k9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
MON 23:30 The Austerity Audit (m000mcp4)
Episode 1
Its ten years since George Osborne revealed the biggest cuts to government spending since the Second World War. Now, in this post Covid world, the government faces a new, far bigger challenge as it tries to shore up a plunging economy.
In this four-part series, Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, examines a decade of austerity to ask why it happened, did it need to happen, what were the effects and what next? He talks to some of the leading players in the drama such as Alistair Darling, former Chief Secretary to the Treasury Nick Macpherson, former minister David Gauke and former policy adviser to Nick Clegg, Polly Mackenzie as well as some of those directly affected.
The first programme looks at the origins of a decade austerity, its roots in the 2008 banking crisis and the key spending reviews of 2010 and 2015 which delivered huge cuts to many government departments. The second programme looks at the impact on austerity on the Justice Department and local government. The third on the welfare system and education and the final programme looks at how austerity has hit the NHS and what economic options the current Chancellor Rishi Sunak faces dealing with a government deficit estimated to be £300bn.
Helping Paul Johnson is financial blogger Iona Bain who asks how austerity has affected her generation of millennials and how the Covid crisis is going to affect the fortunes of those in currently in their twenties and thirties.
TUESDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2021
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m000s81t)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 00:30 How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (m000s81w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000s81y)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000s820)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000s822)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m000s824)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000s826)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with The Reverend Lucy Winkett
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m000s828)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mzv9d)
Great Northern Diver
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Chris Packham presents the story of the great northern diver. The wailing cries of a great northern diver echo around the lakes where they live. If the bird sounds striking, then its appearance is just as dramatic....a dagger bill, sleek submarine–shaped body, it's plumage covered in graphic patterns of black and white stripes, dots and dashes.
TUE 06:00 Today (m000s9tk)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m000s180)
Jane Hurst on the secret life of mice
Mice, like humans, prefer to be treated with a little dignity, and that extends to how they are handled.
Pick a mouse up by its tail, as was the norm in laboratories for decades, and it gets anxious. Make a mouse anxious and it can skew the results of the research it’s being used for.
What mice like, and how they behave, is the focus of Professor Jane Hurst’s research. Much of that behaviour, she’s discovered, can be revealed by following what they do with their noses - where they take them and what’s contained in the scent marks they sniff.
Now William Prescott Professor of Animal Science at the University of Liverpool, Jane has unravelled a complex array of scent signals that underpin the way mice communicate, and how each selects a mate.
Within this heady mix of male scent, she’s identified one particular pheromone that is so alluring to females that she named it Darcin, after Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.
Producer: Beth Eastwood
TUE 09:30 One to One (m000s182)
My Donation Story: Sabet Choudhury meets Faruk Choudhury
Five years ago BBC journalist Sabet Choudhury donated a kidney to his mother. She’d been given just three years to live and the transplant transformed her life. Sabet, who is of Bangladeshi origin, says it wasn’t a difficult decision to make once he realised she could be waiting for years, because of a shortage of Asian donors in the UK. In this, the second of three programmes, Sabet talks to Faruk Choudhury. He is no relation, but he was Lord Mayor of Bristol in 2013 and he set out to increase the number of blood and organ donations from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in the city. This was happening at the same time that Sabet was coming to terms with his mum’s failing health and his decision to donate, so he followed the Lord Mayor’s project closely and sees it as part of his own donation story.
Produced by Jo Dwyer for BBC Audio in Bristol
TUE 09:45 How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (m000s9w7)
Ep 2 - How We Make Things
Bill Gates on the charm of concrete. This miracle substance is everywhere and millions and millions of tons of it are produced every year contributing heavily to greenhouse emissions, but what if it could be made sustainably? Gates turns to technological innovations for answers to this and other questions about how we manufacture the materials that the modern world is made of. William Hope reads.
Bill Gates is a technologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, and in his new book he brings these three strands together to propose an urgent, comprehensive and accessible plan to get the planet to net-zero emissions, before the worst effects of climate change are upon us.
He sets out the climate science simply and explores initiatives like wind power, which are already contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but he goes on to argue that on their own, these existing methods aren't enough to eradicate the 51 billion tons emitted across the globe annually. So he then turns to the innovations which promise to get us all the way to zero emissions, from new processes for making steel and cement, to developing the science fundamental to creating plant and cell-based meats. Lastly, he sets out a roadmap for governments and policymakers to adopt, to ensure that in every continent and country our precious planet remains inhabitable. Although he makes it plain that it’s going be a hard journey, his ideas are authoritative, expansive and inspiring.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000s9tp)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 10:45 World of Curls (m000s9tr)
Weave
In Peckham, between the Chicken Shop and the Afro Food Cash & Carry, you'll find World of Curls. Ronkę and her fellow hairdressers Blessing and Peaches will relax or braid, weave or cut.
Going to the hairdresser is where Black women learn about their culture, through the hair styles they see being created, the languages they hear and the stories they'll never forget. And Ronkę shares her worries about her daughter Bim. She is getting into trouble at school and Ronkę and her husband Seun fear this will be a stumbling block for her future.
Yolanda Mercy’s Quarter Life Crisis was the first play to be heard on Radio 1Xtra and has been performed in Edinburgh, London, and Lagos, It was chosen to be one of the reopening season shows at the Bridge Theatre, London shows in Autumn 2020 where it played to full houses. Her first TV show BBW was commissioned and broadcast by Channel 4. She is currently on attachment at Soho Theatre as part of Soho Six.
Jade Lewis is a theatre director and directed the stage version of Quarter Life Crisis. Her recent work includes Resident Director on Nine Night at the National Theatre and Trafalgar Studios. She was nominated for the Stage Debut Director’s Award for Superhoe at the Royal Court and was selected by Audible to work on their new writing for audio drama series GNR8T.
Together they have created World of Curls.
Cast:
Ronkẹ Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ
Peaches Michelle Greenidge
Blessing Deborah Bahi
Seun & Jacob Yinka Awoni
Destiny & Bim Emerald Crankson
Caller & Chantelle Yolanda Mercy
Sound Designer Richard Haynes
Written by Yolanda Mercy
Directed by Jade Lewis
Produced by Caroline Raphael
A Dora production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:00 England's Level Best (m000s9tt)
When Boris Johnson won the 2019 election, he did so pledging to tackle regional inequality and invest in parts of the country that felt left behind .
His desire to 'level up' the UK is not the first attempt by a government to tackle one of the most fundamental problems in the country’s economy. But his plans were quickly derailed by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now he faces the enormous challenge of delivering tangible improvements to the lives of those who voted for him, while rebuilding the country after successive lockdowns.
Can it be done?
Political journalist Sebastian Payne takes a road trip to speak to business owners, residents and politicians from across the North and the Midlands - from Sedgefield and Liverpool to Stoke-on-Trent.
He mulls over the importance of the 'levelling up' agenda, hearing from key figures like Labour’s Lisa Nandy on the need to broaden the government's focus beyond the cities. He speaks to former chancellor George Osborne about why his Northern Powerhouse agenda was abandoned, and policy makers Rachel Wolf and Diane Coyle about why 'levelling up' is important.
And he asks transport secretary Grant Shapps whether his government’s ambitious plans can be realised.
Presenter: Sebastian Payne
Producer: Ellie Clifford
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:30 Mary Portas: On Style (m000skq6)
Make Do & Mend: Michelle Ogundehin and the happy home, Orsola de Castro and Anki Josefsson on making and caring for your clothes
Mary Portas explores what style means to us and the way we live today. This week, make do and mend...but make it fashion.
Mary Portas is joined by Anki Josefsson who started The Assembly Line when she wanted to make her own clothes but couldn't find sewing patterns that suited her scandi-minimalist style.
And we also hear from Fashion Revolution's Orsola de Castro on how looking after your clothes can be a radical act, the philosophy she outlines in her own book 'Loved Clothes Last.
What does it mean to 'fix' your home? Author, broadcaster and creative consultant Michelle Ogundehin wants us to think about how our homes impact our mental and physical well-being, and thinks we can all make simple design choices that will make us happier.
Presenter: Mary Portas
Producer: Jessica Treen
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m000s9tw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000s9ty)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 12:06 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000s9v0)
Episode 7
In 1944, a German V2 rocket destroyed an entire store and part of a south London high street. Among the dead are Valerie, Jo, Vern, Alec and Ben - four year-olds who were accompanying their mothers to Woolworths.
‘Their part in time is done’ but what of their possible futures? In ‘some other version of the reel of time’ their might-be and could-be lives are played out across the next 65 years.
Now in 1994, Val is a volunteer at Samaritans. Her experiences from years before mean she can now help others.
Francis Spufford’s first novel, Golden Hill, won the Costa First Novel Award, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, and the Desmond Elliott Prize. His second novel takes its title from the Book of Common Prayer - Give to the departed eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them.
Written by Francis Spufford
Read by Jamie Parker
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:20 You and Yours (m000s9v2)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m000s9v4)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m000s9v6)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
TUE 13:45 Life Chances (m000s9v8)
The Girl in Red and Blue
20 years ago, journalist Athar Ahmad walked through the gates of his secondary school in west London. The school was what everyone in the area described as a ‘rough’ school but its students all felt as though they faced many of the same challenges and went through many of the same experiences.
But three of Athar’s classmates wouldn’t make it to the age he is now.
In this raw and personal series, Athar asks why the lives of his classmates went down such different paths and why three of them ended up dead - murdered brutally and violently.
As Athar tries to make sense of what happened, he explores issues around multiculturalism, identity and life for communities in the UK, told through the prism of a school at the crossroads of modern Britain.
Many of the students at Acton High were the first generation in our families to be born in the UK. In this second episode, Athar explores the lengths the school went to, to achieve a level of integration that didn't always exist outside its gates. As he revisits the story of Heshu Yones. whose death would become known as the first so-called honour killing in the UK, he looks at the parallel lives his classmates were living.
Presenter: Athar Ahmad
Producer: Georgia Catt
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m000s81h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Faith, Hope and Glory (m000s9vb)
Series 1
Hope and Jim
It's 1948, and Hope and Jim are stuck in Britain, ashamed to go home, and still suffering the loss of their baby two years earlier. But there's maybe a glimmer.
Cast
Jim ...... Martins Imhangbe
Hope ...... Danielle Vitalis
Lorraine ...... Lizzy Watts
Dennis ...... Hasan Dixon
Bert ...... Ben Crowe
Matron ...... Emma Handy
Gloria ...... Pippa Bennett Warner
Clement ...... Stefan Adegebola
Johnnie ...... Ian Dunnett Jnr
Neighbour ...... Roger Ringrose
Writer, Roy Williams
Producer, Mary Peate
Director, Jessica Dromgoole
Faith, Hope and Glory charts the lives of three women, connected forever by the theft of a beautiful pram in Tilbury in 1946. As they live through the eighty years since then, they witness and take part in the emergence of modern Britain.
TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m000s9vd)
Acts of Love
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures that centre around acts of love - from the story of Ruth Coker Burks, who became a loving caretaker for hundreds of men during the AIDS epidemic, to the poet Nikita Gill's look at a love which ended in its beginning.
Jewels from the Sun
Written and read by Nikita Gill
The Last Act
Featuring Anita Barrows
Produced by Phil Smith
This interview first appeared in the documentary To Bear Witness on BBC Radio 3 in Between the Ears.
Comet Dust
Featuring Ruth Coker Burks
Produced by Jodie Taylor and Chloe White
Production team: Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m000s9vg)
Series 17
Back to The Sinister Hand
Why are some people left-handed, whereas the majority are right handed? Rutherford and Fry revisit The Sinister Hand episodes to further investigate handedness in humans and animals. They considered cockatoos, chimpanzees and Hannah's dog, Molly, to discover that humans are unique, with just one in ten of us being left-handed.
They ask if there is an evolutionary reason for just 10% of the human population being southpaws
Hannah talks to primatologist Prof Linda Marchant from Miami University about Neanderthal teeth and termite fishing.
Adam consults handedness expert Prof Chris McManus from University College London. He's been trying to track down the genes responsible for whether we're right or left handed.
And what about left-handed brains or eyes or molecules?
Prof Andrea Sella explains handedness, or chirality, at the molecular scale and why when we consider Thalidomide, something seemingly so trivial can be extremely important.
They also explore the left-handed brain. Some researchers point to a link between left-handedness and impairments like autism or dyslexia. Others claim that lefties are more creative and artistic.
So what's the truth? The team consults Professors Sophie Scott, Chris McManus and Dorothy Bishop to find out.
This episode is an updated version of two earlier broadcast episodes.
If you have any Curious Cases for the team to investigate please email curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
Producers: Fiona Roberts & Michelle Martin
Presenter: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry
A BBC Audio Science Unit production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m000s9vj)
LGBTQIA+ slang
Chloe Davis, creator of The Queen's English dictionary of LGBTQIA+ slang, talks to Michael about shade, fierce, and the importance of etymology.
Producer Sally Heaven
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m000s9vl)
Tobias Menzies & Gytha Lodge
Actor Tobias Menzies and crime writer Gytha Lodge talk about the books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Tobias chooses Transit by Rachel Cusk, Harriett picks The Spare Room by Helen Garner and Gytha goes for the highly acclaimed children's book The Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr.
Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Becky Ripley
Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc
TUE 17:00 PM (m000s9vn)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000s9vs)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Victoria Wood - From Soup to Nuts (b0b3ftjj)
...To Nuts
The second part of a look back at Victoria Wood's stand-up and songs with her own archives and tapes, including never-heard-before material. Presented by Rebecca Front.
With unprecedented access to Victoria Wood's own boxes of battered cassette tapes, this programme is a shameless chance to hear some wonderful stand-up comedy, characters and songs, mixed with a look back at what made her so funny and so universally loved.
Presented by Rebecca Front
With thanks to:
Libby Gregory
Lucy Ansbro
Phil McIntyre Entertainments
Executive Producer: Geoff Posner
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m000s7ms)
Lilian attempts to keep the peace and Rex offers a solution.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m000s9vv)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
TUE 19:45 World of Curls (m000s9tr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m000s9vx)
Surviving Self-Harm
Sarah (not her real name) first deliberately hurt herself at the age of 11 and continued for more than six years, twice ending up in hospital. Now 18 and on the road to recovery, she says her experience shows the shortcomings in how teachers, parents, and the health system respond to self-harm.
File on 4 analysis of hospital admissions for self-harm reveals a system under growing pressure as more and more pre-teens are hurting themselves so badly they need a hospital bed. In telling Sarah’s story, we look at what works and what doesn’t when it comes to supporting children who self-harm. Why are ever-younger children ending up in hospital after injuring themselves? What has been the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic self-harm? And what was it that finally helped Sarah turn a corner?
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Maggie Latham
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m000s9vz)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m000s7mz)
A weekly quest to demystify health issues, bringing clarity to conflicting advice.
TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m000s180)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m000s9w1)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000s9v0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
TUE 23:00 Fortunately... with Fi and Jane (m000s9w3)
Now That's What I Call Lockdown 43, with Ayesha Hazarika
This week on Fortunately, Fi and Jane are joined by broadcaster, journalist and political commentator Ayesha Hazarika. The Times Radio presenter reflects on her time in the heart of government, confesses some of her late night browsing and talks about her latest role as a Saturday night royal commentator. At the beginning of the podcast there's snowy Russian romance, courtroom battles and world leader torso trends.
Get in touch: fortunately.podcast@bbc.co.uk
TUE 23:30 The Austerity Audit (m000mlvh)
Episode 2
As the UK heads into its deepest ever recession following Covid-19, Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, asks whether lessons can learned from 10 years of austerity. In this second episode of the Austerity Audit he analyses two areas which were hit more severely than most - local government and it's provision of social care and the Ministry of Justice. He travels to Liverpool which was particularly badly hit after then chancellor George Osborne announced swingeing cuts following the banking crisis. And he hears from those affected by the cuts to prison budgets and the probation service.
WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2021
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m000s9w5)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
WED 00:30 How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (m000s9w7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000s9w9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000s9wc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000s9wf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m000s9wh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000s9wk)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with The Reverend Lucy Winkett
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m000s9wm)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03srfgn)
Grey Heron (Winter)
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Chris Packham presents the grey heron. Winter can be a challenging time for grey herons. In freezing conditions, their favoured food supplies of fish and amphibians are locked beneath the ice and prolonged spells of cold weather can be fatal for these birds.
WED 06:00 Today (m000s7lp)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m000s7lr)
Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.
WED 09:30 Will Self Takes the Water (m000s7lt)
The Ultimate Refreshment?
Will Self ponders the origins of our insatiable thirst for bottled waters.
How did mineral water become such a valuable commodity and is it a luxury the world can no longer afford?
Will's a confirmed fan of mineral water - yet he's baffled by its enduring appeal when H2O flows freely from the tap.
Over five episodes, he investigates the history of five different mineral waters and the spa towns from which they spring.
Today, the story of Perrier, which comes from the south of France and sold 1.6 billion bottles in 2019. Perrier was first marketed by Englishman St John Harmsworth who bought up the spring in 1903.
Will investigates why Perrier took the world by storm and asks Nestlé, the brand's current owners, what they're doing to address widespread concerns about the environmental impact of their product.
Producer: Laurence Grissell
WED 09:45 How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (m000s7lx)
Ep 3 - How We Grow Things
Bill Gates on reducing methane emitted by livestock, tackling deforestation, and changing our wasteful ways. William Hope reads.
Bill Gates is a technologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, and in his new book he brings these three strands together to propose an urgent, comprehensive and accessible plan to get the planet to net-zero emissions, before the worst effects of climate change are upon us.
He sets out the climate science simply and explores initiatives like wind power, which are already contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but he goes on to argue that on their own, these existing methods aren't enough to eradicate the 51 billion tons emitted across the globe annually. So he then turns to the innovations which promise to get us all the way to zero emissions, from new processes for making steel and cement, to developing the science fundamental to creating plant and cell-based meats. Lastly, he sets out a roadmap for governments and policymakers to adopt, to ensure that in every continent and country our precious planet remains inhabitable. Although he makes it plain that it’s going be a hard journey, his ideas are authoritative, expansive and inspiring.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000s7m0)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 10:45 World of Curls (m000s7m2)
Locks
In Peckham, between the Chicken Shop and the Afro Food Cash & Carry, you'll find World of Curls. Ronkę and her fellow hairdressers Blessing and Peaches will relax or braid, weave or cut.
Going to the hairdresser is where Black women learn about their culture, through the hair styles they see being created, the languages they hear and the stories they'll never forget. And Ronkę shares her worries about her daughter Bim. She is getting into trouble at school and Ronkę and her husband Seun fear this will be a stumbling block for her future.
Yolanda Mercy’s Quarter Life Crisis was the first play to be heard on Radio 1Xtra and has been performed in Edinburgh, London, and Lagos, It was chosen to be one of the reopening season shows at the Bridge Theatre, London shows in Autumn 2020 where it played to full houses. Her first TV show BBW was broadcast by Channel 4. She is currently on attachment at Soho Theatre as part of Soho Six. Jade Lewis is a theatre director and directed the stage version of Quarter Life Crisis. Her recent work includes Resident Director on Nine Night at the National Theatre and Trafalgar Studios. She was nominated for the Stage Debut Director’s Award for Superhoe at the Royal Court and was selected by Audible to work on their new writing for audio drama series GNR8T.
Together they have created World of Curls.
Cast:
Ronkẹ Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ
Peaches Michelle Greenidge
Blessing Deborah Bahi
Sandra & Selina Cherrelle Skeete
Star Boy Joseph Barnes-Phillips
Tray Patrick Elue
Sound Designer Richard Haynes
Written by Jade Lewis
Directed by Yolanda Mercy
Produced by Caroline Raphael
A Dora production for BBC Radio 4
WED 11:00 After Trump (m000s7m5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 11:30 Ability (m000s7m7)
Series 3
VDP Experience
Matt is 27. He has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app on his iPad. Everyone who cares about Matt knows that this isn't the defining thing about him.
He is funny and clever and "up for stuff" - partly because he is keen to show that there's nothing he can't do, but also because, if he's honest, he's aware that he's less likely than other people to get the blame.
In this third series of the award-nominated comedy, Matt is still sharing a flat with his best mate, Jess (Sammy Dobson). And he still has his rubbish carer, Bob (Jason Lewis.) And now, finally, Matt has met a woman (Anna, played by Lisa Hammond). But no sooner had they met than Matt managed to upset her - and by doing something he should definitely have know better about too - making her feel uncomfortable about using a wheelchair.
So now, Matt finds himself at a festival, supposedly to celebrate Jess's birthday, but all he really wants to do is find Anna, who he believes is also there, so he can make amends.
Ability is the semi-autobiographical co-creation of the 2018 Britain’s Got Talent winner, Lee Ridley, otherwise known as Lost Voice Guy. Like his sitcom creation, Lee has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app. He is - probably - the first stand up comedian to use a communication aid. Prior to BGT, Lee won the BBC New Comedy Award in 2014. He has written and performed four full Edinburgh shows and completed major sell out tours of the UK.
The series is co-written by Kat Butterfield and Daniel Audritt. It's set in Newcastle and many of the cast last played together as children in Biker’s Grove.
A Funny Bones production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:00 News Summary (m000s7m9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000s7mc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 12:06 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000s7mf)
Episode 8
In 1944, a German V2 rocket destroyed an entire store and part of a south London high street. Among the dead are Valerie, Jo, Vern, Alec and Ben - four year-olds who were accompanying their mothers to Woolworths.
‘Their part in time is done’ but what of their possible futures? In ‘some other version of the reel of time’ their might-be and could-be lives are played out across the next 65 years.
It's 1994 and Glyndebourne is inaugurating its new opera house, Vern dines al fresco. Jo is back in London and teaching music.
Francis Spufford’s first novel, Golden Hill, won the Costa First Novel Award, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, and the Desmond Elliott Prize. His second novel takes its title from the Book of Common Prayer - Give to the departed eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them.
Written by Francis Spufford
Read by Jamie Parker
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:20 You and Yours (m000s7mh)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m000s7mk)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m000s7mm)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
WED 13:45 Life Chances (m000s7mp)
The Boy in the River
20 years ago, journalist Athar Ahmad walked through the gates of his secondary school in west London. The school was what everyone in the area described as a ‘rough’ school but its students all felt as though they faced many of the same challenges and went through many of the same experiences.
But three of Athar’s classmates wouldn’t make it to the age he is now.
In this raw and personal series, Athar asks why the lives of his classmates went down such different paths and why three of them ended up dead - murdered brutally and violently.
As Athar tries to make sense of what happened, he explores issues around multiculturalism, identity and life for communities in the UK, told through the prism of a school at the crossroads of modern Britain.
In this third episode, Athar looks at how the school tried to foster cohesion and opportunity for its pupils, but how it couldn't always stop the influence of a more dangerous and destructive identity waiting for students outside the gates.
Presenter: Athar Ahmad
Producer: Georgia Catt
WED 14:00 The Archers (m000s7ms)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Faith, Hope and Glory (m000s7mv)
Series 1
Faith and Trevor
It's 1948. Two years ago, Faith lost her best friend's baby. Having encouraged her to run away and reinvent herself, Trevor is now struggling to tie her down.
Cast
Faith ...... Shiloh Coke
Trevor ...... Gary Beadle
Millie ...... Jane Whittenshaw
Ag ...... Emma Handy
Hope ...... Danielle Vitalis
Jim ...... Martins Imhangbe
Caleb ...... Dermot Daly
Waiter ...... Stefan Adegbola
Florist ...... Ian Dunnett Jnr
Parent ...... Cecilia Appiah
Musician ...... Hasan Dixon
Writer, Winsome Pinnock
Musical Director, Peter Ringrose
Producer, Mary Peate
Director, Jessica Dromgoole
WED 15:00 Money Box (m000s7mx)
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on personal finance.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (m000s7mz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Sideways (m000s2ks)
2. 1 in 73 Million
In this episode, Matthew tells two stories, both of which raise profound questions about how we think. A group of terrified teenagers discover a disturbing app on social media. A world renowned doctor sets out to uncover hidden crimes.
The tragic events Matthew examines lead to a mother getting jailed for killing her two children. The key piece of testimony in her trial hinges on a question of statistical probability. But, as Matthew reveals, human beings are extremely poor at understanding the improbable.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Music, Sound Design and Mix: Benbrick
Series Editor: Russell Finch
Executive Producer: Sean Glynn and Max O'Brien
Sideways is produced by Novel for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:30 The Media Show (m000s7n3)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world
WED 17:00 PM (m000s7n5)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000s7n7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Gossip and Goddesses with Granny Kumar (m000s7n9)
Episode 2
Granny Kumar is back! Meera Syal’s glorious comedy creation returns, with her great granddaughter Maya (Ambreen Razia) and arch nemesis “frenemy” Geeta (Harvey Virdi) to chat with the sisters.
Left alone while her family are stuck in quarantine on a world cruise, Granny Kumar decides to host her own series, born out of frustration at seeing or hearing the same old parade of guests on chat shows (mainly male, pale and stale).
She wonders why no one interviews any of the sisters and asks them about their extraordinary, complex and uplifting stories.
So, Gossip and Goddesses is born – Ummi Kumar gathers together her favourite inspirational women at Wembley Community Centre, aided by her millennial great granddaughter Maya and her arch nemesis “frenemy” Geeta, leader of the local Asian Ladies Silver Bats community group.
The show is a women-only party, where they share stories, laugh loads and chew the fat/dish the dirt/eat the biscuits…
A blend of sitcom, silliness and improvised chat, led by the best kind of interviewers who know how to make anyone talk - two really nosy old Indian women.
Guests:
Presenter of The Sky at Night Maggie Aderin-Pocock and British soul singer Beverley Knight.
Cast:
Ummi Kumar – Meera Syal
Geeta Bhandari – Harvey Virdi
Maya Kumar – Ambreen Razia
Written by Meera Syal
Music by Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal
Producer: Liz Anstee
A CPL production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m000s7nc)
Lynda tries a new tactic and Eddie has the rug pulled from underneath him.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m000s7nf)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 19:45 World of Curls (m000s7m2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m000s7nh)
Combative, provocative and engaging live debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Andrew Doyle, Melanie Phillips, Ash Sarkar and Matthew Taylor. #moralmaze
WED 20:45 One to One (m000s182)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:00 The Power of... (m000r35v)
The Power of One
We humans are a supremely social species, but the coronavirus pandemic has forced many of us into solitary confinement.
It feels like an unnatural, regressive move, that goes against our collective nature. So why do some species embrace the power of one? And how do they make a success of a solo existence?
Lucy Cooke meets some of the animal kingdom’s biggest loners - from the Komodo Dragon, to the Okapi and the Black Rhino - to explore the lure of solitude.
Producer: Beth Eastwood
WED 21:30 The Media Show (m000s7n3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m000s7nk)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000s7mf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
WED 23:00 Bunk Bed (m000s7nm)
Series 7
Episode 7
Late-night entertainment and wondering from Peter Curran and Patrick Marber.
Peter and Patrick tackle, in a very soft-hitting way, the issue of candlelight being the new electricity, hit songs with questionable lyrics from the 70s, and big suits versus kaftans.
A Foghorn Company production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:15 The Skewer (m000s7np)
Series 3
Episode 6
Jon Holmes's award-winning satirical river of sound returns to twist itself into the news.
WED 23:30 The Austerity Audit (m000mrzp)
Episode 3
Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies examines the impact of 10 years of austerity on the welfare system and education. He hears from those at the sharp end whose lives were badly affected by some of the most controversial of the welfare reforms such as the bedroom tax and disability benefit changes. He ,looks at the mixed fortunes facing those in the education system and hears from the winners and the losers. Whilst universities have seen huge financial gains, the further education sector has been badly hit with night school and sporting activities being cut along with the equipment and staff needed to provide the apprentices for the next generation of technicians and engineers. Financial blogger Iona Bain asks why her generation of millennials have not been a priority for changes to the benefit system and why those who don’t receive a university education are being denied the opportunities they deserve.
Producer: Jim Booth
Presenter: Paul Johnson
THURSDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2021
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m000s7nr)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
THU 00:30 How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (m000s7lx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000s7nt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000s7nw)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000s7ny)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m000s7p0)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000s7p2)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with The Reverend Lucy Winkett
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m000s7p4)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03thvkt)
Slavonian Grebe
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
John Aitchison tells the story of the Slavonian grebe. In winter, Slavonian Grebes, with their vermilion eyes, bright and shiny as redcurrants, fly south from Scandinavia and Iceland to spend the winter around our coasts. Their winter plumage is black, grey and white but in spring they moult into their breeding plumage with a rich chestnut throat and belly and golden ear-tufts. A small population breed on a few Scottish Lochs where you might hear their trilling calls.
THU 06:00 Today (m000s9qm)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m000s9qp)
Medieval Pilgrimage
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea and experience of Christian pilgrimage in Europe from the 12th to the 15th centuries, which figured so strongly in the imagination of the age. For those able and willing to travel, there were countless destinations from Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela to the smaller local shrines associated with miracles and relics of the saints. Meanwhile, for those unable or not allowed to travel there were journeys of the mind, inspired by guidebooks that would tell the faithful how many steps they could take around their homes to replicate the walk to the main destinations in Rome and the Holy Land, passing paintings of the places on their route.
The image above is of a badge of St Thomas of Canterbury, worn by pilgrims who had journeyed to his shrine.
With
Miri Rubin
Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of London
Kathryn Rudy
Professor of Art History at the University of St Andrews
And
Anthony Bale
Professor of Medieval Studies and Dean of the School of Arts at Birkbeck, University of London
Producer: Simon Tillotson
THU 09:45 How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (m000s9sj)
Ep 4 - Adapting to a Warmer World
Bill Gates on the extraordinary power of climate-smart crops and why investing in mangrove forests benefits the planet and makes good business sense. William Hope reads.
Bill Gates is a technologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, and in his new book he brings these three strands together to propose an urgent, comprehensive and accessible plan to get the planet to net-zero emissions, before the worst effects of climate change are upon us.
He sets out the climate science simply and explores initiatives like wind power, which are already contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but he goes on to argue that on their own, these existing methods aren't enough to eradicate the 51 billion tons emitted across the globe annually. So he then turns to the innovations which promise to get us all the way to zero emissions, from new processes for making steel and cement, to developing the science fundamental to creating plant and cell-based meats. Lastly, he sets out a roadmap for governments and policymakers to adopt, to ensure that in every continent and country our precious planet remains inhabitable. Although he makes it plain that it’s going be a hard journey, his ideas are authoritative, expansive and inspiring.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000s9qt)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 10:45 World of Curls (m000s9qw)
Shaved
In Peckham, between the Chicken Shop and the Afro Food Cash & Carry, you'll find World of Curls.
Going to the hairdresser is where Black women learn about their culture, through the hair styles they see being created, the languages they hear and the stories they'll never forget. And Ronkę shares her worries about her daughter Bim. She is getting into trouble at school and Ronkę and her husband Seun fear this will be a stumbling block for her future.
Yolanda Mercy’s Quarter Life Crisis was the first play to be heard on Radio 1Xtra and has been performed in Edinburgh, London, and Lagos, It was chosen to be one of the reopening season shows at the Bridge Theatre, London shows in Autumn 2020 where it played to full houses. Her first TV show BBW was commissioned and broadcast by Channel 4. She is currently on attachment at Soho Theatre as part of Soho Six.
Jade Lewis is a theatre director and directed the stage version of Quarter Life Crisis. Her recent work includes Resident Director on Nine Night at the National Theatre and Trafalgar Studios. She was nominated for the Stage Debut Director’s Award for Superhoe at the Royal Court and was selected by Audible to work on their new writing for audio drama series GNR8T.
Together they have created World of Curls.
Cast:
Ronkẹ Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ
Peaches Michelle Greenidge
Blessing Deborah Bahi
Ma Kemi Lofinmakin
Seun Yinka Awoni
Christina Emerald Crankson
Sound Designer Richard Haynes
Written by Yolanda Mercy
Directed by Jade Lewis
Produced by Caroline Raphael
A Dora production for BBC Radio 4
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (m000s9qy)
Insight, and analysis from BBC correspondents around the world
THU 11:30 John Keats: Life and After-Life (m000s9r0)
Episode 1
Stripping away old myths, this series on the life and after-life of one of our greatest poets provides a vibrant new portrait of John Keats as a doctor and poet, two hundred years after his death and in the light of all we have learned in the Covid era.
With extensive readings from the poems and letters by Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Sam in Love Actually, Samuel in Bright Star, and - most recently - Benny in Queen's Gambit).
John Keats' death at the age of just 25 and the cult that immediately grew up around his memory often suggest he was a delicate flower. Sasha Dugdale, an award-winning poet herself, looks beyond this image to reveal an energetic young man, living life to the full both as a poet and doctor, until the endemic illness of his day, TB - which had already stolen his mother and brother - overwhelmed him.
In the first programme, Sasha's focus is Keats' final productive year, 1819 - in which he wrote five of the greatest odes in the English language, including Ode to a Nightingale and To Autumn. By then, Keats was no longer practising as a doctor but Sasha reveals how, far from abandoning medicine for poetry, the two were deeply intertwined.
This vivid new radio portrait of Keats, very much created in the era of Covid, sheds new light on the great poet of mortality and immortality.
With contributions from Sir Bob Geldof - Keats-Shelley200 Ambassador of the Keats-Shelley House in Rome, Professor Jonathan Bate of Arizona State University; Dr Mina Gorji from Pembroke College, Cambridge; Druin Burch, a doctor of Acute Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford; Keats' biographer Lucasta Miller; Giuseppe Albano curator of the Keats-Shelley House in Rome and others.
Producer: Beaty Rubens
THU 12:00 News Summary (m000s9r3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000s9r5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 12:06 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000s9r7)
Episode 9
It's 1944 and, in the fictional south London borough of Bexford, a German rocket explodes, destroying an entire store and part of the high street. Among the dead are Valerie, Jo, Vern, Alec and Ben - four year-olds who were accompanying their mothers to Woolworths.
‘Their part in time is done’ but what of their possible futures? In ‘some other version of the reel of time’ their might-be and could-be lives are played out across the next 65 years.
In Episode 9, it's 1994 and Alec has completed an Open University teaching degree and is about to start work.
Francis Spufford’s first novel, Golden Hill, won the Costa First Novel Award, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, and the Desmond Elliott Prize. His second novel takes its title from the Book of Common Prayer - Give to the departed eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them.
Written by Francis Spufford
Read by Jamie Parker
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:20 You and Yours (m000s9r9)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
THU 12:57 Weather (m000s9rc)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m000s9rf)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
THU 13:45 Life Chances (m000s9rh)
The boy in the burqa
20 years ago, journalist Athar Ahmad walked through the gates of his secondary school in west London. The school was what everyone in the area described as a ‘rough’ school but its students all felt as though they faced many of the same challenges and went through many of the same experiences.
But three of Athar’s classmates wouldn’t make it to the age he is now.
In this raw and personal series, Athar asks why the lives of his classmates went down such different paths and why three of them ended up dead - murdered brutally and violently.
As Athar tries to make sense of what happened, he explores issues around multiculturalism, identity and life for communities in the UK, told through the prism of a school at the crossroads of modern Britain.
In this fourth episode, the story of Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed. How his parents, like that of so many pupils at Acton High, moved to the UK for a better life, but tt was a life Mohammed would reject.
Presenter: Athar Ahmad
Producer: Georgia Catt
THU 14:00 The Archers (m000s7nc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (m000s9rk)
The Elder Son (Part 1)
By Alexander Vampilov
Translated from Russian by Jan Butler
Adapted for radio by Tom Wainwright
It's the cold Russian winter and two tricksters have missed the last train home and now need a roof over their heads for the night. They concoct an elaborate lie that involves one of them posing as the lost lost elder son of a local family. So far, so good. But what this 'elder son' fails to anticipate is that he will soon be unable to extricate himself from the lie.
The Elder Son (1967) by Alexander Vampilov is a classic of Russian theatre and has been adapted in two parts for BBC Radio.
During his lifetime, Vampilov was considered the hero of the 'new wave' of Russian dramatists and regularly compared to Anton Chekhov. His plays present a devastating and hilarious portrait of life in Brezhnev's Russia. At one time, The Elder Son ran in 44 theatres simultaneously in the Soviet Union. It was also filmed several times. Tragically, Alexander Vampilov died at the age of 34 following a boating accident in Lake Baikal.
Volodya . . . . . . Stewart Campbell
Silva . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr
Sarafanov . . . . . Tony Turner
Nina . . . . . Elinor Coleman
Vasya . . . . . Aaron Gelkoff
Natasha . . . . . Lauren Cornelius
Neighbour . . . . . Nicholas Murchie
Music composed and arranged by Ian Dunnett Jnr.
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko
THU 15:00 Ramblings (m000s9rm)
Oscar-winner Gareth Ellis-Unwin on his local riverside route in Berkshire
The Oscar-winning producer of The King’s Speech, Gareth Ellis-Unwin, takes Clare on one of his regular rambles from Pangbourne in Berkshire to Goring on Thames in South Oxfordshire. Gareth had an unusual route into film-making and now works with the charity, Screen Skills, which is trying to make it easier for people of all backgrounds to join the industry. Walking - Gareth says - is vital for the creative process, and he has a lot bubbling under: including a project about the extraordinary Georgian explorer, Lady Hester Stanhope.
We started in Pangbourne at Grid Ref: SU636767 and walked along the Thames Path to Goring on Thames. Our final landmark was Goring Lock, Grid Ref: SU596808
Producer: Karen Gregor
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m000s849)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (m000s857)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m000s9rp)
Film programme looking at the latest cinema releases, DVDs and films on TV
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m000s9rr)
Dr Adam Rutherford and guests illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that's changing our world
THU 17:00 PM (m000s9rt)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000s9ry)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Between Ourselves with Marian Keyes (m000s9s0)
Adventure
Back for a second series, Marian Keyes continues to be a publishing sensation. Her works of fiction - Rachel's Holiday, The Break and her latest, Grown Ups, among many others - have sold in their millions across the globe.
Marian reads selections from her non-fiction writing in conversation with her friend, the actor Tara Flynn.
With the on-going international unpleasantness – and in the brief respite between lockdowns - this series was recorded without a studio audience at Marian’s home in County Dublin, Ireland. If you listen carefully you might hear the number 96A bus rumbling past, outside.
What we might lack in a studio audience reaction we hope to make up for in warmth and witty, good-natured companionship. The first series was described in The Observer as “a laugh out loud hoot” and the Daily Mail called it “bright, funny and clever”.
This week's theme is adventure. Alongside the craic, Marian recounts her experiences travelling in Patagonia and an unforgettable encounter with rock legend Robert Plant.
Presenters: Tara Flynn and Marian Keyes
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m000s9s3)
Writers, Caroline Harrington & Sarah Hehir
Director, Gwenda Hughes
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Tony Archer ..... David Troughton
Helen Archer .... Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ….. William Troughton
Rex Fairbrother .... Nick Barber
Alan Franks .... John Telfer
Eddie Grundy .... Trevor Harrison
Clarrie Grundy ... Heather Bell
Emma Grundy .... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Mia Grundy .... Molly Pipe
Kirsty Miller .... Annabelle Dowler
Gavin Moss .... Gareth Pierce
Lynda Snell .... Carole Boyd
Peggy Wolley .... June Spencer
Lee .... Ryan Early
THU 19:15 Front Row (m000s9s5)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 19:45 World of Curls (m000s9qw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m000s9s7)
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders explore major news stories.
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (m000s9s9)
Net Zero in the house
What are the business opportunities in turning our old housing stock green? The UK has some of the least energy-efficient housing in Europe – most of it built before environmentally efficient design was regulated. It’s estimated around a quarter of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from the energy we use for heating, lighting or running appliances in our homes, public buildings or workplaces – and energy used in our homes is the most significant source.
How soon can heat pumps, solar panels and better insulation around the house help the UK Government achieve its net-zero emissions target by 2050? And will this ramping up of energy efficiency measures really lead to a green jobs revolution?
Presenter: Evan Davis
Producer: Lesley McAlpine
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m000s9rr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (m000s9qp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m000s9sd)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000s9r7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
THU 23:00 Tales from the Stave (m000k75j)
Schubert's Winterreise
One of the greatest treasures in New York's Morgan Library collection, and indeed in any collection of music manuscripts anywhere in the world, is the handwritten working manuscripts of Franz Schubert's great and final song cycle Winterreise. Composed in 1827, the last year of his life, it describes a poet's journey through winter snows after being rejected by his lover. However the gathering darkness and the searching introspection make it a far more compelling experience for audiences, including those who heard it first, played and sung by the composer himself shortly before his death, than that simple precis suggests.
This edition of Tales from the Stave was recorded well before Covid 19 brought the closure of museums and libraries and so Clemency Burton Hill was joined at The Morgan by the tenor Rufus Muller and the pianist Inon Banatan as well as the scholar Marjorie Hirsch. What they reveal is the striving of a composer with a huge capacity for melodic brilliance matched here by a desire to make the poetry by Wilhelm Muller tell in every line. There are times when it appears to flow easily and others when there's a tortured sense of a man in a hurry. That, of course, is a reality. He had been diagnosed with syphilis and although he didn't suffer the ignominies that disease brought to many, his end coming swiftly, he was acutely aware that these songs would be amongst his last.
Producer, Tom Alban
THU 23:30 The Austerity Audit (m000mytr)
Episode 4
In this, the final programme in the Austerity Audit, Paul Johnson -Director of the Institute For Fiscal Studies - looks to the future. He examines those areas of spending which have been relatively protected over the last ten years - the NHS and pensions - and how these decisions have benefited older generations at the expense of the working young.
And, in the wake of huge public spending following the Covid-19 pandemic, what options does the current Chancellor Rishi Sunak have going forward? Another decade of austerity, continued record borrowing or tax rises?
To answer that question Paul Johnson talks to those who were centre of decisions 10 years ago – Alistair Darling, Nick MacPherson, David Gauke and Polly Mackenzie.
Unpacking these issue for the millennial generation who are still coming to terms with the effect of the last economic crisis is financial blogger Iona Bain. She asks - if tax increases are on the cards then is it fair that the burden should fall to her generation rather than those who are older and have enjoyed the benefits of low house prices, job security and good pensions?
FRIDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2021
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m000s9sg)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 00:30 How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (m000s9sj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000s9sl)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000s9sn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000s9sq)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m000s9ss)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000s9sv)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with The Reverend Lucy Winkett
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m000s9sx)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03zr00f)
Bittern
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Kate Humble presents the bittern. As the first shoots of spring appear in the reed-beds, you might hear the booming sound of a bittern. The bittern's boom is lower pitched than any other UK bird and sounds more like a distant foghorn than a bird. Today these birds are on the increase, thanks to the creation of large reed-beds.
FRI 06:00 Today (m000sbdn)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m000s84r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (m000sbdq)
Ep 5 - A Plan for Getting to Zero
Bill Gates takes an optimistic view of how the innovative power of technology, policies and people can get us to zero greenhouse emissions and avert a climate catastrophe.
Bill Gates is a technologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, and in his new book he brings these three strands together to propose an urgent, comprehensive and accessible plan to get the planet to net-zero emissions, before the worst effects of climate change are upon us.
He sets out the climate science simply and explores initiatives like wind power, which are already contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but he goes on to argue that on their own, these existing methods aren't enough to eradicate the 51 billion tons emitted across the globe annually. So he then turns to the innovations which promise to get us all the way to zero emissions, from new processes for making steel and cement, to developing the science fundamental to creating plant and cell-based meats. Lastly, he sets out a roadmap for governments and policymakers to adopt, to ensure that in every continent and country our precious planet remains inhabitable. Although he makes it plain that it’s going be a hard journey, his ideas are authoritative, expansive and inspiring.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000sbds)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 10:45 World of Curls (m000sbdv)
Braids
In Peckham, between the Chicken Shop and the Afro Food Cash & Carry, you'll find World of Curls. Ronkę and her fellow hairdressers Blessing and Peaches will relax or braid, weave or cut.
Going to the hairdresser is where Black women learn about their culture, through the hair styles they see being created, the languages they hear and the stories they'll never forget. And Ronkę shares her worries about her daughter Bim. She is getting into trouble at school and Ronkę and her husband Seun fear this will be a stumbling block for her future. What exactly are their options?
Yolanda Mercy’s Quarter Life Crisis was the first play to be heard on Radio 1Xtra and has been performed in Edinburgh, London, and Lagos, It was chosen to be one of the reopening season shows at the Bridge Theatre, London shows in Autumn 2020 where it played to full houses. Her first TV show BBW was commissioned and broadcast by Channel 4. She is currently on attachment at Soho Theatre as part of Soho Six.
Jade Lewis is a theatre director and directed the stage version of Quarter Life Crisis. Her recent work includes Resident Director on Nine Night at the National Theatre and Trafalgar Studios. She was nominated for the Stage Debut Director’s Award for Superhoe at the Royal Court and was selected by Audible to work on their new writing for audio drama series GNR8T.
Together they have created World of Curls.
Cast:
Ronkẹ Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ
Peaches Michelle Greenidge
Blessing Deborah Bahi
Seun Yinka Awoni
Bim Emerald Crankson
Salesman Patrick Elue
Sound Designer Richard Haynes
Written by Yolanda Mercy
Directed by Jade Lewis
Produced by Caroline Raphael
A Dora production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 11:00 Britain's Fascist Thread (m000sbdx)
Episode 1
Historian Camilla Schofield explores a century of British fascism.
From the formation of the British Fascisti in 1923, through the BUF, the National Front and the BNP, the history of fascism in Britain is, in a sense, an unbroken thread. But if the politics – or anti-politics – has remained more-or-less consistent, with a lineage of hatreds, pseudo-science, failed leaders and tactics, the means by which fascism is calibrated and communicated in the 21st century has fundamentally changed. Membership groups intermittently attempting conventional electoral acceptance have given way to more atomised networks of ‘post-organisational’ activists.
Fascism is not an alien import but a central and on-going part of the British story.
At a time of debates around the character and memory of our national past, this series tries to bring the deep rooted and persistent vein of British fascism into focus. It might be that a less unreal sense of ourselves could be gained by shifting fascism out of the blind spot created by war stories which begin and end with this country standing alone against Nazism.
The first programme takes the rally staged by the British Union of Fascists at Olympia in June 1934 as a keyhole through which to look in order to understand fascism in the years before WWII. The second programme focuses on the so-called Battle of Lewisham in 1977 as a way of grasping the character of post-war fascism. The third programmes traces the thread to the present day.
FRI 11:30 Suggs: Love Letters to London (m000sbf0)
Greenwich
More capers and chaos from Suggs, as he crafts another love letter to London. This week he's in Greenwich.
Performed by Suggs
Written by Suggs with Owen Lewis
Directed by Owen Lewis
Musical Director: Owen Parker
Producer: Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m000sbf2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000sbf4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 12:06 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000sbf6)
Episode 10
It's 1944 and, in the fictional south London borough of Bexford, a German rocket explodes, destroying an entire store and part of the high street. Among the dead are Valerie, Jo, Vern, Alec and Ben - four year-olds who were accompanying their mothers to Woolworths.
‘Their part in time is done’ but what of their possible futures? In ‘some other version of the reel of time’ their might-be and could-be lives are played out across the next 65 years.
In Episode 10, Jo is surprised by the past. Alec and his ex-wife attend a family wedding. The imaginary reel of time is slowing, and the possible future lives draw to a close.
Francis Spufford’s first novel, Golden Hill, won the Costa First Novel Award, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, and the Desmond Elliott Prize. His second novel takes its title from the Book of Common Prayer - Give to the departed eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them.
Written by Francis Spufford
Read by Jamie Parker
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:20 You and Yours (m000sbf8)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
FRI 12:57 Weather (m000sbfb)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m000sbfd)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Edward Stourton.
FRI 13:45 Life Chances (m000sbfg)
Achieving for All
20 years ago, journalist Athar Ahmad walked through the gates of his secondary school in west London. The school was what everyone in the area described as a ‘rough’ school but its students all felt as though they faced many of the same challenges and went through many of the same experiences.
But three of Athar’s classmates wouldn’t make it to the age he is now.
In this raw and personal series, Athar asks why the lives of his classmates went down such different paths and why three of them ended up dead - murdered brutally and violently.
As Athar tries to make sense of what happened, he explores issues around multiculturalism, identity and life for communities in the UK, told through the prism of a school at the crossroads of modern Britain.
Presenter: Athar Ahmad
Producer: Georgia Catt
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m000s9s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (m000sbfj)
The Elder Son (Part 2)
By Alexander Vampilov
Translated from Russian by Jan Butler
Adapted for radio by Tom Wainwright
It's the cold Russian winter and two tricksters needed shelter for the night after having missed the last train home. They concocted an elaborate lie that involved one of them posing as the long lost elder son of a local family. Improbably, the lie worked but now they find it impossible to extricate themselves.
The Elder Son (1967) by Alexander Vampilov is a classic of Russian theatre and has been adapted in two parts for BBC Radio.
During his lifetime, Vampilov was considered the hero of the 'new wave' of Russian dramatists and regularly compared to Anton Chekhov. His plays present a devastating and hilarious portrait of life in Brezhnev's Russia. At one time, The Elder Son ran in 44 theatres simultaneously in the Soviet Union. It was also filmed several times. Tragically, Alexander Vampilov died at the age of 34 following a boating accident in Lake Baikal.
Volodya . . . . . . Stewart Campbell
Silva . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr
Sarafanov . . . . . Tony Turner
Nina . . . . . Elinor Coleman
Vasya . . . . . Aaron Gelkoff
Natasha . . . . . Lauren Cornelius
Mikhail . . . . . Hasan Dixon
Music composed and arranged by Ian Dunnett Jnr.
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000sbfl)
GQT at Home: Episode Forty-Four
Kathy Clugston hosts this week's gardening panel show. Bunny Guinness, Matthew Wilson and Chris Beardshaw answer questions sent in by the virtual audience.
Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Jemima Rathbone
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m000sbfn)
An original short work for radio which reflects this week's news. By Sophie Duker
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m000sbfq)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to unsung but significant.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (m000sbfs)
The programme that holds the BBC to account on behalf of the radio audience
FRI 17:00 PM (m000sbfv)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000sbfx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m000sbfz)
A satirical review of the week's news
FRI 19:00 Front Row (m000sbg1)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
FRI 19:45 World of Curls (m000sbdv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m000sbg3)
Katharine Birbalsingh, John Nicolson
Anita Anand presents political discussion and debate with a panel including the headmistress Katharine Birbalsingh and the SNP's Culture Spokesperson at Westminster John Nicolson MP.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Studio direction: Maire Devine
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m000sbg5)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
FRI 21:00 Fatwa (m000sbg7)
Omnibus (2/2)
The hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad.
Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou
Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar
Editor: Richard Knight
This episode includes clips from Love Thy Neighbour (a Thames Television production for the ITV network) and My Beautiful Laundrette (directed by Stephen Frears, produced by Working Title Films) as well as clips from the BBC’s own archive.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m000sbg9)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (m000sbf6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
FRI 23:00 Americast (m000sbgc)
Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel follow the the US election.
FRI 23:30 Between the Ears (m000nkzp)
The Rising Sea Symphony
The dramatic effects of climate change evoked in words, sounds and a powerful new musical work.
Over four movements of rich and evocative music, the listener is transported to the front line of the climate crisis, with stories from coastal Ghana – where entire villages are being swept away by the rising sea – to Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in the high arctic where the ice is melting with alarming speed. The dramatic final movement ponders two contrasting possible outcomes to the crisis.
In an ambitious new work originally commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for their Between the Ears strand, Kieran Brunt weaves together electronic, vocal and orchestral elements recorded in isolation by players from the BBC Philharmonic. Each musician recorded their part individually at home and these recordings were then painstakingly combined by sound engineer Donald MacDonald to create a symphonic sound.
Documentary producer Laurence Grissell and composer Kieran Brunt have collaborated to produce an ambitious and original evocation of the causes and consequences of rising, warming oceans.
Credits
Composer: Kieran Brunt
Producer: Laurence Grissell
Electronics and violin performed by Kieran Brunt
Orchestral parts performed by members of the BBC Philharmonic
Vocals: Kieran Brunt, Josephine Stephenson & Augustus Perkins Ray of the vocal ensemble Shards
Sound mixed by Donald MacDonald
Interviewees:
Sulley Lansah, BBC Accra Office
Hilde Fålun Strøm and Sunniva Sørby, heartsintheice.com
Blaise Agresti, former head of Mountain Rescue, Chamonix
Blaise Agresti recorded by Sarah Bowen
Wildlife recordings by Chris Watson
Newsreaders: Susan Rae & Tom Sandars
Adverts voiced by Ian Dunnett Jnr, Luke Nunn, Charlotte East, Cecilia Appiah