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.
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
Good morning.
Recently a photo memory popped up on my tablet screen reminding me that nearly a year ago we acquired a rescue kitten. She, along with a sibling had been found in a garden and handed in to the local vet. Just a few weeks’ old she arrived in our home, and spent the best part of three weeks hiding in the shoe-rack right by the front door. To avoid the potential drama of letters and parcels landing on her head, I placed a cheerful sign on the front door alerting the postman to ‘mind the kitten’ and kindly leave our mail round the side of the house.
I happened to meet him one morning, and he wondered what kind of kitten we had given that his usual animal challenge might be an enthusiastic dog! Sharing our home with a four-legged bundle of energy has been a source of great joy particularly in the long months of lockdown. Our kitten is now a cat, I have continued to marvel at her curiosity when I return home and place my bags in the kitchen, and her immense patience watching birds and squirrels for hours on end.
As this day turns into the next, I recall the narrative of creation in the Biblical book of Genesis. God gave everything its place in creation, and commanded human beings to share in its stewardship. Whilst recreation is an important aspect of our lives, the need for rest is something animals and human beings share. As I go about my tasks today, I will look to my cat for a lesson in how to find rest when needed, and often in the unlikeliest of places.
God of creation, thank you for animals who share our lives. Help me to learn lessons of wisdom from their ways, and to care for all creatures great and small.
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.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
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.
Caz Graham presents a round-up of some of the stories from this year's harvest, including a trip in the combine in the wheat fields of Yorkshire, picking broccoli in Scotland and bringing in crops in the Cotswold fields. Plus Anna Hill has an encounter with something called 'The Beast' in Norfolk, and young farmer Bronagh Dempster says that a work-based agricultural training scheme is kick-starting her career.
Actress and author Celia Imrie joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to discuss her debut non-fiction novel, set against the backdrop of the sinking of the Titanic. Celia explains her family connections to the legendary ship and talks about her love of travel and career highlights.
Listener Nick Wharton got in touch about his adventures in climbing, and being reunited with his estranged father.
Tom Chapman is an award-winning barber who experienced a personal tragedy that led him to create The Lions Barber Collective, a charity which aims to support mental health by offering a safe space for people to talk. Tom's also just written his debut children’s book.
Singer Frankie Bridge shares her Inheritance Tracks: I Heard it Through the Grapevine sung by Marvin Gaye and Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin.
Restaurant critic, MasterChef guest judge and writer Grace Dent talks about the comfort food that she enjoys when not working, and how it’s inspired her new podcast. Grace also reflects on realising her childhood ambitions and her love of the Lake District.
Orphans of the Storm by Celia Imrie is out now.
How Hard Can It Be by Nick Wharton is out now.
The Mighty Lions & the Big Match by Tom Chapman is out now.
GROW: Motherhood, mental health & me by Frankie Bridge is out now.
Jay Rayner hosts the culinary panel show. Sophie Wright, Tim Anderson, Asma Khan and Dr Annie Gray share delectable ideas and answer questions from the audience.
This week, the panellists tell us their favourite recipes for that classic savoury nibble, the cheese straw. They also delve into the world of fresh peas and, when it comes to cooking with this small green vegetable, our panellists are not quite peas in a pod!
Nigerian food writer Yemisi Aribisala explains the significance of soup in Nigerian cuisine, and tells us what goes into the perfect jollof rice.
‘The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely,’ said President Joe Biden six weeks ago. This prediction has not aged well.
One harrowing scene this week saw some Afghans trying to escape their new reality by clinging to the wheels of a US Air Force plane as it took off from Kabul airport. Some of them fell to their deaths.
Amidst growing international condemnation of the United States, President Biden has remained unrepentant about the end of the US mission in Afghanistan, arguing it was never about nation building or creating a unified democracy. It was about preventing a terrorist attack on American homeland.
But what impact will events in Afghanistan this week have on the President's future foreign policy decisions?
Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, Director of the US & Americas programme at Chatham House
Prof Michael Clarke, former Director General of RUSI and Professor of Defence Studies at King's College London
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world
In a new four-part series Felicity Hannah meets families, businesses & local councils whose lives and fortunes have been changed completely by the pandemic.
This week, she meets the leaders of three local councils – Wirral, Lancashire and Newcastle - to find out what Covid has done to their budgets and how that will hit their communities. We hear how some councils saved money because families were too scared to send elderly relatives into care homes, while most faced huge extra costs and have struggled to recoup income lost through local lockdowns. How will they cope as they face a £3 billion funding gap over the next few years?
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
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from Haddenham Village Hall with the Labour MP Diane Abbott, the Conservative MP and Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, the editor of The Spectator Fraser Nelson and the SNP Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson at Westminster Tommy Sheppard MP.
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.
Britain and America aren’t just divided by a common language, but also by manners. In 1883, Walter R. Houghton published American Etiquette and Rules of Politeness, defining the way modern America behaves.
Passionate story of love, betrayal and possession by Henry James, dramatised by Linda Marshall Griffiths.
Lesley Manville, Afghanistan, Menopause and dental health, Conceived by rape, Ruby Wax, Pens
The actor Lesley Manville on her mission to change the way the world sees older women - not least in her latest TV performance in Channel 4's I am series. Lesley plays Maria, who at 60 and after 30-odd years of marriage, is finding it suffocating and decides she wants more from life.
The BBC journalist Zarghuna Kargar who used to present Afghan Woman's Hour found herself translating a Taliban press conference. It was her voice telling us what a Taliban spokesman said about women.
How menopause affects your dental health. We hear from Louise Newsom, NHS Advisor for the National Menopause Programme and Dr Uchenna Okoye, Clinical Director of London Smiling Dental Group.
'When Ruby Wax Met…' features some of her most memorable interviews. Ruby tells us about a particularly memorable encounter with a future US President- a Mr Donald Trump and when she fell in love with Carrie Fisher.
The woman who took her birth father to court for raping her birth mother in the 70s. It is thought to be the first of its kind.
And the people who love their pens - they even watch others using them. We hear from stationery enthusiast Rhiannon Morgan, who runs mummy of four YouTube channel and Jenna Meyers, a TikToker and hand-letterer who creates content about her favourite pens and handwriting.
Do business gurus really hold the secret to success? Peter Drucker, Michael Porter and Gary Hamel are some of those who've found fame and influence via best-selling business books. But can following their lead transform a company - or are they really just selling themselves? Evan Davis and guests assess the pros and cons of buying from the ideas merchants.
Lynda Gratton, professor of management practice, London Business School, CEO The Hot Spots Movement
Val McDermid, Eddi Reader, Sir Geoff Palmer, Mele Broomes, Nova, Kitti, Michelle McManus, Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson and Michelle McManus are joined by Val McDermid, Eddi Reader, Sir Geoff Palmer and Mele Broomes for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Nova and Kitti.
By the end of July this year, more than 80 million vaccinations had been administered in the UK.
Mark Coles takes a look at the talented and determined scientist leading the Oxford University vaccine team, Professor Sarah Gilbert.
Sabrina Verjee works as a vet in The Lake District., but she is also a champion fell runner. She has recently has broken the Wainwrights record, successfully completing all of Cumbria’s 214 peaks, a 325 mile route in 5 days 23 hours 49 minutes. The feat involves 36,000m of ascent - equivalent to climbing Everest four times and includes includes Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak.
In summer 2010 Simon Armitage decided to walk the Pennine Way. The challenging 256-mile route is usually approached from south to north, from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm, the other side of the Scottish border. He resolved to tackle it the other way round. Crossing the beautiful and bleak terrain, across lonely fells and into the howling wind, he was described at the time as the Eeyore of the walking world. Sabrina holds the record for the fastest female completion of the Pennine Way, so there's plenty of stories to share and anecdotes to tell.
Steve Punt explores the eternal appeal of a good mystery, drawing on 10 years of experience as Radio 4's resident gumshoe, Punt PI.
Steve's joined by Jon Ronson and Ian Rankin to dissect the components of a compelling mystery. From the case of the handsome lieutenant poisoned by a partridge in the 1930s, to hundreds of children collapsing in a field one summer in 1980, Steve Punt's alter ego has spent the last 10 years travelling the country investigating bizarre cases, crimes and riddles for the Radio 4 series Punt PI. But what is it about an unsolved murder or an unexplained phenomenon that always fascinates us? And what elements does a mystery need to hold our attention?
Historian Fern Riddell, criminologist Elizabeth Yardley and former detective Mark Williams-Thomas also help Steve with his enquiries.
Manel (Aiysha Hart) and Heaven (Tanya Ravljen) have escaped the city and go to the swamps in search of Manel's enslaved father, General Qulan (Christopher Fulford). Back in Tumanbay, there's someone new in charge and the puppet Sultan Madu (Danny Ashok) has a secret rendezvous with his old love, Daniel (Gareth Kennerley).
Tumanbay is created by John Dryden and Mike Walker and inspired by the Mamluk slave rulers of Egypt.
Rebecca Root reads the next in Daisy Johnson's deliciously spine-tingling stories, set in a remote hotel on the Fens.
Today: a woman visits The Hotel in search of answers from her mother - who died a year before...
Reader: Rebecca Root is an actress, voice coach and transgender campaigner. She was rated 18th in The Independent on Sunday's Rainbow List 2014, which named her as one of the very few openly trans actresses in mainstream television.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SUNDAY 22 AUGUST 2021
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m000yzt8)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Green Originals (m000d7nv)
James Lovelock
James Lovelock’s Gaia Theory, first put forward in the mid 1970s, was a ground-breaking hypothesis of how the earth works and one of the most influential ideas on 20th century environmentalism.
It proposed that the earth is one self-regulating system in which everything on the planet, living and non-living, interacts with each other to maintain the right conditions for life to exist. It’s quasi-spiritual sentiment captured the imagination of the New-Agers of the 1980s, sci-fi writers and philosophers, as well as a growing global environmental movement.
Lovelock’s idea has been a source of controversy within the scientific community. But many of his ideas about the impact of life, and humans in particular, on the environment have made their way into the scientific status quo.
Having recently celebrated his 100th birthday, the humble Lovelock continues to inspire. Environmental activist and filmmaker Jack Harries looks back on the career of this rare breed freelance scientist, and traces Gaia’s legacy across science and culture.
“As we discover more about humanities role in tipping the fragile balance of life on earth,” he says, “Lovelock’s Gaia theory becomes incredibly compelling.”
Producer: Emma Barnaby
Series Editor: David Prest
A Whistledown Production in association with The Open University.
SUN 00:30 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.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000yztb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000yztd)
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 (m000yztg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m000yztj)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m000yywx)
St Francis Xavier's Cathedral in Adelaide, Australia
Bells on Sunday comes from St Francis Xavier's Cathedral in Adelaide, Australia. Founded in 1856, The Roman Catholic Cathedral lies in the heart of the city in Victoria Square. The church's bell tower was completed in 1966 and contains a peal of twelve bells made up of bells from the Mears and Stainbank and the Whitechapel Foundries with the tenor bell weighing twenty-eight-and-a-half hundredweight in the key of D flat. We hear them ringing 'Cambridge Surprise Maximus'.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m000pvdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m000yysw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0bf4bz1)
Marriage
Rabbi Harvey Belovski discovers the tension between togetherness and personal space at the heart of every marriage and reveals the dance between these two polarities.
Having been married to his wife for twenty eight years, and now with seven children, Harvey looks back at the ups and downs of his own relationship and is slightly uncomfortable that it has taken him so long to work out the simple truth that a relationship is strengthened and nurtured by the differences between a couple - and that partnership comes from opposition.
Harvey also realises that in order to love one's partner as they are, rather than as we'd like them to be, we need to have a clear sense of who we are ourselves. He concludes, "I'm evolving towards a position in which a secure relationship allows and encourages considerable space for individual growth. This is not purely to avoid smothering one's partner, but to nurture a healthy and mature relationship." His journey of discovery is illustrated with readings from Alain de Botton, Khalil Gibran and Eric Fromm, along with the music of Billy Joel, Liszt and Brahms.
Presenter: Harvey Belovski
Producer: Michael Wakelin
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m000yysy)
English Wine
Charlotte Ashton cycles to Tinwood Farm near Chichester, to explore Sussex’s burgeoning wine industry. Art and Jodie Tukker show her around their vineyard and tasting room, which have been busier than ever since the end of lockdown. She finds out what made them decide to make the transition from growing lettuces to planting vines.
English sparkling wine is winning major international awards and the industry is booming, with an ever-increasing number of vines being planted across the country. Many farms, like this one, also market themselves to visitors as a leisure destination for wine enthusiasts. Charlotte finds out about the challenges and opportunities of combining agriculture with tourism.
Produced and presented by Charlotte Ashton.
SUN 06:57 Weather (m000yyt0)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m000yyt2)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m000yyt4)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m000yyt6)
Find Your Feet
Journalist and broadcaster Jon Snow makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Find Your Feet.
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 ‘Find Your Feet’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Find Your Feet’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 250456
SUN 07:57 Weather (m000yyt8)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m000yytb)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m000yytd)
Church Adventures
Jay Hulme is a poet, church explorer and assistant church warden at one of the oldest churches in the country, St Nicholas' in Leicester.
He leads an act of worship as a tour of the church which was built in 879CE, the walls tell the story of the faith that has been expressed within the building for over a thousand years. Today, St Nicolas opens its arms to a diverse congregation. The altar, the nave, the pews are decked in rainbow flags as members of Leicester's LGTBQ+ community find a space of welcome and worship.
Alongside the Revd Canon Karen Rooms and members of the church community, Jay explores ideas of inclusion, belief and belonging, discussing the uncomfortable place where the spiritual and the physical meet and addressing the complex challenges faced by those who follow the faith.
Producer: Andrew Earis
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m000yvb6)
The Rhetoric of the Climate Crisis
Rebecca Stott responds to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
And she reflects on how our ancestors dealt with dramatic weather events - and the gods they believed were responsible.
"Our ancestors would have sacrificed everything they owned to appease those gods.....they would have prayed together, sacrificed together".
"But what," she wonders, "will we in the west sacrifice to save our species? Our cars? Our meat-eating? Our air-conditioning? Our foreign holidays?"
Producer: Adele Armstrong
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b09k0p9b)
Doug Allan on the Emperor Penguin
Wildlife cameraman Doug Allan recalls hearing a Emperor Penguin chick for the first time.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
Photograph: Christopher Michel.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m000yytg)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m000yytj)
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
SUN 11:00 The Reunion (m000yytl)
Tiananmen Square Protests
Kirsty Wark reunites eyewitnesses to the June 4 1989 military crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by students and residents in Beijing.
Hundreds of people were killed and many more wounded when People’s Liberation Army units rolled into Tiananmen Square, ending more than seven weeks of peaceful protests seeking political reform.
The cataclysmic chain of events began with the death of Hu Yaobang. The former general secretary of the Communist Party was a reformist and his liberal views were despised by party hardliners. Thousands of students occupied Tiananmen Square which was soon covered with a jumble of flags and banners calling for democracy. They staged sit-ins and went on hunger strikes demanding dialogue with political leaders. Art students rolled a replica of New York’s Statue of Liberty, about 10 metres tall, onto the square.
The weeks of demonstrations left the Chinese Communist Party dangerously divided. A night and a day of bloodshed, as the army opened fire in central Beijing, left the party’s reputation in tatters. The arrests and recriminations continued for more than a year.
James Miles was the BBC’s Beijing correspondent reporting from the streets; author Diane Wei Ling climbed onto the tanks to try and negotiate with the soldiers. Student leader Zhou Fenghsou was arrested and spent a year in prison. Wuer Kaixi, number two on the most wanted list, made a dramatic escape to the west with the help of Jean-Pierre Montagne, the French deputy consulate in Hong-Kong who was part of a secret underground railway which helped 130 dissidents avoid capture by the Chinese government in the months following June 4.
Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Emily Williams
Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 11:45 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.
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m000z04j)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:04 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
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m000yytt)
The Story of the Digestive: From grain to biscuit.
Dan Saladino tells the story of one of Britain's oldest and most popular biscuits, the digestive. He follows the story from a farmers wheat field to a food factory in London.
Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
SUN 12:57 Weather (m000yyty)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m000yyv2)
Simon Jack looks at the week’s big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 The Listening Project (m000yyv6)
Taking Cover
Fi Glover presents three conversations between strangers, friends and relatives.
This week strangers Gill and Karen talk through the pros and cons of wearing make-up; Graham and Alan share their experiences of living with dyslexia; and Marisa and Ben reflect on what it was like to be a university student during the pandemic.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moments of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in this decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Mohini Patel
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000yv9k)
GQT at Home: Parakeet Trees and Dinner Plate Leaves
Kathy Clugston hosts this week's gardening Q&A. Anne Swithinbank, Christine Walkden and Bob Flowerdew answer questions sent in by listeners.
This week, the panellists get inventive with solutions to a parakeet problem... rubber snake, anyone? They also share some great plant ideas for a Scottish sunroom, and look back on the best retro houseplants.
Away from the panel, Matthew and Jane Wilson share the progress of their cut flower garden, and Advolly Richmond tells us the history of Alstroemeria, aka the Peruvian Lily.
Producer - Daniel Cocker
Assistant Producer - Aniya Das
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Green Originals (m000d7nv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
00:15 today]
SUN 15:00 The Master Builder (m000yyv9)
The Master Builder. Episode 2
The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen. Adapted by David Hare. Based on a literal translation by Torkil Heggstad.
Episode 2.
The Master Builder Halvard Solness is infatuated with the new arrival at his house - the mysterious Hilde Wangel. He feels she is a breath of fresh air in his arid emotional life. He has told her everything about the guilt and pain in his marriage. And Hilde flatters and rebuilds his ego. She is back to claim the promise Solness made to her ten years previously when she was thirteen. The concluding part of Henrik Ibsen's searing tale of middle aged hubris, with mystical undertones and resonances for the #MeToo movement.
Solness...........................David Schofield
Aline...............................Siobhan Redmond
Hilde..............................Laura Aikman
Kaja................................Shannon Hayes
Dr Herdal.....................Jonathan Tafler
Ragnar..........................Joseph Ayre
Director/Producer Gary Brown
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m000yyvf)
David Grossman, Richard Beard, The Sea Library
Johny Pitts talks to the International Booker winning writer David Grossman about his latest novel, More Than I Love My Life. The story of three generations of women shaped by the echoes of love and war, and explores themes of intergenerational trauma, imperfect love, and how to heal broken relationships. It’s a journey from Israel to Croatia in search of a truth lurking in one family’s shadows.
The final part of Richard Beard's series of essays on the look of a book. He's been exploring the visual clues which give readers a sense of what kind of a book it is going to be, even before they start to read. This week he’s basking in the experimental exploring books that confuse and defy expectation.
And we head to a small coastal town in Latvia to find out about The Sea Library. Founder Anna Iltnere tells us how her tiny personal project has grown into an online and physical haven for book - and sea - lovers from across the world.
Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Kirsten Locke
Book List – Sunday 22 August and Thursday 26 August
More Than I Love My Life by David Grossman
A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman
The Book of Intimate Grammar by David Grossman
Someone to Run With by David Grossman
To the End of the Land by David Grossman
Banjo by Claude McKay
Romance in Marseille by Claude McKay
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
Little Scratch by Rebecca Watson
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
No one is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
Sad Little Men by Richard Beard
On Poetry by Ted Hughes
Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flyn
Image copyright: Kobi Kalmanovitz
SUN 16:30 Power Lines (m000yyvk)
Series 3
Power Lines: Coast
From a windswept Brighton beach, the poet Cecilia Knapp asks how growing up by the sea has influenced her writing, pulling her back to the shoreline.
Exploring the very different coastal worlds of Shetland, St Ives, Liverpool, Dunbar and Brighton, Cecilia and her fellow poets discuss the beauty and boredom of a coastal upbringing and the things that inspire them, from teenage beach parties and the cold of the Atlantic, to dead jellyfish, phosphorescence and the vibrancy of port cities.
Poets:
Ella Frears
Ciarán Hodgers
Hannah Lavery
Roseanne Watt
A Bellow Stories production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 17:00 Genetics and the longer arm of the law (m000ysvq)
It is almost 40 years since Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys discovered genetic fingerprints in his University of Leicester laboratory. Now DNA is an integral part of criminal investigations worldwide, providing vital evidence to secure convictions and exonerate the innocent.
But the extraordinary breakthroughs in genetic science since then means a suite of new DNA tools is now available to police and law enforcement, as well as private citizens doing a spot of freelance crime fighting. How are these novel uses of forensic genetics overseen? And is there a risk of over-reach, the science running ahead of an ethical and regulatory framework?
Turi King led the genetic identification of Richard III after his body was dug up in a Leicester City carpark. She's also a Professor of Genetics at the University of Leicester (Sir Alec was her mentor) and in this programme she explores the history of forensic DNA and the unanticipated role of family tree hobbyists and recreational genealogy databases in crime fighting.
It was the recent Golden State killer case in the US where a serial murderer was eventually captured with the help of DNA, that thrust into the spotlight the use of private genealogy databases by law enforcement. Until this case hit the headlines the millions of family tree enthusiasts who had uploaded their DNA profiles in order 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.
Turi meets one of the first private DNA detectives from the US, Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick, who coined the phrase "forensic genealogy". Colleen uses her skills as a genealogist (originally this was her hobby; she trained as a rocket scientist) to help police solve scores of cold cases. She tells Turi that the DNA genie is out of the bottle, 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, international freelance crime fighters, who, inspired by the Golden State killer case, are using DNA to track down abusive men.
Lawyer and former army officer, Andrew MacLeod, spent years working in war zones and on disaster relief and humanitarian emergencies. Frustrated by what he saw as an institutional failure to stop the rape and abuse of women and girls by aid workers, peacekeeping soldiers and sex tourists, he decided to take direct action through a charity, Hear Their Cries.
Their strategy is to match the DNA of children born from these abusive relationships, with relatives on the major genealogy databases ("we're doing family reunions" he tells Turi). Then, using classic genealogy skills, they can build the children's family tree and track down their fathers, wherever they might be in the world.
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 tells Turi, is to send the message that with the help of DNA to identify them, there will be no escape for abusive men. If they have committed a crime, they will eventually be tracked down and made to pay.
Also in the programme: 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; Dr Connie Bormans, Laboratory Director for Family Tree DNA, commercial genetic testing company in Houston, Texas; Manfred Kayser, Professor of Forensic Molecular Biology and Head of the Department of Genetic Identification, Erasmus University, the Netherlands and David Baker, former Chief Superintendent Leicestershire Police, led the double murder hunt for the killer of teenagers Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in the 1980s.
Producer: Fiona Hill
SUN 17:40 Profile (m000pvdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000yyvr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 17:57 Weather (m000yyvw)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000yyw0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m000yyw3)
John Waite
Puzzles and riddles on this week’s programme. How do you get a straight answer out of a politician even when you’re married to them. The bitter feud in English folk music over the” ownership” of a mega-hit. And the man who came home to find his house had “vanished”...
Presenter: John Waite
Producer: Ruth Thomson
Production support: Ellen Orchard
Studio Manager: John Benton
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m000yyw7)
It's a big day for Vince and Elizabeth makes a friend
SUN 19:15 Michael Frayn's Magic Mobile (m000j94k)
Episode 2
A second folder of entertaining files from genius comic writer Michael Frayn. A stellar cast includes Joanna Lumley, David Suchet, Susannah Fielding, George Blagden, Jared Harris, Lisa Dillon, Martin Jarvis.
Does your heart sink when asked to ‘listen to the following three options’? Enjoy racy promos of the newest versions of a Jane Austen classic! A filmed documentary dares to ask ‘What is Truth?' Why do we get so enraged with the latest technology? And gorgeous young tv personality Melinda Twinkling presents a reminder of old-school viewing.
CAST:
Joanna Lumley, David Suchet, Susannah Fielding, George Blagden, Jared Harris, Lisa Dillon, Roger Allam, Nigel Anthony, Anna-Louise Plowman, Moira Quirk, Matthew Wolf, Martin Jarvis
Writer: Michael Frayn
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Making Amends (m000yzvp)
Jo
Five wry stories on the nature of and need for apology, by Nick Walker, the writer of Annika Stranded.
Making Amends is a therapeutic process that encourages people to recognise behaviour in their past which, because of addiction problems, goes against their values and standards. But the need to make amends and apologise for lapses of behaviour is not just confined to the addicted.
1/5. Jo
Until last week, Jo had been drinking heavily for 30 years. She sets off to find and apologise to Kieran, her ex-boyfriend from her student days.
Nick Walker is the writer of Annika Stranded, which ran for six seasons on BBC Radio 4 between 2013 and 2020. Annika - a TV version - will be broadcast in 2021. He has also written two critically-acclaimed novels , Blackbox and Helloland. His plays and other short stories for radio include The First King of Mars, Life Coach and Stormchasers.
Writer: Nick Walker
Reader: Hermione Norris
Sound Design: Jon Calver
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m000yv9r)
It would appear that leaders of western governments have been caught napping by the speed of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, but was the BBC also taken by surprise? Jamie Angus, Senior Controller, BBC News Output and Commissioning, answers listeners’ questions on the coverage of events.
Also, Matthew Syed talks about his Radio 4 series Sideways, which eschews conventional thinking.
And two listeners try out the dazzling - or is it daunting - world of podcasts.
Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Alun Beach
Executive Producer: Samir Shah
A Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m000yv9p)
Una Stubbs (pictured), Gino Strada, Mo Hayder
Matthew Bannister on
Una Stubbs, the actor who first came to fame in the 1960s TV sitcom 'Till Death Us Do Part', then attracted a new generation of fans as Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge. She was also an acclaimed stage performer and ended her career as Mrs Hudson in the Sherlock TV series.
Gino Strada, the Italian surgeon who set up the charity Emergency to provide state of the art hospital facilities in some of the world’s poorest countries, including Afghanistan. The photographer Giles Duley pays tribute.
Mo Hayder, the best-selling crime writer known for describing the grisly details of violence, who in a previous life was a glamour model and TV actor.
Producer: Laura Northedge
Interviewed guest: Christian Henson
Interviewed guest: David Benedict
Interviewed guest: Giles Duley
Interviewed guest: Alice Jolly
Interviewed guest: Selina Walker
Archive clips used: Yorkshire Films Archive, Dairy Box advert 1958; Ivy Films, Summer Holiday 1963; Southern Television, Worzel Gummidge 1979; Freemantle/Thames TV, 5's Company 1997; Hartswood Films, Sherlock 2014; The Graduate Institute Geneva, Gino Strada wins Right Livelihood Award 09/12/2015; Right Livelihood Awards, Gino Strada acceptance speech 04/12/2015; Dreamscape Media/ISIS Productions, Birdman audiobook.
SUN 21:00 The Hangover (m000yywf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m000yyt6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m000yywk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m000yywp)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m000yv01)
Jude Law, Ayten Amin and Mark Jenkin
Jude Law talks about his latest release The Nest, a suspenseful family drama set in Surrey in the 1980s, what he really likes about making movies and what acting in Contagion taught him about pandemics.
Egyptian director Ayten Amin describes working with non-professional actors in her feature film Souad about young girls and their relation with social media.
Mark Jenkin's filmmaking audio diary continues with his experiences shooting smoking chimneys and mantlepieces.
Presenter: Antonia Quirke
Producer: Harry Parker
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b0bf4bz1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 23 AUGUST 2021
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m000yywt)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 The Everywoman (m000h8gq)
Episode 1
Our literary and dramatic tradition is built on narrative traditions like the hero's journey, a quest often undertaken by an 'everyman' character. He's relatable, normal, even if he's put into unusual circumstances. But he's always a man. What happens when we assume the male story is the only one that matters?
Sarah Hall has been writing novels and short stories for 20 years, and her experiences have left her questioning whether a female character could stand in for the human universal. In these programmes she's going in search of the literary Everywoman.
Along the way Sarah traces the roots of the concept with Dinah Birch, and asks what the publishing industry can do to help us read a wide range of characters, speaking to publisher Ellah Wakatama. She shares her experiences of being both a reader and a writer with novelists Monique Roffey, Eimear McBride and Bernardine Evaristo, and asks Andrew Miller why men shouldn't be scared of writing female protagonists. We also hear from Bryony Kimmings on the theatre world, drop into the Book Hive Bookshop in Norwich and hear from Katherine Rundell on what's important to her when creating female characters for children's books.
Presenter: Sarah Hall
Producer: Jessica Treen
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m000yywx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000yywz)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000yyx1)
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 (m000yyx3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m000yyx5)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000yyx7)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley
Good morning.
I’ve enjoyed listening to some of the prom concerts over the past few weeks, and it’s been wonderful to see many celebrations of creativity and musicianship return after so many months of silence.
Many years ago, I used to play in the percussion section of a number of youth orchestras. I’m not sure why I decided to learn percussion at school, but perhaps for a shy teenager, picking up cymbals and crashing them together at precisely the right moment was just what I needed to boost my confidence. One of my most memorable percussion experiences was playing solo gong during a symphony. It’s harder than it looks. I had to warm-up the gong, so that when I hit it with the mallet it made the correct amount of noise.
The part included musical bars of absolute silence, which required me to spread almost the entirety of my body across the gong to dampen its low ringing tone. It felt like all the eyes of the audience were on me at the far left-hand corner of the orchestra trying to maintain concentration and dignity in equal amounts as I performed these few bars of solo music.
Playing in orchestras and bands certainly taught me the importance of collaboration, timing and paying close attention to the conductor. In an orchestra each person’s musical contribution matters, and in order to make things work well each musician must listen to the other. Amidst all that competes for my attention today, I will remember to listen as well as to speak.
God of harmony, thank you for composers and musicians. Help us to tune-in to one another this day and play our part in the symphony of life.
Amen.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m000yyx9)
23/08/21 - Making money from native breeds, Queen of the Herdwicks, Gleaning
One of the reasons some native breeds of livestock have become endangered is because of a perception farmers can’t make a profit by keeping them. But the Rare Breeds Survival Trust says rare and native breeds can hold their own in the market place and there are “exciting opportunities” for future growth. They’ve been examining commercial trends in rare breeds by speaking to 250 farmers who keep them.
She's known as the "Queen of the Herdwicks" and has been compared to Beatrix Potter for championing the distinctive, hardy Lake District sheep. We kick off a week-long series in which we ask five different people to tell the story of their farming life, with a trip to Ullswater to meet Jean Wilson. Still farming at 79, she's got a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.
Surplus crops on some Cornish farms are being picked and delivered to local food charities, rather than being left to rot in the fields. The centuries-old tradition of "gleaning" is being given a 21st century revamp and co-ordinated via Facebook.
Presented by Caz Graham
Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
MON 05:56 Weather (m000yyxc)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (m0002g3m)
Dominic Couzens on the Moorhen
Natural history writer, speaker and tour leader Dominic Couzens is in the chair this week for Tweet of the Day. Taking a break from his worldwide travels, Dominic recounts why the moorhen is a comical bird which can hold a few surprises that's no laughing matter.
You can hear more from Dominic in his Tweet of the Week omnibus available on the Radio 4 website or via BBC Sounds.
Producer Andrew Dawes
MON 06:00 Today (m000z018)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 How to Play (m000z01b)
Schubert's Trout Quintet with Chineke! Chamber Ensemble
We eavesdrop on rehearsals at The Warehouse Waterloo, as Chineke! Chamber Ensemble invites us into the world of Schubert's iconic Trout Quintet.
As they prepare for an upcoming series of concerts together, we get the insider's perspective on how this music works, the process of bringing it to life on stage, and why it's such a players' favourite. Along with the pianist Tom Poster, the quintet share thoughts and stories about playing this piece, and the joys and challenges of being a chamber musician.
Chineke! Chamber Ensemble:
Zara Benyounes, violin
Stephen Upshaw, viola
Ashok Klouda, cello
Stewart Goodyear, piano
Chi-chi Nwanoku, double bass
With additional recordings from the Alban Berg Quartet.
Photo credit: Matt Jolly (c) Britten Pears Arts
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Wales
MON 09:30 The Age of Denial (m00035v4)
The Threat of Progress
Would you get in a driverless car? Isabel Hardman explores our troubled faith in science and asks why we are so quick to question data and evidence, even when they seem clear. And are we ready for an era that will see the rise of artificial intelligence, among other technological advancements?
Producer: Chris Ledgard
MON 09:45 They by Sarfraz Manzoor (m000z01d)
Ep 1 - They... don't want to live among us.
Sarfraz Manzoor's new book is a personal exploration of a divided Britain, and his hopes for bridging the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims. Today, he looks at the issue of segregation in towns across the UK.
Sarfraz Manzoor grew up in the 70s and 80s in a working-class Pakistani Muslim family in Luton. Here he was raised to believe that they were different, they had an alien culture and they would never accept him. They were white people. Now, in present day Britain, Manzoor finds that there has been a shift. They have a different culture and societal values still, but now they are Muslims.
Manzoor has travelled around Britain seeking out the the origins of these divisions, and by interweaving journalism, and his own personal story, he has formed a deeper understanding of the mutual mistrust that lies between Muslims and non-Muslims. In this personal and honest account, he also finds reason to hope for a future where they are us.
Sarfraz Manzoor is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is best know for his first book, 'Greetings From Bury Park' which was adapted for the cinema, and released under the name, 'Blinded by the Light'.
Written and read by Sarfraz Manzoor
Abridged by Sarah Shaffi
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000z01g)
Listener Week: Food and climate change, Stealthing, Women and trades, Dumping a friend
What are the best food choices to make for the environment? And can going vegetarian or vegan really help with the issue of climate change? That's what Woman's Hour listener Judith wants to know. Sarah Bridle, physics professor at Manchester University and author of Food and Climate Change Without the Hot Air joins Emma to crunch the numbers and give some practical advice on ways to make our diets less harmful for the planet.
In the past few months, a number of women have spoken out about stealthing -a form of sexual violence that involves non-consensual condom removal. One listener wants to know if there is a male equivalent, and if not, how the gender of a victim impacts the way society views rape. Emma is joined by the barrister Harriet Johnson and Dr Siobhan Weare, Senior Lecturer at the Lancaster University Law School who has researched criminal justice and male survivors of sexual violence.
A recent survey revealed that tradespeople are £35,000 better off than university graduates. But only 14.5% of the construction workforce as a whole is female, and that drops to just 2% when it comes to skilled manual trades, according to CITB figures. Barbara Marshfield has been a painter and decorator for 25 years, and got in touch. She joins Emma to discuss, along with Steph Leese who has her own successful business, and Fiona Sharp, Social Value Director for Procure Plus.
The breakdown of romantic relationships can have a significant impact on us - but so too can the breakdown of friendships, sometimes being even more painful. Listener Melanie joins us to discuss her experience of losing a friendship, as does journalist and writer, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and relationship expert and author, Liz Pryor.
Presented by Emma Barnett
Produced by Frankie Tobi
MON 11:00 My Name Is... (m000z01j)
My Name Is Philip
Philip Price has become increasingly worried about where he will live when he and his wife retire in the next few years.
After raising three children and working their entire lives, Philip and his wife have not been able to save money for their retirement. The toll on Philip’s body working as a septic tank driver has been terrible, and he can’t continue past retirement age in such a labour intensive job. The couple have come to the drastic decision to move into a converted campervan as they will no longer be able to afford their rent on a state pension.
Philip wants to know why he has to make the move into a van and what support is in place for retirees like him. Shouldn't retirement be about relaxing and not worrying about housing security?
He’s determined to find out how he can have a good retirement and what help is out there for others in his situation.
Producer: Emily Finch
Assistant Producer: Jill Achineku
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
MON 11:30 Loose Ends (m000yzt2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
MON 12:00 News Summary (m000z01m)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z01p)
Episode 1
1/10. Set in the Scottish Highlands, James Robertson’s latest novel reveals the secrets, both comic and tragic, of two incomers to the rural idyll of an Angus glen. In 1809, the antiquarian Charles Gibb arrives to study an ancient book held in the library of Glen Conach house. But Gibb’s own journal tells a different story. It reveals he’s more interested in a roof over his head than he is in books. In the present day, the artist Maja lives a solitary life in the glen - but she is visited by a boy who claims he sees a ghost. Characters separated by the centuries are united in their fascination for a place where time often
seems to stand still.
Read by Phyllis Logan
Abridged by the author
Producer: Bruce Young
MON 12:18 You and Yours (m000z01r)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m000z01t)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m000z01w)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
MON 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z01y)
Hot Shower, Cool Planet
Why use gas or electricity to heat your water when the power of the sun will do it for free? Faisal Ghani, a young Bangladeshi-Australian engineer, has invented a deceptively simple glass pyramid that takes cold water in at the bottom and supplies hot water from the top. He believes it can bring cheap, hot water to every home around the Equator. In the first of a new series packed with carbon-busting ideas Tom Heap visits Faisal at his Dundee production line to hear about his plans to bring hot showers to the world. Climate scientist, Dr Tamsin Edwards of King's College, London, helps Tom calculate just how much carbon hot water from the sun can save.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Dr Nazmi Sellami of Robert Gordon University, Professor Chris Sansom of Cranfield University and Professor Henning Sirringhaus from the University of Cambridge.
MON 14:00 The Archers (m000yyw7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (m000z020)
Leni Goes to Hollywood
Colin Shindler’s new drama about German filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl. Leni’s star is riding high in Europe following the success of her film, Olympia, and she turns her attention to conquering Hollywood.
Leni Riefenstahl ….. Elinor Coleman
Marlene Dietrich ….. Gwendoline Christie
Ernst Jaeger ….. Shaun Mason
Goebbels/Walt Disney ….. Simon Ludders
Walter Winchell/Georg Gyssling ….. Sam Dale
Hedda Hopper ….. Nancy Crane
Olympic Commentary ….. Joseph Ayre
Directed by Gemma Jenkins
In a blend of fact and fantasy, this psychological portrait becomes an exploration of artistic obsession and driving ambition. It poses the question, to what extent can the art ever be separated from the artist?
Colin Shindler is the Bafta award winning television writer and producer behind the long-running TV series Lovejoy and the motion picture Buster, for which he wrote the screenplay.
MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (m000z022)
Heat 6, 2021
(6/17)
Another four contenders join Russell Davies for a socially-distanced contest in Salford, the latest heat in the 2021 season of the nationwide quiz. Today's winner will take another step towards the coveted title of Brain of Britain, by making it through to the semi-finals later this year. Among other things they'll need to know the name of Joe Biden's dog, which priest warned the Trojans not to let the wooden horse into their city, and the lyrics of 'Africa' by Toto.
Taking part today are:
Malcolm Barraclough, an office manager from Leeds
Derek Heyes, a retired teacher from Horwich near Bolton
Sarah Hunt, a police force communications officer from the Black Country
Neil Wright, a retired biomedical scientist from the Wirral.
The programme also includes 'Beat the Brains', in which a listener gets a chance to challenge the competitors with questions he or she has devised.
Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m000yytt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 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 across a day and around the globe with stories from musicians who each have a daily ritual of playing some of this music.
Ilay Kenes is an 11-year-old Belgian boy who plays some Bach on his guitar every morning when he gets out of bed. Other musicians around the world who play Bach every morning include Masaaki Suzuki on the harpsichord or organ in Tokyo, Hungarian-born organist Xaver Varnus in his own 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.
Finally, British viola player, Robin Ireland plays last thing at night before bed in his house in Brittany.
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 BBV Radio 4
Bach music played:
Violinist Hilary Hahn: Adagio from Sonata No.3 in C major, BWV 1005
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
Violinist Hilary Hahn: Adagio from Sonata No.3 in C major, BWV 1005
MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (m000z025)
Harry Potter
Some Christian voices have suggested that the Harry Potter stories about witchcraft, magic and mythical beasts provide a gateway into satanic practices. But JK Rowling completely disagrees and she was glad that readers were unaware of her Christian faith at the time the books were first published because they might then have guessed the ending of the final book. To discuss the Christian allegory and religious themes in the Harry Potter books, Ernie Rea is joined by Dr Beatrice Groves (Research Fellow and Tutor in English at Trinity College, Oxford), Vanessa Zoltan (co-host of the podcast 'Harry Potter and the Sacred Text') and by author and lecturer John Granger who has been described by Time Magazine as “The Dean of Harry Potter Scholars”.
Producer: Helen Lee
Assistant Producer: Barnaby Gordon
Editor: Helen Grady
MON 17:00 PM (m000z027)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z029)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m000z02c)
Series 26
Episode 6
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Rufus Hound, Fern Brady, Ria Lina, and Tony Hawks are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as mushrooms, milk, monkeys, and children.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m000yyqz)
The Aldridge family attempt a compromise and Ben has a confession to make.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m000z02f)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
MON 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b0741lv7)
Indira Gandhi: The Centre of Everything
Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute in London, looks at the life of Indira Gandhi, India's first woman prime minister, whose darkest moment was a two year period known as "the emergency". Jails filled up with her critics while journalists and editors were detained alongside the political opposition. Those arrested could be held without trial and and she attempted to reduce the birth rate by offering men incentives to be sterilized. "Indira Gandhi in many ways issued the greatest threat to democracy in independent India’s history," says Professor Khilnani, "weakening constitutional regularities established by her father. Yet the enduring effect of her rule was to open the state to a deeper and more accessible democracy".
Producer: Mark Savage
Music: Talvin Singh
MON 20:00 This Union: The Ghost Kingdoms of England (m000z02h)
Wessex - The only way is Wessex
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 this final programme in the series, Ian arrives in Wessex, the Kingdom that held out against the Viking horde and turned the tide against the invaders. But how inevitable was it that Wessex should be the Kingdom that united the Anglo-Saxons to create Anglia? And how stable was that final iteration of the Anglo-Saxon world?
Producer: Tom Alban
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m000ytzg)
India’s Living Dead
What would it be like if everyone believed you were dead? Lal Bihari knows exactly what that feels like. When he was 22-years-old, the Indian farmer was told by his local government office that he was dead and no protestations that he was standing before them would persuade the bureaucrats otherwise – after all, his death certificate was there as proof. Whether the victim of a scam or a clerical error, the end result for Bihari was to lose his business and all the land he was hoping to inherit. It took him more than two decades to reinstate himself among the living during which time he tried everything from going on hunger strike to kidnapping someone in the hopes that the police would be forced to concede that a dead man could not be arrested. Today, more than a quarter of a century later, Bihari runs the Association for the Living Dead of India through which he says he has helped thousands of people who have fallen victim to the same thing. He tells his extraordinary story to Chloe Hadjimatheou for Crossing Continents.
Production Team in India: Ajit Sarathi; Kinjal Pandya; Piyush Nagpal and Praveen Mudholkar
Editor: Bridget Harney
MON 21:00 Extinction Compendium (m000xfr3)
In a new show produced by Jon Holmes, Comedian (and actual council Waste Education Officer) Jon Long and Biologist Gillian Burke take on green issues in this fast paced new enviro-comedy.
The topic - Plastic. Scourge of the planet, or synthetic scapegoat?
Featuring sketches, songs, and expert interviews. Tonnes of questions, and even one or two answers.
Producer: Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
MON 21:30 How to Play (m000z01b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m000z02k)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
MON 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z01p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
MON 23:00 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
MON 23:30 Mastertapes (b01p0fpq)
Series 1
Ray Davies (the A-Side)
John Wilson continues with his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 5, A-side. 'Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One' & 'Muswell Hillbillies' - Ray Davies goes back to the early 1970s and the making of two classic Kinks albums. Marking a period of transition for the group (as they left one British record label for an American one), both were concept albums, tackling such broad themes as corruption within the music industry and the destruction of old communities via urban regeneration. In a revealing interview, Ray Davies considers the power of the lyric and the importance of place in his song-writing. He also performs exclusive live versions of songs from the two albums.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
TUESDAY 24 AUGUST 2021
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m000z02m)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 00:30 They by Sarfraz Manzoor (m000z01d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000z02p)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000z02r)
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 (m000z02t)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m000z02w)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000z02y)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley
Good morning.
If you have a moment today spare a thought for the celestial object formerly known as the planet ‘Pluto’. Depending on your perspective this is the day when a few years ago Pluto was demoted or correctly classified from planet to dwarf planet. I still have astronomy books from my childhood which confidently declare Pluto to be a planet, but space exploration being what it is means that our knowledge of what lies beyond the orbit of Neptune has been considerably enhanced. On a clear night or early morning, I love to step outside and take a look at the night-sky.
I have an app on my phone which helps me identify planets and constellations, and track the International Space Station. If I see it I always wave; I marvel at the knowledge that human beings are up there going about their day, completing an orbit of the earth every ninety minutes. Dwarf planet Pluto on the other hand takes almost 248 earth-years to complete one orbit of the sun. While I reflect on that, meanwhile here on the ground time marches on.
One of the aspects of the months of lockdown that I noticed was how my diary took on a new rhythm. Gone were the long hours of travel to and from meetings. Trains and cars were replaced with footsteps to my study. I began to notice things around me in different ways, and appreciated the details I had previously taken for granted. Pluto may no longer be the planet it used to be, but in its own way it continues to make progress around the sun.
God of the heavens and earth thank you for the wonder of creation and for scientific endeavour that helps us to understand it. Teach us to value all things, great and small.
Amen.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m000z030)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0vl3)
Ostrich
Michael Palin presents the avian record breaking ostrich in the Kalahari Desert. Ostriches are ornithological record-breakers. The black and white adult male ostrich is taller and heavier than any other living bird, reaching almost 3 metres in height and weighing a whopping 150 kilograms. Females are smaller but lay the largest eggs of any bird. The ostrich's eye measures 5cm in diameter and is the largest of any land vertebrate.
Ostriches live in the wide open landscapes of central, eastern and South-West Africa. As well as being tall and observant, Ostriches also minimise their chances of being predated on, by living in groups and sharing lookout duties, or staying close to sharp-eyed antelope and zebra herds. They can also use their powerful legs to try and outrun a predator, reaching speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour which makes them the fastest avian runner.
TUE 06:00 Today (m000yyq1)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 Positive Thinking (m000yyq3)
How do we end fuel poverty?
Are local solar energy projects the solution to reducing household bills? Sangita Myska meets Afsheen Rashid MBE, co-founder of the community energy project, Repowering, and chair of Community Energy England.
According to the government's top advisers, “This is a key moment for the 3.2 million households suffering from fuel poverty” in England. In a new report, they argue now is the time to act if we want to stop around 15% of UK households being plunged into poverty because they’re struggling to heat and light their homes.
And it’s not just those on low incomes who struggle. Recent news that energy bills will rise for millions of households, as the regulator Ofgem raises the price cap, has made finding cheaper sources of energy that will meet the government’s net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 even more urgent.
So, are community energy projects the solution?
Contributors include:
Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy.
Louise Sunderland, senior advisor at energy think tank the Regulatory Assistance Project and director of SELCE, a community energy project in south east London.
Dr Rose Chard, who holds a PhD in fuel poverty, and is lead of the Fair Future programme at not-for-profit Energy Systems Catapult.
Producer: Dom Byrne
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 09:30 One to One (m000yyq5)
Escapes: Anna Freeman talks to Miranda Allen
In this episode of One to One, writer Anna Freeman speaks to escape artist Miranda Allen. Together they explore their mutual love of escapes as a concept, and the delicate balance of peril and catharsis that makes Miranda's work so compelling.
Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Caitlin Hobbs
TUE 09:45 They by Sarfraz Manzoor (m000yyq7)
Ep 2 - They... don't marry outside their own
Sarfraz Manzoor's new book is a personal exploration of a divided Britain, and his hopes for bridging the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims. Today, Sarfraz Manzoor reflects on falling in love, and breaking with his family's expectations for his future.
Sarfraz Manzoor grew up in the 70s and 80s in a working-class Pakistani Muslim family in Luton. Here he was raised to believe that they were different, they had an alien culture and they would never accept him. They were white people. Now, in present day Britain, Manzoor finds that there has been a shift. They have a different culture and societal values still, but now they are Muslims.
Manzoor has travelled around Britain seeking out the the origins of these divisions, and by interweaving journalism, and his own personal story, he has formed a deeper understanding of the mutual mistrust that lies between Muslims and non-Muslims. In this personal and honest account, he also finds reason to hope for a future where they are us.
Sarfraz Manzoor is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is best know for his first book, 'Greetings From Bury Park' which was adapted for the cinema, and released under the name, 'Blinded by the Light'.
Written and read by Sarfraz Manzoor
Abridged by Sarah Shaffi
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000yyqb)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 11:00 China's Great Science Leap (m000yyqd)
Cells and Chips
President Xi Jinping is investing seriously into his strategic vision of turning China into a nation of scientific pace-setters. China’s past contributions to modern science have been proportionally lacklustre, but with a reinvigorated focus over the past two decades, China is fast turning from imitator to innovator. What might this increasing scientific prowess mean for the future of China’s development as well for the international scientific community?
Whereas once many Chinese scientists chose to go abroad to further their careers, presenter Dr Kevin Fong hears how the government has sought to lure its brightest researchers back. He asks what that means for both scientific collaborations and the culture of science in China and the UK. As scientific research relies on transparent information sharing, what are the challenges of collaborating with an authoritarian regime?
In this first episode, Kevin hears how Chinese science has advanced over recent decades following a low point during the Chinese Cultural revolution. He speaks to a Chinese bio-chemist about his career in the USA and finds out why he decided to move back to China to start a biotech business. At Loughborough University, Kevin meets a team of researchers working on Artificial Intelligence tools with Chinese counterparts, to help monitor and predict air pollution.
But is the UK an equal partner and beneficiary of these academic partnerships? As China is set to become the UK’s most significant research partner, at a time of rising geopolitical tensions, we examine how the UK might navigate these choppy waters and what the risks and benefits of scientific collaboration might be.
TUE 11:30 Black Sci-Fi: Stories from the End of the World (m000yyqh)
Writer, activist and broadcaster Walidah Imarisha presents the untold story of black sci-fi and its vital role in redefining the present and imagining the future.
This documentary explores the power - and the rich history - of speculative, visionary fiction by black authors in the UK, USA and Africa, and how activists around the world have been inspired by science fiction as they strive to build new worlds. Walidah Imarisha unravels the idea that all organisation and activism is a form of "science fiction" - and how bringing new realities into being is itself a creative act.
Interviewees include acclaimed authors Sheree Thomas and Nisi Shawl, multidisciplinary artists Moor Mother and Rasheedah Philips, Nigerian-American writer Nnedi Okorafor, and British feminist writer and researcher Lola Olufemi.
Produced by Tej Adeleye
An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m000yyqk)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000yyqm)
Episode 2
2/10. In 1809, Gibb arrives in Glen Conach to begin his research but finds the unusual character of his hosts to be a more rewarding field of study.
Read by Mark Bonnar.
Producer: Bruce Young
TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m000yyqq)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m000yyqs)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m000yyqv)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
TUE 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000yyqx)
Swiss Air
Giant fans are sucking in fresh air from the Swiss Alps and Iceland's frozen interior, capturing the carbon dioxide and turning it into fizzy drinks or burying it deep underground. Tom Heap gets up close to the extraordinary Climeworks device at the Science Museum in London and talks to the team that's developed it to ask if they've designed the solution to climate change or created a potent symbol of our failure to cut carbon emissions? Dr Tamsin Edwards of King's College London joins Tom to crunch the numbers.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Dr Samuel Krevor and Professor Nilay Shah of Imperial College London and Professor Jon Gluyas of Durham University.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m000yyqz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Brief Lives (m0008j75)
Series 11
Episode 1
Brief Lives by Tom Fry & Sharon Kelly ep 1
Return of Frank Twist and Sarah Gold as the Manchester paralegals. Frank and Sarah are estranged and Sarah enlists her friend Juliet to help run the agency. But when a local gangster's son is arrested can Juliet cope?
Frank..............David Schofield
Sarah.............Kathryn Hunt
Juliet............Maria Major
Dean...........Hamish Rush
Keith...........Stephen Marzella
Lois.............Verity Henry
Helen........Krissi Bohn
Director/Producer Gary Brown
TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m000yyr1)
Video Games
Audio adventures and short documentaries about gaming, presented by Josie Long. The joy and frustration of new adventures, fast cars and family days out at the M6 Southwaite Services, and finding love by the fountain in Dalaran.
Go South
Produced by Mae-Li Evans
Pole Position
Featuring Steve, Alistair and Sandy Urquhart
Produced by Steve Urquart
Meet you at the fountain in Dalaran
Featuring Michelle and Alberto Naso
Curatorial team: Alia Cassam and Eleanor McDowall
Producer: Andrea Rangecroft
Executive Producer: Axel Kacoutié
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 My Name Is... (m000rmhr)
My Name Is Jordan
Twenty year old student, Jordan Lee, had been planning to have fun at University: with his dyed pink hair and sense of humour he thought this would be a given. The pandemic changed everything and he’s now working locally to challenge vaccine hesitancy and the fake news reports behind it.
Jordan is one of twenty Covid Ambassadors recruited in West Yorkshire from BAME backgrounds to talk to people in communities where vaccination drives are meeting resistance. It’s hard to counter the avalanche of misinformation at a national level, but Jordan and the team think they can make inroads locally and help to rebuild trust.
In this programme he talks to doctors, community leaders and government officials. He also speaks to people living in some of the poorest parts of the city about their fears and what can be done to address them. He says he wanted to get involved because he knows how hard people are finding life and he believes this direct approach will work:
“We have to build the trust: you need the community to accept you and what makes this project special is that we are all from a BAME background. We’re coming up with ideas and we’re on their side. They can see us and know that we have no ulterior motive or agenda, there is such a strong collection of us.”
Jordan starts by meeting Shadim Hussain, a member of a Government steering group who lives in a multigenerational house in Bradford. His Mum sadly passed away from Covid in November and he’s just got a call from his GP offering his 78 year old Dad the vaccine. He says it’s normal for many others in his South Asian community to be advocates for their first generation parents:
“However, what is not normal is the number of children who will receive this call and refuse the vaccine on behalf of their parents! This is very worrying...we must work hard and fast to understand these fears and anxiety and protect this core of 70-80 year olds who are clearly at risk.”
Jordan talks to Dr John Wright, an epidemiologist who heads of the Bradford Institute for Health Research. He’s been collecting data on both the number of missed vaccine appointments across different communities and those who are refusing the appointments at the outset. In-depth interviews locally are revealing the impact of various factors, including social media.
“The city is now braced for a fight against disinformation and antivax conspiracy theories. There’s a lot of worry and hesitancy about the vaccine, particularly in our South Asian communities,” says Dr Wright.
A revealing conversation with Abdul Majid highlights the gulf that exists – he says he was good at science and has a science degree. His own father is in intensive care with covid-19 and his 61 year old uncle died of complications from covid: “I used to laugh. I thought there was no such thing. I laughed at it and now it's laughing at me. It's heart-breaking."
Abdul tells Jordan that he has shared many conspiracy theories about the pandemic on social media, and believes that scepticism locally is now widespread. This complicates the task of the covid testers in Bradford, who find that there is no answer at about half of the houses they visit, and that residents who do answer often refuse to be tested.
"Some people won't be tested because they are too busy, some don't believe in it and think it's a government conspiracy, some people won't test because if they turn out to be positive they don't want to self-isolate because of financial worries," says Ishaq Shafiq, who runs community testing for Bradford's Covid Response Hub.
Producer: Sue Mitchell
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m000yyr3)
Digital body language: how to work online
Michael Rosen gets advice from Erica Dhawan on the best ways to communicate on-screen, as people work and live more in zoom, text, social media and email rather than meeting up. We need to find new ways of talking to each other 'virtually'.
Erica Dhawan is the author of Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance.
Produced by Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m000yyr5)
Frantz Fanon
Born and raised in Martinique, Frantz Fanon fought for the Free French Forces against the Nazis, and then devoted his life to the liberation of Algeria from France. Fanon was a psychiatrist and author of two acclaimed anti-colonial works: Black Skin, White Masks, and The Wretched of the Earth. He is the choice of the writer and broadcaster Lindsay Johns, who explains why his connection to Fanon is not just intellectual and moral, but also personal. And from Paris, the Frantz Fanon expert, Françoise Vergès, offers her analysis of his life and work.
The presenter is Matthew Parris and the producer for BBC Audio in Bristol is Chris Ledgard
TUE 17:00 PM (m000yyr7)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000yyr9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Darren Harriott - Red Label (m000yyrc)
Part 2
After having examined why he has never been in love in part one, Darren returns to look at the world of modern dating.
The way we date has changed so much in recent years. With the rise of dating apps, some lament that people aren't meeting the 'traditional way', but what does that even mean in this day and age?
Darren is a dating app guru, and walks us through all the quirks of the various apps and growing understanding of sexualities across the spectrum. With the help of comedians Maddy Anholt and Aaron Twitchen, Darren takes on all aspects of being single in 2021, from swiping, to reply etiquette and how to date during a global pandemic.
Written and performed by Darren Harriott
Interviewees: Maddy Anholt and Aaron Twitchen
Additional material written by Tasha Dhanraj and Rajiv Karia
Producer: Gwyn Rhys Davies
Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Sound editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m000yyrf)
Chris tries to save the day and Shula is left disappointed.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m000yyrh)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
TUE 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b07428by)
Satyajit Ray: India without Elephants
Sunil Khilnani explores the life and work of filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
In the history of Indian cinema, there is a Before Ray, and an After. As Sunil Khilnani says, “he’s the first truly modern filmmaker we have.” But Satyajit Ray’s career in India might not have continued past its first few films had he not been celebrated in the West.
In his native Bengal, several of his films were popular. More were loathed. In today’s thriving Bengali film culture, he’s often held at arm’s length: the guy who served it up for the West, and served it up a little sweet.
But Ray’s films made ideas hanging in the air feel fresh, for he brought to them an unusually large range of small gifts: psychological and sensory acuity, humour, humanism, a deep appreciation of family relationships, an ability to withhold judgement, an ear equally adept at dialogue and sound, and the visual imagination of a third-generation illustrator and photographer. These were sufficient to allow him, time and again, to achieve a realism few in Indian cinema wanted to meet.
“It’s the truth in a situation that attracts me,” he told his actors. “And if I’ve been able to show it, that's enough for me.”
The result was a body of work of which the director Akira Kurosawa would remark, “Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.”
Producer: Martin Williams
TUE 20:00 A Long Way from Vietnam (m000yyrk)
BBC journalist Nga Pham asks why irregular Vietnamese migration is the second highest into the UK (Albanian nationals are the first), and why the numbers are rising every year.
Even the tragedy of the Essex lorry disaster in 2019, when 39 Vietnamese people were suffocated in a container lorry as they came over the Channel, is not enough to put them off. Coming from some of the most economically deprived provinces in Vietnam, these families pay from $30-45,000 to people smugglers to send hundreds of their children out each year in the hope of a better future.
The land route out through China, Russia, Europe can take months if not years, often involving coercion, trafficking and sexual exploitation along the way. Then Calais and the final peril of crossing by boat or lorry awaits them, before trying to find a job and make a life here.
Nga talks to people in Vietnam about their desperation to leave and why the 39 deaths have not deterred them, and to those who have returned, sending back their earnings to clear family debts, build houses, and buy motorbikes for their relations. She also talks to those who were caught up in trafficking networks, discovered by the police and deported back to Vietnam with nothing to show for their years of slave labour.
In the UK, Nga meets people who have arrived by container just like the Essex 39 - people who are now working in nail bars, cannabis farms and restaurants, hiding in plain sight. She talks to modern slavery lawyers, anti-trafficking police units across the country, and the National Crime Agency which has an officer permanently based in Hanoi. Nga asks the Minister for Immigration what the UK government strategy is for ending this misery of debt bondage and cheap labour.
Presented by Nga Pham
Produced by Anna Horsbrugh-Porter
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m000yyrm)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
TUE 21:00 Curating the Future (m000df45)
Museums Are Not Neutral
Museums and galleries remain hugely popular but also face increasing criticism over who visits, who pays and what's on display.
In an era of identity politics, V&A Director Tristram Hunt asks what future museums have when there is no greater sin than 'cultural appropriation', nationalism and nativism decry the multi-cultural stories that galleries tell, and the role of 'experts' is questioned.
With Directors of museums and galleries in London, Derby and Mumbai, Tristram discusses how best to attract new audiences and whether museums should try to promote social justice, transforming their traditional role. He also considers claims that 'Museums Are Not Neutral', explores the co-curation of exhibitions and asks whether 'lived experience’ is as valuable as curatorial knowledge.
Producer: Julia Johnson
TUE 21:30 Positive Thinking (m000yyq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m000yyrp)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000yyqm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
TUE 23:00 Fortunately... with Fi and Jane (p08fk5j5)
142. A Crevice in a Niche with Anne Tyler
This week on Fortunately Fi and Jane are joined by American novelist Anne Tyler, all the way from Baltimore USA.
Anne talks Fi and Jane through her household chore routine and how it came to feature in her new book, Redhead by the Side of the Road. The Pulitzer Prize winner also divulges why she likes visiting people with messy abodes, why she thinks poets are more competitive and hears Fi and Jane's take on some of her works.
Before they chatted to one of their favourite authors, Fi and Jane discussed a certain trip to the North East by a Government Advisor. As well as that, matters broached include painless childbirth, Allan keys and the 1979 General Election.
GET IN TOUCH: fortunately.podcast@bbc.co.uk
TUE 23:30 Mastertapes (b01p40hr)
Series 1
Ray Davies (the B-Side)
John Wilson continues with his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 5, the B-side. Having discussed the making of two classic Kinks albums, 'Lola Versus Powerman and The Moneygoround, Part One' and 'Muswell Hillbillies' (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Tuesday 27th November and available online), Ray Davies responds to questions from the audience and performs acoustic live versions of some to the tracks from the albums, both of which were released more than forty years ago.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
WEDNESDAY 25 AUGUST 2021
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m000yyrs)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
WED 00:30 They by Sarfraz Manzoor (m000yyq7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000yyrv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000yyrx)
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 (m000yyrz)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m000yys1)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000yys4)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley
Good morning.
Coming out of the house one morning recently I came upon a scene of great mystery. The previous evening, I had filled up a container hanging on a tree with nuts. Keeping our local bird population fed and watered has been a source of great delight in recent months, and the regular visits from a woodpecker with its emphatic tap-tap has been great fun to behold. Yet there was the container now completely empty.
Doubting even the birds’ capacity to feast at such a rate I turned my attention to the base of the nut-container, which lay on the ground. Hand on my chin, I pondered the mystery of how exactly the supposedly solid base had been loosened, whilst in the corner of my eye I saw a squirrel triumphantly nibbling on a solitary remaining nut. It looked at me for a moment, and we fixed a steely eye on one another before it dashed off high up into the tree.
I know that some of our neighbours have gone to great lengths to make their bird feeders squirrel proof using a range of deterrents such as oil to grease poles or even chilli powder, which I am reliably informed birds don’t seem to mind. I would prefer to encourage harmonious sharing of resources amongst our garden friends but I suspect this will not be a successful endeavour. My agenda may not be that which matches that of another creature, and I have to learn to live with this reality, adapt and move on. The environment I live in shapes me, and teaches me valuable lessons of patience and humour.
God give me grace this day to live and learn new lessons in life. Teach me wisdom and resolve, and acceptance when things don’t quite go to plan.
Amen.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m000yysb)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkygm)
Red-billed Quelea
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the World's most numerous bird; red billed quelea. Red-billed queleas are the most numerous birds in the world and as part of the weaverbird family sound and look like small neat sparrows. Their ability to adapt to local conditions and travel for food allows large populations of fast-breeding queleas to build up. The statistics are mind-boggling. Some flocks of red-billed quelea can comprise millions of birds which may take hours to fly past. There are probably between one and a half and ten billion birds in Africa. They breed in vast colonies; one colony in Nigeria covered one hundred and ten hectares and contained thirty one million nests.
WED 06:00 Today (m000z0c0)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Black Music in Europe: A Hidden History (m000z0c2)
Series 4
1979-2021
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 final episode of the series, Clarke focuses on black music in France, from the era of Zouk and Kassav’ through to the time of rap stars like MC Solaar. He also delves into the stories of black musicians in Italy today, from rapper Tommy Kuti to Afrobeat artist RayJeezy.
Produced by Tom Woolfenden
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
WED 09:30 Four Thought (m000z0c4)
And His Wife
Jessica Barker argues that we should rediscover overlooked sculptures of women.
She didn't know it at the time, but as a child Jessica spent part of every Christmas day looking at a famous medieval monument. Later, when she became an expert in medieval art, she was angered by the phrase 'and his wife', so often associated with such monuments. Yet as she dug into the stories behind the women depicted in them, she discovered a more surprising, more subversive, and more interesting story.
Producer: Giles Edwards
WED 09:45 They by Sarfraz Manzoor (m000z0d1)
Ep 3 - They... want to take over our country.
Sarfraz Manzoor's new book is a personal exploration of a divided Britain and his optimism for bridging the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims. Today, he reflects anti-Islamic prejudice and hostility.
Sarfraz Manzoor grew up in the 70s and 80s in a working-class Pakistani Muslim family in Luton. Here he was raised to believe that they were different, they had an alien culture and they would never accept him. They were white people. Now, in present day Britain, Manzoor finds that there has been a shift. They have a different culture and societal values still, but now they are Muslims.
Manzoor has travelled around Britain seeking out the the origins of these divisions, and by interweaving journalism, and his own personal story, he has formed a deeper understanding of the mutual mistrust that lies between Muslims and non-Muslims. In this personal and honest account, he also finds reason to hope for a future where they are us.
Sarfraz Manzoor is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is best know for his first book, 'Greetings From Bury Park' which was adapted for the cinema, and released under the name, 'Blinded by the Light'.
Written and read by Sarfraz Manzoor
Abridged by Sarah Shaffi
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000z0c8)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 11:00 This Union: The Ghost Kingdoms of England (m000z02h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 11:30 The Pin (b08y26qt)
Series 3
Ep 2: Party
"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, having been spurned from the BBC's official office party, Alex and Ben are out to prove they can throw a party too...
"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 Liam Williams.
Produced by Sam Bryant.
A BBC Studios Production.
WED 12:00 News Summary (m000z0jt)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z0cq)
Episode 3
3/10. In the Glen Conach library Gibb receives a visit from Miss Jessamine Milne, who clearly means to use him for her own ends - and at dinner he is treated to a tirade on the evils of fashion by his eccentric host, the Baron.
Read by Mark Bonnar.
Producer: Bruce Young
WED 12:18 You and Yours (m000z0jw)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m000z0jy)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m000z0k0)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
WED 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z0k2)
Magical Rockdust
Soil is brilliant at capturing carbon dioxide and keeping it out of the atmosphere. But what if we could make it do an even better job? On a farm overlooking the broad River Tay in Perthshire they've sprinkled the fields with the waste product from quarrying. Nature does the rest- using the rockdust to pull carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the soil. With the help of Rachael James from Southampton University, Tom Heap and Tamsin Edwards check out a technique that could be applied to millions of hectares of the world's farmland.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Made in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Heather Viles of the University of Oxford, Professor Larissa Naylor and Dr Adrian Bates from the University of Glasgow, and Dr Phil Renforth of Heriot-Watt University.
WED 14:00 The Archers (m000yyrf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (m0007702)
The Unwelcome
A few days after Stella's 18th birthday, and a month before she's due to sit her A-levels, there's a knock on the door and Stella's life changes forever. Inspired by interviews with former inmates of UK detention centres.
Stella ..... Nahel Tzegai
Mavis ..... Clare Perkins
Simone & Carla ..... Debbie Korley
Seeta ..... Arinder Sadhra
Alia ..... Houda Echouafni
Grace ..... Liz Sutherland-Lim
Petra ..... Ell Potter
Janice ..... Katherine Press
Helen ..... Susan Jameson
Interpreter ..... Chris Pavlo
Solicitors ..... Paul Hickey & Catherine Cusack
Guards ..... Shaun Mason & David Hounslow
Director ..... Mary Peate
Playwright ..... Hannah Khalil
WED 15:00 The Hangover (m000yywf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
WED 15:30 Prison Break (m000vjn7)
Episode 2: Who is prison for?
Former 'prison wife' Josie Bevan continues her interrogation of the UK penal system by talking with some of those who've been most affected by it.
She meets John Crilly, now the proud holder of a degree in law from the Open University, but formerly an addict who served 13 years for manslaughter. Josie also talks with Donna whose brother Tommy's mental health deteriorated dramatically while serving an IPP, an indeterminate sentence with no fixed end. The early experiences of both John and Tommy mirror each other and the 'prison pipeline' that can lead with alarming predictability from childhood trauma to petty crime, addiction or mental health issues and prison.
Josie's previous podcast series Prison Bag - one family's unflinching confrontation with the prison system - is available on BBC Sounds.
Including archive from the Evening Standard
Produced by Rebecca Lloyd-Evans and Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:00 Interpreters on the Front Line (m000z0k5)
How does it feel to be a voice for the voiceless? This documentary gives a fascinating insight into the gruelling work of public service interpreters in the UK, through the personal story of Isaac, a Glasgow-based Urdu interpreter.
Isaac works on the front line, interpreting for high profile murder trials, retelling devastating personal stories in asylum statements, taking police statements in the middle of the night, and delivering life-changing news in healthcare settings.
It’s a profession where every word matters. In the courts, the right words are the difference between freedom or imprisonment. In the asylum system, they are the difference between safety and danger. In health settings, they are the difference between life and death. The stakes are high, and interpreters need to be highly trained in order to make the right choices under pressure.
Despite the potential consequences of misinterpretation, there are concerns that standards are dropping, partly due to the challenges of outsourcing to agencies. We hear from those raising the alarm – an ex-agency employee, an agency CEO pushing for a better way of operating, the director of the National Register of Public Service Interpreters whose mandate is to protect the public, and a refugee who had a terrible experience during his asylum statement.
Isaac and his interpreting colleagues ask an important question - who is looking out for them? Exposed to extreme and traumatic situations on a daily basis, how can they let off steam without breaking confidentiality rules? What can be done to protect the public service interpreters whose skills are vital to our society?
A Snow Films production for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:30 The Media Show (m000z0cl)
Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.
WED 17:00 PM (m000z0k7)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z0k9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 My Teenage Diary (m000z0kc)
Series 10
Ken Cheng
Rufus Hound's guest is the comedian Ken Cheng, who reads from the diary he kept in 2004. Ken talks about his school days, growing up on the internet and what it was like to be a nerd before the days when nerds were cool.
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m000z0cd)
Ben attempts to do the right thing and a new face makes an impression at Home Farm.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m000z0cg)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b0742kw6)
Charan Singh: A Common Cause
Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute in London, explores the life and legacy of Charan Singh, the lawyer turned politician who championed the cause of India's farmers. Singh is remembered today as the politician who took on Indira Gandhi in the Congress Party’s heartland state. Uttar Pradesh. He redistributed power and altered the social structure of Northwest India, non violently. And he helped the world see the potential of the Indian farmer a bit more clearly. He succeeded in becoming India's first peasant prime minister but went from the highest office in a flash, replaced by his nemesis Indira Gandhi. Although today he is most often remembered for being a leader of his own caste, Professor Khilnani argues that Charan Singh has a unique status in Indian history.
Producer: Mark Savage
WED 20:00 The Exchange (m000z0cj)
Migration
Catherine Carr brings together two people who share a common experience but have made radically different choices in life. Each has a gift that unlocks their story.
Francisco Carrasco and Shakur Shidane (Shaks) were children when they escaped political oppression and civil war. Now one has returned to the country of his birth, and the other is staying in the UK.
Shaks left Somalia on the back of a truck when he only five or six years old. In 1994, after more than two years, the family reached London - and safety. Decades later, Shaks has returned to Mogadishu.
Francisco Carrasco was eleven years old when his family left Chile. His father, an economist and politician, was held in concentration camps by the Pinochet regime. In 1975, the Chilean authorities gave the family 48-hours to get out of the country. They were not allowed to return home until 1990 - and by then, Francisco says, “my Chile had gone”. Home is now Liverpool and he is applying for British citizenship.
At the heart of their exchange is the concept of belonging.
For both, home is complex and mutable, but ultimately is it about people or place?
Presenter: Catherine Carr
Producer: Louise Cotton
Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
WED 20:45 Four Thought (m000z0c4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
WED 21:00 My Name Is... (m000s1rr)
My Name Is Anna. I've been called a terf.
When Anna, 24, started her university dissertation on the word ‘terf’, she expected to run into some controversy. The term is a byword for transphobia and it wasn’t long before Anna was branded a terf herself and sent abuse and threats online.
Terf stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist and was originally coined to describe feminists who oppose trans women accessing single-sex spaces like female toilets and changing rooms, sports and events. It carries an implication of hatred of trans people – a view that Anna firmly denies.
She wants to understand the term – where did it come from, what effect is it having on feminist politics, and what is at the heart of the debates in which the word is used?
She speaks to trans people and fellow radical feminists as she interrogates her own views and looks for solutions to some of the thorny issues around trans inclusion that have torn feminism apart for decades.
Producer: Lucy Proctor
WED 21:30 The Media Show (m000z0cl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m000z0cn)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z0cq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
WED 23:00 Helen Lewis: Great Wives (m000z0cs)
Series 1
Ghosts
For two decades, Great Lives on Radio 4 has explored what it takes to change the world. But Helen Lewis wants to ask a different question: what does it take to live with someone who changes the world?
Behind the history of genius lies a second, hidden history: the stories of people who give geniuses the time they need to flourish. This series explores the many "supporting roles" needed to sustain an apparently "singular" genius.
In this first episode we meet Einstein's wife Mileva, the Curie power couple and a man who falsely claimed to be the genius behind some terrible paintings.
Written by Helen Lewis with additional voices from Joshua Higgott
Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
A BBC Studios Production
WED 23:15 Tricky (m000z0cx)
Are Pronouns Important?
Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media.
Gray Crosbie (they/them), Lawrence Chaney(she/her), Katy Montgomerie (she/her) and Victor Lockhart (he/him) discuss the importance of pronouns.
Our panel represent a diverse range of gender identities including trans men and women and non- binary. For all them being addressed with the correct pronoun, be it he, she or they is a basic demonstration of respect and acceptance. So how do they handle it when people get it wrong; is it worse when someone deliberately misgenders them as an attack or when it happens accidentally in day-to-day life?
Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus
Editor: Anthony Browne
A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4
WED 23:30 Mastertapes (b01p41h4)
Series 1
Corinne Bailey Rae (the A-Side)
John Wilson continues with his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Corinne Bailey Rae - The Sea. Four years after her number one debut album, Grammy-award-winning Corinne Bailey Rae returns to its follow-up, released in 2010. An extremely personal album, it explored a range of human emotions from grief and loss to love and joy. In a revealing interview, Corinne describes not just her musical upbringing and influences, but also talks movingly about the impact that the death of her husband had on the making of this album. Together with pianist Steve Brown, she performs an exclusive live version of the title track from the album.
THURSDAY 26 AUGUST 2021
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m000z0cz)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
THU 00:30 They by Sarfraz Manzoor (m000z0d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000z0d3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000z0d5)
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 (m000z0d7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m000z0d9)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000z0dc)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley
Good morning.
I have a very vivid memory of being stuck in what I can only describe as a bus form of ‘Groundhog day’ with 30 bishops from around the Anglican Communion on a day trip from Canterbury one chilly February day a few years ago. As we had a bit of extra time before we were due at our destination our driver thought it would be good to go for a bit of a tour, only then to find us stuck in a one-way system driving in seemingly endless circles around Parliament Square in London. On about our fifth circuit, when I for one was beginning to feel a little bit dizzy, someone asked who all the statues were of, - this being before the recent controversy surrounding the statue of Churchill - and a quick check online revealed the answers they were looking for. ‘No women?’ was a question raised by one of my female bishop colleagues.
A few years later, and a new statue appeared, of the suffragette campaigner Millicent Fawcett. What catches the eye is the banner she holds across her body reading ‘Courage calls to Courage Everywhere’. It is a compelling statement, one which applies to our season of continued emergence from the pandemic. It is a reminder too of the countless people who have committed their lives to the pursuit of democracy.
Today is Women’s Equality Day and the day designated for the commemoration of the granting of the vote to women in the United States. Courage does not ask us to stand still; it is a state of action, one which demands that it be passed on. If I feel courageous this day, how can I uplift others in their struggles and challenges?
Loving God, may we be filled with such courage that we summon others to take hold of it, to make it their own, and find new life transformed in hope.
Amen.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m000z0df)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04sttd3)
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the wedge-tailed shearwater of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Wedge-tailed shearwaters are large sepia brown seabirds with long wings and streamlined bodies. They feed mainly on fish and squid which they scoop from the surface or catch by diving. While the parents are careering over the open seas, their solitary chick squats alone in its island burrow. The return of the adults means a welcome feast for the chick. Its reward is a mouthful of warm and waxy stomach oil, the digested remains of the adults prey. It may sound revolting to us, but this oil is rich in energy and allows the chick to grow even bigger than its parents before losing weight again prior to its first flight, which happens a few weeks after the adult birds have abandoned it to its fate.
THU 06:00 Today (m000z0q3)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 Citizens of Somewhere (m000z0q5)
Swansea
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 programme, he and his producer Leala Padmanabhan visit Wales's second city, Swansea, to talk to people about their lives, work and how they see the future.
Once a centre of copper, coal and steel, Swansea is now a post-industrial city in which retail, leisure and higher education play a big role. Perhaps not surprisingly in a city which is also famous for its many call centres, John and Leala find many friendly people happy to chat about their hopes and fears as Swansea emerges from the Covid pandemic into an uncertain future.
Shoppers and business owners describe their deep sadness at the loss of major stores such as Debenhams, Clarks and Toys R Us, a decline sharply accelerated by the pandemic, with some predicting a 'bleak' future for the city centre,
Others have high hopes of a £1bn regeneration project around Swansea's upmarket waterfront.
In the Mayhill area of the city, John and Leala explore the aftermath of a riot which took place in May. Some attribute the eruption of violence to frustration after months of Covid lockdown. John talks to a delivery driver whose home and family were attacked, about his recovery and his hopes of a better future for the Mayhill community.
John and Leala also discuss the impact of the pandemic with young performers at the Volcano community theatre on Swansea high street, where they also find a strong sense of pride in Welsh identity and enthusiasm for Welsh independence.
Producer: Leala Padmanabhan.
THU 09:30 Questions Answered (m000vx3c)
Nina
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 Nina who called Any Questions last August, just after she had received her A-level results.
THU 09:45 They by Sarfraz Manzoor (m000z0q8)
Ep 4 - They... don't believe in our values
Sarfraz Manzoor's new book is a personal exploration of a divided Britain, and his hopes for bridging the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims. Today, he looks at cultural and religious values and beliefs.
Sarfraz Manzoor grew up in the 70s and 80s in a working-class Pakistani Muslim family in Luton. Here he was raised to believe that they were different, they had an alien culture and they would never accept him. They were white people. Now, in present day Britain, Manzoor finds that there has been a shift. They have a different culture and societal values still, but now they are Muslims.
Manzoor has travelled around Britain seeking out the the origins of these divisions, and by interweaving journalism, and his own personal story, he has formed a deeper understanding of the mutual mistrust that lies between Muslims and non-Muslims. In this personal and deeply honest account, he also finds reason to hope for a future where they are us.
Sarfraz Manzoor is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is best know for his first book, 'Greetings From Bury Park' which was adapted for the cinema, and released under the title, 'Blinded by the Light'.
Written and read by Sarfraz Manzoor
Abridged by Sarah Shaffi
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000z0qb)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (m000z0qd)
Series focusing on foreign affairs issues. Producer: Bridget Harney
THU 11:30 Write Her Story (m000z0qg)
Why are women not used as the dramatic engines in drama more? Asks double Oscar winning, recent Tony, BAFTA and Emmy Award winning actress Glenda Jackson.
Despite improvements, the statistics concur with her theory. With great contributions from actress Adjoa Andoh, director Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia, The Iron Lady) actress Harriet Walter, and director Richard Eyre.
Presented by Glenda Jackson
Produced by Pauline Harris
THU 12:00 News Summary (m000z0qj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z0ql)
Episode 4
4/10. Letters arrive for the Baron and Jessie, but Gibb spots a secret missive being hidden by Jessie from her parents - and decides to blackmail her.
Read by Mark Bonnar.
Producer: Bruce Young
THU 12:18 You and Yours (m000z0qn)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
THU 12:57 Weather (m000z0qq)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m000z0qs)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
THU 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z0qv)
Insulate the Nation
Heating our homes can be expensive and draughty old housing stock leaches carbon dioxide. But making homes more energy efficient can be a costly upheaval and is therefore often done piecemeal. Tom Heap meets the team from Energiesprong who are proposing a new model - retrofitting modern technology like insulating 'wraps' around the house, replacing roof tiles with solar panels and fitting ground source heat pumps into old housing stock. It's done on scale and on a whole-house basis to keep costs down with the aim of creating net zero energy homes but also to create 'kerb appeal' so that neighbours will want to 'keep up with the Joneses'. Tom is joined by climate scientist Tamsin Edwards to discuss whether tackling inefficient, poorly insulated housing head-on can provide great gains for people and planet.
Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Made in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Kate De Selincourt, Professor Stephen Peake from the Open University, Professor Gavin Killip from the University of Oxford and John Palmer from Passivhaus Trust.
THU 14:00 The Archers (m000z0cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (m0007qz9)
Found
When Mike returns home from the shops, not with a bottle of wine as intended, but with a tiny baby, life for him and his wife Annie will never be normal again. As the couple deliberate over what to do for the best, the future life of the found child lies heavily in their hands.
Katherine Chandler’s original drama about the power of parental instincts, social responsibility, sex, class, greed and good intentions.
Annie ..... Nia Roberts
Mike ..... Oliver Ryan
Sam ..... Rebecca Hayes
Leah ..... Gabrielle Creevy
Directed by Helen Perry
A BBC Cymru/Wales Production in association with BBC Writersroom Wales.
Katherine Chandler is an award-winning playwright. Found is her first audio drama.
THU 15:00 Open Country (m000z0qx)
North Channel
The North Channel is the stretch of water which lies between Scotland and Northern Ireland. At its narrowest, it's just 13 miles wide. In this programme, Helen Mark explores the stories surrounding the journeys which are made from one side to the other. She meets one of the crew working on the passenger ferries which plough back and forth and learns what life is like for those whose working lives centre around this journey. She hears about the sad story of the Princess Victoria - a ferry which sank making the crossing in 1953, with the loss of more than 130 lives.
There have been suggestions for a fixed crossing, either a bridge or a tunnel, for more than a century - an idea recently revived by Boris Johnson. Helen asks an architect whether it could ever really happen. She also meets a woman preparing to try and make the crossing under her own steam, by swimming between the two coasts - braving the cold, the currents and the jellyfish.
Helen reflects on her own personal relationship with the North Channel - having been born on one side, but lived most of her life on the other - and asks whether this narrow strip of sea serves to connect or divide the people on either side.
Produced by Emma Campbell.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m000yyt6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (m000yyvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m000z0qz)
Film programme looking at the latest cinema releases, DVDs and films on TV.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m000z0r1)
A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.
THU 17:00 PM (m000z0r3)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z0r5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Dr Phil's Bedside Manner (m000z0r7)
Series 1
Dr Phil visits the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh.
An innovative mix of comedy performance and documentary in a new series presented by Dr Phil Hammond.
As a doctor and a comedian, Phil knows that humour and laughter are vital coping mechanisms in the NHS, as he travels the UK on a mission to listen to the beating heart of a national institution.
The programmes are an adventurous, hilarious, thought provoking mix of humour and happiness, tragedy and reflection as the personal thoughts, opinions, experiences and hopes of people who work for and use the NHS are revealed.
In each programme, Phil visits one NHS hospital somewhere in the UK and speaks to porters and patients, cleaners and cardiologists, visitors and volunteers, the managers and the medics.
And at each location Dr Phil performs a free stand-up comedy show for the staff based on his listening experiences at that location and the stories of the people he has met.
A Ride production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m000z0rc)
Writer, Sarah McDonald- Hughes
Director, Kim Greengrass
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Ben Archer ….. Ben Norris
Josh Archer ….. Angus Imrie
Pat Archer ….. Patricia Gallimore
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter ….. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Beth Casey ….. Rebecca Fuller
Steph Casey ….. Kerry Gooderson
Vince Casey ….. Tony Turner
Shula Hebden Lloyd ….. Judy Bennett
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Kate Madikane ….. Perdita Avery
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter ….. Katie Redford
Stella ….. Lucy Speed
THU 19:15 Front Row (m000z0rf)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b0745d3j)
MF Husain: Hindustan Is Free
Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute in London, looks at controversy over the Indian artist MF Husain, who spent the last days of his life in exile. Husain is considered by some to be the face of modern art in India but not necessarily by people in India itself. Husain died in his nineties having completed around ten thousand works. His paintings often attracted high prices but he became a target for mob anger over his portraits of Hindu goddesses and Indian feminine icons. Female deities had often shown nude in traditional art, but what enraged right-wing Hindus was that these images were created by a Muslim artist. "Had Husain been less popular beforehand, he probably would have been less hated." says Professor Khilnani.
Producer: Mark Savage
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m000z0rh)
David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
THU 20:30 Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket (m000xdxb)
Dimension X
Jill Lepore untangles the strange sci-fi roots of Silicon Valley's extreme capitalism - with its extravagant, existential and extra-terrestrial plans to save humanity. In this world, stock prices can be driven partly by fantasies found in blockbuster superhero movies, but that come from science fiction, some of it a century old. If anyone personifies this phenomenon, it's Elon Musk, the richest or second-richest person in the world on any given day. "The bare facts of Musk’s life, the way they’re usually told, make him sound like a fictional character, a comic-book superhero," says Lepore. He says he hopes to colonize Mars, create brain-hacking implants and avert an AI apocalypse. He even has a baby named X. In this first of five episodes Lepore looks at the early origins of ‘Muskism’, and explores how the science fiction stories that today’s techno-billionaires grew up on have shaped Silicon Valley’s vision of the future.
Jill Lepore is Professor of American History at Harvard University, a staff writer at The New Yorker and an acclaimed author. Her latest book is If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future. She is also the host of The Last Archive, a podcast from Pushkin Industries.
Producer: Viv Jones
Researcher: Oliver Riskin-Kutz
Editor: Hugh Levinson
Sound: Graham Puddifoot
Original music by Corntuth
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m000z0r1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 Citizens of Somewhere (m000z0q5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m000z0rk)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z0ql)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
THU 23:00 The Absolutely Radio Show (b08vxl9m)
Series 2
Episode 1
The cast of TV's hugely popular sketch show return for their second series on BBC Radio 4. Pete Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and John Sparkes revisit some of their much-loved sketch characters, while also introducing some newcomers to the show.
In 2013, the group that made their name on Channel Four in the 1980s and 90s got back together for Radio 4's Sketchorama: Absolutely Special - which won the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Live Scripted Comedy. The first series of The Absolutely Radio Show picked up a Celtic Media Award nomination for Best Radio Comedy.
The opening episode of this series features the Stoneybridge Town Council preparing to receive the town's first ever tourist, the Little Girl giving her explanation of Brexit and Calum Gilhooley launching his own YouTube series. There are sketches about the downside of voice technology on smartphones, while Melania Trump presents a brand new podcast offering an insight into her life as First Lady.
Produced by Gordon Kennedy and Gus Beattie.
An Absolutely/Gusman production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:30 Mastertapes (b01p70cv)
Series 1
Corinne Bailey Rae (the B-Side)
John Wilson continues with his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 6, the B-side. Having discussed the making of her second album, "The Sea" (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Tuesday 4th December and available online), Corinne Bailey Rae responds to questions from the audience and, together with pianist Steve Brown, performs acoustic live versions of some of the songs discussed.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
FRIDAY 27 AUGUST 2021
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m000z0rm)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 00:30 They by Sarfraz Manzoor (m000z0q8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000z0rp)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000z0rr)
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 (m000z0rt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m000z0rw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000z0ry)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley
Good morning.
The hours of daylight are gradually getting less. When we lived in the Southern Hemisphere the opposite was the case. In late August, days of winter began to lengthen into early signs of spring. I don’t think I quite got used to celebrating Christmas in the high heat of Summer, with a BBQ rather than a sit-down meal with all the trimmings. Sometimes I would be asked by friends ‘back home’ what it felt like to live on the edge of the world, as if there was a possibility of stepping to my left and somehow falling off the map.
The perspective of my local friends was that in fact we lived in the centre of the world not at its edge. I remembered the maps of the world from my childhood that placed certain countries in the centre and others out at the inevitable edges. Perspective on place matters, as does the recognition that the world doesn’t revolve around any one person, place or community. The inter-connectedness of our world has become a lived reality in ways most of us could not have imagined before this pandemic began. We have also had to learn to live apart from one another, and that has been tough.
From my schooldays, I remember a song about searching for a neighbour. The last line of the song says this: ‘wherever you travel, I’ll be there’. Jesus once told his friends: ‘remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age’. As I connect with people this new day, I hope I can recognise the value of being with someone else as well as the opportunities that times of solitude can bring.
God who became earthed in Jesus Christ teach us to connect and value one another so that this day may be a fresh opportunity for our perspective to be enriched. Amen.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m000z0s0)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04dw7p8)
Superb Lyrebird
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Sir David Attenborough presents the superb lyrebird of eastern Australia. Superb lyrebirds are about the size of pheasants. During courtship, as the male struts and poses, he unleashes a remarkable range of sounds. Up to 80% of the lyrebird's display calls are usually of other wild birds. However, if kept in captivity, they can mimic a chainsaw, camera click, gunshot and a whole host of other man made sound. Research recently discovered that the lyrebird co-ordinates his dancing displays to particular sounds. But superb lyrebirds are promiscuous performers and it's quite likely that another male may have played the leading role while he dances and sings away.
FRI 06:00 Today (m000z1gy)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 The Reunion (m000yytl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 They by Sarfraz Manzoor (m000z1hn)
Ep 5 - They... don't love our country
Sarfraz Manzoor's new book is a personal exploration of a divided Britain, and his hopes for bridging the differences between Muslim and non-Muslims. Today, issues of identity and belonging are bought into stark relief when Manzoor's eight year old daughter asks a tough question.
Sarfraz Manzoor grew up in the 70s and 80s in a working-class Pakistani Muslim family in Luton. Here he was raised to believe that they were different, they had an alien culture and they would never accept him. They were white people. Now, in present day Britain, Manzoor finds that there has been a shift. They have a different culture and societal values still, but now they are Muslims.
Manzoor has travelled around Britain seeking out the the origins of these divisions, and by interweaving journalism, and his own personal story, he has formed a deeper understanding of the mutual mistrust that lies between Muslims and non-Muslims. In this personal and honest account, he also finds reason to hope for a future where they are us.
Sarfraz Manzoor is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is best know for his first book, 'Greetings From Bury Park' which was adapted for the cinema, and released under the name, 'Blinded by the Light'.
Written and read by Sarfraz Manzoor
Abridged by Sarah Shaffi
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000z1h2)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 11:00 The Digital Human (m0009r64)
Series 18
Uncomfortable
The internet has facilitated an explosion in opinion. Some people's views you'll agree with, other's you'll find abhorrent.
How do we manage that in a pluralistic world? Is reaching for the mute button the best way to get through the day? Or is it about calling people out and making an example of them online?
Aleks Krotoski dips her toe into the world of microaggressions, safe spaces and asks if we’re really in the middle of a free speech crisis.
FRI 11:30 Ellie Taylor's Safe Space (m000z1jp)
Series 2
Holidays
Comedian Ellie Taylor (The Mash Report, Live At The Apollo, Hypothetical) hates holidays. Too much faff, too expensive, too exhausting, so why go? With help from her ever loyal sidekick Robin Morgan (Mock The Week), Ellie sets out to convince her studio audience to come over to her way of thinking and give holidays the heave-ho. She also talks to members of the public about the things they'd like to get off their chest (judgment free of course!) and speaks to senior travel editor of The Independent, Simon Calder, to ask him about why he still believes holidays are the way forward.
Written by Ellie Taylor and Robin Morgan.
Sam Michell produces for BBC Studios.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m000z1jr)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z1hj)
Episode 5
5/10. Maja has two visitors. Young Lachie comes to report a second sighting of the ghost, and an Edinburgh academic arrives with news of the 19th century antiquarian Charles Gibb.
Read by Phyllis Logan.
Producer: Bruce Young
FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m000z1jt)
News and discussion of consumer affairs. Producer: Chas Watkin
FRI 12:57 Weather (m000z1jw)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m000z1jy)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Jonny Dymond.
FRI 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z1k0)
Big Drop Energy
A big weight and a very, very deep hole. The team behind Gravitricity think they have found a solution to a serious problem with renewable energy. As we rely increasingly on wind and solar energy the risk rises of the lights going out when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine. We can solve the problem with energy storage but batteries are expensive and don't last very long. As Tom Heap and Tamsin Edwards hear, the answer could lie with a deceptively simple pulley system. Put an enormous weight at the bottom of a mineshaft. When you have lots of wind or sun, use the electricity to pull the weight to the surface. When you're short of power, release it and send a huge surge of energy back into the grid.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Stephen Peake from the Open University and Dr Hugh Hunt from the University of Cambridge.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m000z0rc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Nuremberg (m000z1k2)
Welcome to the Ashcan, by Jonathan Myerson
It’s May 1945 and Germany has just surrendered. The country is in chaos – five million former soldiers, foreign nationals and those liberated from the concentration camps, all trying to get home. And hiding somewhere are the top Nazis.
Seen through the eyes of a US Army Sergeant at the stripped-out hotel in Luxembourg where the prisoners are taken, they track down and arrest Kaltenbrunner (Himmler’s Deputy), Frank (Governor of Occupied Poland) and others. But former Reichsmarshall Goering didn’t have to be caught - he surrendered himself along with 16 monogrammed suitcases and a valet.
But word gets out where they are being held and Prison Commandant Andrus feels under attack from all sides - the Nazi Underground might attempt to release the prisoners, there might be an attempt to lynch them, but above all he has to stop the prisoners committing suicide. And when they’re transferred to the prison in Nuremberg, it’s no safer.
Cast:
Sergeant Monelli - ELLIOT COWAN
Colonel Burton Andrus - JOSEPH ALESSI
Herman Goering - NIGEL LINDSAY
Agent Matteson and other roles - CLIVE WOOD
General Patch and other roles - HARI DHILLON
Rudolf Hess and other roles - JOSEPH MYDELL
Ernst Kaltenbrunner and other roles - JONATHAN CULLEN
Gisela von Westarp and other roles - ROSIE SHEEHY
Robert Ley and other roles - JASPER BRITTON
Admiral Doenitz and other roles - NICHOLAS WOODESON
Winston Churchill and other roles - ANDREW WOODALL
Prison Doctor and other roles - ILAN GOODMAN
Intelligence Officer and other roles - MARK EDEL-HUNT
Evening Post Reporter and other roles - NATHAN WILEY
Sound Designer - ADAM WOODHAMS
Studio Manager - MARK SMITH
Original Score - METAPHOR MUSIC
Writer and Director - JONATHAN MYERSON
Producer - NICHOLAS NEWTON
A Promenade production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
FRI 14:45 Chinese Characters (b0b0x2kp)
Bruce Lee: Screen Warrior
He may still be the most famous non-western film star in the world. Yet he made only a handful of films in the early 1970s, none of which are artistic masterpieces. It wasn't his acting that made Bruce Lee the first Chinese to conquer global popular culture. Instead, his balletic, choreographed mastery of kung fu provided a new image of the Chinese, not as victims, but as avengers, ready to show their own techniques and customs to the world. Lee was a contradiction; part-European, he spent his twenties in the United States. Yet he came to embody the idea of Chinese skill and grace onscreen, and became an icon across continents. His early death has only added to his mystique.
Presenter: Rana Mitter
Producer: Ben Crighton
Researcher: Elizabeth Smith Rosser
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000z1k5)
GQT at Home
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts chaired by Kathy Clugston. Matthew Pottage, Pippa Greenwood and Matt Biggs answer questions sent in from listeners from across the country.
Producer - Jemima Rathbone
Assistant Producer - Bethany Hocken
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m000z1k7)
Titania's Town
An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the author Peter Hollywood. As read by Stuart Graham.
Peter Hollywood was born in Newry, Northern Ireland. He is the author of Jane Alley, Lead City and Other Stories, Luggage, Hawks and Other Short Stories and Drowning the Gowns. His stories have appeared in numerous journals and he has had stories featured in anthologies including ‘State of the Art: Short Stories by New Irish Writers’, 'Krino - An Anthology of Modern Irish Writing' and ‘Belfast Stories’.
Reader: Stuart Graham
Writer: Peter Hollywood
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m000z1k9)
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 (m000z1kc)
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations
FRI 17:00 PM (m000z1kf)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z1kh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 Party's Over (m000z1kk)
Series 1
Going Green
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 Christine encourages Henry to make the most of his green credentials.
Henry Tobin... Miles Jupp
Christine Tobin... Ingrid Oliver
Natalie... Emma Sidi
Jones... Justin Edwards
Lizzie... Alice Fraser
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 (m000z1h6)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
FRI 19:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b07466kv)
Dhirubhai Ambani: Fins
Professor Sunil Khilnani from the King's India Institute in London, on the life and legacy of the Indian business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance Industries. The son of a penurious schoolteacher, Ambani credited himself with an almost animal instinct for trading, coupled with a steel trap memory and an appetite for audacious risk. Today fifteen per cent of all India's exports go out in his company's name. It's the ultimate rag to riches story, mixed with street cunning and dazzling deals. In one case, which began with a tip from an underworld don, Ambani executives were accused of violating the Official Secrets Act by possessing sensitive Cabinet documents, including a draft national budget. A joke quickly did the Delhi rounds: the budget wasn’t leaked to Reliance; Reliance had leaked the budget to the ministry.
Producer: Mark Savage
Editor: Hugh Levinson
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m000z1h8)
Justine Greening, Mark Harper MP, Dan Norris, Molly Scott-Cato
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from the Stroud Subscription Rooms with the former cabinet minister and founder of The Social Mobility Pledge Justine Greening, the Conservative MP and Chair of the COVID Recovery Group of MPs Mark Harper, the Labour Mayor of the West of England Dan Norris and the Green Party's Finance and Economy spokesperson Molly Scott-Cato.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Mark Harrison
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m000z1hb)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
FRI 21:00 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z1hd)
Five More Brilliant Ideas
You can't solve climate change with one idea, but what about 39? Tom Heap presents five more carbon-busting ideas from the Swiss Alps to the bottom of a South African coalmine. He's joined by the climate scientist, Tamsin Edwards to crunch the numbers and decide which will make a real difference to the future of our planet.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m000z1hg)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z1hj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (m000yyr5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 The Disrupters (m000rx0x)
Founder of The Cambridge Satchel Company, Julie Deane
Julie Deane started The Cambridge Satchel Company at her kitchen table with £600. Ten years on the company sells 10,000 bags a month. But getting to this point hasn’t been easy. She talks to Kamal and Rohan about having to fire her manufacturer whilst orders piled up and how pressure from venture capitalists nearly brought her company under.
Presenters: Kamal Ahmed and Rohan Silva
Producer: Georgia Catt