To celebrate his 80th birthday, pioneering nature writer Richard Mabey, reads the final instalment of his ground-breaking book on the impact of nature on mental health.
Today: new love, a spring spent exploring the fens, and now the glories of the long hot summer, have come together to re-awaken Mabey’s passion for the natural world...
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
On this day 1940 the German Luftwaffe began what we know as the Battle of Britain.
The brave men and women of the RAF, Fleet Air Arm and Royal Observer Corps worked together to defend our shores against the onslaught.
I recall a conversation with my friend David, an old RAF veteran who was a member of a parish I worked in some years back. I noticed he had a framed medal in the corner of his living room. I asked what it was. “That’s my Distinguished Flying Cross”, he replied.
I pressed him a bit further. “What were you awarded that for?” I asked.
His wife asked him to tell me more. She was obviously proud of him.
Eventually he went on to tell me of how his aircraft had been pretty badly damaged by an enemy fighter and how his actions had helped get it back to an airfield and saved the lives of some of the crew.
His words, “just doing my job” have stuck with me ever since that conversation.
St Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, “Love does not brag, is not puffed up”.
David was no braggart. There was no sense of fake humility about him either. This self-effacing Ulsterman was genuinely satisfied with having done his duty. I do think he was pleased that I’d noticed the medal and asked for details. Content to see his duty still mattered.
We give thanks for those all who did their job and continue to inspire us as we recall their service.
Tracey Follows explores how virtual assistants can help us survive after death.
Tracey is a futurist who has become fascinated by the memories of people after they die, and in this talk she asks who and what is being memorialised - is it us, or something else altogether?
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Magnet fishing - using strong magnets to hunt for treasure in canals and rivers - is a craze which is growing in popularity. A group in Edinburgh have been given permission for the first time by Historic Environment Scotland to ‘fish’ the city’s waterways, and Helen Mark is there to try her hand.
10/07/21 Farming Today This Week: birds, pigs, cages, predators and Thomas Hardy
From turtle dove to stone curlews, many species of farmland birds are in long term decline, hit largely by changes in the way we farm. But some are thriving and there are hopes that the new public money for public goods payments to farmers can build on those successes. We hear calls for predators, like foxes and crows, to be controlled to help protect ground nesting birds.
The European Union has pledged to phase out cages for agricultural animals and birds. It follows the European Parliament’s vote to ban cages, which in turn followed a long running campaign and petition signed by 1.4 million people. The Government here is currently ‘examining the evidence’ around the issue - so where will this leave the UK’s claim to have the highest animal welfare standards?
Matt Haig is an award-winning author of fiction for both adults and children and his memoir of depression and anxiety Reasons to Stay Alive became a runaway bestseller. He joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi to discuss the inspiration for his latest non-fiction work The Comfort Book.
Bexy Cameron was born into the Children of God cult and moved around the world with the notorious group. She escaped at fifteen but later felt compelled to document religious sects in order to better understand her childhood and her parents’ motivation for remaining in one. Her book Cult Following explores her childhood and her extraordinary journey through US religious cults.
Debbie Money recently discovered her mum’s recipe book spanning five decades. From conch fritters to cheese and pineapple hedgehogs, Debbie is recreating her parents’ dinner parties to honour her mum, who died earlier this year, and to time travel through food.
Charlie Gilmour was photographed hanging off the Cenotaph in Whitehall in 2010, an act that would see him imprisoned for violent disorder. Charlie was going through emotional turmoil at the time, having been abandoned by his biological father. Years later, Charlie would take an abandoned magpie chick under his wing and the bird flourished under his care, opening his own path to fatherhood. He joins us to talk about what it means to be a father and his book, Featherhood.
Greg James, host of the Radio 1 Breakfast show and self-confessed 'proud radio nerd', uses his access-all-areas pass to the BBC Archives to track down audio gems, using listener requests and current stories as a springboard into the vast vaults of past programmes.
This week, Greg dons his spandex and cape to rescue clips of British superheroes, from Bicycle Repair Man to Green Cross Man, getting sidetracked by psychic ponies at the Multicoloured Swap Shop.
A listener request transports Greg to 19th century London, with street cries from lavender sellers, muffin men and the mysterious cats' meat man. Plus, a shortage of hairdressers prompts Greg to find inspiration for the next generation of barbers and stylists, from a shampoo and set in Inverness to a wartime trim recorded just after the liberation of Rome in 1944.
And as the late Carrie Fisher is honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Greg looks back at the life of Princess Leia, from her earliest BBC interview to a bewildering appearance on Blue Peter where she comes face to face with her greatest foe yet: British cuisine.
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world
When banks stop you spending your own money. Barclays and Santander have banned payments to one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges while TSB has said it will soon stop payments to all exchanges.
What will change when the Financial Conduct Authority takes over regulation of the £4bn funeral plan industry next year?
Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers could be eligible for significant refunds after the HMRC lost what could prove to be a landmark case concerning the way it claws back child benefit paid to higher earners.
And how you can use your money to make a difference – the impact that green or eco-friendly pensions can have on combating climate change.
Philippa Hann - specialist in financial services litigation at Clarke Willmott solicitors
Sheldon Mills - executive director, consumers and competition at the Financial Conduct Authority
Stefanie Tremain - director at the accounting and tax advisors Blick Rothenberg
Jeannie Boyle - Chartered Financial Planner and executive director of EQ Investors
Labour’s Angela Rayner has some unusual items for the team at The Repair Shop, and there’s a unique perspective on Andy Murray’s personal life.
With Jon Culshaw, Lewis Macleod, Jan Ravens, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.
Written by: Nev Fountain & Tom Jamieson, Laurence Howarth, Ed Amsden & Tom Coles, James Bugg, Simon Alcock, Sophie Dickson, and Athena Kugblenu.
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from the Glusburn Institute Community and Arts Centre in North Yorkshire. On the panel: Labour peer and former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett, historical novelist Philippa Gregory, Conservative MP Robbie Moore and the director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership Henri Murison.
What happens when you do something you thought you could never do? In this programme, journalist Kieran Yates speaks to Ellie who has been managing her agoraphobia for a few years, to hear how she has learned the mighty task of how to leave the house.
Kieran hears how Ellie has faced up to her fears and learnt how to cope through breathing and disco music.
It's 1618. Wallenstein is a brilliant soldier and wants a career in the army of the Holy Roman Empire. But he is a Protestant, and he just can't hold his tongue. Katherina, a widow, takes him under her wing, and with her guidance he achieves great fame and fortune. But a war wolf is hard to control. Can Katherina rein him in?
Why do company leaders so often rely on the use of jargon, hype and obscure words when trying to communicate with the public? Corporate-speak is easy to spot. For example, a company mission statement will claim it has a 'unique' purpose to be a 'force for good. ' Using exactly the same words as dozens of its rivals. So why did this happen? Are business schools and consultants to blame - encouraging the use of needlessly complex language? And does clotted language signal muddled thinking? Evan Davis and guests explore the problem and suggest some solutions.
Miles Jupp, Gabrielle Brooks, Janine Irons, Ben Macintyre, Jazz Jamaica, Eoin Glackin, YolanDa Brown, Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson and YolanDa Brown are joined by Miles Jupp, Gabrielle Brooks, Janine Irons and Ben Macintyre for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Jazz Jamaica and Eoin Glackin.
An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines
If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink and waiting for inspiration to strike, our current Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills and the Pennine weather, this summer he's working on a set of haikus inspired by the landscape around him and the people who drop by.
Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry, music and the countryside.
His guest this week Amanda Owen, the Yorkshire Shepherdess, came to public attention though the television series Our Yorkshire Farm. Ravenseat Farm in North Yorkshire is home to Amanda, her husband and her nine children. Having grown up very close to the location of Simon's shed, the conversation ranges from shared memories of growing up in Huddersfield and a love of the Marsden Hills to the business of running a sheep farm and the joy of the hay meadow at this time of year.
Love or loathe it, once the News of the World bit the dust after 168 years in print — engulfed in phone-hacking scandals — it was clear that the British media would never be the same again. The paper's demise marked the end of big-budget, mega-selling tabloids that could demolish careers, ruin lives, or influence a nation.
How did the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world suddenly lose the ability to claim that they represented the public? Was the News of the World - for so long the financial engine room of Rupert Murdoch's News UK - ultimately doomed by the advent of online journalism, tightening privacy laws, and changing attitudes to the stories it specialised in?
And in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry, has tabloid journalism learned its lesson?
Marking 10 years since the paper put out its final issue on 10th July 2011, The Guardian’s media editor Jim Waterson tells the inside story of the once mighty red top's final death throes. Speaking to those on the inside as well as those who brought the paper's illegal methods to light, Jim reveals how Britain's most scandalous tabloid was brought down and almost took part of the British establishment with it.
Tumanbay, the wealthiest city on earth, has been conquered by a brutal religious regime, the followers of Maya. Responsible for rooting out heretics is Barakat (Hiran Abeysekera), a ruthless and uncompromising zealot.
As refugees scramble to escape the city, Gregor (Rufus Wright), previously Master of the Palace Guard, has sworn an oath to the new rulers and struggles to survive as the new regime sets about dismantling the city of everything of value.
Tumanbay is created by John Dryden and Mike Walker and inspired by the Mamluk slave rulers of Egypt.
The next in Daisy Johnson's series of deliciously unsettling of ghost stories, with a feminist twist.
In today's story, and a young woman is invited to a hen party at the Hotel. There she is haunted by an old love that has never died...
Northern Ireland's largest cross-community victims' group, Wave Trauma Centre, has written to Boris Johnson opposing the idea of a “de-facto amnesty” for Troubles-related prosecutions, after the cases of two Army veterans facing murder charges were dropped. It follows reports that the government has been considering a ban on all prosecutions prior to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement under a statute of limitations, focusing instead on information retrieval for the families of those killed. Most people will never be in a position to understand the pain of losing a loved one unlawfully. How do we weigh their need for justice, against the need to build a lasting peace in the community? Many families regard immunity from prosecution as an insult to victims on all sides, and a betrayal of those who are committed to justice. While others believe it is time to put future peace ahead of past injustice, with an 'amnesty' that centres on 'truth recovery'. Are prosecutions always central to any notion of justice? Does the pursuit of justice or peace always require trade-offs or is it impossible to achieve one without the other, as the anti-racist slogan “No Justice, No Peace” suggests? What role, if any, does forgiveness play? What lessons can be learned from post-conflict societies around the world? With Brian Rowan, Sandra Peake, Bonny Ibhawoh and Selina Stone.
A funny, lively and dynamic quiz presented by Steve Punt and recorded on location at a different university each week, pitting three undergraduates against three of their professors. This week the show comes from Nottingham Trent University.
The rounds vary between specialist subjects and general knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the Highbrow and Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students’ knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors’ awareness of television, sport, and quite possibly Ed Sheeran. And the Head-to-Head rounds, in which students take on their Professors in their own subjects, offer plenty of scope for mild embarrassment on both sides.
The specialist subjects this week are English Literature, Broadcast Journalism and Law - and the questions range from oblate spheroids to Grover Cleveland via Le Corbusier and BT Openreach.
The other universities in this series are Southampton, Anglia Ruskin, Northampton, Brasenose College Oxford and Cumbria.
Julia Copus - poet, biographer, and children's writer, selects poems requested by listeners, with the help of Roger McGough. Her favourites include work by Charlotte Mew, Mary Jean Chan and Denise Riley. Produced by Sally Heaven for BBC Audio in Bristol
SUNDAY 11 JULY 2021
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m000xsh8)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 One to One (m000w9t7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 00:30 From Fact to Fiction (m000xmzs)
Wolf in Space
There are lights in the sky and unrest in the workplace as the dust settles on the Pentagon UFO Report.
Writer Damien Love creates a fictional response to the week's news.
Read by Liam Brennan
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Damien Love writes on music, film, TV and photography and is the author of novels 'Monstrous Devices' and 'The Shadow Arts'.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000xshb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000xshd)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000xshg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m000xshj)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m000xshl)
St Michael’s Church, Whichford in South Warwickshire
Bells on Sunday comes from St Michael’s Church, Whichford in South Warwickshire. Records show that in 1552, the church had four large bells and a Sanctus bell. Over the centuries, various bells were replaced and added until by 1904 the tower housed a ring of six. In 1998, the bells were augmented by John Taylor of Loughborough to a ring of eight with a tenor weighing twelve and a half hundredweight in the note of G. We hear the bells ringing Grandsire triples.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m000xsh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m000xsj7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b08wmjnw)
What Would Happen If?
Writer and priest Malcolm Doney argues that imagination is central to almost every decision we make. For Malcolm, conscious, imaginative thinking is essentially the basis of what it means to be human.
Malcolm draws upon the story of Jesus who himself left no written manifesto. In his physical absence, Jesus' followers were left with the imaginative project of living lives modelled on his. They had to re-imagine a new life without him.
Malcolm explores the work of Nobel Prize winner Peter Medawar, historian Yuval Noah Harari, as well as poets John Koethe and Emily Dickinson. Using this diverse array of sources, Malcolm reveals that imagination is vital to the progress of science and lies at the beating heart of music. He concludes that ultimately, imagination is fundamental to empathy and at the core of that most life-giving command "love thy neighbour as thyself".
Presenter: Malcolm Doney
Producer: Jonathan O'Sullivan
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m000xsj9)
Entrances and Exits
The land at Soulton Hall near Wem in Shropshire has been farmed by the same family since the 16th century, but over the last couple of years there have been two new additions to its landscape: a long barrow and an amphitheatre. Caz Graham visits the farm to find out what has inspired their creation. She meets Tim Ashton, who was the driving force behind them both, and hears how the outdoor performance space proved invaluable for the National Youth Theatre during last year's lockdown. Inside the cool and peaceful barrow, she meets a widow who has decided that it will be the final resting place for her husband's ashes.
Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Emma Campbell
SUN 06:57 Weather (m000xsjc)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m000xsjf)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m000xsjh)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m000xsjk)
APT Action on Poverty
Grime MC and TV chef Big Zuu makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of APT Action on Poverty.
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 ‘APT Action on Poverty’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘APT Action on Poverty’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 290836
SUN 07:57 Weather (m000xsjm)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m000xsjp)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m000xsjr)
A New Beginning
Canon Simon Doogan of the Church of St Columbanus in Ballyholme, Co Down considers how the Old Testament story of King David bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem relates to communities today as they emerge from lockdown. With the Rev Jan Stevenson, Ballyholme’s Community Pastor.
II Samuel 6.1-5, 12-10
Glorious things of thee are spoken (AUSTRIAN HYMN)
Purify my heart (Brian Doersken)
You say (Lauren Daigle)
Lift up your heads (Handel)
Lord of the Dance (SIMPLE GIFTS)
Thy hand O God has guided (THORNBURY)
Ye choirs of New Jerusalem (ST FULBERT)
Producer: Bert Tosh
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m000xn0c)
Red Tape
Tom Shakespeare argues that red tape should be regarded as a force for good.
From Charles Dickens' famous mention of red tape until today, making fun of red tape has been virtually a national pastime.
But Tom cautions that as Britain prepares to set aside rules and regulations surrounding COVID, we shouldn't act too hastily.
Producer: Adele Armstrong
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b04mlvwg)
Rhinoceros Auklet
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the rhinoceros auklet found around the North American western seaboard. Rhinoceros auklets are auks. They look very different to their relatives the puffins or guillemots. They're dark grey-ish brown birds, and in the breeding season both male and female have flowing white plumes above their eyes and behind their orange bills. It is the white vertical plate at the base of its bill which has inspired the birds' common names of "horn-billed puffins" or "unicorn puffins". This horn is only grown in the breeding season; the birds shed it in autumn when they head out to sea. Rhinoceros auklets in burrows or cavities in grassy places or on forest floors: most colonies are small, but some contain a hundred thousand birds which produce a soothing chorus of mooing and grunting sounds, strange to hear in the blackness of a coastal wood.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m000xsjt)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m000xsjw)
Writers, Gillian Richmond And Katie Hims
Director, Marina Caldarone
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Brian Aldridge .. Charles Collingwood
Alice Carter … Hollie Chapman
Neil Carter … Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter … Charlotte Martin
Eddie Grundy … Trevor Harrison
Jakob Hakansson … Paul Venables
Shula Hebden Lloyd … Judy Bennett
Joy Horville … Jackie Lye
Kate Madikane … Perdita Avery
Fallon Rogers … Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell … Carole Boyd
Peggy Woolley … June Spencer
Sandra … Hannah Young
SUN 10:54 Tweet of the Day (m000xsjy)
Tweet Take 5: Auks
Around the British coastline, members of the auk family can be found either breeding or as passage migrants as they move to and fro from breeding colony to wintering grounds. In this extended version of Tweet of the Day we'll hear of three species of auk, the puffin and the razorbill with Miranda Krestovnikoff, and the little auk with Martin Hughes-Games.
Producer : Andrew Dawes for BBC Audio in Bristol
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs (m000xsk0)
Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, veterinary surgeon.
Professor Noel Fitzpatrick is a veterinary surgeon who presents the television series The Supervet. He has pushed the boundaries of treatment available to animals and has developed ground breaking surgery including fitting the world’s first bionic leg on a dog.
Noel was born in Ballyfin in Ireland where his father Sean was a farmer. As a very small boy Noel’s job was to count the sheep at night which he credits as the catalyst for his enduring love of animals.
He completed his training in Ireland where he worked as a country vet looking after livestock. He moved to England in the 1990s and set up his referral practice in Surrey in 1997.
Some of his famous clients include Meghan Markle’s dog Guy and Russell Brand’s cat Morrissey. He has also written two best-selling books based on his experiences of working with animals.
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley
SUN 11:45 Marketing: Hacking the Unconscious (b0966v8v)
Series 1
From Ads to Art
Can a piece of marketing ever truly be considered art? From Hank Williams' song "Pan-American" to 1980s print ads for Benson and Hedges and Silk Cut, to Haydn's symphonies for Prince Eserhazy: works of real aesthetic beauty are often created in the service of marketing a product, a monarch, or an experience.
Rory Sutherland investigates the overlap between commerce and art, as he tells the story of Guinness's iconic ad "Surfer". Featuring an extended discussion with literary grand dame and former advertising copywriter, Fay Weldon.
Producer: Steven Rajam
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Why do certain marketing campaigns - from Nike's "Just Do It" to the MND Ice Bucket Challenge - cast such a spell over us? Rory Sutherland explores the story - and the psychology - behind ten of the most influential campaigns in history - with first-hand accounts from the creative minds that conceived them, and contributions from the worlds of evolutionary biology, behavioural psychology, socio-economics and anthropology.
Marketing. It's come to be one of the most misunderstood - and maligned - disciplines of our age: perceived variously as the Emperor's New Clothes, an emblem of the ills of capitalism, a shadowy dark art designed to steal away our hard-earned money and make us do (or buy, or vote for) things we don't want.
Yet marketing is undeniably a key part of contemporary culture. It's a science that's fundamentally about human behaviour - marketers, to some extent, understand us better than we know ourselves - and in the most successful campaigns we find our deepest emotions and urges, from altruism to shame, hope to bravado, systematically tapped into and drawn upon.
But what are these primal behaviours that the best campaigns evoke in us - and how do they harness them? Is marketing purely about commercial gain or can it underpin real common good and societal progress? And does the discipline manipulate our subconscious instincts and emotions - or simply hold a mirror to them?
Over ten episodes, senior advertising creative and Spectator writer Rory Sutherland unravels the story of some of the most powerful, brilliant and influential campaigns of our age. Set alongside personal testimonies from the brilliant minds that created them, we'll hear from a host of experts - from biologists to philosophers, novelists to economists - about how these campaigns got under our skin and proved to be so influential.
Contributors include: writer and former copywriter Fay Weldon; social behaviourist and expert on altruism Nicola Raihani; Alexander Nix, CEO of big data analysts Cambridge Analytica; philosopher Andy Martin; writer on Islamic issues and advisor to the world's first Islamic branding consultancy, Shelina Janmohamed; and evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller.
Producer: Steven Rajam.
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m000xsk2)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:04 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m000xkzb)
Series 75
Episode 4
Radio 4's antidote to panel comes once again from the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House but with a virtual audience drawn exclusively from Northern Ireland.
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m000xsk4)
Drinking Culture: The women calling out sexism in the alcohol industry
Over the past year, women working in different parts of the drinks industry have been sharing their stories and experiences to try to change the way women are treated. Most recently people working in craft brewing have been sharing their stories on social media - saying enough is enough. In this episode, Jaega Wise speaks to some of those about how we have got here - and what needs to change.
She meets Charlotte Cook, an experienced brewer who says the most important thing now is to believe the stories, as some are being silenced by UK libel laws. Professor Chris Land from Anglia Ruskin University explains how certain workplaces can create unhealthy cultures, while bartender Nichola Bottomley says she was inspired to speak out after years of harassment working in pubs and bars.
In the US, Victoria James, who was named the country's youngest sommelier at 21, tells Jaega about her book Wine Girl, and how it went on to inspire other women working in wine to come together to speak out, eventually leading to a number of resignations. Becky Paskin, journalist and co-founder of Our Whisky, talks about the repercussions she faced after calling out sexism in the whisky industry. While Brad Cummings, co-founder of craft beer company, Tiny Rebel tells Jaega what is changing at his business, after it was called out by former employees online.
UKHospitality, which represents businesses in the industry says it's been working hard to tackle these issues and continues to work with members to promote a zero tolerance approach to harassment in the workplace by either fellow employees or customers.
Presented by Jaega Wise
Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan
Photo Credit: Laura Hadland of www.thirstmedia.co.uk
SUN 12:57 Weather (m000xsk6)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m000xsk8)
Jonny Dymond looks at the week’s big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 The Listening Project (m000xskb)
Looking and listening
Fi Glover presents friends, relatives and strangers in conversation.
This week: listeners Christine and Kathy discover difficult shared memories of attending an Open Air School in the 1960's; Amelie, who works in a strip club, and Debbie who is a choreographer and lecturer, confront the different ways that their professions are perceived; and Ben and Stephanie, who both have schizophrenia, discuss the ways the illness has shaped their lives.
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: Ellie Bury
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000xmzq)
GQT at Home: Alliums, Geraniums, and Cardiocrinum giganteum
Peter Gibbs hosts this week's horticultural panel show. Joining him from their homes to answer gardening questions are Humaira Ikram, James Wong and Matt Biggs.
This week, the panellists discuss leggy Alliums, give tips for a Sunflower competition, and reveal their gardening sins.
Away from the questions, Pippa Greenwood talks about the Big Butterfly Count and Kirsty Wilson tells us about the Himalayan Lily. For more information about the Big Butterfly Count visit: bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/
Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Jemima Rathbone
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 14:45 Thought Cages (m0001cbw)
The Sachet in the Pot Noodle
Can online retailers ever capture the magic out of the traditional shopping experience? Rory Sutherland concludes his series of psycho-logical mind hacks with a look at how e-commerce is now using behavioural and cognitive science to forge a path to total retail dominance.
Produced by Michael Surcombe for BBC Wales
SUN 15:00 DH Lawrence: Tainted Love (m000xskd)
Women in Love
Women in Love by DH Lawrence. Dramatised by Ian Kershaw.
Gerald is reeling from the death of his sister Diana. Rupert and Gudrun try to comfort him but Gerald finds it hard to express his emotions. As Ursula and Rupert grow closer can Gerald untangle his feelings for Rupert?
Gudrun ..... Katie Redford
Ursula ..... Cassie Bradley
Rupert ..... Alexander Arnold
Gerald ..... James Cooney
Diana ..... Verity Henry
Hermione ..... Emily Pithon
Loerke ..... Ashley Margolis
Director/Producer Gary Brown.
‘DH Lawrence: Tainted Love’ dynamically puts centre stage Lawrence's daring writing on the complexity of human love. Sexual awakenings, transgressive same sex love and internalised repression are explored as his characters try to find happiness and fulfilment in uncertain times. Set in a mining town in Nottinghamshire, this drama is a celebration of Lawrence at his most bold, pushing the boundaries of sexuality in the dawning of the Twentieth Century.
In ‘Women in Love’ Ursula Brangwen’s younger sister Gudrun comes into equal focus as the two sisters embark on love affairs. Gudrun is an artist who pursues a destructive relationship with Gerald Crich, a rich industrialist who is haunted by family tragedy. Lawrence contrasts this pair with the love that develops between Ursula and Rupert Birkin, an alienated intellectual who articulates many fashionable nihilistic opinions. The emotional relationships are given further depth and tension by an intense psychological and physical attraction between Gerald and Rupert.
With thanks to the Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m000xskg)
Japanese fiction; Vendela Vida
As the Tokyo Olympics approach, Johny Pitts and his guests, Emily Itami and Iain Maloney, investigate Japan's literary culture and discuss some of the best new Japanese novels. Also on the programme, Johny talks to Vendela Vida about her latest book, We Run The Tides, a warm and witty exploration of teenage friendships, lies and power set in 1980s San Francisco and Jenn Ashworth explores her intimate, almost religious, connection with Marilynne Robinson's award winning Gilead.
Book List – Sunday 11 July and Thursday 15 July
Fault Lines by Emily Itami
The Only Gaijin in the Village by Iain Maloney
Breast and Eggs by Meiko Kawakami: Translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata: Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki: Translated by Gregory Starr
The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide: Translated by Eric Selland
Strange Weather in Tokyo: Translated by Allison Markin Powell
The Little House by Kyoko Nakajima: Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura: Translated by Allison Markin Powell and Marie Iida
Things Remembered and Things Forgotten by Kyoko Nakajima: Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori and Ian MacDonald
We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida
The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty by Vendela Vida
Girls on the Verge by Vendela Vida
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Ghosted: A love Story by Jenn Ashworth
SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (m000xskj)
Brian Bilston
'Poet Laureate of Twitter' Brian Bilston chooses his favourites from among the listener requests, including UA Fanthorpe, Henry Reed, Philip Larkin and more. Produced by Sally Heaven for BBC Audio in Bristol.
SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m000xlvj)
Acts of Abuse
Allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against the actor and film maker Noel Clarke have led to an industry-wide examination of the culture within the film and television business. Industry insiders describe an environment where those in power can be bullying and demanding, where sexual harassment is commonplace and where victims are afraid to speak up because they fear losing work. File on 4 has heard from hundreds of people who work in the industry who paint a disturbing picture of the culture where intimidation, bullying and sexual misconduct is often overlooked. The programme asks if the industry is equipped to tackle this bad behaviour, whether new regulation is needed and whether it is serious about cleaning up its act.
Reporter: Livvy Haydock
Producer: Helen Clifton
Editor: Carl Johnston
SUN 17:40 Profile (m000xsh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000xskl)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 17:57 Weather (m000xskn)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000xskq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m000xsks)
Caz Graham
OK, so what do we have this week….?
Harry Kane’s right foot with a bit of sweet Caroline from the crowd? check
Thrills and spills at Wimbledon? check
What’s the point of education ?- check
Plus, Johnny Marr on guitar, Louis Armstrong on trumpet, where emojis come from and the healing power of nature.
Hopefully without the need of a penalty shootout.
Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Stephen Garner
Production support: Pete Liggins
Studio Manager: Richard Hannaford
SUN 19:00 Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair (m000k3gw)
Series 6
One Day My Prince Will Come
A woman who would rather be left alone is bullied into trying online dating by her sister. A disastrous date ensues but with a surprisingly positive outcome.
Written by Jenny Eclair
Read by Katherine Jakeways
Producer, Sally Avens
SUN 19:15 Taboo (m000xskv)
Kate Copstick and special guests Desiree Birch, Scott Capurro, Tanyalee Davies, Jordan Gray, Roger Mahony, Tim Renkow and Kate Smurthwaite tackle the tricky subject of taboo in comedy, exploring what's wrong with woke, who can say what to whom, where and when, and asking why can't we all just lighten up and laugh. Unless you object to the use of the word lighten... which is not meant in any sense of lighter being better...
Written and Presented by Kate Copstick
With Special Guests: Desiree Burch, Scott Capurro, Tanyalee Davis, Jordan Gray, Roger Mahony, Tim Renkow and Kate Smurthwaite
Studio Engineer and Editor: Gerry O'Riordan
Produced by Gordon Kennedy
Recorded at The Soundhouse Studios
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 The Chronicles of Burke Street (m000xskx)
5: Gravy's Story
The last in the brilliantly funny short story series by the award-winning author of 'Love After Love', Ingrid Persaud.
Set on an everyday street in Port of Spain, Trinidad, 'The Chronicles of Burke Street' follows the lives and loves of its diverse colourful residents. Burke Street might seem like an ordinary street, but behind its closed doors lurk secrets, superstitions and barely concealed lies.
Today, in 'Gravy's Story', the search for a father reveals unexpected truths..
Writer: Ingrid Persaud is the winner of the 2018 BBC National Short Story Award, and her novel Love After Love won the 2020 Costa First Novel Award.
Reader: tbc
Producer: Justine Willett
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m000xmzx)
The Deputy Director of BBC News Jonathan Munro discusses impartiality, cronyism, and the tendency for guests to disappear at a vital moment in an interview.
The writer Jan Etherington talks about her award winning Radio 4comedy series Conversations from a Long Marriage, starring Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam.
And in the Out of Your Comfort Zone feature, two listeners examine a documentary which claims that emojis have changed the course of history.
Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Kate Dixon
Executive Producer: Samir Shah
A Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m000xmzv)
Donald Rumsfeld (pictured), Menelik Shabazz, Elizabeth French
Matthew Bannister on
Donald Rumsfeld, the US Secretary of Defense who challenged the military bureaucracy, advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and was blamed for many of the failings of that operation.
Menelik Shabazz, the pioneering film director who supported the careers of many other black film makers.
Elizabeth French, the archaeologist who was a leading expert on the pottery of the ancient Greek city of Mycenae.
Producer: Neil George
Interviewed guest: Justin Webb
Interviewed guest: Andrew Cockburn
Interviewed guest: Joy Francis
Interviewed guest: David Somerset
Interviewed guest: John Bennett
Archive clips used: C-SPAN 19/03/2003; CNN 02/12/2002; AP 13/05/2004;
Step Forward Youth 1977 by Menelik Shabazz; Burning an Illusion 1981 by Menelik Shabazz;
Blood Ah Go Run 1981 by Menelik Shabazz; Autumn Breeze Movies, Mycenaean War and Peace 24/05/2010;
Introduction to Mycenaeans and Mycenaean Culture, History with Cy 21/06/2019; History Victorum,
The Citadel of Mycenae 04/06/2020.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m000xskz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m000xsjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 Analysis (m000xkzj)
Stalemate: Israel and the Palestinians after Gaza
After another round of violence, a two state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict appears farther away than ever. Edward Stourton examines the future.
Guests include:
Ahmad Samih Khalidi - Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College, Oxford
Anshel Pfeffer - Senior Correspondent, Haaretz
Dore Gold - former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations & President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Jake Walles - former US Consul General in Jerusalem
Salem Barahmeh - Executive Director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy
Sawsan Zaher - Deputy General Director, Adalah
Shlomo Ben-Ami - former Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs & Vice President of the Toledo International Center for Peace.
Producer Luke Radcliff
Editor Jasper Corbett
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m000xsl1)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m000xmll)
David Oyelowo
With Antonia Quirke
Actor and producer David Oyelowo reveals how he made his directorial debut, The Water Man, almost by accident. And why, thanks to raw data, streaming has lead to greater diversity of content and changed the minds of white film executives.
Gosford Park turns 20 this year. Robert Altman's whodunnit was like a who's who of British acting talent - Maggie Smith, Alan Bates, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Eileen Atkins, Derek Jacobi and Tom Hollander. The Rev star takes us behind the scenes of this modern classic, which had its own whodunnit.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b08wmjnw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 12 JULY 2021
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m000xsl3)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Sideways (m000xm77)
11. Too Big to Succeed
When a major earthquake hits California, it has to rebuild - but at what cost?
A sunny afternoon in October, 1989. In San Francisco's Candlestick Park stadium, a pair of local sporting rivals are about to go head to head - the Oakland Athletics against the San Francisco Giants.
But before the first ball is pitched, the game is interrupted - by a major earthquake. A section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge - the major transport connection for the two northern Californian cities - crumbles, killing one person. And across the Bay in West Oakland, a double decker freeway collapses. 42 lives are lost.
In the months and years that follow, San Francisco and West Oakland face a seemingly simple question - how to rebuild. Two major projects emerge. But with very different results. While one brings a community together, the other becomes a political battleground.
By examining the Iron Law of Megaprojects - which reveals how major infrastructure problems, far from being a silver bullet, become money-draining, ego-flattering albatrosses that overrun and under deliver - Matthew asks whether a simpler, more streamlined way to create the spectacular is possible. And in the end, is the pursuit of creating something sublimely beautiful even worth it?
With Darrell Ford, member of the West Oakland Citizens Advisory Board; Steve Heminger, former executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission; Bent Flyvbjerg, Professor and Chair of Major Programme Management at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford; Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia; Dr Karen Trapenberg Frick, Associate Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley. With thanks to Ms Margaret Gordon, co-founder and co-director of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project.
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Eleanor Biggs
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Executive Producer: Max O'Brien
Music, Sound Design and Mix: Nicholas Alexander
Theme Music: Seventy Times Seven by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m000xshl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000xsl5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000xsl7)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000xsl9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m000xslc)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000xslf)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rick Hill
Good morning.
Today in Northern Ireland there will be parades celebrating what is known by historians as the glorious revolution. On the 12th July 1690 William of Orange defeated the deposed King James the Second at the battle of the Boyne in Ireland.
Identity and belonging are embedded in our annual cultural celebration and remain sources of tension and friction in my home country.
35 years ago, when I was a student in Aberdeen, a Professor cautioned me that peace was not merely the absence of conflict but also the enduring presence of wholeness. He wasn’t just talking about the theory of peace-making, I subsequently found he’d been involved in secret discussions with the IRA to try and broker a ceasefire.
As a teacher he’d inspired me to believe in reconciliation and to engage in projects that reached across the divisions in our society.
It is possible for me to celebrate my sense of belonging without diminishing others. It is also possible for me to define my identity at their expense. For too long we have made negative choices which we permit to shape our nationality of sense of belonging. It is of course possible to make positive choices- to understand ourselves and our self-worth without trashing others.
We have the absence of conflict in Northern Ireland but the enduring presence of wholeness is still work in progress.
When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem he stopped and wept saying, “If only you knew on this of all days the things that lead to peace”.
Heavenly Father
Help us to walk today and every day those pathways to peace that bring wholeness.
Amen
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m000xslh)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
MON 05:56 Weather (m000xslk)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04mlvwj)
Asian Crested Ibis
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the rare Asian crested Ibis formerly common in Japan and China. The crested ibis is mainly white with a shaggy white crest and a red face; but in the breeding season its plumage is tinged with ash-grey. Under its wings is a subtle peach tone, a colour known in Japan as toki-iro. Unfortunately its beauty hasn't saved the crested ibis from persecution in Japan, China or Siberia where it used to breed. It was thought to be extinct in China, until seven birds were found in 1981. In 2003 the crested ibis became extinct in the wild in Japan. Now, crested ibis are conservation symbols in the Far East. They are strictly protected in China where they are being reintroduced to increase the small wild population. In Japan the first wild Japanese crested ibis chick flew from its nest in 2012.
MON 06:00 Today (m000xstc)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 The Patch (m000xstf)
Hawkhurst, Kent
In the first episode of a new series, the random postcode generator takes us to Hawkhurst in Kent, a prosperous village near Tunbridge Wells. Near the church lives Steve Davies, an ex-army corporal, who served in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. He's on a mission to clean and restore local military gravestones and has done over 100. But he also wants to help living veterans who, suffer from PTSD or, like himself, anxiety and depression. Can he and his friends intervene to stop more ex-forces men from committing suicide?
Future episodes in the series take producers Jolyon Jenkins and Polly Weston to Lowestoft, Welwyn Garden City, Eastbourne, and Haringey
Presenter/producer: Jolyon Jenkins
MON 09:30 The Power of Negative Thinking (b082xc01)
The Backfire Effect
To achieve any major life goal, conventional wisdom tells us we must think positively. Picture yourself delivering the perfect presentation and it shall be so; envisage the ideal job interview and it will go well; imagine yourself sprinting first across the finish line and you will romp home as champion. While these strategies sound compelling, they have been shown to backfire. In the first of 5 programmes on The Power of Negative Thinking, psychology writer and proud curmudgeon Oliver Burkeman explores the positivity 'backfire effect', and finds that people are often more successful - as are organisations, armies and governments - when they focus on reasons they are likely to fail.
MON 09:45 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xsth)
Episode 1
Edward Brooke-Hitching's father was an antiquarian book dealer. So began his fascination, leading to a unique journey through the entire history of literature, delving into its darkest territories to hunt down the very strangest books ever written, and uncover the stories behind their creation.
This is a madman’s library of eccentric and extraordinary volumes from around the world, many of which have been completely forgotten. Books written in blood and books that kill, books of the insane and books that hoaxed the globe, books invisible to the naked eye and books so long they could destroy the Universe, books worn into battle, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered… and a few others that are just plain weird.
Abridged by Polly Coles
Reader: Arty Froushan
Produced by Clive Brill.
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000xstk)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
MON 11:00 Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket (m000xstm)
Iron Man
How Silicon Valley capitalism is as much about narrative as the bottom line. In 2008 when Tesla Motors launched their first car, the completely electric Roadster, Tesla was a great story. Something genuinely new. An engineering marvel. Elon Musk as CEO was an even better story. He had already disrupted banking and aerospace. Now the automobile industry. That same year, the superhero film Iron Man was released. Its creators turned to Musk to help shape this version of the character of Tony Stark, a billionaire arms dealer who believes everything is achievable through technology, and private enterprise. Musk was on the cover of countless magazines, under headlines like “Elon Musk AKA Tony Stark, Wants to Save the World.” He was becoming a celebrity, on a superhero scale.
The Evening Rocket is presented by Jill Lepore, Professor of American History at Harvard University and staff writer at The New Yorker. Her latest book is If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future. She is also the host of The Last Archive, a podcast from Pushkin Industries.
Producer: Viv Jones
Researcher: Oliver Riskin-Kutz
Editor: Hugh Levinson
Mixing: Graham Puddifoot
Original music by Corntuth
MON 11:30 Loose Ends (m000xsry)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
MON 12:00 News Summary (m000xt4n)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 12:04 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xsts)
Episode 6
"Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him.."
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene was published in 1938 and later adapted for film in 1947 and 2010. It’s a murder thriller set in the underworld of 1930s Brighton. The title refers to the confectionery traditionally sold at seaside resorts with the name of the resort embedded in the centre and elongated down the length. In the novel it’s used as a metaphor for the personality of Pinkie, the anti-hero protagonist.
It’s the tension between the two faces of Brighton – the illuminated tourist bling and the gritty, mobster-laced industry behind the façade – that sets up the intrigue in Greene's classic 1938 novel of good and evil.
It remains a classic example of the thriller genre.
Read by Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Abridged by Florence Bedell
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4
MON 12:18 You and Yours (m000xstv)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m000xstx)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m000xstz)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
MON 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00swmrh)
Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD)
Holy Thorn Reliquary
Neil MacGregor's world history as told through things. This week he is exploring the sophisticated ways that people expressed religious yearning in the 14th and 15th centuries. He is looking at the statues of gods and ancestors - in India, Mexico and on Easter Island - and he describes the importance of icon painting in the Orthodox Church.
Today he is with an object designed to connect with Christ himself - a stunning Christian reliquary from medieval Europe made to house a thorn from the crown of thorns. Neil tells the story of this highly ornate reliquary while Sister Benedicta Ward and the Archbishop of Leeds, the Right Reverend Arthur Roche, help explain the background and meaning to the powerful tradition of relic worship.
Producer: Anthony Denselow
MON 14:00 Drama (m000xsv2)
by Barney Norris.
Lin and Cath never wanted to leave the island, but now Cath's gone and Lin must find a different way of living. Lin has never spoken up before but now she must find her voice and face up to her troubled past even if it means putting herself in danger.
Lin ..... Caroline Catz
Anna ..... Claudie Blakley
Becky ..... Charlotte Beaumont
Matt ..... Finlay Robertson
Directed by Sally Avens
Barney Norris is an award-winning novelist and playwright. He won the Critics Circle Award for most promising playwright for 'Visitors' and his debut novel 'Five Rivers Met in A Wooded Plain' was published to great acclaim. This is his third play for BBC Radio 4.
Caroline Catz is best known for her role as Louisa in 'Doc Martin'. She also writes and directs. Recently her drama doc Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And The Legendary Tapes was broadcast on BBC4.
Claudie Blakley is an award-winning theatre actress. She has appeared in countless television productions including 'Lark Rise to Candleford' as Emma Timmins
Charlotte Beaumont is best known for her role as Chloe Latimer in Broadchurch. She recently appeared as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre.
Finlay Robertson has been a regular cast member in series including Channel 4 drama NY-LON, ITV drama Life Begins, and the BBC Three sitcom How Not to Live Your Life.
MON 14:45 The Why Factor (b06n6fj0)
Sad Music
Helena Merriman asks why the sad music is often the most popular. She speaks to writers and musicians about a seemingly irresistible cultural phenomenon. Why do we love tales of heartbreak and melancholy set to slow, lilting melody?
Presenter:Helena Merriman
Producer:Helena Merriman
Editor:Jeremy Skeet
MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (m000xsv4)
Brain of Brains 2021
Before the 2021 Brain of Britain series gets under way, Russell Davies welcomes back four top-scoring contestants from recent years for an elite quiz contest. The Brain of Britain champions from 2019 and 2020 are joined by the runners-up from those Finals, to determine who takes home the prestigious Brain of Brains trophy.
The quiz comes from the Radio Theatre in London and was recorded with restrictions on indoor gatherings still in place.
Taking part are:
Graham Barker, a retired dental surgeon from the Wirral (the reigning Brain of Britain champion)
Hugh Brady, a scientist from North London
Frankie Fanko, a freelance translator from Leicestershire
David Stainer, a tax advisor from Hertford.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m000xsk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Written in Scotland (m000xmfr)
Episode 3: Urban Scotland
A four-part series about the relationship that Scotland’s writers have with Scotland itself. Presented by Kirsty Wark. Episode 3 – Urban Scotland.
Kirsty takes us through the literary rivalry of Scotland’s two biggest cities.
Few cities have been imagined by its writers as successfully as Edinburgh - from Robert Louis Stevenson, to Muriel Spark and Ian Rankin, the city is truly a product of the imagination of people who have lived there.
Glasgow, by comparison, can seem neglected, yet the city gave the world Tartan Noir and in the years up to 2021 all of the Makars, or National Poets of Scotland, have been from Glasgow.
Producer: Brian McCluskey
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
MON 16:30 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m000k9bf)
Series 16
The Sting in the Tail
"What’s the point of wasps?" asks listener Andrew, who is fed up with being pestered. For this series, with lockdown learning in mind, Drs Rutherford and Fry are investigating scientific mysteries for students of all ages. Do wasps do anything to justify their presence as a picnic menace?
Ecologist Seirian Sumner researches social wasp behaviour and champions their existence. Not only do yellow jacket wasps perform important ecological services as generalist pest controllers of aphids, caterpillars and flies in the UK, they have complex societies and may even perform pollination services, making them more like their better-loved bee cousins than many might think.
However, much remains unknown about wasps’ contribution to our ecosystem. Seirian works with entomologist Adam Hart, and together they run The Big Wasp Survey each summer, a citizen science project dedicated to find out more about UK wasp species and their populations. Prof. Hart sets up an experimental picnic with Dr Rutherford to try and attract some native wasps, and discusses why they are so maligned.
But in some parts of the world UK wasp species have become a major problem. Just after World War II, having unwittingly chosen some aircraft parts destined for New Zealand as their overwintering home, some wasp queens woke up in the city of Hamilton. With no natural predators or competitors, they quickly established a growing population. Fast forward to today, and by late summer the biomass of wasps becomes greater than all the birds, rodents and stoats in the southern island’s honeydew beech forests. Multiyear nests have been discovered that are over three metres tall and contain millions of wasps. Researcher Bob Brown is digging into wasp nests back in the UK to discover which species keep wasps in check here, and whether they might work as biological control.
This causes the doctors to ponder the problems of humans moving species around the planet. Accidental or even well-meaning introductions all too often become invasive. As climate change and urbanisation accelerate, wasps may become more helpful in some ways and more harmful in others.
Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford
Producer: Jen Whyntie
MON 17:00 PM (m000xsv7)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000xsvc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m000xsvf)
Series 75
Episode 5
The godfather of all panel shows returns with a recording from the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House with a 1000-strong remote audience drawn exclusively from the North of England. Join panellists Andy Hamilton, Rachel Parris, Fred Macaulay and Lee Mack under the eagle auspices of the show’s reluctant chairman, Jack Dee. Colin Sell accompanies on the piano. Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Studios production
MON 19:00 The Archers (m000xs01)
There’s a surprise for Eddie while Ruth attempts to reassure a loved one.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m000xsvh)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
MON 19:45 The Northern Bank Job (m000tvlr)
Episode One: Unexpected Visitors
It was the biggest bank robbery in British and Irish history. Days before Christmas 2004, gangs of armed men take over the homes of two Northern Bank officials in Belfast and County Down. With family members held hostage, the officials are instructed to remove cash from the vaults of Northern Bank headquarters in Belfast city-centre and load it into the back of a van - not once, but twice - before the van disappears into the night, along with more than £26.5 million in new and used notes. With the finger of blame pointed at the IRA, the raid makes headlines around the world and sends shock-waves through an already faltering Northern Ireland peace process.
Through dramatized court testimonies, new interviews and archive, Glenn Patterson takes us into the unfolding story of a meticulously planned heist and its chaotic aftermath. Military precision giving way to soap powder boxes stuffed with cash. The bickering of politicians against the silence of the man said to be the robbery’s mastermind. There are even rumours that proceeds from the robbery are to be used as a pension fund for IRA members as it prepares to disarm and disband.
Glenn Patterson has unfinished business with the Northern Bank Job. In fact, he thinks all of Northern Ireland does.
Episode One: Unexpected Visitors
Northern Bank employee Chris Ward is watching TV with his dad when there's a knock at the door. Kevin McMullan is at home with his wife Kyran when Police come to tell them there's been a road traffic accident. But all is not as it seems...
Written and presented by Glenn Patterson
Music: Phil Kieran
Actors: Louise Parker, Thomas Finnegan & Conor O'Donnell
Executive Editor: Andy Martin
Producer: Conor Garrett
A BBC Northern Ireland production for Radio 4
MON 20:00 This Union: A Sea Between Us (m000xr80)
Episode 1
Like many among her generation who grew up during the Troubles, Andrea Catherwood chose a future outside of Northern Ireland. When Andrea left home, the IRA was still active and the talks which would lead to the Good Friday Belfast Agreement had yet to begin. Back then, the prospect of a united Ireland seemed remote and unionist parties enjoyed a comfortable majority at the polls.
Now, the combined unionist parties have lost their majority in the Stormont Assembly. The DUP and the UUP have had five new leaders between them in the last six months. Calls for a referendum on Irish unity are becoming increasingly amplified and its outcome could be determined by an increasing number of voters who no longer identify as unionist or nationalist. The creation of new Brexit trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK has been blamed for triggering loyalist violence and unionists say it threatens Northern Ireland's constitutional status within the UK. In this, Northern Ireland's centenary year, unionism may have reached a critical turning point.
Andrea Catherwood crosses the Irish Sea and goes back home to Northern Ireland to ask what unionism means now and explore some of the challenges it faces.
In programme one, Andrea meets one of the most articulate new voices emerging from Belfast's loyalist community. Nineteen year old Joel Keys was caught up in recent riots on Belfast's Sandy Row but has big ambitions for a career in politics. Andrea speaks with Joel at the site of a traditional '11th night' bonfire, where he explains his determination to help his community tackle the social problems it faces while defending its British identity at the edge of the union.
Producer: Conor Garrett
MON 20:30 Analysis (m000xsvk)
Science in the Time of Cancel Culture
In an age of social media ’cancel culture’ might be defined as an orchestrated campaign which seeks to silence or end the careers of people whose thoughts or opinions deviate from a new set of political norms. So if this threat exists for anyone expressing an opinion online in 2021, what’s it like for scientists working in academia and publishing findings which might be deemed controversial?
In this edition of Analysis, Michael Muthukrishna, Associate Professor of Economic Psychology at the London School of Economics, assesses the impact of modern social justice movements on scientific research and development.
Speaking to a range of experts, some who have found themselves in the firing line of current public discourse, and others who question the severity of this phenomenon and its political motives, Michael asks: if fear of personal or professional harm is strengthening conformism or eviscerating robust intellectual debate, can open-mindedness on controversial issues really exist in the scientific community? Or is rigorous public assessment of scientific findings helping to achieve better, more equitable and socially just outcomes?
With contributions from:
Emily Blender, Professor in Computational Linguistics at the University of Washington
Pedro Domingos, Professor of Computer Science at University of Washington
Caroline Criado Perez, writer and campaigner
Brandeis Marshall, data scientist, Professor of Computer Science at Spelman College
Steven Pinker, Professor of Cognitive Science at Harvard
David Reich, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School
Producer Craig Templeton Smith
Editor Jasper Corbett
MON 21:00 My Cat, The Judge (m000xltd)
Meet Velma: a cat with attitude. (Possibly...)
And her owner, comedian Suzi Ruffell, who adores her pet - but thinks she's been getting a tad tetchy since they started spending more time together during the past year's various lockdowns.
Is Suzi just projecting her own feelings onto an unsuspecting animal, or are those pointed stares a sign that Velma's passing frosty judgement on her owner's life choices?
Together, they embark on a journey of discovery to find out more about cat behaviour and cognition, the world of feline research and the bond between cats and humans.
And of course, to discover the answer to Suzi's burning question: is her cat judging her?
Presented by Suzi Ruffell
Produced by Lucy Taylor for BBC Audio in Bristol
Featuring excerpts from:
- The ending of an episode of the television show 'Pointless', produced for the BBC by Remarkable Television with theme tune composed by Marc Sylvan;
- A video of Texas lawyer Rod Ponton appearing as a cat during a virtual court session, as shared online by Judge Roy Ferguson;
- A video of 'Barney the Cat' playing the keyboard, as shared on TikTok via @mars.gilmanov.
MON 21:30 The Patch (m000xstf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m000xsvm)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
MON 22:45 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xsts)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
MON 23:00 Rewinder (m000xsgw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000xsvp)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
TUESDAY 13 JULY 2021
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m000xsvr)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 00:30 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xsth)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000xsvt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000xsvw)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000xsvy)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m000xsw0)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000xsw2)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rick Hill
Good morning.
Thirty six years ago today the Live Aid Benefit concerts were held in London and Philidelphia to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia.It was a collective act of kindness and cultural moment watched across the globe by an estimated audience of 1.9 billion people, 40 percent of the world’s population.
It is one of those unusual historical anchors. People of a certain age tend to remember where they were on the day. Some were lucky enough to be at the live event, most others watched on television. I remember listening on radio after an extraordinary sunny day sea-kayaking with friends off the northwest coast of Ireland. I later watched it on video.
We don’t just remember where we were and who we were with, we also recall which acts we thought were the best. Opinions varied, I guess they still might. Queen gets my vote for stealing the show. Commentators weren’t really expecting anything like the performance they produced. Freddy Mercury’s theatrics combined with a perfect set of six songs resonated with the audience.
It wasn’t just the musical genius of the performances which provides that memorable moment. The sense of collective action and internationalism behind the event and subsequent charitable response to the terrible famine showed a compassion and kindness that transcended borders and connected us with a wider sense of humanity.
The prophet Micah writes, “What does the Lord require of you but to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God?”
Heavenly Father, as we remember moments of shared humanity and compassion, help us to respond to sisters and brothers in need. To do what is right, kind and with a pure heart. Amen
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m000xsw4)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03srqz5)
Great Bustard
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Chris Packham presents the great bustard. Great bustards, one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, were most common in Wiltshire and East Anglia but in the past they were hunted to extinction and the last known breeding birds in the UK were in 1832.
Today, great bustards are back on Salisbury Plain, thanks to the work of the Great Bustard Group. The Group aims to establish a self-sustaining population in the UK.
TUE 06:00 Today (m000xrz7)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Long View (m000xrz9)
This Union
Jonathan Freedland and a team of historians and BBC correspondents take The Long View of the Union of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
The peoples of this island and their relationship with each other is hotly discussed and contested. Its relationship – constitutionally, economically and culturally - is up for debate, especially as issues of the Union after Brexit and the pandemic come to the fore. In this special edition of The Long View Jonathan Freedland and a team of historians and BBC correspondents look back at three separate moments in the history of the birth of the Union where its future - and its terms of engagement - were under similar scrutiny.
Producer: Mohini Patel
TUE 09:30 A Show of Hands (m000xrzc)
Touch
We use our hands to explore the world around us; to manipulate and change it; to communicate; to signify aggression, submission or gratitude; to comfort or arouse; to make music, craft and create. We point, punch, tweak and text. We ball our fists, spread our palms, give someone the thumbs up and close our hands in prayer.
More than anything else, is it our hands which make us human?
This series considers the human hand from five different angles: manipulation, creativity, gesture, communication and touch. In each programme we hear from people who have a very particular perspective on hands and the way we use them, including a harpist, a blacksmith, a former infantry soldier and the recipient of a hand transplant. Each of them takes a long look at their own hands, describes what they see and considers the relationship with the world which their hands give them.
As we encounter healing hands, steady hands, talking hands, holding hands and the laying-on of hands we come to understand just how much our hands identify and define us.
In the final programme we explore the power of touch with massage therapist Cathy Hagan and her client Gill Tate. Cathy reflects on the way she uses her thumbs, palms and the heel of her hand to sense and locate areas of tension in her clients’ bodies - and then how her hands work to relax those knotted muscles.
A very different insight into touch comes from ‘The Man of Steal’ - magician and pickpocket James Freedman. He talks about the deftness, dexterity and sleight of hand that are the tools of his trade - and how he uses touch to deceive and misdirect when he’s picking someone’s pocket during his stage show.
We also hear from hand surgeon Professor Simon Kay and photographer Tim Booth who has spent over twenty years creating portraits of people’s hands. They consider the extraordinary power of hand-holding and touch to soothe, comfort and reassure.
Producer: Jeremy Grange
Featuring excerpt from 'James Freedman: Secrets from a Professional Pickpocket' - courtesy of TED Talks
Photograph courtesy of Tim Booth: ‘Show of Hands’ Project
TUE 09:45 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xrzf)
Episode 2
Edward Brooke-Hitching's father was an antiquarian book dealer. So began his fascination, leading to a unique journey through the entire history of literature, delving into its darkest territories to hunt down the very strangest books ever written, and uncover the stories behind their creation.
This is a madman’s library of eccentric and extraordinary volumes from around the world, many of which have been completely forgotten. Books written in blood and books that kill, books of the insane and books that hoaxed the globe, books invisible to the naked eye and books so long they could destroy the Universe, books worn into battle, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered… and a few others that are just plain weird.
Abridged by Polly Coles
Reader: Arty Froushan
Produced by Clive Brill.
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000xrzh)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 11:00 Reflections on Hi-Vis (m000xrzk)
Chances are at some point today you’ve come across someone wearing a hi-vis vest or jacket - seeing a cyclist, accepting a delivery, passing a construction site, watching a protest on TV, being told you “can’t park there” or glancing across the dance floor at the weekend’s rave. People wear it for a variety of reasons - safety, status, security, solidarity.
In Reflections on Hi-Vis, Steph McGovern asks why a safety item has become so ubiquitous. What does that say about us? Are we more safety conscious? Or has the day-glo uniform come to signify authority in all its forms? After all, no event is complete without a fluorescent-clad army pointing and directing. Politicians never miss an opportunity to appear on TV in a hard hat and a glowing jacket. In France, hi-vis came to symbolise a whole protest movement – the eponymous Gilets Jaunes.
Ironically hi-vis was born out of an industrial accident. Student Bob Switzer had a summer job unloading trays of tomatoes at a Californian Heinz Factory. In 1933 he fell, suffering a skull fracture, severed his optic nerve and was instructed to lie in a dark room until he recovered his eyesight. Six months recuperating in a darkened cellar below the family pharmacy led Bob and his brother Joe (a chemistry student and amateur magician) to develop a fluorescent paint for Joe’s magic shows. When Bob tested the day-glo paint on swatches of his wife’s wedding dress, the hi-vis jacket was born.
Hi-vis arrived in the UK 30 years later when Glasgow track workers trialled the fluorescent jackets (or ‘fire-flies’). Many were reluctant to wear the unflattering garb. Retired linesman Jimmy Gillies recalls the scepticism of colleagues. Only when hi-vis became required on building sites, were the dazzling jackets willingly donned.
There are diversions into policing, rave culture, political photo ops, cycling and safety on construction sites. What’s the significance and potential of hi-vis and is it here to stay?
Reflections courtesy of Jimmy Gillies, Juliet Elliot, Dr Mike Esbester, Kerri Layton, Rod Liddle, Bénédicte Paviot, Professor Clifford Stott, Millsy, Lou and Daz, Debs Southernwood and Stefan Rousseau.
Produced by Alexandra Quinn.
Executive Producer: Andrew Smith.
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:30 Unreal: The VFX Revolution (m000xrzm)
Digital Realms
How visual effects changed and how they changed the movies. Oscar winner Paul Franklin explores how film entered the digital realm.
The 1970s saw the very first onscreen digital effects in films like Westworld. Those first pioneers of CGI already spoke of digital humans, indeed of entire films being made within the computer, but Hollywood was unconvinced. By 1979, some of those visionaries like Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, later founders of Pixar, were working for filmmaker George Lucas, who primarily wanted new digital tools for editing and compositing and to explore computer graphics. Their first all-digital sequence created life-from lifelessness with the Genesis effect for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Meanwhile Disney itself was creating TRON, a spectacular mix of state-of-the art animation and pioneering digital effects that took audiences into cyberspace for the first time. In their different ways these two films were the true harbingers of the digital revolution that would bring profound change to moviemaking within little more than a decade. And then came Terminator 2's chrome shape shifter-the T1000. The revolution was underway.
With the voices of Ed Catmull, Mark Dippe, Bill Kroyer, Steven Lisberger, Dennis Muren, Alvy Ray Smith, Richard Taylor & Steve Williams
Producer: Mark Burman
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m000xrzp)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:04 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xrzr)
Episode 7
"Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him.."
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene was published in 1938 and later adapted for film in 1947 and 2010. It’s a murder thriller set in the underworld of 1930s Brighton. The title refers to the confectionery traditionally sold at seaside resorts with the name of the resort embedded in the centre and elongated down the length. In the novel it’s used as a metaphor for the personality of Pinkie, the anti-hero protagonist.
It’s the tension between the two faces of Brighton – the illuminated tourist bling and the gritty, mobster-laced industry behind the façade – that sets up the intrigue in Greene's classic 1938 novel of good and evil.
It remains a classic example of the thriller genre.
Read by Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Abridged by Florence Bedell
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m000xrzt)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m000xrzw)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m000xrzy)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
TUE 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00swmjs)
Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD)
Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
This week Neil MacGregor's world history as told through objects is describing how people expressed devotion and connection with the divine in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Today he is with an icon from Constantinople that looks back in history to celebrate the overthrow of iconoclasm and the restoration of holy images in AD 843 - a moment of triumph for the Orthodox branch of the Christian Church. This icon shows the annual festival of orthodoxy celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent, with historical figures of that time and a famous depiction of the Virgin Mary.
The American artist Bill Viola responds to the icon and describes the special characteristics of religious painting. And the historian Diarmaid MacCulloch describes the often troubled relationship between the Church and the images it has produced.
Producer: Anthony Denselow
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m000xs01)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (m0005mjn)
Rita, Sue and Andrea Too
Tragi-comic drama based on accounts of the life and career of Andrea Dunbar, the schoolgirl playwright from Bradford whose Rita, Sue and Bob Too took 1980s Britain by storm.
Told through the eyes and ears of friend and film director Jennie Howarth, the drama follows a young Andrea as she creates a visceral, acerbic and dark comedy about her own sexual exploitation.
Based on accounts from the people who worked with Andrea and were involved in the creation of stage-play and film Rita, Sue and Bob Too, this audio-biopic of the author's very short life remembers how she struggled to survive financially and how she battled to protect the authenticity of her original works - as they transferred from stage to film.
Cast:
Andrea ..... Natalie Gavin
Jennie ..... Claudia Jessie
Max and Alan ..... Duncan Wisbey
Oscar ..... James Quinn
Alma and Peggy ….. Anjella Macintosh
Other voices by Cara Jennings, Sophie Trott and members of the cast
Written and directed by Sean Grundy
Sound Design by Alisdair McGregor
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m000bmxq)
Series 21
Sports
From rally car driving to the healing power of climbing - Josie Long presents short documentaries and adventures in sound about sport, exercise and competition.
Go Faster
Featuring Rosemary Smith
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft
Climb When Ready
Featuring Cassius Adair and Martha Bennett
Produced by Arlie Adlington
Music credit: Negentropy by Chad Crouch
That's It
Featuring recordings from The Sound of Sport
Produced by Bus Crush
Production Team: Andrea Rangecroft and Alia Cassam
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 Made of Stronger Stuff (p097cpwj)
The Appendix
Psychologist Kimberley Wilson and Dr Xand van Tulleken take a journey around the human body, to find out what it can tell us about our innate capacity for change.
In this episode, Kimberley and Xand zoom in on the appendix, long written off as a useless body part. But new research reveals that this worm-shaped part of our digestive system can actually tell us a lot about human evolution, and the relationship between brain and body.
Xand and Kimberley find out the surprising truth about what the appendix actually does, hear how it might be implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, and peep behind the curtains of a nightmare appendectomy.
Producer: Dan Hardoon
Executive Producer: Kate Holland
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m000xs03)
Why is English so weird?
Why do we say 'I climbed' not 'I clomb'? Why is there a 'p' in 'receipt' and not in 'deceit'? Why is 'of' spelled with a 'f' when it sounds like a 'v'?
Michael Rosen hears why from American linguist Arika Okrent. Together they talk about the strangeness of English and who is to blame for the mess.
Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol.
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m000xs05)
Geoff Norcott & Nell Frizzell
Comedian Geoff Norcott chats to journalist and author Nell Frizzell on this week's A Good Read.
Geoff picks Jonathan Coe's The Rotters' Club; Nell channels her best Richard Burton impression and goes for Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood and Harriett chooses Georges Simenon's Krull House.
Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Caitlin Hobbs
Join our Instagram book club: @agoodreadbbc
TUE 17:00 PM (m000xs07)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000xs09)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Ed Reardon's Week (m000xs0c)
Series 14
Platinum Writer
Ed is once more in financial crisis following Elgar’s huge vets bill. Gone is the fancy new car, the trips out, and the fodder box. Staying home isn’t so much a rule now as a necessity driven by lack of funds, and live streaming is the new Theatre. But there is light on the horizon when Ed is offered the chance to write the script for a new movie by Jaz Milvain. Maggie has also secured Ed a job writing biographies for ‘ordinary people’ which pays well, includes a free car and earns Ed the plaudit of ‘Platinum Writer’. The problem is, Ed can only choose one job – which is it to be?
Cast list ep 6
Ed Reardon………..Christopher Douglas
Ping…………….……..Barunka O’Shaughnessy
Jaz……………………..Philp Jackson
Maggie……………….Pippa Haywood
Eli………………………..Lisa Coleman
Jake…………………….Sam Pamphillon
Olive…………………..Stephanie Cole
Pearl…………………..Brigit Forsyth
Stan……………………Geoffrey Whitehead
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis
Production Co-ordinator: Cherlynn Andrew-Wilfred
Sound Recordist and Editor: David Thomas
A BBC Studios Production
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m000xr8h)
The nerves set in for Ben and there’s an emergency dash for Ed.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m000xs0f)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
TUE 19:45 The Northern Bank Job (m000tt8j)
Episode Two: Killing Time
It was the biggest bank robbery in British and Irish history. Days before Christmas 2004, gangs of armed men take over the homes of two Northern Bank officials in Belfast and County Down. With family members held hostage, the officials are instructed to remove cash from the vaults of Northern Bank headquarters in Belfast city-centre and load it into the back of a van - not once, but twice - before the van disappears into the night, along with more than £26.5 million in new and used notes. With the finger of blame pointed at the IRA, the raid makes headlines around the world and sends shock-waves through an already faltering Northern Ireland peace process.
Through dramatized court testimonies, new interviews and archive, Glenn Patterson takes us into the unfolding story of a meticulously planned heist and its chaotic aftermath. Military precision giving way to soap powder boxes stuffed with cash. The bickering of politicians against the silence of the man said to be the robbery’s mastermind. There are even rumours that proceeds from the robbery are to be used as a pension fund for IRA members as it prepares to disarm and disband.
Glenn Patterson has unfinished business with the Northern Bank Job. In fact, he thinks all of Northern Ireland does.
Episode Two: Killing Time
After a year of so called 'tiger kidnappings' all over Northern Ireland, negotiations continue to try to restore the Stormont power-sharing government, as Northern Bank employees Chris Ward and Kevin McMullan prepare to start the most extraordinary working shift of their lives...
Written and presented by Glenn Patterson
Music: Phil Kieran
Actors: Louise Parker, Thomas Finnegan & Conor O'Donnell
Executive Editor: Andy Martin
Producer: Conor Garrett
A BBC Northern Ireland production for Radio 4
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m000xs0h)
Held to Ransom
The extraordinary story of a UK schools group which took on a cyber ransomware gang.
The Harris Federation seems an unlikely target for ransomware criminals but it found itself at the centre of a cyber attack by anonymous hackers. With its servers down and a ransom demand of nearly £3 million, school leaders had to decide quickly whether to pay or suffer the consequences. File on 4 has unique access to the extraordinary negotiations that took place behind the scenes, involving an Israeli security company and Russian hackers.
More British institutions are being hit by ransomware gangs than ever before, from multi-national corporations to health care trusts and even schools.
The attackers hack into an organisation's computer system, encrypt the data and demand a ransom to get it back. Increasingly, they also threaten to publish sensitive information if no payment is made. It's known as double extortion.
The former head of the National Cyber Security Centre tells File on 4 that the government needs to intervene as a matter of urgency, and make it illegal to pay ransomware gangs.
Presenter: Paul Kenyon
Producer: Paul Grant
Editor: Nicola Addyman
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m000xs0k)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m000xr8m)
A weekly quest to demystify the health issues that perplex us.
TUE 21:30 The Long View (m000xrz9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m000xs0m)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xrzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
TUE 23:00 Fortunately... with Fi and Jane (m000xs0p)
197. No Eating in School Uniform, with Adele Roberts
This week on the Fortunately podcast, Fi and Jane chat to Adele Roberts, host of BBC Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast. DJ and runner Adele talks them through her triumph on Celebrity Coach Trip, recommends the best shops in Barbados and shares some of her favourite songs of lockdown. Before Adele beams in there's Southgate admiration, scab storage and alternative financial years.
Get in touch: fortunately.podcast@bbc.co.uk
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000xs0r)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
WEDNESDAY 14 JULY 2021
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m000xs0t)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
WED 00:30 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xrzf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000xs0w)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000xs0y)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000xs10)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m000xs12)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000xs14)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rick Hill
Good morning.
I’m a keen sea kayaker with a fascination for the wonderful lighthouses gracing our coastline. There is something comforting about knowing that they are there. I particularly like those which have the classic sweeping beam.
The long arm of light they produce was due to the genius of the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel who died on this day 1827. He may not have been the first to experiment with prismatic lenses, but he developed the eponymous ones in lighthouses. His design vastly improved the visibility of the beams.
I used to fall asleep in my bedroom which was illuminated by the sweeping beam of the Mew Island lighthouse at the mouth of Belfast Lough. In recent years it has been upgraded with a flashing Light Emitting Diode light and the old lens retired and put on display for the public to see.
I’m not the only one mourning the loss of the sweeping lighthouse rays. The iconic Portland light has also been upgraded to a simple flashing light.
I find it hard to imagine Fresnel would be annoyed. He was a scientist commissioned to improve lighthouses. That his technological advances have waited so long for a replacement is testament to his genius. I’m sure he’d be fascinated by todays LED lights. What matters most is the safety of mariners not my sense of nostalgia.
I love the use of word “light” in John’s gospel, it sweeps from the prologue forwards until we find Jesus saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Lord, fill us with light that others might find you. Amen.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m000xs16)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09wswn8)
Mark Cocker on the Wood Warbler
Nature writer Mark Cocker heard his first wood warbler at the age of thirteen. Now in middle age spring has not truly begun until he has heard the first wood warbler of the year singing explosive song, likened to a coin spinning on a metal top..
Producer Tim Dee
Photograph: Gray Clements.
WED 06:00 Today (m000xr7m)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Soul Music (m000xr7r)
Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat
This disco classic tells a powerful story: that of a young, gay man leaving his homophobic small town for the freedom of the big city. Released in 1984, Smalltown Boy continues to resonate and has become an anthem for the LGBTQ+ community. The track appeared on their album 'The Age of Consent' which drew attention to the inequality between the ages at which heterosexual people and homosexual men were legally able to have sex.
Taking part in the programme:
Shaun Dellenty, an ex primary school leader and author who developed an award winning LGBT+ training programme 'Celebrating Difference-Inclusion For All' which he now delivers to students and staff around the world.
Paul Flynn, journalist and author of 'Good As You, 30 Years of Gay Britain'.
Diane Anderson-Minshall, CEO and Editorial Director of Pride Media.
Colin Crummy, freelance journalist
Neil Brand, pianist, composer, writer and broadcaster
Adam Carver aka Fatt Butcher, drag artist, creative producer, and community organiser.
Archive: The audio of Jimmy Somerville is taken from the BBC archives
Music:: various versions of Smalltown Boy by Jimmy Somerville, and Bronski Beat. Also covers by Dido, and Orville Peck.
Produced by Karen Gregor for BBC Audio in Bristol.
WED 09:30 Four Thought (m000xr7t)
When We Were Young
Luke Rigg argues that more young magistrates will improve justice.
When Luke told his friends and family he wanted to be a magistrate aged just 20, they all had one question: "Why are you doing that, Luke?" In this talk Luke takes us inside the magistrates' courts where for six years he has been convicting, sentencing, and acquitting offenders, many of his own age, to explain how he answers that question.
Luke is introduced by host Olly Mann.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 09:45 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xr9m)
Episode 3
Edward Brooke-Hitching's father was an antiquarian book dealer. So began his fascination, leading to a unique journey through the entire history of literature, delving into its darkest territories to hunt down the very strangest books ever written, and uncover the stories behind their creation.
This is a madman’s library of eccentric and extraordinary volumes from around the world, many of which have been completely forgotten. Books written in blood and books that kill, books of the insane and books that hoaxed the globe, books invisible to the naked eye and books so long they could destroy the Universe, books worn into battle, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered… and a few others that are just plain weird.
Abridged by Polly Coles
Reader: Arty Froushan
Produced by Clive Brill.
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000xr7y)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 11:00 This Union: A Sea Between Us (m000xr80)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 11:30 What's Funny About ... (m000j35w)
The Vicar of Dibley
TV veterans Peter Fincham and Jon Plowman talk to the writers, producers and performers behind Britain’s biggest TV comedy hits, and hear the inside story of how they brought their programmes to the screen.
In this episode, Peter and Jon talk to Dawn French and Richard Curtis about their much-loved sitcom The Vicar of Dibley. They discuss how to make a fundamentally nice character funny, Richard’s curious appetite for writing quite so many weddings, and Dawn’s strangest ever Vicar of Dibley gig.
With Peter and Jon as our guides, we’ll take the opportunity to ask quite how they went about making a great bit of TV comedy. Who came up with it? How did it get written?
We’ll do our very best to winkle out some backstage secrets straight from the horse’s mouth, as we hear the unvarnished truth from the people who were there, and who put these iconic shows on the telly.
Original Vicar of Dibley clips written by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer
Producer: Owen Braben
An Expectation production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:00 News Summary (m000xrbr)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 12:04 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xr86)
Episode 8
"Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him.."
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene was published in 1938 and later adapted for film in 1947 and 2010. It’s a murder thriller set in the underworld of 1930s Brighton. The title refers to the confectionery traditionally sold at seaside resorts with the name of the resort embedded in the centre and elongated down the length. In the novel it’s used as a metaphor for the personality of Pinkie, the anti-hero protagonist.
It’s the tension between the two faces of Brighton – the illuminated tourist bling and the gritty, mobster-laced industry behind the façade – that sets up the intrigue in Greene's classic 1938 novel of good and evil.
It remains a classic example of the thriller genre.
Read by Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Abridged by Florence Bedell
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:18 You and Yours (m000xr88)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m000xr8b)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m000xr8d)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
WED 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00swmjv)
Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD)
Shiva and Parvati sculpture
The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London is back in India. This week Neil MacGregor is with the gods - exploring the sophistication of religious art in the 14th and 15th centuries, as people around the world sought ways of finding physical expression for devotion and for representing the divine.
Today Neil is with a magnificent stone sculpture showing the powerful deity Shiva with his consort Parvati seated on his knee - two of the most beloved and familiar figures of Hinduism. The vehicles of the deities, a bull and a lion, and their children sit at their feet, while a host of supporting musicians and attendants swirl around their heads. Neil considers how images like this help cement the relationship between deity and devotee.
The writer Karen Armstrong considers the special relationship between male and female aspects in spiritual practice while the Hindu cleric Shaunaka Rishi Das explores the particular characteristics of Shiva and Parvati and considers the religious significance of their union.
Producer: Anthony Denselow
WED 14:00 The Archers (m000xr8h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (m0009klc)
Red Earth, Red Sky
Based on a true story: 70 year old Paul had a dream in London where his sister, Evelyn, asked him to take her back to Agbor, their town of birth. The next morning he received a call saying his sister had died in Lagos. Paul, a religious man, knew what he had to do.
Paul, and his niece Carol arrive in Lagos and are travelling along the Benin Bypass when the car is ambushed by masked armed men. They are dragged out of the car and taken into the bush and held to ransom.
Paul - Nonzo Anozie
Carol/Evelyn -Joan Iyiola
Chinedu/Sunny - Peter Bankole
Deborah - Susan Aderin
Ovo- Seun Shote
Franklyn - Adam Courting
Written by Janice Okoh
Produced and Directed by Pauline Harris
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
With 190 million people who are mostly at poverty level, kidnappings began as a protest against the rich oil workers in Nigeria, but now it’s a business. On average there are seven kidnappings a day. Red Earth, Red Sky unfolds against this backdrop. It’s based on true events of a family relative of Janice Okoh’s who was kidnapped in 2017. Two people were killed. No one has since been brought to justice.
Further info on cast: Nonzo Anozie is best known for his role as Xaro Xhoan Daxos in the HBO television series Game of Thrones, Tank in RocknRolla, Sergeant Dap in Ender's Game, Abraham Kenyatta in Zoo, Captain of the Guards in Cinderella. Theatre includes
At the age of 23 Anozie went on to be the youngest person ever to play the title role in King Lear in a Royal Shakespeare Company production. Anozie also received critical acclaim for his performance in the title role in Othello and as the prisoner in Edmond at the National Theatre, directed by Ed Hall. He has done a world tour with the Cheek by Jowl Theatre Company and won a Magnolia Award for best actor and the Sunday Times/National Theatre Ian Charleson Award for best young actor in a classical role.
Iyiola starred opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor as Pauline Lumumba in A Season in the Congo at The Young Vic, directed by Joe Wright. She played the title role in the Duchess of Malfi at the RSC, for tv she has appeared in Black Earth Rising for the BBC, New Blood, Yonderland.
WED 15:00 Money Box (m000xr8k)
Single Parents
There are almost 3m lone parent families in the UK and for many the pandemic has put increased pressure on already stretched family finances. The charity Gingerbread say that single parents are more likely to have lost jobs or experienced reduced hours and falling incomes.
If you’ve a question or a tip about supporting children when you separate, dealing with child maintenance payments and arrears or maximising your income, we’d love to hear from you.
Or if you’ve got some advice to share about free or low cost family activities for the summer we’re all ears, e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk to join the conversation.
On the panel are:
- Victoria Benson, CEO of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families
- Phil Agulnik, Director of benefits checker entitledto
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Diane Richardson
Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Alex Lewis
WED 15:30 Inside Health (m000xr8m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Sideways (m000xr8p)
Brighter than Bagpuss
Boston, Massachusetts. 1970. A group of mothers and young children assembles outside the offices of the local TV station. It’s the first phase of a fight to improve kids’ TV that would go all the way to the United States Senate.
Matthew Syed looks at how kids' TV got smart, and what we can learn about the developing mind from the programme makers who led the way.
In the late 1960s, children’s television in the US was dominated by cheap cartoons and adverts for sugary snacks. Peggy Charren had something to say about it. She formed a grassroots activism group in her living room with other concerned mothers - Action for Children’s Television. It would become one of the most influential broadcast lobbying groups in history.
Peggy was part of a wave of people who were starting to take kids’ TV seriously. From the creators of Sesame Street, to psychological researchers like Professor Daniel Anderson who brought science into children’s programme making, Matthew draws out what we can learn from these innovators who know how to create a hit show.
With Debbie Charren, Peggy’s daughter, and former schoolteacher and reading specialist; Robert Krock, Action for Children’s Television’s former development director; Daniel Anderson, Professor Emeritus at the department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Dr Michael Muthukrishna, Associate Professor of Economic Psychology at the London School of Economics; and Andrew Davenport, creator, writer and composer of In the Night Garden, Moon and Me, and Teletubbies.
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Caroline Thornham
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Music, Sound Design and Mix: Nicholas Alexander
Our theme is Seventy Times Seven by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:30 The Media Show (m000xr8r)
Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.
WED 17:00 PM (m000xr8t)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000xr8y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Unite (m000xr90)
Series 1
The Wedding
New sitcom series starring Radio 4 favourite Mark Steel (Mark Steel’s In Town, The News Quiz), Claire Skinner (Outnumbered), Elliot Steel and Ivo Graham.
When Tony (Mark Steel), a working class, left-wing South Londoner, falls in love and moves in with Imogen (Claire Skinner), an upper middle class property developer, their sons - disenfranchised Croydon rude boy Ashley (Elliot Steel) and Oxbridge-educated crypto currency king Gideon (Ivo Graham) - are forced to live under the same roof and behave like the brothers neither of them ever wanted.
In this episode, on the day before Tony and Imogen's wedding, Gideon is adding the finishing touches to his "masterpiece" of a speech (four months in the making), Ashley needs to try and complete his driving test before the ceremony, Tony is struggling to pay an overdue car fine and Imogen's mum takes her to a spa hotel to relax, but instead tries to convince her she's marrying the wrong man.
Cast:
Tony - Mark Steel
Imogen - Claire Skinner
Ashley - Elliot Steel
Gideon - Ivo Graham
Rebecca - Ayesha Antoine
Geraldine - Isla Blair
Nigel/Automated phone - Simon Greenall
Tamsin - Susannah Fielding
Customer Services operator- Ruth Bratt
Car clamper/ Registrar - Marcus Brigstocke
Hotel Manager - Simon Humphreys
Driving Examiner/ MC/ Policeman - Stefano Paolini
Young wedding guest - Nessa Eriksson
Written by - Barry Castagnola, Elliot Steel and Mark Steel (additional material from the cast)
Executive Producer - Marios Stylianides
Producer/Director - Barry Castagnola
Sound Recordist and Editor - Jerry Peal
Production Co-ordinator - George O’Regan
Runner - James Potter
A Golden Path/ Rustle Up production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m000xr92)
Lee faces a tricky dilemma and Phoebe’s suspicions are raised.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m000xr94)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 19:45 The Northern Bank Job (m000tsjw)
Episode Three: Progressing Matters
It was the biggest bank robbery in British and Irish history. Days before Christmas 2004, gangs of armed men take over the homes of two Northern Bank officials in Belfast and County Down. With family members held hostage, the officials are instructed to remove cash from the vaults of Northern Bank headquarters in Belfast city-centre and load it into the back of a van - not once, but twice - before the van disappears into the night, along with more than £26.5 million in new and used notes. With the finger of blame pointed at the IRA, the raid makes headlines around the world and sends shock-waves through an already faltering Northern Ireland peace process.
Through dramatized court testimonies, new interviews and archive, Glenn Patterson takes us into the unfolding story of a meticulously planned heist and its chaotic aftermath. Military precision giving way to soap powder boxes stuffed with cash. The bickering of politicians against the silence of the man said to be the robbery’s mastermind. There are even rumours that proceeds from the robbery are to be used as a pension fund for IRA members as it prepares to disarm and disband.
Glenn Patterson has unfinished business with the Northern Bank Job. In fact, he thinks all of Northern Ireland does.
Episode Three: Progressing Matters
As Kevin and Chris make their way down to the basement cash-centre safe, the masked men holding Kyran McMullan hostage ask if she'd like some light refreshments...
Written and presented by Glenn Patterson
Music: Phil Kieran
Actors: Louise Parker, Thomas Finnegan & Conor O'Donnell
Executive Editor: Andy Martin
Producer: Conor Garrett
A BBC Northern Ireland production for Radio 4
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m000xr96)
Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories. #moralmaze
WED 20:45 Four Thought (m000xr7t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
WED 21:00 Made of Stronger Stuff (p097cpwj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 The Media Show (m000xr8r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m000xr99)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xr86)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
WED 23:00 Heidi Regan: No Worries (m000xr9c)
Episode 3
As someone who tends to worry in 'normal' times, the pandemic has of course offered some exciting new areas of exploration for the anxious mind. Having a partner who is a GP has both helped and not helped Heidi with that: worrying about her being safe, but also, yay, on tap medical advice! That said, examining rashes of a loved one over dinner isn’t really the romance her partner signed up for. As Heidi and her partner ponder some of the big questions in life, Heidi's brain resorts, as it always does, to distracting them (and the audience) with increasingly silly jokes as she makes an argument for the pros and cons of joking your way through life.
In this episode Heidi is keen to put her worries into perspective.
Written and performed by Heidi Regan.
With thanks to Nick Elleray
Production co-ordinator... Caroline Barlow.
Producer...Julia McKenzie
A BBC Studios Production
WED 23:15 The Skewer (m000xr9f)
Series 4
Episode 7
Returning to twist itself into - and remix - the news. Jon Holmes presents The Skewer.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000xr9h)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
THURSDAY 15 JULY 2021
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m000xr9k)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
THU 00:30 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xr9m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000xr9q)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000xr9s)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000xr9v)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m000xr9x)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000xr9z)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rick Hill
Good Morning.
On this day 2006 a text message sharing service was renamed and what we now know as Twitter was born. I suspect few people back then would have predicted the impact it would have on Global communications and news.
English language has shifted and we have different understanding of the word tweet as a result. Hashtags once had marginal use by mathematicians and computer scientists, now they have entered common parlance.
The immediacy of social media makes it all too easy to comment or reply swiftly. We might use it for good, for citizen journalism to highlight injustice, to reach out to the world at a time of need. We might use it to incite, troll and hurt.
Like any words we speak we might do well to think before we tweet.
The hashtag revolution is here to stay. Tweets are often the start-point for a news story- the raid which found Osama Bin Laden and the plane landing on the Hudson River are both examples. There’s been a fair amount of drivel too. The actor Jeff Goldblum had to appear on American television to prove that rumours of his death were false.
When it comes to what we read we need to be sceptical. And our personal tweeting needs to be responsible.
At School many years ago the headmaster used to read us some verses from St Paul’s letter to the Philippians. They’d make a great social media test.
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”.
Father, fix our thoughts on what is true, right, noble, pure lovely and admirable. And may our twittering match, Hashtag Amen.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m000xrb1)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkxg2)
Variable Pitohui
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the poisonous variable pitohui from New Guinea. This jay sized, black-and-tan bird hides a dark secret. Named for their voice, pitohui is a representation of their song and 'variable' refers to their plumage colour which varies across their range. What is striking about this bird is that it is poisonous: its skin and feathers contain powerful neurotoxic alkaloids similar to those of South American poison-dart frogs. For the pitohui, this chemical defence is unlikely to be fatal to predators which prey on them; rather it discourages further attacks. People who've handled have suffered burning sensations in the mouth, numbness in fingers and bouts of sneezing. It is not recommended.
THU 06:00 Today (m000xt96)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 Across the Red Line (m000xt9b)
Series 6
Can we trust the police?
Ex-policeman turned writer John Sutherland and academic researcher Dr. Adam Elliott-Cooper debate the issue of trust in the police. And then presenters Anne McElvoy and Gabrielle Rifkind invite each guest in turn to try to discover what drives the other's viewpoint - and to articulate it back to its holder.
Producer: Phil Tinline
THU 09:30 Metamorphosis - How Insects Transformed Our World (m000sql2)
Mighty Mouthparts
Dr Erica McAlister of London's Natural History Museum takes a look at some of the entomological pioneers, whose groundbreaking observations and experiments have led to some truly innovative developments.
She unravels the mystery of the hawkmoth’s tongue , whose length has offered the simplest and most effective proof of Charles Darwin's theory of Natural Selection in action - and is now inspiring bioengineers in the development of medical nanoprobes
With contributions from Prof. Jim Endersby, historian of science at the University of Sussex; Ian Kitching, entomologist at the Natural History Museum; Prof. Peter Adler, Clemson University
Producer: Adrian Washbourne
THU 09:45 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xtc7)
Episode 4
Edward Brooke-Hitching's father was an antiquarian book dealer. So began his fascination, leading to a unique journey through the entire history of literature, delving into its darkest territories to hunt down the very strangest books ever written, and uncover the stories behind their creation.
This is a madman’s library of eccentric and extraordinary volumes from around the world, many of which have been completely forgotten. Books written in blood and books that kill, books of the insane and books that hoaxed the globe, books invisible to the naked eye and books so long they could destroy the Universe, books worn into battle, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered… and a few others that are just plain weird.
Abridged by Polly Coles
Reader: Arty Froushan
Produced by Clive Brill.
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000xt9g)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (m000xt9j)
Insight, and analysis from BBC correspondents around the world
THU 11:30 Written in Scotland (m000xt9l)
Episode 4: Language and Class
A four-part series about the relationship that Scotland’s writers have with Scotland itself. Presented by Kirsty Wark. Episode 4 – Language and Class.
Kirsty demonstrates that the very language used by Scotland’s writers is highly political. Poet Hugh MacDairmid’s experiments in Scots sparked off a literary renaissance, and the political party he helped to found became the present day SNP, the party which currently governs the country. Scotland’s two Booker Prize winning novelists, James Kelman and Douglas Stuart, both put language and class at the heart of their work.
Given that the current best sellers list for Scottish authors includes Ali Smith, Jackie Kay, Val McDermid, Jenni Fagan, AL Kennedy, Louise Welsh, Maggie O’Farrell and Denise Mina, we ask if Scotland is having a renaissance of women’s writing.
Producer: Brian McCluskey
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:00 News Summary (m000xtk4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 12:04 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xt9q)
Episode 9
"Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him.."
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene was published in 1938 and later adapted for film in 1947 and 2010. It’s a murder thriller set in the underworld of 1930s Brighton. The title refers to the confectionery traditionally sold at seaside resorts with the name of the resort embedded in the centre and elongated down the length. In the novel it’s used as a metaphor for the personality of Pinkie, the anti-hero protagonist.
It’s the tension between the two faces of Brighton – the illuminated tourist bling and the gritty, mobster-laced industry behind the façade – that sets up the intrigue in Greene's classic 1938 novel of good and evil.
It remains a classic example of the thriller genre.
Read by Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Abridged by Florence Bedell
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:18 You and Yours (m000xt9s)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
THU 12:57 Weather (m000xt9v)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m000xt9x)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
THU 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00swmjx)
Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD)
Statue of Huastec goddess
The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London is in Mexico. This week Neil MacGregor is meeting the Gods - exploring the sophistication of religious art in the 14th and 15th centuries as people around the world created physical expressions for devotion and for representing the divine.
Today he is with a striking sandstone sculpture of a goddess made by the Huastec people of present day Mexico. This remarkable figure stands bare breasted with hands folded over her stomach and wearing a remarkable fan-shaped headdress. She has been associated with the later Aztec goddess of sexuality and fertility.
The writer Marina Warner describes the power of the goddess figure in matters of fertility and sexuality while the art historian Kim Richter describes the particular nature of Huastec society and sculpture.
Producer: Anthony Denselow
THU 14:00 The Archers (m000xr92)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (m000xtb0)
On the 17th May, 1966 Bob Dylan played Manchester Free Trade Hall - one of the most famous (or infamous) concerts in rock history. Anger and loathing surrounded Dylan on that 1966 tour. Many felt betrayed because he was leaving the folk tradition behind by turning electric. One heckler shouted “Judas”. Robert Forrest’s play focuses on events just outside the concert hall, as two young Dylan fans meet by chance, each wrestling with a more personal sense of betrayal. Catriona is Irish, charming and a spinner of yarns. Davey, a shipyard apprentice from Glasgow, finds her fascinating, but he believes dishonesty is all around him: is Catriona just another liar? But, then, what is Davey doing with a wad of stolen bank notes?
Catriona ..... Lucianne McEvoy
Davey ..... Martin Quinn
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland
THU 15:00 Open Country (m000xtb2)
Durham: Time and the Tides
With its beaches, rugged cliffs and imposing headlands, the Durham coastline is a dramatic landscape, stretching from Sunderland to Hartlepool in North East England. Today it's designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty owing to its Magnesian Limestone grasslands, wildflower meadows and ancient woodlands. But this coastline was once the site of several of Durham’s last deep coal mines and notorious for its ‘black beaches’ and heavily polluted landscape. In the late 1900s, after the closure of the pits, it was transformed in a multi-agency clean-up to remove well over a million tonnes of colliery spoil which had been tipped onto the coast. Today it's “a wonderful conglomeration of human and geological layers” says archaeologist and artist Rose Ferraby. Rose along with poets Katrina Porteus and Phoebe Power revisit this landscape which inspired a book of illustrated poems and prose as part of the National Trust’s People’s Landscape project which explores the role landscapes have played in social change. We hear from a former miner and a litter picker, discover beauty in an abandoned mattress, watch a butterfly through the lens of a child’s camera, uncover a kaleidoscope of colours, catch up on memories of life working underground and wind-blow corn cockles above ground.
Producer Sarah Blunt.
Further Information:
People’s Landscapes
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/peoples-landscapes-explore-the-places-that-have-shaped-the-nation
Durham Heritage Coast
https://durhamheritagecoast.org/
Beach Cleans
https://durhamheritagecoast.org/our-coast/caring-for-our-coast/beach-cleans/
Sea Change
https://www.guillemotpress.co.uk/poetry/katrina-porteous-and-phoebe-power-sea-change
Katrina Porteus, Two Countries (2014)
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m000xsjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (m000xskg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m000xtb4)
Film programme looking at the latest cinema releases, DVDs and films on TV.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m000xtb6)
A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.
THU 17:00 PM (m000xtb8)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000xtbd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Olga Koch: OK Computer (m000xtbj)
Episode 2
Olga Koch and her digital assistant Algo return to unpack Beauty and the Beauty standards, but its hard to understand something that is defined only by itself.
Comedian and Computer Scientist Olga Koch takes a deep dive into the world of computer science with her trusty virtual assistant Algo as the digital duo take the truths that you hold dear and tear them to shreds using logic, like a teenager on the internet. A four part stand-up special exploring Nationality, Beauty, Health and Privacy through the eyes of a woman with half a masters degree in the social science of the internet. By applying computer science to the world around her, Olga and Algo take an hilarious and pedantic journey to reveal the inherent absurdities of the modern world.
Written by Olga Koch and Charlie Dinkin
Starring Sindhu Vee as Algo
Additional Material from Rajiv Karia
Produced by Benjamin Sutton
A BBC Studios Production
THU 19:00 The Archers (m000xtbn)
Writers, Liz John And Sarah Hehir
Director, Gwenda Hughes
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Phoebe Aldridge … Lucy Morris
Ben Archer … Ben Norris
David Archer … Timothy Bentinck
Helen Archer … Louiza Patikas
Ruth Archer … Felicity Finch
Lee Bryce … Ryan Early
Ian Craig … Stephen Kennedy
Clarrie Grundy … Heather Bell
Ed Grundy … Barry Farrimond
Eddie Grundy … Trevor Harrison
Joy Horville … Jackie Lye
Roy Tucker … Ian Pepperell
Adrian … Greg Hobbs
Paula … Therese Collins
THU 19:15 Front Row (m000xtbs)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 19:45 The Northern Bank Job (m000twh5)
Episode Four: The Drop
It was the biggest bank robbery in British and Irish history. Days before Christmas 2004, gangs of armed men take over the homes of two Northern Bank officials in Belfast and County Down. With family members held hostage, the officials are instructed to remove cash from the vaults of Northern Bank headquarters in Belfast city-centre and load it into the back of a van - not once, but twice - before the van disappears into the night, along with more than £26.5 million in new and used notes. With the finger of blame pointed at the IRA, the raid makes headlines around the world and sends shock-waves through an already faltering Northern Ireland peace process.
Through dramatized court testimonies, new interviews and archive, Glenn Patterson takes us into the unfolding story of a meticulously planned heist and its chaotic aftermath. Military precision giving way to soap powder boxes stuffed with cash. The bickering of politicians against the silence of the man said to be the robbery’s mastermind. There are even rumours that proceeds from the robbery are to be used as a pension fund for IRA members as it prepares to disarm and disband.
Glenn Patterson has unfinished business with the Northern Bank Job. In fact, he thinks all of Northern Ireland does.
Episode Four: The Drop
Chris leaves the bank with a bag over his shoulder...
Written and presented by Glenn Patterson
Music: Phil Kieran
Actors: Louise Parker, Thomas Finnegan & Conor O'Donnell
Executive Editor: Andy Martin
Producer: Conor Garrett
A BBC Northern Ireland production for Radio 4
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m000xtbv)
David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (m000xtbx)
Evan Davis chairs a discussion providing insight into business from the people at the top.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m000xtb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 Across the Red Line (m000xt9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m000xtbz)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xt9q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
THU 23:00 Michael Spicer: Before Next Door (m000xtc1)
Silver Badge
Things are taking off for our socially awkward and neurotic part-time comedian now he is a fully fledged internet sensation. Michael is asked to attend the Webber’s Comedy Awards, but he is only needed to present an award, not to receive one. Even so, this is the first time Michael has been invited to such a prestigious industry event and wife Roberta insists he attends - as long as she can come too.
Roberta is more excited about the awards ceremony than Michael, as she spies a chance to network and create new opportunities for his burgeoning comedy career. But his integrity is compromised as organiser Charlie insists Michael says something nice about the sponsor, Webber’s Hot Chocolate. This is difficult for Michael as Webber’s Hot Chocolate tastes like puddles.
His nerves are also stretched by small talk with comedy bore and mainstream sitcom writer Terry Moon while Roberta tries to sell Michael to TV producers in the room.
And the stress of Michael’s day job as a copywriter at a kitchen worktop company intensifies after an ominous corridor encounter with a new recruit.
As Michael’s anxiety goes full throttle, even a call from 1920s cabaret star and war heroine Josephine Baker fails to calm his nerves and he gives the most explosive presentation speech in the history of the Webber’s Comedy Awards. Or does he?
As Roberta attempts to become Michael’s manager and thrust him into the limelight outside the social media where he has become successful, will he break through into television and radio? It’s only Episode Two so this is still in your hands. Listen to the show. He’s been trying for 20 years with only cult success until now. So give it a sympathy listen, if nothing else. That would be good.
Cast: Michael Spicer with Ellie Taylor, Joanna Neary, Paterson Joseph, Susan Wokoma, Greig Johnson, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Tara Flynn and Peter Curran.
Writer: Michael Spicer
Producer: Matt Tiller
A Starstruck and Tillervision production for BBC Radio 4
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000xtc3)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
FRIDAY 16 JULY 2021
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m000xtc5)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 00:30 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xtc7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000xtc9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000xtcc)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000xtcf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m000xtch)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000xtck)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rick Hill
Good Morning.
On this day in 1945 the secret “Manhattan Project” exploded the first Atomic Bomb. Codenamed Trinity it detonated at a secret location in the desert close to Los Alamos in the USA. In the days preparation, the scientist in charge, Robert Oppenheimer was said to have been reading the 17th Century Poet John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 14 which begins, “Batter my heart three person’d God” It is believed this explains why the first a-bomb was called “Trinity”.
After the devastation of the test explosion the philosophical Oppenheimer quoted the Bhagavad Gita, “I am become death, destroyer of worlds”. He appeared to grasp that when humans play at being God in weaponising nuclear energy there would be deadly results. We are still living in a world with the consequences of his first un-holy Trinity.
I’d prefer that we had become life, creator of worlds.
I follow the news with interest about the various attempts to create nuclear fusion reactors. They offer us the possibility of almost limitless non-polluting energy that does not depend on fossil fuels. International teams have been working to try to achieve this goal for well over 50 years. There’s an old joke among scientists that creating a successful reactor is always 30 years away.
A few years ago we couldn’t have imagined living in a pandemic, nor the speed and collaboration in science that created the vaccines which bring us hope.
The book of Proverbs says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life”.
Lord God, forgive us for how we have weaponised nuclear science. Grant us hope of success to bring light and life to all. Amen.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m000xtcm)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkwnn)
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Andean Cock-of-the-rock from Peru. Deep in a cloud forest a female awaits the display of her displaying males. Gathered in front of her several head-bobbing wing-waving males, these males are spectacularly dazzling; a vibrant orange head and body, with black wings and tails, yellow staring eyes, and ostentatious fan-shaped crests which can almost obscure their beaks. Male cock-of-the rocks gather at communal leks, and their performances include jumping between branches and bowing at each other whilst all the time calling loudly. Yet, for all the males' prancing and posturing, it is the female who's in control. Aware that the most dominant and fittest males will be nearest the centre of the lekking arena, it's here that she focuses her attention.
FRI 06:00 Today (m000xv7j)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m000xsk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xv7l)
Episode 5
Edward Brooke-Hitching's father was an antiquarian book dealer. So began his fascination, leading to a unique journey through the entire history of literature, delving into its darkest territories to hunt down the very strangest books ever written, and uncover the stories behind their creation.
This is a madman’s library of eccentric and extraordinary volumes from around the world, many of which have been completely forgotten. Books written in blood and books that kill, books of the insane and books that hoaxed the globe, books invisible to the naked eye and books so long they could destroy the Universe, books worn into battle, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered… and a few others that are just plain weird.
Abridged by Polly Coles
Reader: Arty Froushan
Produced by Clive Brill.
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000xv7n)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 11:00 Cultural Exchange: Bristol (m000sqss)
Bristol has been making news over the past year - the toppling of Colston's statue, the renaming of its vibrant arts venue Colston Hall to the Bristol Beacon, the marches and protests for #BLM. But its renown goes further back - a seminal music scene, nightlife and a laid-back vibe. House prices are rising, now more rapidly in the pandemic as people are moving in from London. It's always had diversity of media, but the mainstream are moving in. It's liberal; it had an overwhelming Remain vote and the Greens, Lib Dems and Labour are always jostling for its Westminster and local council seats. So whilst the image may be affluent, cool, metropolitan, and woke, it also has wealth disparity, racial segregation, and political polarisation. Neil Maggs and Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley criss-cross their way across Bristol searching for the city beyond the headlines.
Neil is a Bristol-born and raised journalist and fiercely proud of the city. Jasmine, also a journalist, is originally from London who moved to Bristol for university and never left. They both step out of their comfort zones, with Neil heading up to the heights of Clifton to speak to Merchant Venturer Marti Burgess about the city's balance of power. Jasmine heads south to the Three Lions pub in Bedminster to meet Paul Holbrook, a film director from Hartcliffe, to talk about Bristol's portrayal in the media and how that represents, or doesn't, where he's from. Youth worker Levi Hodge says young people from Knowle West don't go up to Brunel's famous Clifton Suspension Bridge, and Makala Cheung and Neil talk about perceptions of what they say is the slowly-vanishing Bristol accent.
Presented by Neil Maggs and Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Toby Field
FRI 11:30 Ashley Blaker: 6.5 Children (m000xv7s)
Opt to Adopt
New comedy from stand-up comedian Ashley Blaker about his unusual home life. In episode two, Ashley tells the story of how the Blakers came to add to their already hectic home by adopting a two-year-old girl with Down Syndrome.
Ashley Blaker: 6.5 Children is a mix of stand-up and observational documentary, all recorded in the Blakers’ unusual home with the voices of his real family, and tackling parenting, adoption and raising children with special needs.
The series brings a whole new perspective to the subject of parenting. That is because as parents of six children, Ashley and his wife Gemma are trying to raise a family in a world that is only really set up for having two. What's more, the Blakers’ children are not just any kids. Three have special needs – two autistic boys and an adopted girl with Down Syndrome – and Ashley Blaker: 6.5 Children sensitively finds the funny in both raising children with disabilities and adoption.
The series is written and performed by Ashley Blaker - a comedian who has performed on five continents including tours of the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Israel and Australia. His 2018 Off-Broadway run was called ‘a slickly funny stand-up show’ by the New York Times and, in 2020, he returned with Goy Friendly which ran at the prestigious SoHo Playhouse.
Ashley is joined by Shelley Blond (Peep Show, Cold Feet and the voice of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider), Kieran Hodgson (three-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee), Rosie Holt (online lockdown star with countless viral videos) amd Judith Jacob (EastEnders, The Real McCoy, Still Open All Hours).
Also appearing as themselves are Ashley’s own children: Ami (17), Ophie (15), Simi (13), Soroh (12), Sruly (11) and Bina (7).
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m000xv7v)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:04 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xv7x)
Episode 10
"Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him.."
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene was published in 1938 and later adapted for film in 1947 and 2010. It’s a murder thriller set in the underworld of 1930s Brighton. The title refers to the confectionery traditionally sold at seaside resorts with the name of the resort embedded in the centre and elongated down the length. In the novel it’s used as a metaphor for the personality of Pinkie, the anti-hero protagonist.
It’s the tension between the two faces of Brighton – the illuminated tourist bling and the gritty, mobster-laced industry behind the façade – that sets up the intrigue in Greene's classic 1938 novel of good and evil.
It remains a classic example of the thriller genre.
Read by Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Abridged by Florence Bedell
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m000xv7z)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
FRI 12:57 Weather (m000xv81)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m000xv83)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Jonny Dymond.
FRI 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00swmjz)
Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD)
Hoa Hakananai'a Easter Island statue
This week Neil MacGregor is exploring the sophisticated ways in which people connected to gods and ancestors in the Middle Ages. He is looking at religious images from India, France, Mexico and Turkey.
Today - in the last programme of the second series - he is with one of the most instantly recognisable sculptures in the world: one of the giant stone heads that were made on Easter Island in the South Eastern Pacific Ocean. These deeply mysterious objects lead Neil to consider why they were made and why many were ultimately thrown down.
What was the Easter Islanders understanding of their gods and their ancestors? Steve Hooper, an expert on the arts of the Pacific, and the internationally renowned sculptor Sir Anthony Caro both respond to this monumental work of devotion.
Producer: Anthony Denselow
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m000xtbn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Roots (m000drm0)
New comedy starring Line of Duty's Vicky McClure and the extraordinary talents of the BAFTA Award winning Television Workshop.
Roots tells the story of Craig Shields, a rich, successful businessman who decides to go back to where it all began - the Workshop in Nottingham that transformed his life - to help similarly disadvantaged kids make something of their own lives. Two problems - they don't want his help and he's got the wrong keys to unlock their potential.
Craig's altruistic homecoming is not what he envisaged. Support he was relying on from old friends and colleagues doesn't materialise. While Craig would prefer to forget most of his troubled Notts past, there is one person that will always have a place in his heart - his long time ex Sandra (Vicky McClure). A spark that was lit 15 years ago is rekindled with Craig's reappearance in Nottingham.
Over the years the Nottingham Television Workshop has produced This is England, Samantha Morton, Vicky McClure and Jack O'Connell, among many others. Anyone who wants to cast funny, authentic, young, working-class actors goes to the Workshop. Fittingly the show is directed by the person that helped launch the careers of the actors mentioned above and who ran the Workshop for 30 years, Ian Smith.
The show was created by Love In Recovery's Pete Jackson and Mario Stylianides. It is written by a brand new writer, Ava Pickett.
Also starring:
Justin Brady
Spike Fearn
Harpal Hayer
Kelly Jaggers
Narisha Lawson
Joel Morris
Jorden Myrie
Ella O’Brien
Rochelle Simpson
and Ben Welch
Created by Pete Jackson and Mario Stylianides
Written by Ava Pickett
Producer: Mario Stylianides
Director: Ian Smith
A Golden Path production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:45 Chinese Characters (b0b0pw04)
Factory Girls: Modern Girls, Modern Dreams
They came out of the countryside and helped to build China's industrial revolution. In the late 19th century, textile factories started to appear in the Yangtze delta, and working in them, teenage girls and young women. It was a hard life with the ever-present prospect of lung disease or industrial injuries as they wove cotton and silk. Yet there were new horizons too: these young women had money in their own right, the chance to take holiday breaks, and even to venture to the big city, Shanghai, to press their noses against the windows of the ultra-modern department stores. At a time when Chinese companies are desperate to woo the female consumer, it's worth remembering that their counterparts were there a hundred years ago.
Presenter: Rana Mitter
Producer: Ben Crighton
Researcher: Elizabeth Smith Rosser.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000xv86)
GQT at Home
Kathy Clugston and her panel of experts answer gardening questions. Joining her this week are Matthew Pottage, Christine Walkden and Anne Swithinbank.
Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Millie Chu
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 From Fact to Fiction (m000xv88)
Series in which writers create a fictional response to the week's news
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m000xv8b)
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 (m000xv8d)
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations
FRI 17:00 PM (m000xv8g)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000xv8j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 Dead Ringers (m000xv8l)
Series 21
Episode 6
The writing squad for the series: Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, Laurence Howarth, Tom Coles & Ed Amsden, Jeffrey Aidoo, Simon Alcock, James Bugg, Sarah Campbell, Nastassia Dhanraj , Athena Kugblenu, Sophie Dickson, Rajiv Karia, Vivienne Riddoch & Jane Mccutcheon , Edward Tew.
Producer: Bill Dare
Production Coordinator: Sarah Sharpe
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4
FRI 19:00 Front Row (m000xv8n)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
FRI 19:45 The Northern Bank Job (m000twtp)
Episode Five: Cash by the Trolley Load
It was the biggest bank robbery in British and Irish history. Days before Christmas 2004, gangs of armed men take over the homes of two Northern Bank officials in Belfast and County Down. With family members held hostage, the officials are instructed to remove cash from the vaults of Northern Bank headquarters in Belfast city-centre and load it into the back of a van - not once, but twice - before the van disappears into the night, along with more than £26.5 million in new and used notes. With the finger of blame pointed at the IRA, the raid makes headlines around the world and sends shock-waves through an already faltering Northern Ireland peace process.
Through dramatized court testimonies, new interviews and archive, Glenn Patterson takes us into the unfolding story of a meticulously planned heist and its chaotic aftermath. Military precision giving way to soap powder boxes stuffed with cash. The bickering of politicians against the silence of the man said to be the robbery’s mastermind. There are even rumours that proceeds from the robbery are to be used as a pension fund IRA members as it prepares to disarm and disband.
Glenn Patterson has unfinished business with the Northern Bank Job. In fact, he thinks all of Northern Ireland does.
Episode Five: Cash by the Trolley Load
A white van reverses up a narrow side street beside the bank, until its tailgate comes level with the bullion bay doors...
Written and presented by Glenn Patterson
Music: Phil Kieran
Actors: Louise Parker, Thomas Finnegan & Conor O'Donnell
Executive Editor: Andy Martin
Producer: Conor Garrett
A BBC Northern Ireland production for Radio 4
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m000xv8q)
John Elliott, Chi Onwurah MP, Guy Opperman MP
Chris Mason presents political debate from the Church of St James and St Basil, Newcastle, with a panel which includes the businessman John Elliott, the Shadow Digital Minister Chi Onwurah MP and the Pensions Minister Guy Opperman MP.
Producer: Eleanor Garland
Lead broadcast engineer: Michael Smith
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m000xv8s)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
FRI 21:00 Archive on 4 (b06000pc)
A Brief History of Shame
American satirist Joe Queenan is joined by a stellar cast including Tiger Woods, Gordon Brown and the Duchess of York for Archive on 4's A Brief History of Shame. Queenan tackles key issues - what is shame for? The art of the apology; and then there's the French - before building to a surprising and fiery conclusion.
"When you do something wrong and then you admit that you did it, and people keep after you ... that’s when society becomes almost pathological. I’m never willing to give the public the benefit of the doubt – and this insane epidemic of shame – both the trivial, and the miserable, the deadly, even the murderous – it’s got to be reined in."
Featuring archive of Bill Clinton, Jane Garvey, John Prescott, Jon Ronson, Tim Stanley of the Daily Telegraph, and Sir Peter Viggers, the 'duck house man'; plus new interviews with classics professor Edith Hall and novelist Kathy Lette, and music by Fats Domino, Bessie Smith and Question Mark and The Mysterians.
Shame follows Joe Queenan's previous programmes on Anger, Irony and Blame.
Produced in Bristol by Miles Warde.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4in 2015.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m000xv8v)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (m000xv7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (m000xs05)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000xv8x)
Today in Parliament
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament