SATURDAY 14 AUGUST 2021

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m000yn7f)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 Hamilton and Me by Giles Terera (m000yn7h)
Episode 5: Told You it Would Be Crazy

Giles Terera concludes his behind-the-scenes account of his time playing Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical, Hamilton.

Today: finally the production opens, and the audience is hungry...

Reader: Giles Terera
Photograph by Matthew Murphy © George III Productions Limited.
Abridger of Hamilton and Me: An Actor's Journal: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000yn7k)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000yn7m)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000yn7p)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m000yn7r)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000yn7t)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Father Philip Blackledge of Holy Trinity Scottish Episcopal Church in Melrose


SAT 05:45 Four Thought (m000yldz)
Fear of Finance

Professor Atul Shah draws on his background as a Jain to argue that we need a healthier relationship with finance: people often feel afraid of money matters because they lack knowledge and are prey to unplanned debt. He calls for more teaching about finance in schools and in the home, plus a more balanced attitude to consumption. “When money was invented, it was supposed to serve society – instead today it has become our master.”
Professor Atul Shah is Professor of Accounting and Finance at City University and the author of several books on finance and ethics, including
"Jainism and Ethical Finance" and "Reinventing Accounting and Finance Education – For a caring, inclusive and sustainable planet."

Presenter: Olly Mann
Producer: Sheila Cook

http://www.diverseethics.com/atul-blog/ethical-finance-a-jain-perspective
https://www.taxjustice.net/2017/11/21/reforming-multi-billion-dollar-accounting-finance-education-industry/
Photo credit: @vintagesunglassez


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m000yt6b)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m000ymy2)
People and Stone

Archaeologist and artist Rose Ferraby explores the connections between people and stone on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, where as a child she used to watch adders basking in the old quarries and hunt for crickets on the limestone cliffs. There’s a waymaker on the coastal path; a swirling ammonite fossil emerges alongside deep cut letters and chisel marks. “For me this sums up what stone is“ says Rose, “a meeting place of people and earth.” Over the years, Rose has become increasingly interested in the links and stories which connect people and stone, and in this programme she returns to Dorset to meet a geologist, a fossil collector and a father and son whose quarry has been in the family since the 17th century. She also follows a trail of dinosaur footprints and braves an underground tunnel as she explores the relationships between people and stone.

Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m000yt6d)
14/08/21 Farming Today This Week: IPPC report on methane, farmland for offsetting, Maryport fishing

The UN’s expert panel on climate change, the IPCC, says methane emissions must be significantly reduced. What will it mean for farmers?
Trees are proving controversial in parts of Wales. Big investment companies have been buying farms across the country for forestry, to plant trees to offset carbon emissions, but there are concerns it could damage local culture, language and heritage.
And the Maryport fishing business on the west coast of Cumbria that weathered Covid and came back stronger.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m000yt6g)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m000yt6j)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m000yt6l)
Harry Enfield and Nina Conti

Comedian and actor Harry Enfield, junior doctor Catriona Rennison, actor-writer James McNicholas on his champion boxer grandfather and ventriloquist Nina Conti.


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m000ysyy)
Series 33

Home Economics: Episode 37

Jay Rayner hosts a culinary panel show full of tasty titbits and delicious recipes. This week, he's joined by Jeremy Pang, Sophie Wright, Sue Lawrence and Professor Barry Smith to help answer all manner of kitchen queries from a virtual audience.

Producer: Jemima Rathbone
Assistant Producer: Bethany Hocken

A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Briefing Room (m000ymn1)
Who's supporting the Taliban?

The Taliban’s relentless march across Afghanistan continues – taking control of provincial capitals, rural districts and the financially lucrative border crossings. As the world watches on with increasing concern US President Biden has told Afghan leaders that it’s their battle to win and that they need to come together and fight for their nation.

The female Afghan politician and diplomat Shukria Barakzai warned this week that her country is experiencing a ‘human catastrophe’ and Afghanistan will provide a safe haven for militants, which will cause the world huge problems. There’s also the prospect of a huge refugee crisis.

But how are the Taliban succeeding and who’s helping them?

David Aaronovitch is joined in The Briefing Room by:

Laurel Miller, Director of International Crisis Group’s Asia Programme
Ashley Jackson, Co-Director, Centre for the Study of Armed Groups
Ahmed Rashid, Pakistani journalist and author

Producers: Ben Carter, Sally Abrahams and Kirsteen Knight
Sound engineer: James Beard
Editor: Penny Murphy


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m000yt6n)
A Summer of Fires in Greece

Greece has been ravaged by almost 600 fires in recent weeks. Thousands of firefighters have struggled to contain the raging flames which have destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of land; more than 60,000 people so far have had to flee their homes to safety. The Greek government has promised compensation payments for those affected and a massive drive to reforest the burnt areas “We saved lives, but we lost forests and property”, the Prime Minister admitted this week, calling it ‘an ecological catastrophe’. Bethany Bell reports from Athens, the island of Evia and the Peloponnese.

Across Afghanistan, the country’s national army and security forces have been losing ground to the Taliban. The insurgents’ fighters have pushed forward and major provincial capitals including Herat, Kunduz and Zaranj have now been taken over. The Taliban also announced they were in control of the town of Ghazni, only 93 miles from Kabul. Before they moved into the centre of Kandahar, in the south, Shelly Kittleson had managed to get into the city.

Since a rare outbreak of street protests in Cuba a month ago, its government has been arresting and jailing many of those who dared take part. Cubans are also still suffering the triple impact of a Covid surge, a serious economic crunch and frosty relations with the Biden administration in the USA. Power cuts and shortages only add to the discontent. Will Grant recently returned to the island after a while away, and sensed a definite change in the atmosphere.

Amid Libya’s civil wars, rival governments and militia groups, there are also foreign players: backers, influencers and fighters. One particular group of Russian mercenaries, operating in the east, has been accused of war crimes against civilians. Allegations that the group has links to the Russian government have been strongly denied by President Vladimir Putin himself. Nader Ibrahim has been investigating connections between Russia and Libya for a long time and recently heard a fascinating story one night in Tripoli.

Would you rent out a holiday hut which was built for a leading Nazi collaborator? Perhaps surprisingly, it’s something you can do in Norway. During the Second World War, the Germans installed a local sympathiser as the country’s leader: Vidkun Quisling. His surname itself has become a synonym for a lackey, traitor or bootlicker. The Scottish writer and novelist Ben McPherson has lived in Norway for many years, and he was surprised to learn Quisling’s summer cabin in the fjords was available for bookings …

Producer: Polly Hope


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m000yt6q)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 12:04 The Hangover (m000ysms)
Business

Covid has been an economic crisis as well as a health emergency.

In a new four-part series Felicity Hannah meets households, businesses & local councils whose lives have been changed completely. Who are the winners and the losers of the pandemic?

This week she travels to Manchester to meet three very different businesses who have experienced the financial highs and lows of the Covid crisis. From a small booming online enterprise to an iconic music venue which saw sales disappear overnight and a large construction company which, despite having to cut jobs, has carried on building.

Producer Smita Patel
Researcher Louise Byrne
Editor Alex Lewis


SAT 12:30 Party's Over (m000ync2)
Series 1

Parish Council

What happens when the Prime Minister suddenly stops being Prime Minister?

One day you're the most powerful person in the country, the next you're irrelevant, forced into retirement 30 years ahead of schedule and find yourself asking 'What do I do now?'

Miles Jupp stars as Henry Tobin - Britain's shortest serving and least popular post war PM (he managed 8 months).

We join Henry soon after his crushing election loss. He’s determined to not let his disastrous defeat be the end of him. Instead Henry's going to get back to the top - he's just not sure how and in what field.

This week, Henry meets a local nemesis as he tries to make some home and garden improvements so Christine steps in with a plan.

Henry Tobin... Miles Jupp
Christine Tobin... Ingrid Oliver
Natalie... Emma Sidi
Jones... Justin Edwards
Albert...Joseph Marcell

Written by Paul Doolan and Jon Hunter

Produced by Richard Morris and Simon Nicholls
Production co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Sound design: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m000yt6s)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m000yt6v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m000yn73)
Eddie Hughes MP, Lisa Nandy MP, Lemn Sissay, Anna Soubry

Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Leigh with the Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Eddie Hughes MP, the Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy MP, the poet, author and broadcaster Lemn Sissay, and the former MP and former government minister Anna Soubry.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Tom Parnell


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m000yt6x)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:45 The Etiquette Guide (b06vhv6y)
Episode 3

The mark of a civilised country is to know what it is to be civil. But what if you don't know? Across the ages, social commentators have written guide books to tell the uninitiated how to do the right thing at the right time in the right way.

And it's not just snobs that have published guides - the great Renaissance theologian Erasmus took time out from arguing with Luther to instruct children how to behave in company.

Nor is it yet another invention of Victorian England. Five thousand years ago, Ptah-Hotep set down on papyrus the rules of behaviour that all wise men should convey to their sons.

Episode 3: The Middling Classes
During the 18th century the growing middle classes needed a guide to behaviour. The Rudiments of Genteel Behaviour defined much of our modern understanding of politeness including maintaining restraint around overt opulence.

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 15:00 Drama (m0000n98)
The Golden Bowl

Episode 1

Dramatised by Linda Marshall Griffiths from a novel by Henry James.

Prince Amerigo is set to marry Maggie Verver but when Charlotte Stant walks back into his life he is thrown into turmoil.

HENRY JAMES.....John Lynch
PRINCE AMERIGO.....Luke Pasqualino
MAGGIE VERVER.....Daisy Head
ADAM VERVER.....Toby Jones
FANNY ASSINGHAM.....Charlotte Emmerson
CHARLOTTE STANT.....Nathalie Emmanuel
COLONAL ASSINGHAM/SHOPKEEPER.....Jonathan Keeble

Directed by Nadia Molinari


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m000yt6z)
Weekend Woman's Hour - Mental health and dating, Charlotte Worthington BMX gold & comedy writer Georgia Pritchett

Dating apps have seen a growing trend towards individuals disclosing that they have a mental health disorder in their online profiles. Jo Hemmings a behavioural psychologist and Beth McColl a lifestyle journalist, tell us how and when to tell someone you are dating that you live with a mental health condition?

We look at the issue of maternal discrimination with Dr Katie Lidster a scientist who has just won £23,000 damages against her employer – a government backed body. She won the case against UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) after an 18-month battle following the arrival of her second child. She tells us about her case alongside Claire Dawson an employment lawyer.

Charlotte Worthington won gold for Team GB in the freestyle BMX event at the Olympics – the first time BMX has ever been represented at the games. She tells us about becoming the first woman to ever successfully land a 360 backflip in a competition.

The journalist and co-chair of the Mayor of London’s Violence Against Women and Girls board Joan Smith tells us how new research appears to show that extremist attackers are often united, whatever their ideology, by a significant history of domestic violence. She wants reports of domestic violence to be taken more seriously so that acts of terrorism can be prevented.

We have music and chat with the singer/songwriter Joy Crookes

And Georgia Pritchett is a multi-award winning comedy and drama writer. She has written for numerous TV shows like The Thick of It, Veep, Succession, Smack the Pony and Have I got News for You. She tells us about collaborating with comedians such as Miranda Hart, Lenny Henry, Ronnie Corbett and Jo Brand, and about her memoir ‘My Mess is a Bit of a Life’.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 17:00 PM (m000yt71)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (m000b6tr)
Dismissing staff

What are the rules when people have to lose their jobs? It's always a difficult situation - which is why it's often handled badly. Evan Davis and guests ask if there is a better way of doing it.

GUESTS

Angela O'Connor, Founder and CEO, The HR Lounge Consultancy

Sian Keall, Partner, Employment Law, Travers Smith LLP

Kate Griffiths-Lambeth, Group HR Director, Charles Stanley, Wealth Managers

Producer: Julie Ball
Editor: Hugh Levinson


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000yt73)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m000yt75)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000yt77)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m000yt79)
Jason Byrne, Lubna Kerr, Pat Nevin, Myra DuBois, The Staves, Brooke Combe, Muriel Gray, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Muriel Gray are joined by Jason Byrne, Lubna Kerr, Pat Nevin and Myra DuBois for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from The Staves and Brooke Combe.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m000h1gj)
Dr Anthony Fauci

Anthony Fauci Is a doctor, immunologist and director of the USA’s National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases. He’s also a lead member of the White House coronavirus task force. Mark Coles talks to those who know him well.

First broadcast on Saturday 4th April 2020.

Producer: Ben Crighton
Researcher: Bethan Head


SAT 19:15 The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed (m000yt7c)
John Tiffany

John Tiffany a multi award-winning theatre director is from the same village in West Yorkshire as Simon Armitage. They both grew up watching their parents in amateur dramatic shows in the Marsden Parochial Hall, but it was a chance trip to a professional production years later that turned John's attentions away from medical school and back to the stage. He's the person behind some of the most acclaimed theatrical productions of the last two decades, including Pinocchio at The National Theatre, Road at the Royal Court, the smash hit Broadway musical Once, the National Theatre of Scotland's Black Watch and more recently, the hottest ticket in the West End, The Cursed Child. His shows regularly achieve both critical and popular acclaim, an extremely important factor in his work.

In the shed the conversation drifts from what makes a good director to what makes a good joke - and there are plenty of them! From fathers to future plans and from creativity to the classroom, where John has chosen to give something back.

Produced by Susan Roberts


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m000yt7f)
Jonathan Miller: Lost Memories

William Miller’s moving portrait of his father, whose extraordinary and unique memory would eventually be stolen by the thing he feared most – Alzheimer’s.

Broadcaster and director Sir Jonathan Miller, one of the greatest minds of his generation, believed the most important cognitive function humans possess is memory. Without it, you can’t learn or know who or where you are. Without a functioning memory, you wouldn't be able to recognise, recall or retrieve a thing. In fact, without it, you simply wouldn't exist.

Tragically, Jonathan died of Alzheimer’s in 2019 before he got to make the one series he’d always wanted to present on the workings of human memory.

In this programme, William Miller embarks on a journey to uncover the story of his father’s life as told through his extensive archive, and pieces together the documentary Jonathan was going to make with his producer, Richard Denton, that would have explored memory – what it is, where it is and how our memories define us. He talks to family and friends who share their own memories of Jonathan, including his Beyond the Fringe co-star Alan Bennett. And he seeks to learn more about Alzheimer’s, the disease that killed his grandmother and father and still haunts his family today.

Writer and television producer William Miller is the author of the bestselling memoir about growing up with his father, Gloucester Crescent: Me, My Dad and Other Grown Ups.

Producers: Eve Streeter and Richard Denton
A Greenpoint/Raconteur/116 Production for BBC Radio 4

Photo credit: Judith Aronson


SAT 21:00 Tumanbay (b08rq6ds)
Series 2

Holy Father

Following a series of murders, the Inquisitor Barakat's (Hiran Abeysekera) hold over Tumanbay is complete. Rebel fighter Manel (Aiysha Hart) seeks refuge with co-conspirator Doctor Dorin (Vincent Ebrahim). But can Dorin be trusted and what is "the great project" he is working on with Barakat?

Tumanbay is created by John Dryden and Mike Walker and inspired by the Mamluk slave rulers of Egypt.

Original Music by Sacha Puttnam

Sound Design by Steve Bond
Additional Music by Jon Ouin
Sound Edited by James Morgan and Andreina Gomez
Script Edited by Abigail Youngman
Produced by Emma Hearn, Nadir Khan and John Dryden

Written by John Dryden
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 21:45 The Hotel (m000pvf4)
11: Haunted

The next in Daisy Johnson's deliciously spine-tingling stories, set in a remote hotel on the Fens.

Today: a businesswoman with a fascination for the macabre, encounters a grieving husband in the shadows of The Hotel - with transformative results.....

Writer: Daisy Johnson
Reader: Laurel Lefkow
Producer: Justine Willett


SAT 22:00 News (m000yt7h)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 The Exchange (m000ylg3)
Nurses

Two people who share a common experience, meet for the first time. Each has a gift for the other - an object that unlocks their story. With the help of presenter Catherine Carr, they exchange personal experiences, thoughts and beliefs, as well as uncovering the differences between them.

Craig Davidson and Lisa Sheehy both chose a career in nursing. They share their stories, their decisions about staying and leaving the profession, and exchange their gifts.

At the heart of their exchange is the question of what motivated them to become nurses and why one of them decided to leave. As well as their personal accounts, Lisa and Craig explore the contradictions in nursing and whether the heroic rhetoric around the profession is toxic.

Lisa was a self-confessed eleven year old “geek” when she decided to become a nurse. Breaking her foot doing a cartwheel introduced her to the world of hospitals. She says “there was something about these women helping me. It was an epiphany. I found my vocation.” But between the dream and the reality fell a gruelling and, eventually unsustainable, life.

Ambitious and academic, Lisa specialised in palliative care and rose to a senior job. She describes the gradual “grinding down” as colleagues left and their roles were not filled. The breaking point came when a colleague died suddenly. She’d told her team, “this job is killing me.” It wasn't the job that lead to her death, but it felt like a warning to Lisa.

She handed in her notice the next day and left nursing in 2017. She felt guilty, and still does. What do you do when you leave the vocation you chose at as a child? Lisa joined her actor husband on tour and took an acting role, later trained as a naturopath and now works for a touring opera company. Nursing proved to be a useful place to learn some basic acting skills - “nursing involves a lot of acting. You have to be nice all the time!”

Lisa and Craig share a few uncanny parallels in their lives - they studied nursing at the same Scottish university, and acting is a common thread.

Craig was a 30 year old actor when he decided to give up the stage and become a nurse. He had been offered a place to read medicine at 18 but decided to “run away to London”, come out as gay and pursue a career in drama. He made it onto the West End stage but left when he realised he was not going to make it as a lead player. As he says, “I like being the best!”

Craig quit the stage, had a period of mental illness and returned home to Glasgow where he trained as a nurse. He was following in his mum’s footsteps. An award winning student nurse, he qualified as the Covid pandemic struck and his first job was in a Covid hub.

Although he knew what a nursing career involved from his mother, nothing could prepare him.

One night, four of his nine Covid patients died. He describes an environment where guidance changed hour by hour, where he felt unprepared for the enormity of the task and ended up going home to “cry, and cry and cry”. There were times he thought of quitting but says “if you cut me, you will find rings running through me with the word 'nurse'.”

Craig felt a hypocrite. At work he was struggling to cope and becoming “hardened” by his job. In his spare time he was co-hosting his podcast on nursing ‘Retaining the Passion’ which focuses on how to keep nurses motivated. He explains how he adapted and re-discovered his love of nursing.

Both take issue with the public and political image of nurses as “angels”. They discuss whether that label is a mechanism for shutting down debate on pay and conditions and ask why nurses who challenge the system are seen as “difficult”. Lisa has finished that fight, and Craig accepts it’s now his battle.

At the heart of their exchange is the question of why nurses like Lisa leave, and how that can be reversed. Lisa and Craig wrestle with the contradiction of a profession that demands endless empathy and kindness, but also academic rigour and evidence based judgment. How can you reconcile the duality of a job that seems to require you to be both superhuman and human? They question a professionalism that expects them to tolerate things other professionals would never accept. These are the questions they tackle with honesty and humour.

Lisa walked away from a career she once loved, Craig is detemined to make sure others don’t. The gifts they choose for each other reflect the practical and personal demands of nursing, but also the truth that sometimes you have to leave something you once loved to thrive.

Presenter: Catherine Carr

Producer: Louise Cotton

Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (m000yknm)
Heat 4, 2021

(4/17)
Can you name all three of the female presenters of Desert Island Discs since 1988? And the tribal chieftain defeated by Julius Caesar when he was Proconsul in Gaul? If you can, you could give the contenders in this week's quiz a run for their money. Russell Davies asks the questions in the fourth heat of the 2021 season, which comes from Salford.

Taking part today are:
Helen West, a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities support lead from Bradford
Rachael Neiman-Wiseman, a record company owner from South Manchester
Alan Sharp, a writer and tour guide from York
Karl Whelan, a civil servant from the Wirral.

There's a place in the semi-finals awaiting the winner, with more than one place potentially up for grabs if the runner-up scores are high enough today. A listener will also have a chance to win a prize by providing questions that defeat the combined knowledge of the contestants, in 'Beat the Brains'.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Power Lines (m000yl9l)
Series 3

Power Lines: Music

Yomi Ṣode talks to poets about the power of music.

Poetry and music has a history spanning centuries. In this episode, Power Lines brings together 21st century poets whose work is underpinned by a love of music to talk about that influence and to perform poems reflecting that passion.

Roger Robinson and Caleb Femi are both poets and recording artists and join Yomi in a conversation about the importance of music to their lives and work.

Jessie Summerhayes is a new poet whose poetry writing took off during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, when she began creating new work with her folk musician dad, part of the folk duo Ciderhouse Rebellion. They perform a new poem in the open air of the North Yorkshire Moors.

Miss Yankey argues for a broader adoption of spoken word across all genres of music and performs "I Still Pray For You".

Kayo Chingonyi is a poet, DJ and passionate unraveller of the meaning and making of lyrics. He talks to Yomi and reads 16 Bars for the Bits from his new collection A Blood Condition.

And Yomi reflects on Remnants, his collaboration with Chi-chi Nwanoku’s Chineke! Orchestra and composer James B Wilson to mark a powerful moment in the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. Its public premiere to a live audience was the first performance after the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall in London.

A Bellow Stories production for BBC Radio 4



SUNDAY 15 AUGUST 2021

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m000yt7k)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Green Originals (m000czyq)
Judith Wright

Reflections on the modern pioneers of the environmental movement. Today - Judith Wright, one of Australia’s finest poets whose poems forged a new way of looking at and valuing the Australian landscape and wildlife.

In 1962, increasingly concerned by environmental destruction, Judith founded the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland with three friends and was president of the organisation until 1975.

She was a leading force in the successful campaign to prevent oil drilling in the Great Barrier Reef and fought to create the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It was a campaign that relied not on arguments about the beauty of the Reef but carefully marshalled scientific evidence and thorough administrative and legal action.

In later years, she focussed on land rights for indigenous Australians which she saw as a part of her environmental activism

The writer Corin Throsby reflects on the poetry and activism of Judith Wright. "She showed generations of Australians that our landscape may be dusty and craggy, but that it has a profound and unique beauty. After a century of thinking the bush was something to be feared and tamed, she sent a loud and defiant message - this land is worth fighting for”.

Producer: Natalie Steed
Series Editor: David Prest
A Whistledown production in association with The Open University.


SUN 00:30 Short Works (m000ynbr)
Ava Unfurled

An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from writer Sue Rainsford. As read by Roísín Gallagher.

Sue Rainsford is an Irish fiction and arts writer based in Dublin. Her practice is concerned with hybrid, lyric and embodied texts, explicit fusions of critical and corporeal inquiry, as well as with questions of transcription and otherness. A graduate of Trinity College and IADT, in January 2017 she completed her MFA in Writing & Literature at Bennington College, Vermont. She is a recipient of the VAI/DCC Critical Writing Award (2016/17), the Arts Council Literature Bursary Award (2013, 2018, 2019) and a MacDowell Fellowship (2019). She is a visual arts writer in residence at Roscommon Arts Centre (2018-20), and was writer in residence at Maynooth University (2019-2020).

Reader: Roísín Gallagher
Writer: Sue Rainsford
Producer: Michael Shannon

A BBC Northern Ireland production.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000yt7m)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000yt7p)
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 (m000yt7r)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m000yt7t)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m000ysz4)
St Andrew’s Church, Hurstbourne Priors in Hampshire.

Bells on Sunday comes from St Andrew’s Church, Hurstbourne Priors in Hampshire. The tenor was cast in 1741 by Henry Bagley and is tuned to F. In 1998 two trebles were added by the Whitechapel Foundry to make up the present ring of eight. They were re-hung clockwise in a new steel frame by Whites of Appleton. We hear them ringing a plain course of Plain Bob Major.


SUN 05:45 Profile (m000h1gj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m000ysxz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b08ylr4g)
The Time of Our Lives

Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand examines the many ways we measure time and its effect on us.

Over the course of the programme, Shoshana draws upon a wide range of sources, from Albert Einstein who argued that the separation between past and present is simply an illusion, to the poetry of the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma who urges us to live only in the moment.

With the help of Gustav Holst's The Planets, we revisit the moment of creation, when time and space were born. Shoshana notes that, while modern scientists theorise that time was created alongside the universe during the Big Bang, a similar claim was made centuries before in the Bible. Scripture doesn't state this explicitly, but the Bible uses the same Hebrew word, "olam", to describe both time and space - suggesting linguistically that they are similar phenomena. In general, "olam" refers to the physical universe, but it also can mean "forever" or "eternity." Shoshana explains that, whether one believes that the world was created through Divine Speech or a Big Bang, both science and the Bible agree that time and space are one.

For Shoshana, Joni Mitchell's Circle Game offers us valuable insight into the circular patterns that appear with the passage of time, while Gilbert and Sullivan playfully note the failings of our attempt to number our days using the Gregorian calendar. The poetry of Rabindranath Tagore reminds us that lost time is never truly lost, whereas John Milton advises us to square off against time by placing our faith in the divine.

Presenter: Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m000ysy1)
When the Boat Comes In

John McAvoy is skipper of the Silverfern. He’s been fishing out of the small west Cumbrian port of Maryport since he was 15, on the hunt for langoustines, scallops and fish like Dover sole and plaice. Last year the pandemic caused a crash in fish prices, as restaurants stood empty. So John started selling his catch direct to the public on the quayside, something the town hadn’t seen in decades. Seafood lovers flocked to the harbour for fish fresh from the boat. Fish markets are returning to normal now, but John’s new quayside customers are still demanding their share of the catch. His daughters take orders on social media and even let customers know what’s been landed while John’s still away at sea. Together with their grandfather, a retired fisherman himself, they then help him sell it fresh from the harbour. Caz Graham reports on this Cumbrian family fishing business which has weathered the Covid storm and come out the other side more buoyant than ever.

Produced and presented by Caz Graham


SUN 06:57 Weather (m000ysy3)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m000ysy5)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m000ysy7)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m000ysy9)
St Giles Trust

Charity mentor Joanne Bakare makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity St Giles Trust.

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 ‘St Giles Trust’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘St Giles Trust’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4

Registered Charity Number: 801355


SUN 07:57 Weather (m000ysyc)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m000ysyf)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m000ysyh)
Hail Queen of Heaven - Mass for the Feast of the Assumption

A Mass from Salford Cathedral, to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.

This festival is celebrated the world over and marks the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was lifted bodily into heaven at the end of her earthly life.

The Right Reverend John Arnold, Bishop of Salford, reflects on the significance of this feast day and the importance of the Virgin Mary within the Catholic faith. Music is sung by the Salford Cathedral Choir directed by Alex Patterson.

Producer: Philip Billson


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m000yn75)
A Study in Improbability

Adam Gopnik reflects on the ever-increasing accessibility of the past.

He ponders what effect it has when "everything in the world that we can ever remember, everything that has accidentally haunted our imaginations for even a moment" is available online.

Producer: Adele Armstrong


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0vfj)
Northern Cardinal

Michael Palin presents the northern cardinal from a New York's Central Park. Northern Cardinals are finch-like birds and make British robins look positively anaemic. They are common residents in the south and east of North America where they live in woods, parks and gardens. Your first sighting of these vermilion birds with their black masks and outrageous crests comes as a shock. They seem too tropically colourful to brave the dull North American winter.

Only the male Cardinals are bright red. Females are browner with flashes of red on their wings and red bills. Both sexes obtain their red colours from seeds and other foods which contain carotenoid pigments.
Their familiarity and eye-catching colours have endeared cardinals to North Americans. No fewer than seven states, including Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio have adopted cardinals as their state bird and it's also the mascot of many famous sports clubs including the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.

Producer : Andrew Dawes


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m000ysyk)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m000ysym)
Writers, Keri Davies And Katie Hims
Director, Gwenda Hughes
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Ben Archer ….. Ben Norris
Lilian Bellamy ….. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns …… James Cartwright
Alice Carter ….. Hollie Chapman
Ruairi Donovan …. Arthur Hughes
Alan Franks … John Telfer
Fallon Rogers ….. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd


SUN 10:54 Tweet of the Day (m000yt8w)
Tweet Take 5 : Macaws

In this final episode in the series, a group of birds which are loud, colourful and in one case endangered take flight over the South American tree-tops. For this extended version of Tweet of the Day Sir David Attenborough presents the hyacinth macaw and, the now thought extinct in the wild but planned to be reintroduced in 2021, Spix's macaw while Sir Michael Palin reveals the story behind the well named scarlet macaw.

Producer : Andrew Dawes for BBC Audio in Bristol


SUN 11:00 The Reunion (m000yt8y)
The Day Today

Kirsty Wark brings together the cast of comedy show The Day Today. First broadcast in 1994, this six-part series savaged the business of TV news.

Coming off the back of the hugely successful and award-winning Radio 4 comedy On the Hour, Armando Iannucci, Chris Morris and cast brought their characters into the living rooms of millions. There was hapless sports reporter Alan Partridge, Peter O'Hanraha-hanrahan, Rosy May and the eponymous newsreader and host Chris Morris.

Satirising the form of news presentation, with a groundbreaking use of comedic graphics and music that always went on slightly too long, the joke was always on the pomposity of news and how it was presented.

Armando Iannucci, co-creator (with Chris Morris) and series producer, came up with the concept while on a BBC training course.

Patrick Marber played hapless reporter Peter O'Hanraha-hanrahan among other characters.

David Schneider, who was in a double act at university with Armando, contrived the very first early demos and was a regular cast member throughout.

Steve Coogan was drafted in after the initial pilot for On The Hour to help create a realistic sports reporter, who later morphed into Alan Partridge.

Doon Mackichan played multiple characters in The Day Today, as well as shows that followed, such as Brass Eye and Alan Partridge.

Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Simon Jarvis

Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 11:45 Questions Answered (m000vxyv)
Lina

Chris Mason and Anita Anand discover more about the lives of some of the listeners of Any Questions and Any answers. Today we hear from Lina who emailed Any Questions last October. Chris Mason goes to meet her in Keighley - the town where she lives and where he was born.


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m000yt90)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 12:04 The Unbelievable Truth (m000ykp3)
Series 26

Episode 3

David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.

Lucy Porter, Frankie Boyle, Sally Phillips, and Neil Delamere are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as dolls, philosophers, tennis, and laughter.

Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m000yt92)
Flour to the People.

Dan Saladino finds out how farmers, millers and bakers are reclaiming wheat, flour and bread in Scotland. When flour ran out during the pandemic the project came into its own.

Produced and presented for BBC Audio in Bristol by Dan Saladino


SUN 12:57 Weather (m000yt94)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m000yt96)
News with Dharshini David including the latest from Afghanistan, India's Independence Day celebrations and the UK staycation business boom.


SUN 13:30 The Listening Project (m000yt98)
Life Changing

Fi Glover presents strangers, friends and relatives in conversation.

This week, friends and organ transplant recipients Hannah and Sophie on beating the odds and then some; 11 year old Jude and 70 year old Colum on taking steps to campaign against climate change; and Jake and Amina on the perks of working remotely at home, as well as from sunnier climes.

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: Cathy Moorehead


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000ynbp)
GQT at Home: Allotment Plots and Happy Hollyhocks

Kathy Clugston hosts the horticultural programme with Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank and James Wong.

This week, the panellists field questions from the audience on common gardening phrases from the 1950s, slow flowering plants, and the fiddly job of nurturing a bottle garden.

Away from the questions, Peter Gibbs takes a trip to RHS Wisley's extensive Pelargonium collection and Kirsty Wilson waxes lyrical about her favourite tree, the Ginkgo biloba.

Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Bethany Hocken

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Green Originals (m000czyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:15 today]


SUN 15:00 The Master Builder (m000yt9b)
The Master Builder. Episode 1

The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen. Adapted by David Hare based on a literal translation by Torkil Heggstad.
Episode 1.
The master builder Halvard Solness, is a self-made man, without professional qualifications. He has achieved ruthless domination in the town, but is increasingly frightened of being displaced by the next generation. A young woman, Hilde Wangel , appears from the mountains, claiming to have known Solness ten years previously, and telling him of a promise he made to her when she was thirteen. A searing tale of middle aged male hubris, with mystical undertones and resonances for the #MeToo movement.

Solness.......................David Schofield
Aline............................Siobhan Redmond
Hilde..........................Laura Aikman
Brovik........................Paul Bradley
Dr Herdal.................Jonathan Tafler
Kaja...........................Shannon Hayes
Ragnar.....................Joseph Ayre
Director/Producer Gary Brown.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m000yt9f)
Leïla Slimani, Rachel Cusk's A Life's Work 20 years on with Kate Mosse and Laura Dockrill, Richard Beard

Chris Power speaks to Leïla Slimani about her new book, The Country of Others, which draws on her family's experiences of French-colonial Morocco following World War Two. The winner of the Prix Goncourt for her powerful novel Lullaby discusses women's roles in Moroccan society, the vestiges of colonialism and her vision as personal representative to President Macron promoting French language and culture.

Twenty years after Rachel Cusk published her controversial A Life's Work, writers Kate Mosse and Laura Dockrill discuss the importance of nonfiction dealing with the realities of motherhood.

Plus Richard Beard continues his series on "the look of the book" by exploring the power of punctuation.


SUN 16:30 Power Lines (m000yt9h)
Series 3

Power Lines: Body

Writer Bridget Minamore talks to poets about the way our bodies affect our writing.

Bridget speaks to her former mentee and 2020 Poetry Slam winner Elliot Waloschek about his relationship with his body, and how it has changed his writing and performance during the process of transitioning.

Poet and DJ Kayo Chingonyi explores how poets excavate the stories, themes and ideas held within the human body.

Bridget follows the impact of infertility, birth and parenthood on the work of poet Sally Jenkinson on a sunny walk through the Forest of Dean.

Daniel Sluman, poet and disability rights activist, shares how his poetry changed his view and relationship with his own body.

And photographer and poet Amaal Said, and Founder of Octavia Collective Rachel Long, reflect on how their perspectives on their black female bodies have changed over time.

A Bellow Stories production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 17:00 Trading Blows? (m000ykr2)
Brexit has been a reality for seven months – long enough for fears and speculation to give way to actual experience of individual business people. How is British business faring outside the EU? Do they feel liberated, unchained from the rules of the European Union, or ensnared in a new tangle of unfamiliar red tape? How important are new trade deals in their calculations? This programme is not a definitive verdict. But amid all the wealth of commentary and speculation it is a snapshot of the experience so far of three industries. Mark Mardell looks at Scotch whisky – the country’s biggest and most profitable food and drink export, and talks to the man who prepared the giant drinks company Chivas Brothers for Brexit, and to the boss of a new small Glasgow distillery. He examines aerospace, another huge British money spinner which warned loudly of the dangers of Brexit to their pan-European business, sees how Airbus is coping now and peers in to the future to ask if entrepreneurs at the new cutting edge technology of vertical take-off drones and air taxis are finding fresh opportunities and pitfalls. And he hears from the maker of upmarket lawnmowers who says his customers are fanatical about their striped lawns. But are they taking advantage of predictions that Britain unfettered could prosper making powerful models banned by the European Union?

Producer: Caroline Bayley


SUN 17:40 Profile (m000h1gj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000yt9k)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 17:57 Weather (m000yt9m)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000yt9p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m000yt9r)
Jude Rogers

Presenter: Jude Rogers
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production support: Ellen Orchard
Studio Manager: Phillip Halliwell


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m000ysyr)
The Ambridge summer fete descends into chaos and Tracy fails to spot a celebrity in their midst…


SUN 19:15 Michael Frayn's Magic Mobile (m000j2rl)
Episode 1

Michael Frayn’s comic universe at the touch of a button. Directed by long-time Frayn-collaborator Martin Jarvis. A glittering cast includes David Suchet, Susannah Fielding, Joanna Lumley, Alfred Molina, Adam Godley, Jared Harris, Martin Jarvis and Roger Allam.

"The electronic device so simple even an adult can use it." Half-an-hour of brand new monologues and dialogues, brought to you by the makers of Matchbox Theatre and Pocket Playhouse.

Ever imagined God being interviewed on Desert Island Discs? Or worrying about his image? How does the pharmaceutical industry name its newest drugs? Could shopping for teabags become a political decision? Might Shakespeare be considered an adequate co-writer?

It's all here, and more, in Michael Frayn’s magical entertainment system. No passwords needed to enter.

CAST:
David Suchet, Susannah Fielding, Joanna Lumley, Alfred Molina, Jared Harris, Adam Godley, Martin Jarvis, Roger Allam, Nigel Anthony, Anna-Louise Plowman, Moira Quirk, Matthew Wolf

Writer: Michael Frayn
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 Wolverine Blues (m000ysyv)
Episode 5

Wolverine Blues, or a Case of Defiance Neurosis

The conclusion of a new fiction from Graeme Macrae Burnet, inspired by the case study "Defiance Neurosis of a Seventeen-Year-Old High School Student" by Alphonse Maeder.

Dr Maeder looks back with satisfaction at Max’s case, seeing a patient who appears much changed since they began their sessions.

Read by Robin Laing and Alasdair Hankinson.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

Graeme Macrae Burnet lives in Glasgow and is the author of novels including 'The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau' and the Man Booker shortlisted 'His Bloody Project'. His new novel, 'Case Study', is published in October and follows the investigation of a young woman who believes a charismatic psychotherapist is implicated in her sister's death.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m000ynbw)
The BBC’s departing New York correspondent, Nick Bryant, thinks America has stopped being great. Is this perhaps why he is going? Nick discusses audience comments on the BBC's reporting of Donald Trump, Joe Biden and America in general.

Should Radio 4’s Front Row have devoted most of a programme to an interview with Sarah, Duchess of York? Some listeners thought the interview about her first adult novel, a Mills and Boon romance, should not have featured on the arts programme at all.

And did Radio 4’s Open Country get lost in Windsor Great Park? Two listeners give their verdict.

Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Kate Dixon
Executive Producer: Samir Shah

A Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m000ynbt)
Jean 'Binta' Breeze MBE (pictured), Sir Nicholas Goodison, Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, Joyce Shrubbs

Matthew Bannister on

The Jamaican-born poet Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze MBE, who was known for her compelling performances. We have a tribute from Linton Kwesi Johnson.

Sir Nicholas Goodison, chairman of the stock exchange at the time of the Big Bang in the 1980s and also a noted expert on antique clocks.

Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, the influential Muslim teacher who was born Ian Dallas, worked as an actor and script writer in the 1960s and converted to Islam after a visit to the holy city of Fez in Morocco.

Joyce Shrubbs, who joined the Royal Observer Corps during World War II and rose to become its highest ranking woman officer.

Producer: Laura Northedge

Interviewed guest: Justin Urquhart Stewart
Interviewed guest: Jonathan Betts
Interviewed guest: Linton Kwesi Johnson
Interviewed guest: Dona Croll
Interviewed guest: Shaykh Paul Salahuddin Armstrong
Interviewed guest: Yasin Dutton
Interviewed guest: Michael Marks
Interviewed guest: Edwina Holden

Archive clips used: Pathe News, London stock exchange during Second World War; Cineriz, Federico Fellini's 8 1/2; Cyclops TV, documentary Sentinels of Britain.


SUN 21:00 The Hangover (m000ysms)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m000ysy9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m000ysyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m000ysz0)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m000ymy4)
Alvin Rakoff

With Antonia Quirke

94 year old director Alvin Rakoff talks about giving Sean Connery his big break, why his friend Peter Sellers wired his home for sound and what it was like directing Laurence Olivier in A Voyage Around My Father

Author Anna Cale and historian Matthew Sweet talk about the phenomenon that was Diana Dors and reveal how her life would have changed if she had only married Bob Monkhouse.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b08ylr4g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 16 AUGUST 2021

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m000ysz2)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Sideways (m000ylfn)
16. Big Head

Matthew Syed has come to a horrible realisation about himself. He is in danger of becoming a big head. He’s worried that, with a successful podcast and best-selling books, every positive affirmation he receives is only serving to inflate his sense of entitlement.

The Greeks had a word for this - hubris.

In the final episode of this series, Matthew is on a mission to prevent his tragic downfall by exploring the line between over-confidence and useful pride, asking whether, with the right conditions, we could all be at risk of hubris - or whether it’s just him. He’ll explore how to spot and prevent hubristic leaders, remedies to this kind of arrogance and how we can access good confidence.

With Eugene Sadler-Smith, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, University of Surrey; Joey T Cheng, Assistant Professor of Psychology, York University; Alessandra Tanesini, Professor of Philosophy, University of Cardiff.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer/Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Executive Producer: Max O’Brien
Researchers: Nadia Mehdi and Alice Bloch
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 (m000ysz4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000ysz6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000ysz8)
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 (m000yszb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m000yszd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000yszg)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Father Philip Blackledge of Holy Trinity Scottish Episcopal Church in Melrose


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m000yszj)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


MON 05:56 Weather (m000yszl)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (m0003cqq)
Gillian Clarke and the Grey Heron

For Welsh poet and playwright Gillian Clarke she has had two close encounters with a grey heron, including the one in her garden reminding her of a Bishop wearing vestments.

You can hear more from Gillian in the Tweet of the Week Omnibus available on BBC Sounds

Producer : Andrew Dawes


MON 06:00 Today (m000ytks)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 How to Play (m000ytkv)
Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Rachel Podger and the Academy of Ancient Music

We drop in on rehearsals at London’s Barbican Concert Hall to hear violinist Rachel Podger, with the Academy of Ancient Music, prepare for a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Rachel and the ensemble give us their unique insider’s guide to how this music works and how they come together to help make it sing. They discuss the challenge of bringing a sense of freshness and individuality to one of the world’s best known classical pieces and share their thoughts on what keeps them and us coming back to this celebrated work.

With additional recordings by Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque.

Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Wales

Photo credit: Mark Allan


MON 09:30 The Age of Denial (m000357k)
A Warm Winter

From credit cards to climate change, we bury our heads in the sand. Isabel Hardman explores our capacity to deny what's in front of us. The idea of being "in denial" is well known to psychologists. But how does it operate at a community level? The series begins in Norway, with a town where the response to the obvious impact of climate change was...silence.

Producer: Chris Ledgard


MON 09:45 Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (m000ytlc)
Episode 1

When Will Buckingham's partner died, he coped with his grief by throwing his doors open to new people, and travelling alone to far-flung places among strangers. 'Strangers are unentangled in our worlds and lives,' he writes, 'and this lack can lighten our own burdens.' Starting from that experience of personal grief, he draws on his knowledge as a philosopher and anthropologist, as well as a keen and wide-roaming traveller, to explore the tensions, anxieties, joys and rewards of our relationship with strangers. Taking in stories of loneliness, exile, travel and hospitality from early history, classical Greece and Rome to the present day, he holds out the possibility of an antidote to the fears and isolation of an increasingly fragmented world.

Reader: Mark Jeary-Fairbairn
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000ytkz)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.


MON 11:00 My Name Is... (m000ytns)
My Name Is Anna

Anna's grandfather had his life savings stolen by his carers, and she wants to stop it happening to anyone else. Anna knew something wasn't right, but she didn't realise what until it was too late. Now, as the carers go on trial for theft, Anna invites us to join her during the court case, as she speaks to people involved in her grandfather's care, and to people who might be able to stop something similar from happening again.

In Bridlington, Anna chats to her grandfather's neighbour Martin, who describes the kind of man he was, how they became friends, and what happened when he tried to raise his concerns. In Hull she speaks to Ben, a police officer with Humberside Police who deals with economic crimes, and in Leeds to Kay, the Crown Prosecutor who oversaw the legal case against her grandfather's carers.

Anna also speaks to Joel from Age UK, and Veronica from Hourglass, two charities devoted to supporting older people and ending the abuse they suffer.

But as the court case reaches its conclusion, will the system do its bit to protect other vulnerable people from these carers, and other people who might wish to take advantage of them?

Producer: Giles Edwards


MON 11:30 Loose Ends (m000yt79)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


MON 12:00 News Summary (m000ytnw)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 12:04 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000ytl7)
Episode Six

In March 1976, near the Caribbean island of Black Conch, a local fisherman - David Baptiste - sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But he attracts a sea-dweller that he never expected - Aycayia, a Taino woman cursed by jealous women hundreds of years ago to live in the sea forever as a mermaid.

When American tourists capture Aycayia, David rescues her and vows to win her trust. Slowly, painfully, she transforms into a woman again. Yet as their love grows, they discover that the world around them is changing - and they cannot escape the curse for ever...

Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. She is the author of six novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award 2020. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021, the Goldsmiths Prize 2020 and the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021, and longlisted for the Orwell Prize, the Ondaatje Prize and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature 2021.

Read by Burt Caesar and Marilyn Nnadebe
Abridged by Sara Davies
Editing and Sound Design by Mair Bosworth
Produced in Bristol by Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio


MON 12:18 You and Yours (m000ytny)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


MON 12:57 Weather (m000ytp0)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m000ytp2)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


MON 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00tt49x)
The First Global Economy (1450 - 1600 AD)

The mechanical galleon

Neil MacGregor's world history as told through things. This week he is exploring the impact of Western European travel, trade and conquest between 1450 and 1600. He kicks off with an exquisite miniature version of the sort of high tech vessel that was to take Europeans right around the world. Today's object is a small clockwork version of the type of galleon that the Spanish sent against England in the Armada and that they sent across the high seas. This one was made for a grand dinner table - it could move, make music, tell the time and fire tiny cannons. Neil discusses the significance of this new breed of sailing ships and describes the political state that this galleon symbolises - the Holy Roman Empire. The marine archaeologist Christopher Dobbs compares the tiny galleon to the Mary Rose in Portsmouth and the historian Lisa Jardine considers the European fascination with mechanics and technology throughout the 16th Century.

Producer: Anthony Denselow
Music research specifically for the Akan drum: Michael Doran


MON 14:00 The Archers (m000ysyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Angst! (m000ytp4)
Actors

By Martin Jameson.

In today's 'zeit', the 'geist' is everywhere - environmental catastrophe, conspiracy theories, populism, fake news, the age of the algorithm, nationalism, racism,social exclusion. Not to mention pandemics.

As the world teeters on the edge of various self-made apocalypses, Angst! takes a satirical sideways look at our own naked fears. Five separate but connected half-hour 'what if?' stories all told under the watchful eye of the enigmatic Timor Greer.

With Populism and conspiracy theories in the ascendant, and comedians and reality TV stars running nations, how can The Establishment fight back? A failing actor finds himself auditioning for the part of a lifetime. It’s a Faustian deal, he (literally) cannot refuse. But is he the only one playing a role?

Cast:
Tony Bland ….. Hugh Dennis
Gina ….. Kathryn Drysdale
Cherry ….. Clare Corbett
Harri ….. Will Howard
Timor Greer….. Cyril Nri

Other voices are played by the cast

Sound design ….. Steve Bond and Adam Woodhams

Production manager ….. Anna de Wolff Evans
Executive producer ….. Sara Davies
Series creator ….. Martin Jameson

Produced and directed by Nicolas Jackson

An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4


MON 14:45 Woof (m000lsb6)
Honest Mistakes at Home and Abroad

What Will You Be When You Grow Up?

In this third series, Chris Neill continues his comedic exploration of affairs of the heart, the unexpected humiliations of ageing, and what bloody good luck it is that he has met his boyfriend, Rory.

In earlier series, episodes revolved around the terrible blind date Chris was set up on, his fantasy French boyfriend inspired by a school textbook, making a fish pie for his dying neighbour, and his failure to write a novel. As ever, Chris remains entirely willing to expose himself to a late-night, possibly bed-bound, audience and this third series of Woof finds him recounting more autobiographical stories of his life in love, lust and mediocrity.

In the first episode, we examine the trials of ageing. After a telephone conversation with his doctor, taken while admiring the sheer capacity of the Haribo aisle in a Hamburg supermarket, we join Chris walking away from diabetes.

Written by Chris Neill
Starring: Chris Neill, Isy Suttie and Martin Hyder
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4

Music used:
Dance Away - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
This Guy's In Love With You - Sachal Studios Orchestra
Don't Think Twice It's Alright - Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau
Introduction And Allegro For Harp, Flute, Clarinet And String Quartet (Ravel) - (Performance uncredited)
Limbo Jazz - Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins
Gotta Get Up - Harry Nilsson
Our Day Will Come - Amy Winehouse


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (m000ytp6)
Heat 5, 2021

(5/17)
In which sport might you use an 'eggbeater kick'? And which writer created the Swedish detective Wallander? The competitors in today's Brain of Britain heat will need to know the answers to these and many other questions, if they're to stand a chance of winning through to the series semi-finals. Russell Davies is in the questionmaster's chair, in a programme recorded in Salford under Covid restrictions. Today's competitors are all from the North of England.

They are:
Colin Atkinson, a retired financial adviser from Newcastle
Alan Hodgson, a part-time customer service assistant from Macclesfield
Paul Hood, a retired civil servant from Oldham
Gaetana Trippetti, a support assistant in film and TV, from South Cheshire.

There will also be a chance for a Brain of Britain listener to win a prize by challenging the Brains with questions he or she has suggested.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m000yt92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 Sketches: Stories of Art and People (m000ymxn)
Be Here Now

Writer Anna Freeman presents a showcase of stories about the meaning of art in people’s lives. This week, stories of making art with what you have, where you are.

Corinne is a bed-bound artist inspired by Frida Kahlo, who also painted from the confines of her bed. Despite the limitations of her circumstance, Corinne experiments with all kinds of artistic endeavour, from photographic self-portraits to embroidered bed-sheets. Then there's Maria Contreras, who experienced a traumatic childhood; she finds comfort through making textile dolls. And Brook Tate, who discovered joy through a giraffe puppet called Martha.

If you need support with mental health, help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Produced by Maggie Ayre and Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol.


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (m000ytp9)
The Monarch as Defender of the Faith

The Queen holds two titles that date right back to Henry VIII: 'Defender of the Faith’ and ‘Supreme Governor of the Church of England'. The coronation is always held within the context of a religious service and there is no doubt that the Queen has a deep Christian faith but how relevant is her role as Defender of the Faith in a Britain where membership of the Church of England is in decline and minority ethnic religious groups are growing?

To discuss these issues, Ernie Rea is joined by Martin Palmer who was Prince Philip’s Religious Advisor on the environment; Rabbi Julia Neuberger - a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords; Dr Jasjit Singh - an Associate Professor in the School of Philosophy, Religion and the History of Science at the University of Leeds; and Dr Daniel Loss from Harvard University - an historian of modern Britain.

Producer: Helen Lee
Assistant Producer: Barnaby Gordon
Editor: Helen Grady


MON 17:00 PM (m000ytpc)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000ytpf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m000ytph)
Series 26

Episode 4

David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.

Holly Walsh, Henning Wehn, Zoe Lyons, and Richard Osman are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as insects, words, parties, and supermarkets.

Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4


MON 19:00 The Archers (m000ysv3)
Jennifer discovers the truth while Ian attempts to navigate a thorny issue


MON 19:15 Front Row (m000ytl3)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


MON 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b0736s58)
Bhimrao Ambedkar: Building Palaces on Dung Heaps

Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute, looks at the life of Bhimrao Ambedkar, champion of the community previously known as 'untouchables' whom he renamed as Dalits. Ambedkar, who was a Dalit himself and fought against caste discrimination. His face can be found on posters, paintings and coloured tiles in tens of millions of Dalit homes. To Indian schoolchildren, he is the man who wrote the country’s constitution; and to India’s politicians he is a public emblem of how far India has come in addressing the blight of caste. "Both readings simultaneously exaggerate and ghettoize Ambedkar’s contribution," says Professor Khilnani. "He was a sophisticated, long-sighted Constitutional collaborator whose interests extended past caste to the very structure and psychology of Indian democracy."
Producer: Mark Savage


MON 20:00 This Union: The Ghost Kingdoms of England (m000ysm7)
Mercia - Where Is Mercia?

With current debate about the stability and durability of the United Kingdom, Ian Hislop felt it was a good time to explore how it was that England, the core of that union, came to be. In this series he tells the story of four great Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex, celebrating their golden ages and trying to understand their journey from groupings of assimilated peoples from across the North Sea to powerful kingdoms, and ultimately a single entity.

In spite of a relatively limited written record, it's a period of history that is being constantly re-written, thanks to the impact of new archeological techniques and the rise of the amateur detectorists. Ian hears from authorities on the early medieval period including Michael Wood, Marc Morris, and the British Museum’s curator of Medieval coinage, Gareth Williams, as well as talking to people with local interests in the Anglo-Saxon story.
He's on the look out for ways in which these regional identities have left a mark beyond the occasional use of their names for utility companies or railway services, and he explores the factors that kept the Kingdoms apart but eventually drew them together; common enemies, a unifying language, the church and the residual aspiration to be as the Romans once were.

In today’s programme Ian hears the story of the great Mercian Kings, their power, European ambitions and their eventual defeat at the hands of the Vikings. He also talks to members of today’s Mercian regiment, formed from a number of county regiments to represent a huge swathe of what was once an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom. But do the squaddies have a sense of regional Mercian identity?
But most important of all, Ian turns his hand to metal detecting, a pastime that has had a dramatic impact on our knowledge and understanding of the Anglo-Saxon period. Will he unearth valuable Anglo-Saxon coins, or bits of white lead and the odd button?

Producer; Tom Alban


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m000ymxl)
What’s Killing Israel’s Arabs?

Israel’s Arab population is in the grip of a violent and deadly crime wave. Since the start of the year, scores of Arab citizens have lost their lives and increasingly, even women and children are victims of drive-by killings, point-blank shootings and escalating gang warfare. Arabs account for only around one in five of all Israelis, yet they are now the vast majority of the country’s murder victims. The BBC’s Yolande Knell meets victims’ families and those in authority to find out what is going on, and asks what hope there is for an end to the carnage.
Reporter: Yolande Knell
Producer in London: Michael Gallagher
Editor: Bridget Harney


MON 21:00 The DNA of History (m000ykpf)
Genetics and DNA analysis is revolutionising our understanding of human history, from our origins in Africa 100,000 years ago, to the extraordinary migration of people that now populate every continent on earth.

The ability to sequence the human genome and compare it with DNA extracted from ancient bones is enabling scientists to identify moments of contact between homo sapiens and Neanderthals, and even to identify extinct ‘ghost’ populations. It's transforming how historians understand human migration and cross-cultural contact. The rapidly changing technology means we can now all buy genetic test kits that claim to tell us ‘who we really are’, from how much of our DNA comes from Neanderthals to our immediate family ancestry and potential health risks.

In this programme, the historian Jerry Brotton asks how far this science is changing the study of history, and where it might take us. He asks if genetics is providing us with the ultimate tools to understand our historical origins - and perhaps our future - or if we're walking into a new era of bio-colonialism. Today, scientists are subject to accusations that they are harvesting our DNA and making genetic assumptions about people who have already suffered under European scientific racism and colonisation. These groups now debate the ethics of the bones of their ancestors being analysed to play their part in the evolution of modern western science.

From taking his own DNA test to visiting the Natural History Museum in London to examine 300,000 year-old skulls, Jerry uncovers the complex science of genomic sequencing by talking to pioneering geneticists in the field, including Chris Stringer and David Reich. He discovers an exciting story of our global origins, migrations and incessant mixing of people. At the same time journalists like Angela Saini and historians like Walter Pohl, who leads the new HistoGenes project in Vienna, express concerns that race and nationalism continue to haunt genomic analysis.

If historians are learning from the science of DNA analysis, what can scientists learn from historians when making assumptions about nations, race and the colonial past? What will the DNA of the historical future look like?

Presenter: Jerry Brotton
Producer: Simon Hollis

A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4

Image of 'Cheddar Man' credited to the Trustees of the Natural History Museum


MON 21:30 How to Play (m000ytkv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m000ytl5)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


MON 22:45 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000ytl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (m000ykqm)
Accent Bias

Michael Rosen asks Professor Devyani Sharma about the latest research into accent bias in the UK. Which are the highest and lowest rated accents, and why does it matter so much?
Produced by Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol
More information on the work of the Accent Bias Britain project:
https://accentbiasbritain.org/


MON 23:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b0v5hh)
Series 1

How It All Began

Malawian Comedian Daliso Chaponda looks at the relationship between the UK and Africa.

The UK and Africa have had a long a complicated past. This series looks at the history of this relationship and Daliso is our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places.

A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not...

In this first episode Daliso looks at the origins of the relationship and asks how the UK and Africa first met.

Written and performed by Daliso Chaponda
The Other Guy... James Quinn
Theme music by Lawi
Image by Steve Ullathorne

Production Coordinator, Beverly Tagg
Producer, Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Production.



TUESDAY 17 AUGUST 2021

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m000ytl9)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 00:30 Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (m000ytlc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000ytlf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000ytlh)
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 (m000ytlk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m000ytlm)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000ytlp)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Father Philip Blackledge of Holy Trinity Scottish Episcopal Church in Melrose


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m000ytlr)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09v8hk9)
Andy Clements on the Garden Warbler

Andy Clements of the British Trust for Ornithology explains why he rates the song of the Garden Warbler above that of the similar sounding Blackcap, or even the Nightingale.

Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounters with nature and reflections on our relationship with the natural world.

Producer: Sarah Blunt
Photograph: Rhys Thatcher.


TUE 06:00 Today (m000ystg)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Positive Thinking (m000ystj)
What’s the best job to do good?

Sangita Myska meets Ben Todd, founder of the ethical careers service 80,000 Hours, who helps people find jobs that are effective in addressing global issues.

By and large, conversations about how we choose to do what we do often focus around our passions, earnings and striking a work-life balance. But, are they the right considerations?

If we want to make a positive difference in the world, Ben Todd believes we should consider the estimated 80,000 hours of our lives we spend working. His service identifies neglected areas of global problems, creates individual career plans for recent graduates, who they call ‘readers’, and finds them job opportunities as well as setting them up with mentors.

So, given global disparities in health and wealth as well as the existential threats facing humanity - such as another pandemic or climate change - should there be an ethical imperative that governs how we choose to spend our working lives?

Contributors include:

Sanjay Joshi, who gave up a job in the City to set up the non-profit charity-rating organisation SoGive.

Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School, and author of Growing the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit.

Sarah Ellis, co-founder of AmazingIf careers agency, and co-author of The Squiggly Career.

Producer: Dom Byrne
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 09:30 Hybrid (m000ystl)
Episode 5

Simon Watt wonders if we could upgrade the human body, with help from the animal kingdom.


TUE 09:45 Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (m000ystn)
Episode 2

When Will Buckingham's partner died, he coped with his grief by throwing his doors open to new people, and travelling alone to far-flung places among strangers. 'Strangers are unentangled in our worlds and lives,' he writes, 'and this lack can lighten our own burdens.' Starting from that experience of personal grief, he draws on his knowledge as a philosopher and anthropologist, as well as a keen and wide-roaming traveller, to explore the tensions, anxieties, joys and rewards of our relationship with strangers. Taking in stories of loneliness, exile, travel and hospitality from early history, classical Greece and Rome to the present day, he holds out the possibility of an antidote to the fears and isolation of an increasingly fragmented world.

Reader: Mark Jeary-Fairbairn
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000ystq)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.


TUE 11:00 Science Stories (m0001v84)
Series 8

Lady Mary Montagu's Smallpox Experiment

Naomi Alderman's Science Story reveals how Lady Mary Wortley Montagu experimented on her own child in a quest to prove that smallpox inoculation works. Born in 1689 in a position of some power and influence, Lady Mary travelled to Constantinople as the wife of the ambassador to Turkey and witnessed 'variolation parties'. Here 'a nut shell' of virus on a needle is put in an opened vein to infer immunity. Having lost her own brother to smallpox and survived with terrible scaring herself, Lady Mary knew first hand the dangers of the deadly disease. She became the first person to bring smallpox inoculation to the West. Medical historian Lindsey Fiztharris tells the remarkable story of how condemned prisoners are given the opportunity to escape execution under the orders of King George I if they are given the virus and survive.

Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at Kings College, London, and Naomi discuss some of today's counter intuitive treatments, such as faecal transplants.


TUE 11:30 Shaped by the River Clyde (m0002hlk)
George Parsonage is a local hero in Glasgow. He's known as 'The River Man', as over the years he has taken his rowing boat out on the Clyde in all weathers to rescue countless people. He's been doing it since he was a boy, following in his father's footsteps as chief officer of the Glasgow Humane Society.

What's less well known is that he's a trained artist, sculpting between rescues with all the detritus he finds on the banks and in the water. This programme explores his love affair with the river, what it gives and what it takes.

Producer Mark Rickards


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m000ysts)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:04 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000ystv)
Episode Seven

In March 1976, near the Caribbean island of Black Conch, a local fisherman - David Baptiste - sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But he attracts a sea-dweller that he never expected - Aycayia, a Taino woman cursed by jealous women hundreds of years ago to live in the sea forever as a mermaid.

When American tourists capture Aycayia, David rescues her and vows to win her trust. Slowly, painfully, she transforms into a woman again. Yet as their love grows, they discover that the world around them is changing - and they cannot escape the curse for ever...

Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. She is the author of six novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award 2020. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021, the Goldsmiths Prize 2020 and the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021, and longlisted for the Orwell Prize, the Ondaatje Prize and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature 2021.

Read by Burt Caesar and Marilyn Nnadebe
Abridged by Sara Davies
Editing and Sound Design by Mair Bosworth
Produced in Bristol by Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio


TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m000ystx)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


TUE 12:57 Weather (m000ystz)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m000ysv1)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


TUE 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00tt59m)
The First Global Economy (1450 - 1600 AD)

Benin plaque - the Oba with Europeans

This week Neil MacGregor's history of the world is exploring the impact of the great European age of expansion and discovery during the 15th and 16th Centuries. In the last programme he described the technology that allowed Europeans to sail around the world in great galleons, the "space ships of their age". Today he looks at what happens when Europeans started trading in West Africa and first came upon the ancient culture of Benin in present day Nigeria. Neil describes the world of this hugely successful warrior kingdom and the culture that produced such exquisite artwork. He also describes what happened when the British raided Benin at the end of the 19th Century and the effect that these brass portraits first had when they arrived in London. The artist Sokari Douglas Camp reflects on the sculptures as art while the Nigerian poet and playwright Wole Soyinka reacts to the violent history of Benin and the loss of part of their great heritage.

Producer: Anthony Denselow


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m000ysv3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Angst! (m000ysv5)
The Teachings of Smart Town

By Marietta Kirkbride.

In today's 'zeit', the 'geist' is everywhere - environmental catastrophe, conspiracy theories, populism, fake news, the age of the algorithm, nationalism, racism,social exclusion. Not to mention pandemics.

As the world teeters on the edge of various self-made apocalypses, Angst! takes a satirical sideways look at our own naked fears. Five separate but connected half-hour 'what if?' stories all told under the watchful eye of the enigmatic Timor Greer.

The inhabitants of Britain’s most advanced “smart town” are forced to confront escalating aberrations in the technology that runs their daily lives. Washing machines in every home spin at once, phones and stereos belt out the same song at the same time. But what is the algorithm trying to tell them? And how can they atone, to be guided once again by its wisdom?

Cast:
Sian ….. Rose Wardlaw
Malcolm ….. David Carlyle
Interviewer ….. Will Howard
K ….. Sarah Keyworth
Willow ….. Jane Slavin
Timor Greer ……Cyril Nri

Other voices are played by the cast

Sound design ….. Steve Bond and Adam Woodhams

Production manager ….. Anna de Wolff Evans
Executive producer ….. Sara Davies
Series creator ….. Martin Jameson

Produced and directed by Nicolas Jackson

An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 14:45 Woof (m000lzjt)
Honest Mistakes at Home and Abroad

Hamburg Noir

In this third series, Chris Neill continues his comedic exploration of affairs of the heart, the unexpected humiliations of ageing, and what bloody good luck it is that he has met his boyfriend, Rory.

In earlier series, episodes revolved around the terrible blind date Chris was set up on, his fantasy French boyfriend inspired by a school textbook, making a fish pie for his dying neighbour, and his failure to write a novel. As ever, Chris remains entirely willing to expose himself to a late-night, possibly bed-bound, audience and this third series of Woof recounts more autobiographical stories of his life in love, lust and mediocrity.

In programme two: "Wie gehts?" This week's story involves slightly awkward small talk with a German police officer investigating the unexpected death of Chris’s neighbour on a visit to Hamburg. And some confusion over recycling.

Written by Chris Neill
Starring: Chris Neill, Isy Suttie and Martin Hyder
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m000ysv7)
Portals

Josie Long presents short documentaries about portals and gateways. A safe passage into the world, a scent which can take you somewhere else...
Curatorial team: Alia Cassam and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
Executive Producer: Axel Kacoutié
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:30 Made of Stronger Stuff (p09bx4ht)
The Hippocampus

Psychologist Kimberley Wilson and Dr Xand van Tulleken take a journey around the human body, asking what it can tell us about our innate capacity for change. In this episode, they peep inside the brain's temporal lobes in search of the hippocampus: the seahorse-shaped seat of memory.

The pair meet a memory athlete who reveals his techniques, explore how new insights from neuroscience can help us make better memories, and Kimberley gives Xand a memory test he’ll (hopefully) never forget...

Producer: Dan Hardoon
Researcher: Emily Finch
Executive Producer: Kate Holland
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m000ysv9)
When people get your name wrong

Michael Rosen on why personal names are so often mispronounced or misspelled, in conversation and online. With guest Dhruti Shah, linguist Dr Laurel MacKenzie, and lots of stories from the Word of Mouth audience.
Produced by Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m000ysvc)
Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson made sporting history in 1957 - the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon title. She also won the US Open and the French Open. Raised on the streets of Harlem, her story is remarkable. And yet she is relatively unknown. Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at Edinburgh University, champions Althea Gibson's life with the help of the writer Sally H. Jacobs, who is writing a new biography of the tennis star.

The presenter is Matthew Parris and the producer for BBC Audio in Bristol is Chris Ledgard


TUE 17:00 PM (m000ysvf)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000ysvh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Darren Harriott - Red Label (m000ysvk)
Part 1

Stand-up comedian Darren Harriott examines why he's in his thirties and has never been in love, and the perils of modern dating.

Having previously examined gangs, family and being a bouncer, Darren realised that he is in his early thirties and he's never been in love. But why can that be? Is it him, or is there more to it?

In this episode, Darren looks for answers by looking at his youth, and the relationships he grew up around. Be it his family, the characters on TV, or the early 90s RnB in his record collection; all these portrayals of love have shaped the relationships he's had.

Written and Performed by Darren Harriott
Therapist played by Mali Ann Rees
Producer: Gwyn Rhys Davies
Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m000ysmm)
Elizabeth is left disappointed and Tracy braces herself for a challenge


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m000ysvn)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


TUE 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b07378cy)
Raj Kapoor: The Politics of Love

Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute, looks at the life of the celebrated actor and movie director Raj Kapoor who attracted a huge following well before the term 'Bollywood' became known. Kapoor started making films, just as India became independent in 1947. Back then, the medium was more than mere entertainment. In a country where the literacy rate was 12 per cent, film was also a crucial medium of education and exposure. "Kapoor brought romance, sexuality, song and soul to Indian socialism," says Professor Khilnani.
Producer: Mark Savage


TUE 20:00 Genetics and the longer arm of the law (m000ysvq)
Since Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys discovered genetic fingerprints in his University of Leicester laboratory almost 40 years ago, DNA has become integral to criminal justice systems around the world.
But there have been phenomenal developments in the field of genetics over the past couple of decades too, and some of this breakthrough science is being used by police to solve crimes.
Turi King, who's also a professor of genetics at the University of Leicester (she led the genetic identification of Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England, when his body was dug up in a Leicester City carpark) investigates some of these novel uses, which some fear are being used before the necessary regulation and ethical oversight is in place.
The recent Golden State killer case in the US, where a former police officer was caught with the help of DNA, thrust into the spotlight the use of private genealogy databases by law enforcement. Up until then, most of the public, including the millions of family tree enthusiasts who had uploaded their DNA profiles onto new vast genealogy databases to find their relatives, were blissfully unaware that the science in the genealogists' toolkit had been adopted by police officers hunting new leads in criminal cases.
One of the first private DNA detectives is Colleen Fitzpatrick. She even coined the phrase forensic genealogy". Using her skills as a genealogist, Colleen has solved scores of cold cases and helped identify multiple John and Jane Does. The DNA genie is out of the bottle, she tells Turi, and the stopper can't be put back in.
And Turi discovers this is indeed the case. She hears about a group of private citizens who, inspired by the Golden State killer case, are using DNA to track down abusive men. Lawyer and former army officer, Andrew MacLeod, helped set up the charity, Hear Their Cries, because he wants to stop the rape and abuse of women and girls by aid workers, peacekeeping soldiers and sex tourists. By matching the DNA from any children born from these relationships with relatives on genealogy databases, the fathers can eventually be tracked down. A pilot project in the Philippines led to five out of six fathers in the UK, US, Canada and Australia being confronted with their paternity obligations. The long term aim, he says, is to send the message that there is no escape for abusive men and if they have committed a crime, they will be made to pay.
The question now is how this technology is regulated so that important issues of privacy and consent are addressed.

Gill Tully, former Forensic Science Regulator for England and Wales and Professor of Practice for Forensic Science Policy and Regulation at King's College, London.
Carole McCartney, Professor of Law and Criminal Justice at Northumbria University
Manfred Keyser, Professor of Forensic Molecular Biology and Head of the Department of Genetic Identification, Erasmus University, the Netherlands
David Baker, former Chief Superintendent Leicestershire Police, led the double murder hunt for the killer of Linda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in the 1980s
Dr Connie Bormans, head of laboratories for Family Tree DNA, commercial genetic testing company in Houston, Texas

Producer: Fiona Hill


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m000ysvs)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted


TUE 21:00 Curating the Future (m000d7jf)
Origins

Museums have never been more popular around the world or faced such sustained criticism. While the Louvre enjoys record-breaking visitor numbers, Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island builds a new museum campus for the Middle East and blockbusters from Leonardo to Van Gogh to David Bowie circle the globe, museums are also under challenge. Critics questions historic claims to neutrality, call for the repatriation of colonial-era artefacts and protest over the origins of sponsors' money.

V&A Director Tristram Hunt begins the series by looking back at the origins of some of the world's oldest museums and galleries, including those founded to tell the story of a nation, to display a royal or colonial collection or to promote technical and educational improvement.

At the Tokyo National Museum, the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford and in conversation with the Director of the Rijksmuseum, Tristram asks how foundational ideals can be managed in the post-colonial contemporary world.

Producer: Julia Johnson


TUE 21:30 Positive Thinking (m000ystj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m000ysvv)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


TUE 22:45 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000ystv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


TUE 23:00 Fortunately... with Fi and Jane (p076wjyf)
90. In Memoriam Mittens with Elizabeth Day

Fi and Jane are joined by writer and podcaster Elizabeth Day who shows off her painted fingernails.


TUE 23:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b1sycz)
Series 1

The 'Haters'

Malawian Comedian Daliso Chaponda looks at the relationship between the UK and Africa.

The UK and Africa have had a long a complicated past. This series looks at the history of this relationship and Daliso is our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places.

A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not...

In this second episode, Daliso looks at the people on both sides who don't want the relationship to work.

Written and performed by Daliso Chaponda
The Other Guy... James Quinn
Theme music by Lawi
Image by Steve Ullathorne

Production Coordinator, Beverly Tagg
Producer, Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Production



WEDNESDAY 18 AUGUST 2021

WED 00:00 Midnight News (m000ysvy)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


WED 00:30 Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (m000ystn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000ysw0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000ysw2)
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 (m000ysw4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (m000ysw6)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000ysw8)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Father Philip Blackledge of Holy Trinity Scottish Episcopal Church in Melrose


WED 05:45 Farming Today (m000yswb)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0vqb)
Chowchilla

Michael Palin presents the secretive chowchilla from Queensland, Australia. The chowchilla gets its name from its song, which is one of the most distinctive sounds of the coastal rainforest of north-east Queensland. You're not likely to see the bird though because it spends its time skulking on the forest floor. Chowchillas belong to the family known as logrunners because they feed and nest on or near ground-level. They're stout thrush-like birds; the males are dark brown with a white chest and throat, whilst the female's throat is rusty-orange.

Chowchillas have been found to sing with different dialects in different areas. Within say, 50 hectares, all the family groups of pairs and non-breeding younger birds may share the same dialect. But in an adjacent area, the families may assemble some of their song components slightly differently. Over time, their song culture could change and a new dialect would be born.

Producer : Andrew Dawes


WED 06:00 Today (m000yslx)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Black Music in Europe: A Hidden History (m000yslz)
Series 4

1989-2006

Clarke Peters' concluding three-part series reveals stories from the history of black music in Europe over the last four decades.

From the collapse of the Eastern Bloc to the rise of multiculturalism, this was a time that saw old walls come tumbling down, while new forms of technology and new styles of music were all emerging at a rapid pace.

In this programme, Clarke looks at the music of black Europe in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall. We hear from Jeff Mills and Dimitri Hegemann on Detroit techno in Berlin, and electronic pioneers Shut Up and Dance on the rave era in London. Rita Maia and DJ Marfox talk about the Batida scene in Lisbon.

Produced by Tom Woolfenden
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


WED 09:30 Four Thought (m000ysm1)
200 Days

Steven Dowd's life changed in an instant one spring morning in 2016. In this inspiring talk, Steven describes what happened, and how a promise to his wife enabled him to regain control of the change - and his life.

Producer: Giles Edwards


WED 09:45 Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (m000ysnq)
Episode 3

When Will Buckingham's partner died, he coped with his grief by throwing his doors open to new people, and travelling alone to far-flung places among strangers. 'Strangers are unentangled in our worlds and lives,' he writes, 'and this lack can lighten our own burdens.' Starting from that experience of personal grief, he draws on his knowledge as a philosopher and anthropologist, as well as a keen and wide-roaming traveller, to explore the tensions, anxieties, joys and rewards of our relationship with strangers. Taking in stories of loneliness, exile, travel and hospitality from early history, classical Greece and Rome to the present day, he holds out the possibility of an antidote to the fears and isolation of an increasingly fragmented world.

Reader: Mark Jeary-Fairbairn
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000ysm5)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.


WED 11:00 This Union: The Ghost Kingdoms of England (m000ysm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


WED 11:30 The Pin (b08xcsxk)
Series 3

Ep 1: Education

"The most exciting new comedy duo working today" - David Walliams

Their hugely successful second series won critical acclaim and a slew of awards. Now double-act The Pin are back with more of their trademark offbeat nonsense.

In this episode, in a desperate bid not to be cut, Alex and Ben are determined to prove they can be educational...

"One of the smartest, punchiest new comedy duos to have appeared in a while...had me laughing out loud on my own in an empty room" The Guardian

"Exquisitely silly and very funny...makes you feel as though you might be hearing the next Mitchell and Webb" The Times

"Genuine moments of hilarity and a real breath of comedic fresh air" RadioTimes

Written and performed by Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen.
Featuring Steve Brody and Jo Enright.
Produced by Sam Bryant.
A BBC Studios Production.


WED 12:00 News Summary (m000yv3c)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


WED 12:04 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000ysmc)
Episode Eight

In March 1976, near the Caribbean island of Black Conch, a local fisherman - David Baptiste - sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But he attracts a sea-dweller that he never expected - Aycayia, a Taino woman cursed by jealous women hundreds of years ago to live in the sea forever as a mermaid.

When American tourists capture Aycayia, David rescues her and vows to win her trust. Slowly, painfully, she transforms into a woman again. Yet as their love grows, they discover that the world around them is changing - and they cannot escape the curse for ever...

Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. She is the author of six novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award 2020. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021, the Goldsmiths Prize 2020 and the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021, and longlisted for the Orwell Prize, the Ondaatje Prize and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature 2021.

Read by Burt Caesar and Marilyn Nnadebe
Abridged by Sara Davies
Editing and Sound Design by Mair Bosworth
Produced in Bristol by Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio


WED 12:18 You and Yours (m000ysmf)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


WED 12:57 Weather (m000ysmh)
The latest weather forecast


WED 13:00 World at One (m000ysmk)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


WED 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00tt5tr)
The First Global Economy (1450 - 1600 AD)

Double-headed serpent

The history of humanity - as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London - is back in South America. This week Neil MacGregor, the museum's director, is with objects from around the world between 1450 and 1600. This is the time of huge European expansion thanks to the new developments in ship building. Today he is with an object made by the Aztecs of present day Mexico. He describes the Aztec world and the Spanish conquest of this culture, through a double-headed serpent made from tiny pieces of turquoise - one of the stars of the British Museum. The Aztec specialist Adriane Diaz Enciso discusses the role of the snake in Aztec belief while the conservator Rebecca Stacey describes the scientific detective work that the object has prompted.

Producer: Anthony Denselow


WED 14:00 The Archers (m000ysmm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Angst! (m000ysmp)
Plastic

By Martin Jameson.

In today's 'zeit', the 'geist' is everywhere - environmental catastrophe, conspiracy theories, populism, fake news, the age of the algorithm, nationalism, racism,social exclusion. Not to mention pandemics.

As the world teeters on the edge of various self-made apocalypses, Angst! takes a satirical sideways look at our own naked fears. Five separate but connected half-hour 'what if?' stories all told under the watchful eye of the enigmatic Timor Greer.

Microplastics can be found everywhere, from the snows of Mount Everest to the placenta of unborn babies. They pollute our seas and the very air we breathe, threatening the future of the planet. So when a plastic-eating enzyme is created that can munch through an Evian bottle in 2.93 seconds, it should be a giant step in the fight against climate change. Or at least it would be if the enzyme wasn’t self-replicating. And if it didn’t fall into the wrong hands and end up at the bottom of the sea.

Cast:
Treve ….. Reece Shearsmith
Judith ….. Rosie Cavaliero
Adam ….. Will Howard
Eve ….. Skye Lourie
Dale …. Joshua Akehurst
Fargeas ….. Ben Crowe
Timor Greer ….. Cyril Nri

Other voices are played by the cast

Sound design ….. Steve Bond and Adam Woodhams

Production manager ….. Anna de Wolff Evans
Executive producer ….. Sara Davies
Series creator ….. Martin Jameson

Produced and directed by Nicolas Jackson

An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4


WED 14:45 Woof (m000m5kq)
Honest Mistakes at Home and Abroad

Habits of a Social Animal

In this third series, Chris Neill continues his comedic exploration of affairs of the heart, the unexpected humiliations of ageing, and what bloody good luck it is that he has met his boyfriend, Rory.

In earlier series, episodes revolved around the terrible blind date Chris was set up on, his fantasy French boyfriend inspired by a school textbook, making a fish pie for his dying neighbour, and his failure to write a novel. As ever, Chris remains entirely willing to expose himself to a late-night, possibly bed-bound, audience and this third series of Woof has more autobiographical stories of his life in love, lust and mediocrity.

In programme three: "Have you two met?” Getting out and meeting people is not something Chris (and many other people) find easy – he examines parties and the swings and roundabouts of social intercourse. And a glass bowl gets broken. Stand up comedy illustrated with sketches featuring Isy Suttie and Martin Hyder.

Written by Chris Neill
Starring: Chris Neill, Isy Suttie and Martin Hyder
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4


WED 15:00 The Hangover (m000ysms)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


WED 15:30 Prison Break (m000v9t5)
Episode 1: We've survived, haven't we?

Former 'prison wife' Josie Bevan confronts the failings of the prison system.

Josie meets her husband Rob at the prison gates, after he's served four-and-a-half years of a nine year sentence for fraud. She takes stock of where the experience of his incarceration has left her and the family, and the dramatic ways it has impacted her understanding of how the criminal justice system in the UK works - or doesn't work.

Josie introduces Rob to Carl Cattermole, who wrote Prison: A Survival Guide following his own term in Wormwood Scrubs. She talks with former prison governor Peter Dawson, who is now director of the Prison Reform Trust, about how honest public discourse is about prison and she meets Dave Merritt, whose son Jack was working with former prisoners when he was killed in a terror attack at Fishmongers' Hall, London in November 2019.

Josie's previous podcast series Prison Bag - one family's unflinching confrontation with the prison system - is available on BBC Sounds.

Produced by Rebecca Lloyd-Evans and Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4


WED 16:00 Stolen Honour (m000ysmv)
In November 2020, former army Sergeant Deacon Cutterham sold his medal collection to a private collector for £140,000. Having served for 19 years, completing tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said the sale of his medal collection, including a valuable Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, would help support his family.

But there's a problem. Members of Cutterham's Afghanistan unit say the act of bravery that won him his biggest prize didn't happen.

Cutterham's medal was awarded in 2011 after he picked up and hurled away a Taliban grenade while on patrol in Helmand, saving the lives of eight men. His comrades say there was a grenade - but it came from Cutterham's own equipment belt.

If their accusations are true, why would a soldier be so desperate for a medal?

In this programme, defence correspondent Jonathan Beale explores the culture of medals within the military. He assesses their significance and questions whether they encourage violence and recklessness as soldiers fight for recognition in the field of combat. There are some who argue that gallantry medals actually endanger lives and undermine the process of peacekeeping.

We'll hear from critics of the medals system who argue that it's entirely outdated, far better suited to the wars of the 20th century than the subtle counter-insurgency campaigns of today. They say medals are awarded for "kinetic activity", by which the forces mean violent exchanges. Quite simply, you don't win medals for keeping things calm.

Producer: Sasha Edye-Linder
Executive Producer: Max O'Brien
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4


WED 16:30 The Media Show (m000ysmx)
Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.


WED 17:00 PM (m000ysmz)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000ysn3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 My Teenage Diary (m000ysn5)
Series 10

Jane Horrocks

It's the first in the new series and Rufus Hound's guest is Ab Fab star Jane Horrocks. Jane's diary tells of sunny days and crazy nights at the disco on holiday in Sorrento back in 1980.

A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4


WED 19:00 The Archers (m000ysn8)
Lily attempts to keep the mood romantic and Jennifer is at a low ebb


WED 19:15 Front Row (m000ysnb)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


WED 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b0738jwb)
Sheikh Abdullah: Chains of Gold

Sunil Khilnani explores the life of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, the Lion of Kashmir.

Born in Srinagar as a burden, Abdullah’s father died before he was born. Dispossessed of their share of family property, Abdullah and his two elder brothers were expected to make the cheap cotton shawls on which their extended, devout family depended. But the young boy discovered he had a gift, for reciting the Koran, which allowed him to get out of darning. Eventually, it would help him see more of the world than his shabby corner of Srinagar.

But his legacy today is an ambivalent one. For many he stands as the primary, powerful advocate of Kashmiri self-rule, who sacrificed his own freedom time after time in his attempts to secure representation and rights for his people. For others, especially younger Kashmiris today, he’s the man who sold Kashmir out to India, first in the late-1940s and then again in the 1970s, in exchange for personal power.

Producer: Martin Williams


WED 20:00 The Exchange (m000ysnd)
Forgiveness

Two people who share a common experience, meet for the first time. Each has a gift for the other - an object that unlocks their story. With the help of presenter Catherine Carr, they exchange personal experiences, thoughts and beliefs, as well as uncovering the differences between them.

Figen Murray and Bryn Hughes are strangers, but in a curious way they say they already know each other. They describe themselves as “members of a club no one wants to join”. Both are parents of children who were murdered and that means between them “there are no surprises, no revelations about who we are and what we are, because we already know”.

In 2017, Figen’s son Martyn was killed with 21 other people in the Manchester Arena attack. The bomber blew himself up and, one month later, Figen went on national TV and forgave him.

In 2012, Bryn’s daughter Nicola, a police officer, answered a routine call with a colleague. Both officers were shot and killed in an ambush. Nicola’s killer is serving a whole life sentence.

For Bryn, forgiving the man is a concept he cannot understand.

Forgiveness was the right choice for Figen, but she says, “I met with a lot of resistance and confusion. Some of my other children struggled with it. A lot of my friends struggled with it. And of course, I got slated on Twitter. I got trolled really badly for it.”

Bryn wonders whether forgiveness is “too final” for him and whether he is scared to make that decision even though it might help him heal.

The pair exchange gifts which reveal their own stories and show an insight into each other and the children they’ve lost.

Presenter: Catherine Carr

Producer: Louise Cotton

Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


WED 20:45 Four Thought (m000ysm1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


WED 21:00 Made of Stronger Stuff (p09bx4ht)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 The Media Show (m000ysmx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m000ysnh)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


WED 22:45 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000ysmc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


WED 23:00 Jordan Brookes On... (m000ysnk)
Mental Health

Jordan Brookes won the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2019 but did it make him happy? In this episode of 'Jordan Brookes On...' Jordan talks about his own mental health struggles and how they have affected his life. Comedian (and friend) Sunil Patel provides any audio description that might be required.

Starring Jordan Brookes, Sunil Patel and Scarlett Brookes.

Written by Jordan Brookes.

Produced by Sam Michell for BBC Studios.


WED 23:15 Tricky (p09mtdyl)
Coming Out

Four people. One topic. No filter.

Drag Race’s Ellie Diamond and trainee priest Molly Boot discuss coming out with comedian Paul Black and porn performer Kayden Gray.

Everyone’s story of coming out is different. For some it’s an anti-climax for others it’s a long, sometimes traumatic journey. What our panel have all learnt is that you have to do it at your own pace.

Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus
Editor: Anthony Browne
A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4


WED 23:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b2kpm2)
Series 1

The Helpers

Malawian Comedian Daliso Chaponda looks at the relationship between the UK and Africa.

The UK and Africa have had a long a complicated past. This series looks at the history of this relationship and Daliso is our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places.

A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not...

In this third episode, Daliso looks at charities and organisations who want to help the relationship.

Written and performed by Daliso Chaponda
The Other Guy... James Quinn
Theme tune by Lawi
Image by Steve Ullathorne

Production Coordinator, Beverly Tagg
Producer, Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Production.



THURSDAY 19 AUGUST 2021

THU 00:00 Midnight News (m000ysnn)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


THU 00:30 Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (m000ysnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000ysnt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000ysnw)
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 (m000ysny)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (m000ysp0)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000ysp2)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Father Philip Blackledge of Holy Trinity Scottish Episcopal Church in Melrose


THU 05:45 Farming Today (m000ysp4)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04symph)
Northern Jacana

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

Liz Bonnin presents the northern jacana at home in Central American wetlands. A cross between a coot and a plover, northern Jacanas are found in swamps in Central America and Mexico. They're long legged birds with a black head and neck, and a chestnut body with yellow highlights. And, northern jacanas are polyandrous; the females have more than one partner. Males build platforms of floating vegetation and attract females by calling or posturing. If a female mates with a male, he may use his platform as a nest for her eggs. The female doesn't care for the eggs, but goes in search of up to three other mates. The result is that a single female may have several males raising different clutches of eggs for her and each clutch may contain the eggs of more than one male!

Producer : Andrew Dawes


THU 06:00 Today (m000ytz4)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 Citizens of Somewhere (m000ytz6)
Milton Keynes

John Harris of the Guardian presents a new series telling the story of the UK in 2021 through the voices and stories of ordinary people in four places with a distinctive identity. In this first programme John and his producer Leala Padmanabhan visit Milton Keynes, a new town founded in 1967 in Buckinghamshire. Often caricatured as 'soulless' and full of concrete, in fact they discover a place rich in community spirit, green space and a can-do optimism which can be traced back to the original vision of the early Milton Keynes pioneers.

From the very beginning Milton Keynes welcomed immigrants moving there in search of a better life, and John hears several stories from MK settlers, including those who came in the first wave from London, and a family of Ghanian heritage who left South London in search of a safer and more peaceful life in the affluent suburb of Oakgrove.

In Woughton and Netherfield, two of the more deprived communities, John talks to people about how they are tackling housing, inequality and other social issues as we emerge from the Covid pandemic; and explores these challenges with the leader of the borough council, Pete Marland.

Many in Milton Keynes have aged together in a cohort and John finishes his visit by talking to residents of a retirement village about how they have tackled the challenges of ageing, rediscovering a spirit of optimism, design and forward thinking.

The programme contains some references to roundabouts.

Producer: Leala Padmanabhan.


THU 09:30 Questions Answered (m000vwrt)
David and Ben

Chris Mason and Anita Anand discover more about the lives of some of the listeners to Any Answers and Any Questions. Today we hear from David and Ben who met as callers on Any Answers and subsequently got in touch with each other. Anita Anand caught up with them.


THU 09:45 Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (m000yv0p)
Episode 4

When Will Buckingham's partner died, he coped with his grief by throwing his doors open to new people, and travelling alone to far-flung places among strangers. 'Strangers are unentangled in our worlds and lives,' he writes, 'and this lack can lighten our own burdens.' Starting from that experience of personal grief, he draws on his knowledge as a philosopher and anthropologist, as well as a keen and wide-roaming traveller, to explore the tensions, anxieties, joys and rewards of our relationship with strangers. Taking in stories of loneliness, exile, travel and hospitality from early history, classical Greece and Rome to the present day, he holds out the possibility of an antidote to the fears and isolation of an increasingly fragmented world.

Reader: Mark Jeary-Fairbairn
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000ytzd)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (m000ytzg)
Insight, and analysis from BBC correspondents around the world


THU 11:30 Planet Bach (m000ytzj)
It seems that every minute of every day, a musician is playing Bach’s music somewhere on our planet. Clemency Burton-Hill charts the playing of Bach around the globe, across a day, with stories from musicians who each have a daily ritual with his music.

Ilay Kenes is an 11 year-old Belgian boy who plays Bach on his guitar every morning when he gets out of bed. Emilio Lara is a Mexican cellist who also plays Bach every morning. Other musicians around the world who play Bach each morning include harpsichordist Masaaki Suzuki in Tokyo, Hungarian-born organist Xaver Varnus in his church in Nova Scotia, pianist Grant McLachlan looking out at Table Mountain from his house in Cape Town, and cellist Nicola Yamazaki in Austria.

Some musicians play Bach every day but not at a set time. Iranian born pianist Ramin Bahrami plays Bach whenever he needs him throughout the day. In one of Kenya’s largest slums, David Joroge shares the cello he plays with other students at the Art of Music Foundation and so he plays Bach cello suites every day, at a time when there’s a cello free.

Swiss cellist Monique Duplan plays Bach every afternoon on her veranda overlooking her garden outside Lausanne. British viola player, Robin Ireland plays last thing at night before bed in his house in Brittany. And finally, Jonathan Crayford often wakes in the middle of the night in his house in Auckland, New Zealand and loves to get up and play Bach while everyone else is asleep.

Where did this daily ritual of playing Bach every day begin? Maybe with Beethoven or perhaps Mendelssohn. But it was the Catalan cellist Pablo Casals who wrote, "For the past 80 years, I have started each day in the same manner. It is not a mechanical routine but something essential to my daily life. I go to the piano, and I play two preludes and fugues of Bach. I cannot think of doing otherwise. It is a sort of benediction on the house. Each day is something new, fantastic, unbelievable. That is Bach, like nature, a miracle!"

Clemency herself either listened to or played Bach every day for as long as she can remember. But in January 2020 she experienced a brain haemorrhage and everything changed. After emergency surgery, she was unconscious for 17 days and then slowly emerged. She’s still working her way back to her own daily encounter with Bach’s music.

Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Must Try Softer production for BBC Radio 4

Bach music played:

Violinist Nicola Benedetti: Partita in D minor, BWV1004
Guitarist Ilay Kenes: Prelude in E Major, BWV 1006a
Organist Xaver Varnus: Double Fugue in C minor, BWV 582B
Cellist Pablo Casals: Allemande from 1st Cello Suite in G major, BWV 1007
Pianist Grant McLachlan: Allemande from French Suite in G Major, BWV 816
Pianist Glenn Gould: Sarabande from Partita in C minor, BWV 826
Cellist David Joroge: Minuet from 1st Cello Suite in G major, BWV 1007
Violist Robin Ireland: Fugue from Violin Sonata in G minor (transcribed for viola) BWV 1001
Pianist Jonathan: Improvisation based on Bach’s Goldberg Variations
Pianist Glenn Gould: Aria from Goldberg Variations, BWV 998


THU 12:00 News Summary (m000yv4f)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


THU 12:04 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000ytzn)
Episode Nine

In March 1976, near the Caribbean island of Black Conch, a local fisherman - David Baptiste - sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But he attracts a sea-dweller that he never expected - Aycayia, a Taino woman cursed by jealous women hundreds of years ago to live in the sea forever as a mermaid.

When American tourists capture Aycayia, David rescues her and vows to win her trust. Slowly, painfully, she transforms into a woman again. Yet as their love grows, they discover that the world around them is changing - and they cannot escape the curse for ever...

Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. She is the author of six novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award 2020. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021, the Goldsmiths Prize 2020 and the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021, and longlisted for the Orwell Prize, the Ondaatje Prize and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature 2021.

Read by Burt Caesar and Marilyn Nnadebe
Abridged by Sara Davies
Editing and Sound Design by Mair Bosworth
Produced in Bristol by Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio


THU 12:18 You and Yours (m000ytzq)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


THU 12:57 Weather (m000ytzs)
The latest weather forecast


THU 13:00 World at One (m000ytzv)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


THU 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00tt6d9)
The First Global Economy (1450 - 1600 AD)

Kakiemon elephants

The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London is this week exploring the world at the time of European discovery - between 1450 and 1600. Today Neil MacGregor is with a pair of white elephants, the size of small dogs. They come from Japan, are made of fine porcelain and take Neil on a journey that connects Japan to Korea and China and to a growing trade network in Western Europe. How did the great skill of porcelain production spread across the Far East? Why elephants? And how did these objects become so desirable to the European elite? He discovers the specific technique of this porcelain style (and traces it to a Japanese potter called Kakiemon) and follows other examples of this same pottery to an English country house. Miranda Rock describes the Kakiemon collection at Burghley House, the present day Kakiemon potter discusses his work and the Korean porcelain expert Gina Ha-Gorian explains how the detailed technology for porcelain production spread.

Producer: Anthony Denselow


THU 14:00 The Archers (m000ysn8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Angst! (m000ytzx)
Poster Girl

By Alex Straker.

In today's 'zeit', the 'geist' is everywhere - environmental catastrophe, conspiracy theories, populism, fake news, the age of the algorithm, nationalism, racism,social exclusion. Not to mention pandemics.

As the world teeters on the edge of various self-made apocalypses, Angst! takes a satirical sideways look at our own naked fears. Five separate but connected half-hour 'what if?' stories all told under the watchful eye of the enigmatic Timor Greer.

A third-generation Londoner of Caribbean heritage is forced to take part in a virtual reality game in order to win the ultimate prize - British citizenship. Victory lies within her grasp – all she has to do is complete the levels. Simple, right? Unless there’s more to the game than meets the eye.

Cast:
Boudica ….. Jade Anouka
Abe55 ….. Asmara Gabrielle
Shakespeare ….. Jonathan Forbes
Pearl ….. Michelle Greenidge
Salina ….. Sudha Bhuchar
Jeremy …. Joshua Akehurst
Timor Greer ….. Cyril Nri

Other voices are played by the cast

Sound design ….. Adam Woodhams and Steve Bond

Production manager ….. Anna de Wolff Evans
Executive producer ….. Sara Davies
Series creator ….. Martin Jameson

Produced and directed by Nicolas Jackson

An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4


THU 14:45 Woof (m000mb3q)
Honest Mistakes at Home and Abroad

Parakeet Frenzy

In this third series, Chris Neill continues his comedic exploration of affairs of the heart, the unexpected humiliations of ageing, and what bloody good luck it is that he has met his boyfriend, Rory.

In earlier series, episodes revolved around the terrible blind date Chris was set up on; his fantasy French boyfriend inspired by a school textbook; making a fish pie for his dying neighbour; and his failure to write a novel. As ever, Chris remains entirely willing to expose himself to a late-night, possibly bed-bound, audience and this third series of Woof has more autobiographical stories of his life in love, lust and mediocrity.

In programme four: "Have you got a shoebox?” Chris has an unexpected encounter with a wild bird which puts his friend ‘s woeful love life into perspective. If you love something – give it a banana? Stand-up comedy illustrated with sketches featuring Isy Suttie and Martin Hyder.

Written by Chris Neill
Starring: Chris Neill, Isy Suttie and Martin Hyder
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4


THU 15:00 Open Country (m000ytzz)
A Fabric Landscape

Fashion designer and judge of The Great British Sewing Bee, Patrick Grant, has a dream: he wants to create a line of jeans made in Blackburn. It sounds simple, but Patrick wants to go the whole hog - growing the crop to make the fabric in Blackburn, growing the woad to dye it blue in Blackburn and finally processing the flax into linen and sewing it all together...in Blackburn.

In this programme, the writer and broadcaster Ian Marchant travels to a tiny field of flax on the side of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, where Patrick and a group of passionate local people are trying to make this dream a reality, and bring the textile industry back to Blackburn.

But why? Blackburn and the area around it has been shaped by the textile industry for centuries, with the carcasses of old cotton mills littering the landscape. Ian visits Imperial Mill to hear what life was like for workers there in the industry's heyday. He finds out how Patrick and the team have been inspired by the visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Lancashire 90 years ago and learns why cotton made for a complicated relationship between Imperial Britain and India.

Presented by Ian Marchant
Produced by Heather Simons


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m000ysy9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (m000yt9f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m000yv01)
Film programme looking at the latest cinema releases, DVDs and films on TV.


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m000yv03)
A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.


THU 17:00 PM (m000yv05)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000yv09)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Stand-Up Specials (m000rv7y)
Elvis McGonagall: Full Tartan Jacket

Elvis McGonagall performs the pick of a year’s biting and savagely funny satire in a blend of provocative verse and politically savvy stand-up comedy. It's imbued with his customary searing wit, wordplay and anarchic invective.

Pulling no punches, Elvis directs his scurrilous diatribes at the powers-that-be from Westminster to Waitrose, taking aim at the injustices of our septic isle and beyond. Stockpiling and the pickiness of cats, celebrity branding, the nature of truth, some bloke called Trump, the Prime Minister and Mr Benn, Government rules, ecotricity, Samuel Pepys - it’s all there. There’s even a love poem.

Full Tartan Jacket presents the prime cuts from the work of a comic poet at the top of his game – all current and bang on target. Join this World Poetry Slam Champion and Saturday Live alumnus as he bellows into the void in exasperation at the world, from the Gracelands Caravan Park somewhere near Dundee.

Recorded remotely in front of a virtual audience.

Written and performed by Elvis McGonagall
Produced by Frank Stirling
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4


THU 19:00 The Archers (m000yv0c)
Writer, Keri Davies
Director, Dave Payne
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Vince Casey ….. Tony Turner
Ian Craig ….. Stephen Kennedy
Alan Franks ….. John Telfer
Usha Franks ….. Souad Faress
Shula Hebden Lloyd ….. Judy Bennett
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Russ Jones ….. Andonis James Anthony
Adam Macy ….. Andrew Wincott
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter ….. Katie Redford
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd
Roy Tucker ….. Ian Pepperell


THU 19:15 Front Row (m000yv0f)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


THU 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b0739pgr)
Krishna Menon: Sombre Porcupine

Professor Sunil Khinani, from the King's India Institute in London, looks at the life of Krishna Menon, the abrasive Indian diplomat and statesman who invented the concept of non-alignment. He was one of the most reviled figures of the Cold War era. The Americans regarded Menon as a "mischief maker"; the British thought he was in bed with the Soviets while the Soviets thought he was a lackey of the British; and the Chinese resented his attempts to school them in international affairs. The diplomat, who was the voice of India's foreign policy for almost two decades, pursued an agenda which deeply unsettled the superpowers. But, says Professor Khilnani, "Menon's approach helped give India an influential voice at the global diplomatic table, dominated by the big four powers."
Producer: Mark Savage
Music: Talvin Singh


THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m000yv0h)
David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.


THU 20:30 The Spark (m000ynb8)
Ehsan Masood and GDP

Helen Lewis meets people offering radical solutions to the big problems of our times.

Science journalist Ehsan Masood, author of GDP: the World's Most Powerful Formula and Why It Must Now Change. explains what he thinks is wrong with Gross Domestic Product as a measure of a country's economic success. He tells Helen what alternatives are on offer - and how he thinks GDP can and should be radically reformed.

Producer: Phil Tinline


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m000yv03)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


THU 21:30 Citizens of Somewhere (m000ytz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m000yv0k)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


THU 22:45 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000ytzn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


THU 23:00 What's Funny About ... (m000j819)
The Thick Of It

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 Armando Iannucci and Rebecca Front about their biting political satire The Thick Of It. Was Nicola Murray just a nice (if hapless) person, thrust into a nest of political vipers, or was she just as bad as the rest of them? Who came up with the line “about as much use as a marzipan dildo”? And who was Malcolm Tucker really based on? (It’s probably not who you think.)

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 talk about the commissioning, the casting, and the reception the show received when it first aired.

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 The Thick Of It clips written by:

Jesse Armstrong
Sam Bain
Simon Blackwell
Rob Colley
Roger Drew
Dan Gaster
Sean Gray
Armando Iannucci
Georgia Pritchett
David Quantick
Tony Roche
Will Smith

Additional material: The Cast

Producer: Owen Braben

An Expectation production made for BBC Radio 4 Extra


THU 23:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b3d42l)
Series 1

Border Patrol

Malawian Comedian Daliso Chaponda looks at the relationship between the UK and Africa.

The UK and Africa have had a long a complicated past. This series looks at the history of this relationship and Daliso is our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places.

A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not...

In this final episode, Daliso talks about the process of immigration.

Written and performed by Daliso Chaponda
The Other Guy... James Quinn
Theme tune by Lawi
Image by Steve Ullathorne

Production Coordinator, Beverly Tagg
Producer, Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Production.



FRIDAY 20 AUGUST 2021

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m000yv0m)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 00:30 Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (m000yv0p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000yv0r)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000yv0t)
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 (m000yv0w)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m000yv0y)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000yv10)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Father Philip Blackledge of Holy Trinity Scottish Episcopal Church in Melrose


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m000yv12)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04mj5kt)
New Zealand Bellbird

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

Chris Packham presents the New Zealand bellbird. In 1770, during Captain James Cook's first voyage to New Zealand, an extraordinary dawn chorus caught the attention of his crew "like small bells exquisitely tuned": these were New Zealand bellbirds. New Zealand bellbirds are olive green birds with curved black bills and brush-like tongues which they use to probe flowers for nectar. Like other honeyeaters , they play an important role in pollinating flowers and also eat the fruits which result from those pollinations and so help to spread the seeds. The well camouflaged bellbird is more often heard before it is seen. They sing throughout the day, but at their best at dawn or dusk when pairs duet or several birds chorus together. Their song can vary remarkably, and it is possible hear different 'accents' in different parts of New Zealand, even across relatively short distances.

Producer : Andrew Dawes


FRI 06:00 Today (m000yv8w)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 The Reunion (m000yt8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (m000yvbf)
Episode 5

When Will Buckingham's partner died, he coped with his grief by throwing his doors open to new people, and travelling alone to far-flung places among strangers. 'Strangers are unentangled in our worlds and lives,' he writes, 'and this lack can lighten our own burdens.' Starting from that experience of personal grief, he draws on his knowledge as a philosopher and anthropologist, as well as a keen and wide-roaming traveller, to explore the tensions, anxieties, joys and rewards of our relationship with strangers. Taking in stories of loneliness, exile, travel and hospitality from early history, classical Greece and Rome to the present day, he holds out the possibility of an antidote to the fears and isolation of an increasingly fragmented world.

Reader: Mark Jeary-Fairbairn
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000yv90)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.


FRI 11:00 The Digital Human (m0009kyy)
Series 18

Animism

Aleks Krotoski explores our anxieties around AI and automation. Comparing western philosophy to that of the east, she'll ask if some of fears around technology are cultural.

Much of western thinking is still strongly influenced by Christian traditions which places humanity at the top of the tree of creation. We rebel against anything that challenges that. Whether it be Galileo telling us we're not the centre of the universe or Darwin telling us we're nothing more than shaved monkeys. It can be argued that the invention of AI is just that sort of challenge to our supremacy. But in Japan they see things very differently; Shintoism leads to a philosophy without the Christian hierarchy. In their 'creation' everything is alive and connected to everything else. Just like the modern digital world.

What can we learn from looking at technology differently.

Producer: Peter McManus


FRI 11:30 Ellie Taylor's Safe Space (m000yv92)
Series 2

The News

Comedian and actor Ellie Taylor has for a long time thought there was too much news. It's on all the time on a million different channels. Enough is enough! It's not good for our health, and should be banned. But first she's got to convince her studio audience to come round to her way of thinking. With help from her ever-trusty sidekick Robin Morgan (Mock The Week), Ellie talks to members of the public about their own gripes and dislikes, and sits down with political journalist and assistant editor of The Spectator Isabel Hardman to discuss the logic of getting rid of the news entirely.

Written by Ellie Taylor and Robin Morgan.

Produced by Sam Michell for BBC Studios


FRI 12:00 News Summary (m000yvbt)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 12:04 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000yv96)
Episode Ten

In March 1976, near the Caribbean island of Black Conch, a local fisherman - David Baptiste - sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But he attracts a sea-dweller that he never expected - Aycayia, a Taino woman cursed by jealous women hundreds of years ago to live in the sea forever as a mermaid.

When American tourists capture Aycayia, David rescues her and vows to win her trust. Slowly, painfully, she transforms into a woman again. Yet as their love grows, they discover that the world around them is changing - and they cannot escape the curse for ever...

Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. She is the author of six novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award 2020. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021, the Goldsmiths Prize 2020 and the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021, and longlisted for the Orwell Prize, the Ondaatje Prize and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature 2021.

Read by Burt Caesar and Marilyn Nnadebe
Abridged by Sara Davies
Editing and Sound Design by Mair Bosworth
Produced in Bristol by Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio


FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m000yv98)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


FRI 12:57 Weather (m000yv9b)
The latest weather forecast


FRI 13:00 World at One (m000yv9d)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


FRI 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00tt6ms)
The First Global Economy (1450 - 1600 AD)

Pieces of eight

Neil MacGregor's world history as told through things that time has left behind. This week he is exploring the world between 1450 and 1600 - looking at what was happening in South America, Africa and Japan at the time of the great European age of discovery. He has looked at the new ocean going galleons that were being built in Europe at this time and today he describes the money that was being used to fuel the great new trade routes of the period. He is with pieces of eight, little silver coins that by 1600 could have been used in many countries around the world. Neil describes Spain's dominance in South America and their discovery of a silver mountain in Potosi in present day Bolivia. He describes the process by which pieces of eight turned into the first truly global money. The Bolivian former head of a UNESCO project in Potosi describes the conditions for workers there today and the financial historian William Bernstein looks at how these rough silver coins were to shift the entire balance of world commerce.

Producer: Anthony Denselow


FRI 14:00 The Archers (m000yv0c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Angst! (m000yv9h)
Gaia

By Martin Jameson.

In today's 'zeit', the 'geist' is everywhere - environmental catastrophe, conspiracy theories, populism, fake news, the age of the algorithm, nationalism, racism,social exclusion. Not to mention pandemics.

As the world teeters on the edge of various self-made apocalypses, Angst! takes a satirical sideways look at our own naked fears. Five separate but connected half-hour 'what if?' stories all told under the watchful eye of the enigmatic Timor Greer.

What if the planet is, in reality, a single sentient organism, intent on ridding itself of the poisonous human parasites living on its surface? And what if a way is found to communicate with this 'intelligence'? And what if the person put in charge of negotiations is a refugee cleaner from Dafur?

Cast:
Gaia ….. Kerry Shale
Nemat ….. Yusra Warsama
Timor Greer ….. Cyril Nri

Other voices are played by the cast

Sound design ….. Adam Woodhams and Steve Bond

Production manager ….. Anna de Wolff Evans
Executive producer ….. Sara Davies
Series creator ….. Martin Jameson

Produced and directed by Nicolas Jackson

An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 14:45 Chinese Characters (b0b0v539)
Mao Zedong: The Man Who Made Modern China

In the early 1920s, he was just a library assistant at Peking University. Yet by the end of his life, he would rule a fifth of all humanity, turn China into a major power, and destroy the lives of millions in a Cultural Revolution. Mao Zedong was the person, above all others, who made modern China. Yet what shaped him? The romantic novels he read in his youth, the years on the run, reading Marxist theory, or the desire to write the story of the Chinese people on a "blank sheet of paper"? Rana Mitter retraces his early years, including those days studying at the heart of China's "new culture" movement of the interwar era. Mao's embrace of modernity and renewal, but also of violence and anger, would create a new China, but also shape horrific tragedy, leaving a legacy that is still central to China today.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Researcher: Elizabeth Smith Rosser.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000yv9k)
GQT at Home

Kathy Clugston hosts this week's gardening Q&A. Anne Swithinbank, Christine Walkden and Bob Flowerdew answer questions sent in by listeners.

Producer - Daniel Cocker
Assistant Producer - Aniya Das

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 15:45 Short Works (m000yv9m)
This Is Going To Hurt

Lee Ann Metcalf lives in rural Texas, missing her only daughter, struggling to make ends meet, disappointed in her lot. In this brand new story from Elizabeth Wetmore, a surprising night time encounter in her backyard makes Lee Ann think anew about her life.
This Is Going To Hurt by Elizabeth Wetmore is read by Kelly Burke and produced by Nicola Holloway.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (m000yv9p)
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 (m000yv9r)
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations


FRI 17:00 PM (m000yv9t)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000yv9y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 Party's Over (m000yvb0)
Series 1

The Great Outdoors

What happens when the Prime Minister suddenly stops being Prime Minister?

One day you're the most powerful person in the country, the next you're irrelevant, forced into retirement 30 years ahead of schedule and find yourself asking 'What do I do now?'

Miles Jupp stars as Henry Tobin - Britain's shortest serving and least popular post war PM (he managed 8 months).

We join Henry soon after his crushing election loss. He’s determined to not let his disastrous defeat be the end of him. Instead Henry's going to get back to the top - he's just not sure how and in what field.

This week Henry's protection officer, Jones takes him on an ill-advised survival weekend in "the jungle".

Henry Tobin... Miles Jupp
Christine Tobin... Ingrid Oliver
Natalie... Emma Sidi
Jones... Justin Edwards

Written by Paul Doolan and Jon Hunter

Produced by Richard Morris and Simon Nicholls
Production co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow

A BBC Studios Production


FRI 19:00 Front Row (m000yvb2)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


FRI 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b073b5cb)
Subbulakshmi: Opening Rosebuds

Sunil Khilnani explores the life of south Indian singer MS Subbulakshmi.

Subbulakshmi’s singing voice, striking from the start, would ultimately range three octaves. A perfectionist, she had the capacity to range across genres but narrowed over the years to what another connoisseur of her music has called a ‘provokingly small’ repertoire. In time, the ambitions of those who loved and profited from her combined with her gift to take her from the concert stage to film to the All-India Radio to near-official status as an icon of independent India.

But, as Professor Khilnani says, “what was required of Subbulakshmi, in moving from South Indian musical celebrity to national cultural symbol, is deeply uncomfortable when considered through the prism of contemporary feminism.”

Producer: Martin Williams


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m000yvb4)
Diane Abbott MP, Fraser Nelson, Lord Willetts

Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from Haddenham Village Hall with a panel which includes the Labour MP Diane Abbott, the editor of The Spectator Fraser Nelson and the Conservative peer and President of the Advisory Council of the Resolution Foundation Lord Willetts.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Rob Dyball


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m000yvb6)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.


FRI 21:00 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00vpdxw)
First Global Economy (AD 1450 - 1600)

Another chance to hear Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum in London, continue his global history as told through objects from the Museum's collection.

In this episode he focuses on Europe's expanding maritime empire which created the world's first global economy. Spanish pieces of eight were used as currency from the new world of the Americas to Japan. The Dutch East India Company was a multinational conglomeration transporting goods from the Far East to a European market. Different cultures were brought into contract for the first time with varying results. When Spanish explorers arrived in Mexico it led to the destruction of the Aztec Empire. In contrast, the relationship between the Portuguese and the kingdom of Benin was mutually beneficial, with Portuguese sailors providing much-desired brass in exchange for ivory and palm oil.

Producer: Paul Kobrak


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m000yvb9)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


FRI 22:45 The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey (m000yv96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (m000ysvc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 The Disrupters (m000rtg0)
CEO of Netflix: Reed Hastings

Kamal Ahmed and Rohan Silva lift the lid on the realities of starting your own business.

Kamal and Rohan speak to founder and CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings.

Reed discloses the mistakes made in his first business and how he overcame them. They talk about what it took for Netflix to take on a company 100 times their size - and win. Plus why creative industries need to break away from work practices tailored to the industrial era and what that means for Netflix employees: no bonuses, no holiday limits and why being 'on the clock' doesn't apply.

Presenters: Kamal Ahmed and Rohan Silva
Producer: Georgia Catt