SATURDAY 01 MARCH 2025

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m00289y6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 The Many Lives of James Lovelock by Jonathan Watts (m00289vt)
Episode 5

James Lovelock is probably best known today for being the co-creator of the Gaia Theory - the idea that life on Earth is a self-sustaining system in which organisms interact with their environments to maintain a habitable ecosystem.

But this controversial and complicated man lived many lives over the course of the 102 years he spent on this planet.

He was born just after the end of the First World War to parents who had little interest in having a family and preferred to leave their new born child with his grandparents. His early years were often spent alone in nature and this helped to establish his lifelong affinity for the natural world. But he was also an autodidact – fascinated with science and in particular chemistry. Despite struggling at school he went on to become one of the great polymaths of the 20th century.

During the Second World War he worked at the National Medical Research Institute, where his life-long interest in chemical tracing began. In the 1960s he worked at NASA. He worked for MI5 and MI6 during the Cold War. He was a science advisor to the oil giant Shell, who he warned as early as 1966 that fossil fuels were causing serious harm to the environment. He invented the technology that found the hole in the Ozone layer. And all of this shaped Gaia Theory – a theory that could not have been developed without the collaboration of two important women in his life.

Based on over 80 hours of interviews with Lovelock and unprecedented access to his personal papers and scientific archive, Jonathan Watts has written a definitive and revelatory biography of a fascinating, sometimes contradictory man.

Jonathan Watts is a British journalist with an interest in the environment. He is also the author of When a Billion Chinese Jump: How China Will Save the World - or Destroy It.

Written by Jonathan Watts
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
Read by Richard Goulding
The Waters Company for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00289y8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00289yb)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00289yd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m00289yg)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00289yj)
St David's Day

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with the Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones

Good morning, bore da, from St Davids, the UK's smallest city, on Wales’ westernmost peninsula - the home of the 6th century holy man, whom Welsh people everywhere celebrate today, as our nation’s Patron Saint.
But why have a Patron Saint? Isn't that something of an anachronism in the 21st century?

Well, there's doubtless a wider debate to be had, but I want to speak up for Dewi Sant, as we call him in Welsh, and for the value of his particular legacy to people of all faiths and none.

Though details of his life are scant, there was something about the quality of his life that has echoed down the centuries.

Perhaps most famously, he is known for the advice in his final sermon. Echoing words from St Paul he said: be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things that you have seen and heard in me.
Dewi’s words can be our moral compass:

• First, be joyful – be generous and open-hearted; share optimism and holy hope; encourage one another and draw out the best in others,
• keep the faith - live with integrity and honesty; be upright and trustworthy; and keep your word;
• and finally, do the little things: be kind, in lives of diligence and perseverance in all that is good and right and true.
When this is our aim, we can be sure that God will help us as he helped Dewi.

Let us pray: thank you, Lord, for the moral heroes and exemplars of the faith of past generations. Help us to play our part today in leaving a legacy of good for tomorrow. Amen.


SAT 05:45 Why Do We Do That? (p0knwfmx)
Series 2

6. Why do we lie?

Ella Al-Shamahi asks why do we lie?
You might think that deception is a uniquely human characteristic, but does camouflage or mimicry in nature, where animals pretend to be another animal or the actual environment like the insects leaf-mimic katydids that walk around looking like a leaf. Does that count as lying? Or is it just us humans with our highly complex language that have the ability to tell a fib. Ella talks to Dr Roman Stengelin of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, who investigates children from very different cultures to discover when and how they develop this very human ability and professional poker player Liv Boeree to discover the art of bluffing.

BBC Studios
Produced by Emily Bird
Additional production Olivia Jani and Ben Hughes
Series Producer Geraldine Fitzgerald
Executive Producer Alexandra Feachem
Commissioning Editor Rhian Roberts


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0028kv7)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 This Natural Life (m0028bp7)
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a chef, broadcaster, author and campaigner. His 'River Cottage' series ran for more than ten years on Channel 4 and he has written more than twenty food and cookery books. In this programme Martha Kearney catches up with Hugh at an event at the Abergavenny Food Festival. He tells her how his love affair with the countryside started at the age of five when his parents left London and moved to a farmhouse in Gloucestershire. He recalls a fascination with the natural world in his early years, remembering a childhood spent roaming the fields and collecting birds' eggs, and recounting an incident in which he accidentally squashed a lizard while trying to put it into a biscuit tin. As a student he intended to work in wildlife conservation and had hopes of becoming the next David Attenborough, before a job at River Café set him on a different path. The natural world still fascinates and inspires him today. He tells Martha about the emotional hold it has over him, describing a time during lockdown when he was moved to tears of joy by seeing the blue flash of a kingfisher.#

Photo copyright Abergavenny Food Festival, photographer Tim Woodier.

Producer: Emma Campbell


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0028kv9)
01/03/25 - Farming Today This Week: NFU Conference, Climate Change Committee report, bulbs for methane, beavers, ploughing.

The re-introduction of inheritance tax on farm assets dominated this year's National Farmers Union Conference in London. The Union President told delegates farming is facing its biggest crisis of confidence in his lifetime. Facing a frosty reception, the DEFRA Secretary Steve Reed announced a new Farm Profitability Unit to be set up with the department, but told farmers he couldn't give them the answers they wanted on inheritance tax. Elsewhere, the conference focused on growth in agriculture - through investment, exports and tech.

The Climate Change Committee has called for a transformation in agriculture in its latest report. The CCC advises the UK government on ways to reduce emissions in order to meet net zero by 2050. Its 7th report sets out a plan from 2038 to 2042, and recommends a 27% drop in the number of cattle and sheep, and that we all eat less meat.

The government's allowing the re-introduction of beavers into the wild in England. Up until now they've only been allowed to be released into enclosures - though there have also been some illegal releases. Wildlife groups will need a licence and to get that they'll need a 10 year plan showing the impact beavers are expected to have. The National Farmers Union has argued that farmers should be able to kill beavers should they end up in the wrong place.

Scientists at Scotland's Rural College have been feeding cattle an extract from daffodil bulbs to help reduce methane. The ground-breaking research aimed at reducing emissions is called "dancing with daffodils".

We round off with a bit of tradition and competition. The European Ploughing Championships are being held in Nottinghamshire we catch up with a ploughing champion who's one of the organisers


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0028kvc)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m0028kvf)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0028kvh)
Lindsey Burrow, Connor Allen, John McFall, Jared Harris

Lindsey Burrow who inspired the nation caring for her late husband, the rugby league legend Rob Burrow, as he lived with MND, shares her story of love, loss, resilience and advocacy.

At the age of sixteen, Connor Allen attacked his own mum and she reported him to police, but his life turned around thanks to support from his teachers at trial to become the Welsh Children’s Laureate and multi-disciplinary artist.

Multi-disciplinary is something I could add to John McFall’s description too; former Paralympian, surgeon, and now the first person with a physical disability to be cleared to take part in a mission to the International Space Station.

All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of The Crown and Chernobyl actor Jared Harris.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay
Producer: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m0028kvk)
Arctic Exploration: the fatal quest for the Northwest Passage

Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Vanessa Heggie and comedian Stu Goldsmith to learn all about the perilous history of Arctic exploration.

From the 15th to 20th Centuries, Europeans searched for the Northwest Passage, a supposed seaway between the Atlantic and Pacific through the Arctic Ocean. Indigenous groups had been traversing the passage for centuries, using small skin boats and dog sleds, but from 1497, European expeditions were launched to find and claim it. Most of these ended in failure, with explorers either returning home empty-handed or not returning at all. Some even got completely lost, arriving in Hawaii or North Carolina rather than Canada!

In 1845, the most famous Arctic expedition, led by Sir John Franklin, was launched. Within a few months, his two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, with their crew of 129 souls, had vanished. It was not until 1906 that a Norwegian team, led by Roald Amundsen, finally navigated the passage. This episode explores the often fatal quest for the Northwest Passage, charting the various expeditions that tried and failed to find and traverse it, uncovering the men who lost their lives looking for it, and asking why Europeans were so keen to explore such a hostile region of the world. And we unravel the mystery of just what happened to John Franklin and his men out there on the ice.

If you’re a fan of intrepid explorers, mysterious historical disappearances and the history of scientific advancement, you’ll love our episode on Arctic Exploration.

If you want more from Dr Vanessa Heggie, check out our episode on Victorian Bodybuilding. And for more Stu Goldsmith, listen to our episodes on the History of Fandom and Ancient Medicine.

You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Matt Ryan
Written by: Matt Ryan, Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: James Cook


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0028jr5)
Series 47

Bradford

Jay Rayner and the panel are offering their culinary advice to a hungry audience of home cooks in Bradford, the City of Culture 2025.

Joining Jay are chefs, cooks and food writers Rob Owen Brown, Mallika Basu, Sarah Rankin, and Tim Anderson. The panellists discuss the many ways to use cardamom in cooking, their top savoury breakfast ideas involving parathas, and answer the important debate - is a sous vide ever really necessary?

Jay also delves into the history of South Asian sweets with special guest Haroon Habib from Bradford's Sweet Factory. Haroon discusses the art of crafting traditional South Asian sweets their unique flavour profile.

Producer: Daniel Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Ollie Wilson
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m0028kvm)
George Parker of the Financial Times assesses the latest developments at Westminster

To assess the impact of two completely contrasting Oval Office meetings between President Trump and Sir Keir Starmer and then the US president and President Zelensky this week, George is joined by Peter Ricketts, crossbench peer and Britain's first National Security Adviser. And Labour’s Baroness Cathy Ashton, who was the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, leading its response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea back in 2014.

To discuss Sir Keir Starmer's plans to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income by cutting the foreign aid budget, George spoke to the Labour MP for Hartlepool, Jonathan Brash and the Greens’ Ellie Chowns, who represents North Herefordshire, and spent her career before Parliament working in overseas development.

David Gauke, who was Justice Secretary in Theresa May’s government and is now leading a review into prisons for Keir Starmer, has been in Texas this week to look at what the UK can learn from prisons there.

Rishi Sunak's former chief whip, Simon Hart has just published his diaries spanning his fifteen years in the Commons - in which he saw five prime ministers, four general elections, and plenty of scandals. He discusses this era with The Spectator's Isabel Hardman.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0028jjr)
Trump, Putin and the new global order

Kate Adie presents stories from Russia, the occupied West Bank, Bangladesh, South Africa and India.

US relations with its Western allies have been upended recently amid a rapprochement between Washington and Moscow. The BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg reveals how the warming of relations has been feted in the pro-Putin press, while ordinary Russians are seemingly more cautious.

As the first stage of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel comes to an end, Israel's defence forces are in the midst of another major operation against armed Palestinian groups in the occupied West Bank. Paul Adams visited one of the region's refugee camps to see what impact Israel’s military action is having on the thousands of people forced to leave their homes.

Bangladesh remains politically unstable six months after the violent student-led uprising which brought down long-term leader, Sheikh Hasina. In the absence of political certainty, fundamentalist Islamist groups – previously side-lined in politics – have found fresh impetus, says David Loyn.

Johannesburg in South Africa is often framed as one of the world's most dangerous cities - but there are signs of improvement, with both locals and tourists returning to explore areas once regarded as no-go zones. Ed Habershon met the Joburgers trying to change their city’s image.

Each year, in the south Indian state of Kerala, ancient folk rituals, known as theyyams, are held in family estates and around temples. Sara Wheeler went to watch the dramatic spectacles, where performers become living embodiments of Hindu deities.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production Coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie Hill


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0028kvp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0028jjp)
Water Bills and Stamp Duty

From April water bills for millions of households in England and Wales will go up by record amounts. Exactly how much more you'll pay will depend where you live but, on average, bills will increase by more than £10 per month meaning a total average cost of over £600 a year. What can you do if you're struggling with those bills?

There's just a month left for people in the process of buying a home in England and Northern Ireland to complete the sale before stamp duty rises on April the first. Some estimates suggest there could be tens of thousands of buyers who will miss that deadline by just a few days. What can you do if you're trying to hit that deadline?

Train fares in England and Wales will go up on Sunday. At the same time, most railcards, which give you cheaper fares in England Wales and Scotland, will cost you more. We'll have more on that.

And energy prices will also go up in April. We’ll take a look at the issue of standing charges. Why do they vary regionally, and how might Ofgem’s proposals to reform them work?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Haider Saleem
Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 1st March 2025)


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m00289xj)
Series 116

8. Mr. Starmer Goes To Washington

Andy Zaltzman is joined by Scott Bennett, Sara Barron, Alex Massie and Lucy Porter for The News Quiz recorded from Scarborough. In the last of the current series, the panel unpack the Prime Ministers Washington visit, aid cuts and defence pastes, silent albums and AI generated essays.

Written by Andy Zaltzman.

With additional material by: Simon Alcock, David Duncan, Laura Major, Christina Riggs and Peter Tellouche.
Producer: Rajiv Karia
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
An Eco-Audio certified Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0028kvr)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m0028kvt)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m00289xr)
Douglas Alexander MP, Meghan Gallacher MSP, Frances Guy, Fiona Hyslop MSP

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Dunblane Cathedral with UK Government trade minister Douglas Alexander MP; Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for housing Meghan Gallacher MSP; Frances Guy, the chief executive of Scotland's International Development Alliance; and Scottish Government cabinet secretary for transport Fiona Hyslop MSP.

Producer: Paul Martin
Lead broadcast engineer: Sean Mullervy


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0028kvw)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week.


SAT 14:45 The Archers (m00289xm)
Lynda tries to persuade Tom to step down as cricket captain. He soon rumbles her, and Lynda admits Freddie’s come forward. She’s been so busy her wires have crossed and now she’s in a tricky position. Tom’s relaxed, suggesting they have two captains. Lynda’s not at all sure it’s a good idea, but Freddie’s on board. He’d be flattered to share the position with experienced Tom. When they get down to business Tom makes no bones about the fact they need to cut some dead wood from the team now they’ve gone up a division. When uncomfortable Lynda suggests they discuss some of the administrative duties, Tom gives himself the hands-on role, leaving the paperwork side to Freddie. Lynda prefers them to share this workload, but Tom’s discouraged when he sees the size of the risk assessment.

Tracy spots Fallon’s distracted. Fallon admits she feels she’s stealing custom from Natasha. She wonders if she should speak to her, and later bites the bullet. To her surprise Natasha is full of sympathy for her, declaring she must be disappointed not to be able to fulfil her dream of a café at the EV charging station. She understands why Fallon feels bitter. Fallon protests, but Natasha thanks her for popping by and sweeps on. Fallon’s flabbergasted at Natasha’s entitled attitude. Tracy reckons the Tearoom took advantage of Fallon. Fallon agrees. If the Tearoom fails, so be it. She’s taking the shackles off. From now on she’s going to look after number one.


SAT 15:00 The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (m000gm91)
Part Two

Set in a small mill town in the 1930s in the middle of the Deep South of America, Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is the story of Mick Kelly, a tomboyish girl who loves music and dreams of buying a piano. John Singer, is a lonely deaf-mute who comes to stay as a lodger in Mick's house. No-one knows where he's from. A disparate group of people who live in the town are drawn towards Singer's kind, sympathetic nature. The owner of the café where Singer eats every day, an angry socialist drunkard, a frustrated black doctor: each pours their heart out to Singer, their silent confidant. He in turn changes their disenchanted lives in ways they could never imagine.

Often cited as one of the great novels of twentieth-century American fiction, Carson McCullers' prodigious first novel was published to instant acclaim when she was just twenty-three. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter explores loneliness, the human need for understanding and the search for love.

Part Two

MICK KELLY ..... Coco Green
BUBBER ..... Aaron Gelkoff
JOHN SINGER ..... David Bower
BIFF BRANNON ..... Michael S. Siegel
JAKE BLOUNT ..... Andonis Anthony
PORTIA JONES ..... Anna Jobarteh
DR BENEDICT COPELAND ..... Delroy Brown
ETTA KELLY ..... Lily Green
WILLIE COPELAND/Deputy Sheriff ..... Tachia Newall
HARRY MINOWITZ ..... Eric Sirakian

Dramatised by Amanda Dalton
Directed by Susan Roberts
A BBC Drama North Production


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0028kvy)
Weekend Woman’s Hour: Tamsin Greig and Celia Imrie, Esther Ghey, Nnedi Okorafor, Same Dress Different Bodies, Fostering, Rory

Two of the country’s best-loved stage and screen Olivier award-winning actors, Celia Imrie and Tamsin Greig are currently playing mother and daughter in Backstroke, a new play at the Donmar Warehouse in London, that unpicks the complications of their relationship over a lifetime. They joined Nuala McGovern in to discuss their on-stage relationship.

Esther Ghey’s transgender daughter Brianna was murdered in February 2023 by two 15 year olds. The killers were radicalised online, and 16-year-old Brianna herself was harmfully addicted to her phone, despite all of her mum’s efforts to limit her usage. Esther has now become a campaigner for the safer use of smartphones for children, and for the use of mindfulness in schools. She also decided to forgive her child’s killers, and is now friends with one of their mothers. Esther joined Anita Rani in the Woman’s Hour studio to talk about her new memoir, Under a Pink Sky.

Nigerian American science fiction author Nnedi Okorafor's new book is Death of the Author. It follows the story of Zelu, a novelist who is disabled, unemployed and from a very judgmental family. Nnedi and Nuala talked about the book within her book, success, and how she turned to writing as she recovered from a life-changing operation.

Same Dress Different Bodies began when fashion-loving friends Laura Adlington and Lottie Drynan realised they were both having problems finding clothes they felt comfortable in, Lottie because of bloating caused by IBS, and Laura because she was limited by what was available in plus sizes. They joined Nuala to talk about turning their positive approach to fashion into a live show.

Listener Emma Shaw got in touch with Woman's Hour after hearing author Beth Moran discuss fostering on the programme. She joined Nuala to share her own experience of being fostered alongside her siblings, along with Sarah Thomas, CEO of The Fostering Network, a charity that supports both foster parents and children.

Singer-songwriter and ADHD YouTube influencer RØRY, who has co-written three top 10 hits for other artists including Charlie XCX, has finally broken through the charts with a top 10 album of her own at the age of 40. She joined Anita to talk about her journey from addiction to recovery and her new found success, and performs live in the studio.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Annette Wells


SAT 17:00 PM (m0028kw0)
Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m0028kw2)
The Carla Denyer 2025 One

The co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales joins Nick for a conversation


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0028kw4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0028kw6)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0028kw8)
President Zelensky meets Sir Keir Starmer twenty-four hours after his public row with Donald Trump at the White House about the Ukraine war


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0027crt)
Dave Gorman, Angela Barnes, Simon Barnes, HotWax, Ni Maxine

Stuart Maconie is looking on the bright side this week with Dave Gorman who thinks that 'Modern Life is Goodish'. In the latest installment of his TV series, Dave Gorman is back with his trusty powerpoint as he falls down rabbit holes but always with a smile on his face -ish. And just to balance out all that positivity we've got natural worrier Angela Barnes whose new stand up tour is called 'Angst', a very funny catalogue of her failures.

And if you are anxiously watching the green shoots emerge awaiting the end of winter, nature writer Simon Barnes is the ideal guide with his new book 'Spring is the Only Season'

And there's music from the Hastings band HotWax who are just about to release their debut album Hot Shock and neo-soul vocalist Ni Maxine

Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Prodcuer: Jessica Treen


SAT 19:00 Profile (m0028jhd)
Friedrich Merz

He’s the former corporate lawyer, who has a pilot's licence and loves music, but has never before been a government minister.

Friedrich Merz was born in the west German town of Brilon in 1955 into a prominent conservative, Catholic family. He joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) while still at school, before going on to study law.

Merz then worked as a lawyer and judge for a few years, but he always had his eye on politics.

He was elected to the European Parliament in 1989, and his journey to the top has been a winding one.

Sidelined by Angela Merkel before she became chancellor, he quit parliament entirely to pursue a lucrative series of corporate jobs and was written off as yesterday's man.

Yet he now looks set to clinch the job he has coveted for so long, as Stephen Smith has been finding out.

Production Team

Producers: Arlene Gregorius, Caroline Bayley, Chloe Scannapieco
Editor: Ben Mundy
Sound: Neil Churchill
Production Co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele, Sabine Schereck, Janet Staples

Audio of Friedrich Merz at the Munich Security Conference by Bayerischer Rundfunk
Audio of swearing-in ceremony of Angela Merkel, 2005, by ZDF
Audio of French President Macron at the White House courtesy of the White House


SAT 19:15 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m0028bnn)
Series 32

How selfish are we really? - Jo Brand, Matti Wilks and Steve Jones

Brian Cox and Robin Ince kindly open the door for each other as they step into understanding altruism, asking why humans have evolved to help each other. Joining them to explore the human tendency to be kind is evolutionary biologist Steve Jones, psychologist Matti Wilks and comedian Jo Brand.

Starting with the animal kingdom, we probe the biological underpinnings of why organisms might act to help others at an energetic cost to themselves and where this fits alongside the theory of evolution. We explore how the development of human societies has necessitated altruistic behaviours and how these manifest in our modern lives. Matti introduces the idea of moral circles as we ask why are we more generous to some people than others. We explore how children feel about being kind to those close and far away with some surprising recent findings and finally consider what can encourage more altruistic behaviour.

Producer: Melanie Brown
Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0028kwb)
No Blacks No Irish

The workers from former colonies who responded to the call from Great Britain to do the tough jobs and help rebuild Britain from the 1950s onwards were often from the West Indies and Ireland.

So came signs in the windows of boarding houses and rented accommodation: 'No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs'.

Except, there's little hard evidence for this sign o' the times, beyond many anecdotal accounts and a much-copied famous photograph.

Why did the 'No Blacks, No Irish...' slogan become so powerful, and why is it still such a strong meme in popular culture today across the world, from histories to T-shirts?

Presenters Peter Curran and Tony Phillips set out to find the truth behind the sign, and assemble a rich and startling parade of archive from across the centuries linking Caribbean and Irish communities and people - including the testimony of freed slaves, rock stars, indentured servants, nurses, labourers, footballers, maids, famous actors, politicians, racist gangs, community workers, politicians, artists, poets and sociologists.

We hear tangy examples of how Irish and Caribbean people have been portrayed on stage, film, television and pop culture. The two presenters also confront each other's beliefs and assumptions about ethnic and cultural history, being 'Black British' and 'White Irish' respectively.

Tony Phillips was born in Leeds to Caribbean immigrant parents. He's an executive producer of podcasts in the USA and UK, and former Radio 4 Arts Commissioner.

Peter Curran came from Belfast to London in the 1980s and worked as an office fitter for six years. He's an award-winning broadcaster, writer and documentary maker.

Produced by Peter Curran and Tony Phillips
A Foghorn Company / Sea Salt & Mango production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m0028bk1)
How should Britain deal with Donald Trump?

Three years on from the invasion of Ukraine, President Trump has called President Zelensky a 'dictator', leaving many to conclude that the US has sided with Russia. We have entered a new phase of an already unstable global order. Keir Starmer meets Donald Trump this week. How should Britain respond? Emphasise friendship in the hope of gaining influence in Washington or stand up to Trump in the knowledge that it will damage relations?

On Ukraine, there are those who argue it’s clear cut: Putin is the dictator, Zelensky is a war hero, and sometimes we have to fight for our values no matter the sacrificial cost. But Trump’s supporters believe ending the war is the moral priority, and if peace comes at the cost of land, that’s a deal worth doing.

But History tells us that realpolitik only gets us so far. Bluntly, Trump’s detractors don’t see him as a rational actor on the world stage, pointing to his plan for Gaza. Domestically, they say, he’s behaving like an authoritarian dictator. To his followers, Trump is an important disrupter who is shaking America and the West out of its complacency.

Where should lines in the sand be drawn in negotiations? When is it better to be pragmatic than principled? When should moral conviction trump realpolitik?

Chair: Michael Buerk
Producer Dan Tierney
Assistant producer: Peter Everett
Editor: Tim Pemberton

Panel:
Giles Fraser
Mona Siddiqui
Inaya Folarin-Iman
Tim Stanley

Witnesses:
Mykola Bielieskov
Peter Hitchens
Brian Klaas
Jan Halper-Hayes


SAT 22:00 News (m0028kwd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m00289vp)
Closing London's 'Kitchen of the Universe'

Two of the country's largest wholesale markets are on the brink of closure. The City of London Corporation has decided to shut the historic meat market at Smithfield and the fish market at Billingsgate, bringing to an end centuries of food history. Sheila Dillon is given a tour of Smithfield market by the historian Matthew Green who describes how Smithfield features in the work of Charles Dickens and was once described as the "kitchen of the universe" by the writer Ned Ward in 1702.

The programme hears from the Smithfield traders who work through the night butchering and selling meat to restaurants and shops across London, the South East of England and beyond.

There has been considerable opposition to the closure of the markets. More than 37,000 people have signed a petition asking the City of London Corporation to keep the markets where they are including Alicia Weston who we meet at Ridley Road street market in East London. Here fishmongers are concerned about where they will source their supplies if Billingsgate closes. The City of London Corporation chairman Chris Hayward responds.

Finally, the author of Hungry City Carolyn Steel and Professor Tim Lang from City University reflect on the importance of wholesale markets in strengthening food supply chains as well as their contribution to the social and cultural fabric of a place.

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Robin Markwell


SAT 23:00 Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar (m0028kwg)
Series 5

1. The Sense of an Abrupt Ending

Alexei Sayle returns for a new series of stand-up, philosophy and memoir as he welcomes made-up customers to buy illusory snacks in his imaginary sandwich bar

In this first episode, Alexei reflects on changes of government, global power struggles and the time he made up gossip for a living.

Written and performed by Alexei Sayle

Producer - Richard Morris
Production Co-ordinator - Jodie Charman

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4


SAT 23:30 Counterpoint (m0028b6s)
Series 38

Heat 9, 2025

(9/13)
Paul Gambaccini puts the questions to three more competitors in the last of the 2025 heats. Today's winner will take the one remaining place in the semi-finals. To get there they'll have to demonstrate the breadth of their musical knowledge, and will also have to choose a category on which to answer specialist questions, without the slightest inkling of what subjects are going to be offered.

The programme was recorded at the headquarters of the BBC Philharmonic, at Media City in Salford.

Taking part are:
Joe Andrew, from Stoke on Trent
Christine Harrison, from Bury in Lancashire
Sarah Trevarthen, from Manchester.

Counterpoint is a BBC Studios Audio production.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria

SUNDAY 02 MARCH 2025

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0028kwk)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Take Four Books (m0028b6q)
Laurent Binet

Presenter James Crawford speaks with multi-award-winning, Booker-longlisted French author Laurent Binet about his latest novel, Perspectives, and the three other works that influenced its creation.

Set in 16th-century Florence, the novel follows an investigation into the mysterious death of a renowned painter, found lying on a church floor with a fatal stab wound to the heart. Above him, the masterpieces he dedicated over a decade to completing. But who is responsible for his murder?

Laurent’s influences were: Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1782); The Story of my Escape from the Prisons of Venice by Giacomo Casanova (1788); and The Florentine Histories by Niccolo Machiavelli (1532).

The supporting contributor was poet, translator and lecturer in Creative Writing at Loughborough University, Dr Kerry Featherstone.

Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0028kwm)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0028kwp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0028kwr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0028kwt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0028jjz)
The Parish Church of St Peter, Tiverton in Devon

Bells on Sunday comes from the Parish Church of St. Peter, Tiverton in Devon. The church has Norman origins with large parts rebuilt in the 15th century and major restorations in the 19th century. The four stage west tower dates from the 15th century and houses a peal of eight bells cast by the John Taylor foundry in Loughborough in 1923. The tenor bell weighs twenty-five and a half hundredweight and is tuned to the note of D. We hear them ringing ‘Grandsire Triples’


SUN 05:45 In Touch (m00289qb)
Consultation Exercise at RNIB; Blind Baker

In an episode broadcast last summer, the RNIB's CEO, Matt Stringer joined us to discuss financial pressures facing the charity and the consequent need to save millions of pounds. Since then, we have invited RNIB back to talk to us about their subsequent plans, but they declined, citing confidentiality issues. Meanwhile, In Touch has received information about a consultation exercise, said to be causing concern about jobs and future service provision among RNIB staff. We speak to Steve Tyler, who worked at RNIB for over 20 years and who held senior planning and strategy positions to get his reaction.

Being registered blind hasn't dimmed Annie Spooner's passion for baking. Indeed, since her sight loss diagnosis, she has set up her own business called Annie's Cake Creations. Reporter Hetal Bapodra visited her to find out more.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Fern Lulham
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole

Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch"; and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to
the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.’


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m0028jfp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Thinking Allowed (m00289pt)
Crowds

Laurie Taylor talks to the writer, Dan Hancox, about the part that crowds play in our lives and how they made the modern world.
From Notting Hill carnival-goers and football matches to M25 raves and violent riots, what do we know about the madness of the multitude? Also, Lisa Mueller, Associate Professor of Political Science at Macalaster College, Minnesota, asks why protests succeed or fail. Examining data from 97 protests, she finds that more cohesive crowds are key. Drilling down into two British protests, Occupy London and Take Back Parliament, protesters who united around a common goal won more concessions than ones with multiple aims.

Producer: Jayne Egerton


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0028jft)
Seeing Opportunity

Where some might see just a farm, Oliver Surman sees a whole host of opportunities. He started a food business on his family's farm near Upton upon Severn, in Worcestershire, which now produces thousands of ready meals a week. As Sarah Swadling hears, he didn't stop there, with organic beef, Christmas turkeys, and music festival camping among the farm's enterprises. Oliver looks ahead to the future with plans for a water sports centre in a lake created by gravel extraction.

Produced and presented by Sarah Swadling


SUN 06:57 Weather (m0028jfz)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0028jg3)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0028jg7)
Ukraine, CofE Safeguarding, Oscars

After days of intense diplomatic drama over Ukraine, and as President Zelenskyy visits the UK, we debate the morality of making peace. The Ukrainian President’s meeting with US President Donald Trump ended in a tense confrontation. It had all begun politely but descended into a verbal bust-up. Mr Trump said it made for good television, but with thousands of lives at stake—not to mention global peace—we wanted to explore what price should be paid for peace and what the rights and wrongs of continuing to fight are. Emily Buchanan speaks to Jan Halper Hayes, Republican commentator and former member of the Trump White House transition team, and Professor Janina Dill, Co-director of the Oxford University Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict.

There's been further fallout from the Church of England’s review into the handling of allegations of abuse by the late John Smyth. This was the review that led to the resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby. Now, ten clergy named in that review could face disciplinary proceedings, including former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and the Rev Andrew Cornes, who was due to be on the committee selecting the next Archbishop of Canterbury. However, the Church’s National Safeguarding Team says other clergy criticised in the report will not face disciplinary action due to "insufficient evidence to meet the threshold for disciplinary proceedings." We heard from one alleged victim of abuse, Augustine Tanner-Ihm, who is a vicar himself, and asked him whether he thought the latest Disciplinary Action Measure was a step in the right direction.

Hollywood is gathering its stars for the 97th Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars. Many of the films up for awards have a religious element—Wicked, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist, and more. On The Sunday Programme over the last few months, we’ve been hearing from some of the key people involved in their creation. We revisit some of the highlights.

Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Katy Davis
Studio Managers: Simon Highfield & Carwyn Griffiths
Editor: Rajeev Gupta


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0028jgc)
Whizz Kidz

Ambassador Martin Dougan makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Whizz Kidz. The charity provides wheelchairs to children and offers training and activities to build skills and confidence.

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

Registered Charity Number in England and Wales: 802872, in Scotland: SC042607.
If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites.


SUN 07:57 Weather (m0028jgh)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0028jgm)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0028jgr)
St David's Day

This St. David's Day special comes from Tabernacl Baptist Chapel in the centre of Cardiff, with singing from the National Chorus of Wales. The service is led by Father Jarel Robinson-Brown, the Vicar of St German's Church; and the preacher is Captain Kathryn Stowers, a Salvation Army Officer and Divisional Ecumenical Officer. The singing will include hymns in both English and Welsh.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m00289xt)
Tractors in Whitehall

As farmers prepare for another march at Whitehall in protest at the government's inheritance tax plans, Michael Morpurgo discusses the growing divide between city and countryside.

'The family farm, still at the heart of rural England,' writes Michael, 'is under threat, more than ever'.

Michael reflects on how, during World War Two, we needed to produce all the food we could in order to survive. He argues that, as an island nation, taking food security for granted, even today, is risky.

And he says there is a real sense these days that our pastoral roots are being 'reshaped irrevocably...by those who don't know or love the countryside.'

Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Liam Morrey
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0028jgw)
Andrew Dawes on the Dipper

A new series of Tweet of the Day for Sunday morning revealing personal and fascinating stories from some fresh voices who have been inspired by birds, their calls and encounters.

In Northumberland the river Coquet is forced into a narrow and deep gorge known as the Thrum. As a child fifty years ago Tweet of the Day producer Andrew Dawes would settle himself on a rock downstream and wait for the arrival of the dipper taking advantage of the food rich torrent exiting the gorge. For him all those years ago he found dippers to be mesmerising little birds, bobbing up and down on a rock or dodging and weaving through the torrent before thrusting its head under the rapids in search of prey.

Producer : Andrew Dawes, BBC Audio, Bristol
Studio Engineer : Ilse Lademann


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0028jh0)
PM acting as 'bridge' between Trump and Zelensky

The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, say he will act as 'bridge' between Trump and Zelensky as European leaders meet in London. BH has a briefing. We search for people solving local problems and hear from Nigel Havers, who plays his own grandfather in a new drama.


SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m0028jh4)
William Boyd, writer

William Boyd is the author of eighteen novels, five short story collections and numerous screenplays. His first published novel, A Good Man in Africa, was inspired by his childhood in West Africa. He is well known for writing ‘whole life’ novels including Any Human Heart which he adapted as a BAFTA-winning television series.

He was born in Accra in Ghana where his Scottish father worked as a doctor, specialising in tropical medicine. In 1964 the family moved to Ibadan, Nigeria where he witnessed the Nigerian Civil War – the Biafran War – which had a profound effect on him both personally and professionally.

He read English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Glasgow and became a lecturer in English at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. During this period he wrote novels and short stories on the side until his breakthrough novel, A Good Man in Africa, was published in 1981.

In 2005 he was appointed CBE for services to literature.

William lives in London with his wife Susan and over 10,000 books.

DISC ONE: Sunday - Mandy Patinkin (George), Sunday in the Park with George Original Broadway Cast Ensemble and Orchestra
DISC TWO: Sorry Sorry - Femi Kuti
DISC THREE: Away Down the River - Alison Krauss
DISC FOUR: Que reste-t-il de nos amours - Charles Trenet
DISC FIVE: Daniel - Elton John
DISC SIX: Britten: Violin Concerto, Op. 15: 1. Moderato con moto. Performed by Janine Jansen (violin) London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paavo Järvi
DISC SEVEN: Brahms: Horn Trio In E Flat, Op. 40 - 1. Andante - Poco più animato. Performed by György Sebök (piano) Arthur Grumiaux (violin), Francis Orval (horn)
DISC EIGHT: Al Otro Lado del Río - Jorge Drexler

BOOK CHOICE: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
LUXURY ITEM: A piano
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Daniel - Elton John

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley


SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0028jh8)
Writer: Avin Shah
Director: Julie Beckett
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Natasha Archer…. Mali Harries
Tom Archer…. William Troughton
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Vince Casey…. Tony Turner
Justin Elliott…. Simon Williams
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O’Hanrahan
Brad Horrobin…. Taylor Uttley
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Azra Malik…. Yasmin Wilde
Khalil Malik…. Krish Bassi
Zainab Malik…. Priyasasha Kumari
Kirsty Miller…. Annabelle Dowler
Freddie Pargetter…. Toby Laurence
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell…. Carole Boyd
Robert Snell…. Michael Bertenshaw


SUN 12:15 Profile (m0028jhd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 12:30 Just a Minute (m00289hv)
Series 94

6. Limoncello and Portobello

Sue Perkins challenges Josie Lawrence, Ivo Graham, Sara Pascoe and Daliso Chaponda to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation. Subjects include Dollywood, When The Dust Has Settled, and My Get Pumped Playlist.

Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Rajiv Karia
An EcoAudio certified production.

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.


SUN 12:57 Weather (m0028jhg)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0028jhj)
Can the UK be a bridge between Europe and the US?

Sir Keir Starmer hosts a major summit of European leaders in London to try and forge a common position on Ukraine. We assess how the Prime Minister might be able to achieve his aim of building a bridge between Europe and the Trump administration.


SUN 13:30 Who gets the houses? (m0028sj2)
Paul Kenyon is a native of Bury. After 30 years as an investigative journalist travelling the world, a small article in the Bury Times online catches his eye. ‘First homes on new estate handed over,’ reads the headline. It goes on to say that smart new houses are being built for rent in an area of Bury that could do with a bit of love and a bit of investment. But the reaction underneath the article is not celebratory. Nearly every comment mentions that the houses will be for ‘only immigrants’ and ‘not for the English.’

Paul covered the summer riots for the BBC and was struck by how many people said they were too afraid to express an opinion on immigration in case they were called racist.

He wanted to understand more about why people felt this way and here was a chance to gather some honest opinions, in his hometown.

Paul speaks to residents and immigrants in Bury who provide a fascinating snapshot of opinion.

This story's about who gets the houses, or at least who people think gets the houses.

Presenter: Paul Kenyon
Producer: Gill Kearsley
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound: Richard Hannaford
Production coordinator: Ellie Dover


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m00289wr)
Vale of White Horse: Heuchera, Waterlogged Gardens and Hardwood Cuttings

What’s the best way to propagate Heuchera? How do i minimise the growth of my Wisteria and maximise flowers? Are there any low skilled gardening jobs that I could do?

Kathy and a team of experts return to The Hanneys where they solve more gardening problems. Joining Kathy to answer the questions are fanatical plantswoman Christine Walkden, dedicated botanist Dr Chris Thorogood, and passionate plant expert Matthew Biggs.

Later in the programme, Matt Biggs Hardwood cuttings, an easy and reliable method of propagating plants.

Producer: Dominic Tyerman
Producer: Matthew Smith
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m0028jhl)
Spring Awakening - Episode 2

John Yorke examines the radical 1891 play Spring Awakening by German dramatist Frank Wedekind.

A cautionary, nightmarish portrait of teenage angst and rebellion against oppressive social structures and family pressures, the play’s explicit content was so shocking that it was not performed for 15 years after its publication. In the decades since, it has often been cut or censored. Wedekind’s original play became the inspiration for a 2006 hit Broadway musical of the same name.

In this second of two episodes, John looks at how Spring Awakening has been interpreted and performed in the 134 years since its publication and how audiences – and interpreters - react when they are faced with some very uncomfortable truths.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4.

Contributors:
Jonathan Franzen, author and essayist
Dr Karen Leeder, Professor of Modern German Literature, University of Oxford

Producer: Lucy Hough
Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael
Sound: Sean Kerwin
Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple

Audio: Spring Awakening (Fruhlings Erwachen), translated by Tom Osborn and adapted for BBC Radio 4 by John Tydeman and first broadcast 26th March 1973 on BBC Radio 4.

Actors:
Wendla: Helen Worth
Mrs Bergmann: Diana Olsson
Georg: Brian Hewlett
Melchior: Christopher Guard
Ernst: Michael Cochrane
Lammermeir: Andrew Rivers
Hans: Christopher Good
Moritz: John Moulder-Brown

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m0028jhn)
Spring Awakening

Part 2

A fresh take on Frank Wedekind’s shocking and provocative classic about teenagers discovering sex and identity in a repressive society. By Theo Toksvig-Stewart.

Teenagers Wendla, Melchoir, and Moritz are taking their first steps into adulthood. But in a world where everyone is haunted by the battle between shame and pleasure, openness feels impossible.

How can their parents offer help when conversations around sex, desire and relationships are so taboo? Lost, hungry for the truth, our teenagers have only each other for guidance. But knowledge can only take them so far. Their choices will have tragic repercussions.

In Part Two, Wendla and Melchior’s ‘game’ has devastating consequences. Moritz isn’t moving on at school, and finally has to face his father’s reaction.

This drama includes strong sexual content.

CAST
MELCHIOR ..... Jake Kenny-Byrne
MORITZ ..... David Angland
WENDLA ..... Shreya Lallu
ILSE ..... Madeleine Gray
ERNST ..... Aaron Gelkoff
HANSCHEN ..... Patrick Dineen
FANNY ..... Lisa McGrillis
GABOR ..... Sam James
BERGMANN ..... Jasmine Hyde
HERR STIEFEL ..... Matthew Wellard
GROUNDSKEEPER/KAHLBAUCH/KNOCHENBRUCH ..... John Bowler

Spring Awakening is a new version by Theo Toksvig-Stewart of a play by Frank Wedekind
Directed by Anne Isger
Sound by Keith Graham and Mike Etherden

German playwright Frank Wedekind’s original play Spring Awakening was written in 1891. Critical of the sexually oppressive culture of the time, it offers an unflinching portrayal of topics including sexuality and suicide, and has frequently been the subject of censorship. Theo Toksvig-Stewart is an award-winning writer for stage, screen and audio. He is known for nuanced and humane narratives that tackle contemporary questions. His play Endless Second dealt with consent in the context of a relationship (described as “The best, most thought-provoking show at this year’s Fringe.”) His recent Radio 4 drama The Great Delay, about the toxic legacy of climate denial, starred Luke Treadaway, Olivia Williams and Rhashan Stone.


SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m0028jhr)
Christopher Brookmyre

This month, Bookclub, presented by James Naughtie, speaks to the author Christopher Brookmyre, as he takes questions from a live BBC audience about his debut novel, Quite Ugly One Morning. The book is a pacey crime thriller, not so much a 'whodunnit', as a 'whydunnit', and it introduces us to the wily, wise-cracking journalist Jack Parlabane - a character Chris is still writing about some thirty years later. Published in 1996, Quite Ugly One Morning, was a best-seller at the time, and the actor David Tennant read the audiobook.

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC AUDIO SCOTLAND PRODUCTION.


SUN 16:30 Counterpoint (m0028jhw)
Series 38

Semi-final 1, 2025

(10/13)
The first trio of heat winners take their place for the first of this year's semi-finals, with Paul Gambaccini putting them through their paces on a wide range of musical topics. Will they know which city provides the nickname of Shostakovich's seventh symphony, which Marvin Gaye song Jack Black sang in the film 'High Fidelity', or the original performer of 'Tainted Love'?

They will also be asked to choose a musical 'special subject' on which to answer individual questions, without any prior warning of what categories are going to be offered.

Appearing in today's contest are:
Gareth Aubrey from Beddau in South Wales
Jonathan Brick from Watford
Antony Cruddas from Gosport.

Counterpoint is a BBC Studios Audio production.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


SUN 17:00 PM (m00292p2)
PM Special: European leaders meet to discuss support for Ukraine

A crucial summit of European Leaders meets on Sunday to discuss security. Evan Davis presents a special PM programme with the news and analysis of the day’s events.


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0028jj2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m0028jj6)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0028jjb)
Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled a four-step plan to help end the war in Ukraine, after hosting a summit with European leaders in London.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0028jjd)
Sean Cooney

Spring's in the air, and there's a spring in Sean's step as he strolls around Sheffield while keeping an ear on BBC Sounds. We hear about the transformative power of re-enactment can have for veterans on both sides of the Falklands War, the history behind Canada's Marathon of Hope, and some advice from a centenarian on living life to the full after celebrating her 105th birthday, swapping the candlesticks for glowsticks at her very own residential home rave in Derbyshire.

Presenter: Sean Cooney
Producer: Anthony McKee
Production Coordinator: Jack Ferrie

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0028jjj)
Whilst preparing the meal at Ambridge Hall for breaking their fast, Azra disapproves of Zainab applying to work at The Bull, a pub. Lynda admits how tricky she’s found the fasting, but Azra appreciates the effort Lynda is making to share their experience. Azra then queries Zainab taking part in the Tearoom’s pancake eating competition on Tuesday. An eating competition is not really in the spirit of Ramadan, even if it doesn’t start until after sunset. Zainab talks Azra round, claiming she’s doing it to help their neighbours, who have put themselves out to accommodate her . Besides, Azra is over-catering with this meal, so what’s the difference?

On a walk with Monty, after nipping into The Bull, Lynda tells Khalil how sorely tempted she was by Fallon’s brownies. Khalil extols mind over matter, before they compare and contrast Lent with Ramadan, coming to the conclusion that they are both testing in their different ways.

Later, as they prepare to break their fast, the Maliks explain the meaning of the Arabic prayers they recite, when the doorbell rings. It’s Akram, Azra’s husband, who has finally come home. Zainab and Khalil are thrilled at the lovely surprise, while Azra admits she kept his return secret so as not to spoil it for them. Akram gives Lynda some traditional presents from Adil for her and Robert. Azra then takes Akram to see the house on Beechwood, but they can’t stay long because of the smell. It will take ages before they can move back in, but at least they do have another option.


SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m0028jjm)
The Endemic Truth

Estimates from NSPCC suggest around 1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused. This documentary brings together survivors whose experiences span different backgrounds, relationships and generations - challenging misconceptions that abuse only happens in certain communities.

Through intimate conversations with Laura, Bryony, Joe, and Chris, we witness how institutional silence has allowed abuse to become endemic.

At a time when child sexual abuse is making headlines, these survivors offer crucial insight into what real justice looks like, and how society must act to protect children while supporting those whose lives have been irrevocably changed by abuse.

Voices: Laura, Bryony, Joe and Chris from IICSA Changemakers
Consultant: Natalie Dormer, Ambassador for NSPCC
Sound design and music by Phoebe McIndoe
Production Support: Clare Kelly & Denise Pringle
Produced by Phoebe McIndoe assisted by Tess Davidson
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001wh8w)
Track Your Exercise

Tracking your exercise is a simple and surprisingly effective way to motivate you to move more. Most of us own an exercise tracker, whether it’s the fitness app on our phone or a special bit of kit on our wrist. But how do they make us more active? Professor Carol Maher, from the University of Southern Australia, has found wearing an activity tracker really can encourage more physical activity. She tells Michael how the instant feedback allows people to take control of their activity levels. Michael learns the extra movement a tracker encourages can really help improve your brain power and reduce your risk of certain cancers and type 2 diabetes. Volunteer Rumbi opens her fitness app and steps out to see if it really works.

Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Science Producer: Catherine Wyler
Researcher: Sophie Richardson
Researcher: Will Hornbrook
Production Manager: Maria Simons
Editor: Zoe Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m0028bp9)
Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson on ending the 90-minute drama. Controversial song choice on Desert Island Discs

Radio 3 is cutting its long-running drama slot, and it's something that has elicited reactions from listeners, playwrights, and actors alike. Andrea Catherwood starts the new series of Feedback by discussing the changes with station controller Sam Jackson. She also speaks to the co-chair of the Writing Guild of Great Britain, Nicola Baldwin, about what made Radio 3 drama special.

Recent episodes of Desert Island Discs have been creating big reactions from listeners too - lawyer Nemone Lethbridge's choice of song 'I Wanna Go Back to Dixie' by American satirist Tom Lehrer was defended by the BBC, but was it a step too far for some listeners?

And as news teams across BBC Radio react to seismic world events, one listener gives his view on how the coverage has sounded to him.

Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Pauline Moore
Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m00289x0)
Roberta Flack, Dr D G Hessayon, Keith Dewhurst, Rose Hanks

John Wilson on:

Musician Roberta Flack, best known for The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly.

Dr David Hessayon, the author of a series of gardening books known as The Expert guides. His one word advice to keen gardeners was 'mulch'.

Keith Dewhurst whose work for television and stage included the National’s unconventional adaptation of Lark Rise to Candleford.

And Rose Hanks the motorcycle sidecar passenger who became the first woman to stand on the winner’s podium at the Isle of Man TT in 1968.

Producer: Ribika Moktan

Archive:
Killing Me Softly: The Roberta Flack Story, BBC4, 13/06/2014; London Plus: Roberta Flack, BBC1 South East, 16/10/1984; The Albion Band, BBC 2, 17/09/1980;
Pick of the Review: Artists and their Art,05/09/1972; Munich Air Disaster, BBC News, 06/02/1958; Isle of Man 1968 TT Race Produced as part of the “Stanley Schofield Sound Stories”, digitally remastered and provided by Duke Video https://www.dukevideo.com/prd9952/TT-1968-Audio-2-CD-Set; 1961 Sidecar TT - Isle of Man, Uploaded to YouTube by JZijlstra, 06/06/2012 https://www.youtube.com/@jilmer1; The 1965 Sidecar Race of the Year at Mallory Park, Duke Video, Uploaded to YouTube, 10/05/2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYut9uApeg4; TT 1967 Diamond Jubilee Audio CD by Duke video https://www.dukevideo.com/prd9932/TT-1967-Diamond-Jubilee-Audio-CD


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0028jjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0028jgc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0028jjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:30 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0028jjt)
With an important summit taking place in London, Ben Wright and his panel respond to the latest developments on Ukraine.

Ben Wright is joined by the Labour MP and chair of the Treasury select committee, Dame Meg Hillier; the Conservative former Culture Secretary, Sir John Whittingdale; and defence analyst Karin von Hippel. They discuss the London summit convened by Sir Keir Starmer and the outlook for the conflict in Ukraine. The programme also includes an interview with the Chair of RUSI, Sir David Lidington. The political editor of the Daily Mail, Jason Groves, brings additional insight and analysis.


SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m0028bng)
Kali

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Hindu goddess Kali, often depicted as dark blue, fierce, defiant, revelling in her power, and holding in her four or more arms a curved sword and a severed head with a cup underneath to catch the blood. She may have her tongue out, to catch more blood spurting from her enemies, be wearing a garland of more severed heads and a skirt of severed hands and yet she is also a nurturing mother figure, known in West Bengal as ‘Maa Kali’ and she can be fiercely protective. Sometimes she is shown as young and conventionally beautiful and at other times as old, emaciated and hungry, so defying any narrow definition.

With

Bihani Sarkar
Senior Lecturer in Comparative Non-Western Thought at Lancaster University

Julius Lipner
Professor Emeritus of Hinduism and the Comparative Study of Religion at the University of Cambridge

And

Jessica Frazier
Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford and fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

During this discussion, Julius Lipner reads a translation of a poem by Kamalakanta (c.1769–1821) "Is my black Mother Syama really black?" This translation is by Rachel Fell McDermott and can be found in her book Singing to the Goddess, Poems to Kali and Uma from Bengal (Oxford University Press, 2001)

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Reading list:

Mandakranta Bose (ed.), The Goddess (Oxford University Press, 2018)

John S. Hawley and Donna M. Wulff (eds.), Devi: Goddesses of India (University of California Press, 1996)

Knut A. Jacobsen (ed.), Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol 1 (Brill, 2025)

David Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition (University of California Press, 1986), especially chapter 8

Rachel Fell McDermott and Jeffrey J. Kripal (eds.), Encountering Kālī in the margins, at the center, in the west (University of California Press, 2003)

In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production


SUN 23:45 Short Works (m00289ww)
Well by Manon Steffan Ros

An AI wellness app observes its user, encouraging her on daily runs and healthy shopping trips.

But when does ‘wellness’ become too much?

A new short story by award-winning Manon Steffan Ros (writer of The Blue Book of Nebo), read by Kezrena James, produced by Fay Lomas.

MONDAY 03 MARCH 2025

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0028jjw)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 The Battersea Poltergeist (p095j8fn)
Episode 4: The Underground Exorcist

A psychic medium offers to perform an exorcism to remove Donald the Poltergeist.

Broken by sleepless nights and constant fear, the Hitchings family accept – but is this putting teenage Shirley in even more danger? As Danny continues his present day investigation of the case with the help of parapsychologists Ciaran O’Keefe and Evelyn Hollow, he meets a real-life exorcist to learn about the risks involved.

Written and presented by Danny Robins, starring Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Toby Jones (Detectorists), Burn Gorman (Torchwood) and Alice Lowe (Sightseers).

With original theme music by Mercury-nominated Nadine Shah and Ben Hillier, this gripping 8-part series interweaves a chilling supernatural thriller set in 50s London with a fascinating modern-day investigation into Britain’s strangest ever haunting – a mystery unsolved... until now.

Shirley Hitchings……..Dafne Keen
Harold Chibbett………Toby Jones
Wally Hitchings…… Burn Gorman
Kitty Hitchings……….Alice Lowe
Ethel Hitchings……….Sorcha Cusack
John Hitchings……..Calvin Demba
Harry Hanks…….. David Troughton
Ronald Maxwell……….Rufus Wright
Joyce Lewis………Miranda Raison
Mrs Hanks……….Lizzie Roper
Christina.........Amina Zia

Written and presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Ciaran O’Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow
Sound Designer: Richard Fox
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Nadine Shah and Ben Hillier
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
Directed by Simon Barnard

Consultant: Alan Murdie
With thanks to James Clark, co-author of 'The Poltergeist Prince of London'

A Bafflegab production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2021.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0028jjz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0028jk1)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0028jk3)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0028jk5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0028jk7)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0028jk9)
Falling into the hands of God

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with the Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones

The poet laureate Simon Armitage once said that ‘all forms of study only lead to more unanswered and unanswerable questions.’ The more we know, the more we know we don't know.

This conundrum finds an echo in the epistle to the Ephesians, with its prayer that we might ‘know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge’. There's a mystery at the heart of faith which sets a deep conviction of knowing alongside the simultaneous recognition that we are engaging with something far beyond our capacity to comprehend.

In pondering this, I am helped by recalling some languages, including French and Welsh, have different verbs for cognitive knowing - knowing something - and for relational knowing - knowing someone.

So we are not like Donald Rumsfeld, wrestling with ‘known unknowns’. The love of Christ is not a ‘thing’. Considering God, and Christianity, and Christianity’s impact on culture, as objects to be studied, even appreciated, from a distance is not what the life of faith is about.

Instead, we are called into the risky business of encounter and experience, making ourselves open and vulnerable to that transcendent Presence who is both beyond our grasp and simultaneously felt as utterly intimate, not least in his knowledge of us.

This can be more than disconcerting. As the epistle to the Hebrews puts it, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.’

Holy God, give us grace to surrender ourselves ever more fully into your ineffable arms of love. Amen


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0028jkc)
03/03/25 - Solar farms on tenant farms, the wisdom of retired fishermen and supply chain fairness

The Tenant Farmers Association says the Government's decision to allow a solar project on farmland in Yorkshire is 'crushing' for farmers who rent land. Harmony Energy can now build a solar farm with battery storage on land owned by the Fitzwilliam Trust near Malton. The tenant farmers who currently farm there have campaigned for the past four years to halt the project.

Fishing is facing a shortage of workers – fewer people are coming from the European Union to work, and many older fishermen who retire aren't being replaced. At South Devon College they’re hoping to attract new recruits to the industry - we go to event in collaboration with the charity the Fishermen’s Mission, where the older generation of fishermen met those just starting out or considering a career at sea. 

And we hear from the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator. Farmers have long had concerns about the way supply chains work, saying they shoulder too much of the risk, and don't reap enough of the rewards. To help, an Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator has been appointed - in the first instance to enforce new rules aimed at improving transparency and fairness in the dairy sector. Similar regulations to cover pigs are expected this spring and then the plan is to look at eggs and fresh produce.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Heather Simons


MON 05:57 Weather (m0028jkf)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers


MON 06:00 Today (m0028jpz)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0028jq3)
The Great Auk meets Victorian explorers, and zombie ponds

The Great Auk: Its Extraordinary Life, Hideous Death and Mysterious Afterlife is the subject of Tim Birkhead’s new book. This goose-sized seabird became the favoured food of hungry sailors and hunters, and the last two were killed in 1844. But then the bird became an obsession for collectors who vied for the last skins, eggs and skeletons.

Victorian hunters, explorers and collectors feature strongly in the story of the Great Auk. The writer Kaliane Bradley places the 19th century polar explorer Commander Graham Gore at the heart of her time-travelling novel, The Ministry of Time. The book is being made into a television series on BBC1 – to be aired later in the Spring.

Human activity has had, and continues to have, a big impact on bird populations. While several species have gone extinct, more are classified as threatened. But a joint conservation project between farmers and wildlife organisations is looking at restoring ‘zombie’ ponds, in an effort to increase pockets of wildlife. The RSPB’s Mark Nowers helps to organise the Lost Ponds Project and is involved in the protection of turtle doves, whose numbers are vulnerable.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 Shadow World (m0025w5j)
The Willpower Detectives

3. My Dying Wish

Sue Mitchell tracks what happens when a rock and roll roadie leaves his estate to his closest friends. They become increasingly concerned that things aren't being properly handled.

The hidden scandal of Power of Attorney - concerned neighbours ask Sue for help.

This series examines how one man has taken control of the finances of scores of vulnerable people and also acts as executor on many wills. By tracking recent cases through national databases, Sue Mitchell meets friends and relatives of some of those who have died and examines concerns about the way that things were handled.

This is an original investigation, with recordings in real time, exploring how power of attorney orders can be used for better or worse.

Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK

Presented by Sue Mitchell
Produced by Sue Mitchell, Joel Moors and Winifred Robinson


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0028jq7)
Twiggy, Trauma cards, Lesbian Lines

Last night was the biggest night in film - the Oscars! The independent film Anora, made for just $5 million, cleaned up winning five awards including best picture and best actress for Mikey Madison - a 25-year-old relative unknown - who was on our programme last month. To give us all the news and highlights, film journalist Karen Krizanovich is in the Woman's Hour studio with Krupa Padhy.

The UK data watchdog has launched what it calls a major investigation into TikTok's use of children's personal information. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) will inspect the way in which the social media platform uses the data of 13 to 17 year olds to recommend further content to them. Zoe Kleinman, the BBC's technology editor and Dr Kaitlyn Regehr, Associate Professor Director of Digital Humanities at University College London, discuss.

Trauma can be a major barrier to seeking medical care. That's according to a new survey from Healthwatch England, which found that women experience trauma more than men and nearly a fifth of respondents who have experienced trauma say they often or fairly often avoid health services. They are calling on the NHS to adopt pocket sized trauma cards for patients to show during appointments, following a successful pilot in Essex. Louise Ansari, Chief Executive of Healthwatch England, the patients champion, and Laura (not her real name), a survivor of sexual trauma and a sessional counsellor for Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse, join Krupa.

What could you do before the internet if you thought you might be a lesbian and needed advice? Did you know there were a number of telephone lines around the country that you could call for advice or just for a friendly listening ear? Writer Elizabeth Lovatt discovered the logbooks of calls made to one of these lines and imagines the calls and tells the history of these help lines in her new book, Thank You For Calling The Lesbian Line. Elizabeth and Lisa Power, sexual health and LGBT campaigner and long-time volunteer at one of these lines, join Krupa to discuss.

Twiggy turned the modelling world upside down with her androgynous style, big round eyes, bold eyelashes, and pixie haircut, becoming a defining figure and fashion icon of the swinging 60s. Considered the world’s first supermodel, she went on to have a successful career in acting and singing, earning two Golden Globes and a Tony nomination, designed fashion ranges, appeared as a judge on America’s Next Top Model, and was awarded a damehood for services to the fashion, arts and charity. Now a new documentary, Twiggy, directed by Sadie Frost, is out in cinemas from Friday. Twiggy joins Krupa.

Presenter: Krupa Padhy
Producer: Kirsty Starkey


MON 11:00 Artworks (m0028jll)
Roleplay

Fagin

One big dramatic role. Actors from across the world tell us what the part means and what it means to them. This time: Fagin.

Christopher Eccleston, Omid Djalili and Simon Lipkin tell stories of playing the part of Fagin, revealing how the character has evolved over time. They're joined by Mark Lester, who explains what it was like acting alongside the famous Fagin Ron Moody, and Mark Napolitano who discusses Fagin's performance history.

Fagin was first dreamt up by Charles Dickens in his 1838 work Oliver Twist. Dickens's depiction of the thief and gang leader is controversial, widely criticised for being an anti-Semitic caricature. And when the book was adapted for the screen by David Lean in 1948, Alec Guinness's portrayal of Fagin provoked a strong reaction from audiences. In the 1960s, a Jewish popular music composer named Lionel Bart decided to adapt the novel for the musical theatre stage. He re-imagined Fagin - helped by the actor who first performed the role, Ron Moody.

Actors who've played the part in recent times tell us Fagin's story and discuss their own performance choices. Simon Lipkin is currently performing the role in Cameron Mackintosh and Matthew Bourne's production in the West End - he discusses Fagin's journey through Bart's musical and explores what it's like to play the part as a Jewish actor. Omid Djalili performed the role back in 2009 and says at the time he was a "left-field choice" for the part. He examines why Fagin has endured as a character and explores the comic elements of the role. Christopher Eccleston played Fagin in the CBBC series Dodger, he explores the backstory of Fagin and his relationship with the children in his gang. Mark Lester, who was Oliver in the 1968 film adaptation of the musical, reveals what it was like to act with Ron Moody. And Mark Napolitano, author of Oliver! A Dickensian Musical, tells us how Fagin's final scenes differ greatly between Dickens's book and Bart's musical.

Produced by Camellia Sinclair and Sam Grist for BBC Audio, Bristol
Editor Emma Harding
Mixed by Ilse Lademann

Archive:

Oliver Twist, BBC Radio 2, 16th December 2005
Reader - David Warner
Abridger - Neville Teller
Producer - Neil Gardner

Oliver Twist: 2: Pickpocket!, BBC Radio 4, 10th February 1994
Bill Sykes - Tim McInnerny
Producer - Neil Bryant

The Best of Times - The Worst of Times, Part 1, BBC Radio 4, 17th April 1988
Fagin - Garard Green
Producer - Rosemary Hart

Oliver Twist, BBC TV, 7th January 1962
Fagin - Max Adrian
Oliver - Bruce Prochnik
Producer - Eric Tayler
Scriptwriter - Constance Cox

Oliver Twist, BBC TV, 1st April 1962
Fagin - Max Adrian
Producer - Eric Tayler
Scriptwriter - Constance Cox

Dodger: Episode 1, BBC Two,
Fagin - Christopher Eccleston
Dodger (Jack Dawkins) - Billy Jenkins
Director - Rhys Thomas
Executive Producers - Lucy Montgomery and Rhys Thomas

Additional archive:
The Royal Variety Performance: 1994, BBC One, 3rd December 1994 (featuring Jonathan Pryce as Fagin); Celebrate Oliver!, BBC One, 26th December 2005; The Musical: From Page to Stage, BBC Radio 2, 11th October 2010; Stuart: A Face Backwards, BBC Radio 4, 25th June 2012; Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 29th September 2005 (featuring clips from Oliver Twist [1948], dir. by David Lean featuring Alec Guinness as Fagin); Parkinson: Alec Guinness, BBC Two, 18th December 2007; In Town Tonight, BBC Network Radio, 9th July 1960; Frankly Speaking, BBC Network Radio, 21st June 1961; The Story of Musicals: Episode 1, BBC Four, 3rd January 2012; Opening Nights: 5: Oliver, BBC Radio 4, 9th July 2002; Oliver! [1968] - Official Trailer, dir. Carol Reed, Columbia Pictures; Oliver! [1968], dir. Carol Reed, writers Lionel Bart / Vernon Harris, featuring Mark Lester as Oliver, Ron Moody as Bill Sykes, Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes, Columbia Pictures; Live at the Apollo, BBC One, 21st December 2012; Celebrate Oliver!, BBC One, 26th December 2005 (featuring Ron Moody performing as Fagin - Reviewing the Situation, composed by Lionel Bart).


MON 11:30 Naturebang (m0021jq1)
Crafty Cuttlefish and Theory of Mind

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight explore whether we can ever know what others know, and how we figure out if they're telling fibs.

Beneath the surface of the ocean, darting around in the dappled sunlight of the reef, you can find some of nature's most prolific liars. The cephalopods. Squid, octopus and cuttlefish; filthy con artists, the lot of them. They communicate with each other, and with both predators and prey, using dazzling patterns of shifting colour and texture on the surface of their skin. The messages they send can be sophisticated, but they're not always honest; males pretending to be females, octopuses pretending to be sea-snakes, cuttlefish on the hunt for love, pretending to have more innocent intentions. To deceive another, you might think, implies a level of understanding about what that other being knows, or is thinking. The philosophers call this Theory of Mind. But how much do the cuttlefish really KNOW about the tall tales they tell - and how much can we deduce about their intelligence as a result?

If cuttlefish are some of nature's best liars, let's meet some of the worst: human toddlers. Oh they lie alright, but they're terrible at it - they tell the most outrageous fibs that we can all see through. That's because they are just beginning to develop the complex skills of Theory of Mind for themselves, and they haven't quite perfected it. How they lie, and how they learn to do it better, gives us fascinating insights into the developing mind of a child.

Featuring Dr Jon Copley, professor of Ocean Exploration at the University of Southampton, and Dr Emily Jones, from Toddlerlab, at the Centre for Brain & Cognitive Development at Birkbeck College. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.


MON 11:45 My Dear Kabul by Writers in the Paranda Group (m0028jqd)
Episode 1 - The Fall of Kabul

A women's writers' group begin their collective diary as the Taliban retake Afghanistan. The readers are Juliet Stevenson, Indira Varma, Chipo Chung and Shala Nyx.

My Dear Kabul is a collective diary kept by a group of women writers in Afghanistan after the Taliban's return to power in August 2021. That fateful summer, as the Taliban advance across Afghanistan intensified, the women, brought together by their writing, were about to publish their first short story collection. Almost immediately, they began keeping a record of their experiences on WhatsApp, telling the story of everyday life in their homeland as cities transform, families change, and freedoms disappear. Some were students, newly married, mothers, and grandmothers, and while some remained in their homeland, others were forced to flee where they had to contend with becoming refugees and asylum seekers in unwelcoming countries

My Dear Kabul is an Untold Narratives project. Untold Narratives works to develop and amplify the work of writers marginalised by community or conflict, and share their stories with readers, locally and globally.

The readers are Juliet Stevenson, Indira Varma, Chipo Chung and Shala Nyx who throughout their careers actively work to support children and women’s rights, and more broadly human rights in the UK and internationally.

Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Sound design by Peter Ringrose
Produced by Elizabeth Allard


MON 12:00 News Summary (m0028jqj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m0028jqn)
Own Labels; Fake-Aways; Set-Jetting

We're delving into the take-away sector. The end of the pandemic has driven a slump in takeaway orders and last week Just Eat just sold for £3.4 billion having been valued at £14 billion in 2021. So have we fallen out of love with our Friday night take-aways? Shari Vahl talks to analyst Giles Thorne to find out more plus we hear about the rise of 'fake-aways' as more people seek to cut costs by recreating their favourite meals at home.

We're buying more own-label products than ever before - so have we stopped seeing them as the cheap alternative? Ananda Roy from Circana talks to Shari Vahl about how own label products have upped their game.

Plus the rise of 'location vocations' as new figures show that more people are booking a holiday after watching a TV show, whether BBC Race Across the World or HBO Hit The White Lotus.

PRESENTER - SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER - CATHERINE EARLAM


MON 12:57 Weather (m0028jqs)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m0028jqx)
The diplomacy push continues

As Europe works to keep the US involved in the future of Ukraine, we examine the options available to the UK government. We hear from the former head of the Foreign Office and from Estonia's president. Plus, Brit award winner Georgia Davies of The Last Dinner Party on funding for the arts.


MON 13:45 Assume Nothing (m0028jr1)
Killer Dust

1. A Very Strange Event

A hush-hush factory opening. No photographs allowed. A story of cover-ups, corporate espionage, fightbacks – and death ...

In this series, casually scanning old newspaper archives, Ophelia Byrne comes across an odd headline: “Hush hush process in Ballyclare firm.”

The newspaper was printed in 1967. “Strictly no photographs” was the order issued at the opening of the new factory.

“90 guests steered clear of a top-secret process.” All workers “will have to sign an oath of secrecy.”

What, she wonders, is this factory making?

Ophelia doesn’t know it when she starts out, but her subsequent investigation into this company, Turner and Newall, will take her from a small town in Northern Ireland across the Irish Sea to places like Rochdale, Leeds and London.

It will bring her to one million documents released for a transatlantic trial – papers which show cover-ups and even corporate espionage.

The product, of course, is asbestos. You may think you know the story – it’s a dangerous substance.

But Ophelia marries previous journalistic investigations to new documents which reveal what government agencies knew about its risks, and when.

She combs through company correspondence which the manufacturers claimed did not exist, and clearly never imagined would become public.

This is the story of Killer Dust, from mountains of the material in mines still operating in countries today, to the skyscrapers of Manhattan, and the terraced streets of the north of England.

It is the story too of the people who fought and died for the truth to expose the reckless pursuit of profit in the making of one of the most dangerous building materials on the planet.

Presenter/ Producer: Ophelia Byrne
Studio Engineer: Gary Bawden
Executive Editor: Andy Martin


MON 14:00 The Archers (m0028jjj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m001jc9f)
Series 4

2. Let It Go

Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam return with the fourth series of Jan Etherington’s award-winning comedy about a long-married couple in love with life and each other. This week, Joanna’s goddaughter, Jools, discovers she cannot have children and wants advice from her godmother. Roger and Joanna recall the day they learned they would never become parents but Joanna reassures Jools that ‘I’m lucky. I have a love affair with my husband and I don’t have to share it with hordes of kids’. ‘And it’s cheaper’, Roger adds, helpfully.

Conversations from a Long Marriage is written by Jan Etherington. The sound engineer is Wilfredo Acosta. The sound designer is Jon Calver. The production coordinator is Katie Baum. It is produced and directed by Claire Jones. It is a BBC Studios Production.

Conversations from a Long Marriage won the Voice of the Listener & Viewer Award for Best Radio Comedy in 2020 and was nominated for a Writers’ Guild Award in 2022

‘Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam have had illustrious acting careers but can they ever have done anything better than Jan Etherington’s two hander? This is a work of supreme craftsmanship.’ RADIO TIMES
‘Peppered with nostalgic 60s hits and especially written for the pair, it’s an endearing portrait of exasperation, laced with hard won tolerance – and something like love.’ THE GUARDIAN
‘The delicious fruit of the writer, Jan Etherington’s experience of writing lots of TV and radio, blessed by being acted by Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam. Treasure this one, produced by Claire Jones. Unlike many a current Radio 4 ‘comedy’, this series makes people laugh’ GILLIAN REYNOLDS. SUNDAY TIMES
‘You’ve been listening at my window, Jan’. JOANNA LUMLEY


MON 14:45 The Island (m0028404)
Series 1

Episode 3: In search of Hislop's luxury

Castaway Stephen Mangan tries to make up for accidentally destroying the camp's food supply by going in search of Ian Hislop’s hidden luxury.

From Bill Dare (Dead Ringers), Jon Holmes (The Skewer) and writers Tom Oxenham and Simon Alcock, actor Stephen Mangan washes up on the actual island from Desert Island Discs, only to discover that he is not alone.

Living among the palms and rocky outcrops and thousands of copies of the Bible lying in the sand is every former guest of the show - and it’s all gone a bit Lord of the Flies.

Through Stephen’s audio diary, we learn that all TV chef Nadiya Hussain wants to do is hunt, that Richard Madeley’s gone feral, and that Sandi Toksvig has the Conch. But there’s something lurking in the forest, and when Stephen suspects foul play in the power struggle to be chief, he soon finds himself making a dangerous enemy.

Can he win over his fellow islanders before it’s too late? What lengths will he go to to survive? And what the hell is he going to do with this useless coffee machine he chose as his luxury item?

Written by Tom Oxenham and Simon Alcock
Starring Stephen Mangan as himself

Sound Design: Tony Churnside
Executive Producer: Jon Holmes
Producer: Bill Dare

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


MON 15:00 A Good Read (m0028jr3)
Inua Ellams and Ted Hodgkinson

WHEN WE CEASE TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD by Benjamin Labatut (translated by Adrian Nathan West), chosen by Ted Hodgkinson
ENTER GHOST by Isabella Hammad, chosen by Inua Ellams
GHOSTING: A DOUBLE LIFE by Jennie Erdal, chosen by Harriett Gilbert

As Head of Literature and Spoken Word-programming at the Southbank Centre in London, writers and writing are at the heart of Ted Hodgkinson's work. In 2020 he chaired the judging panel of the International Booker Prize and he has judged many other awards, including the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. His choice of a good read is a slim, genre-defying book by Chilean author Benjamin Labatut which packs a huge punch. It's about the scientists and mathematicians whose work has shaped our world, and the unintended - sometimes horrifying - consequences of scientific advancement.

Inua Ellams is a playwright, poet and curator. His work includes Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall, and an updating of Chekhov's Three Sisters, set during the Biafran Civil War, and he's recently been announced as one of the writers of the next series of Dr Who. His choice is Isabella Hammad's 2023 novel Enter Ghost. After a disastrous love affair, British-Palestinian actress Sonia goes to stay with her sister in Haifa. Intending the visit as a holiday, she finds herself investigating her family's history and getting involved in a production of Hamlet, to be staged in the West Bank.

Presenter Harriett Gilbert's choice is Ghosting by Jennie Erdal. A fascinating account of Jennie's time as ghostwriter for 'Tiger' (the publisher Naim Attallah), penning everything from novels to love letters in his name.

Producer: Mair Bosworth

Photo copyright Tiu Makkonen.


MON 15:30 Heart and Soul (w3ct5tf2)
Hervé's Way: the story of a one-legged pilgrim

Hervé lost a leg in a motorbike accident. On the eve of the operation, he made a deal with God: “If I walk again, I'll go to Santiago.” He did walk again, but not on pilgrimage. Instead, he got caught up in his business affairs, suffered burn out, tried to kill himself and spent several months in a psychiatric hospital before he decided to keep his side of the bargain. He set out, with crutches and a prosthetic leg, for Santiago de Compostela, a journey of 1,920 kilometres from his home in Brittany in north west France to the cathedral that contains the relics of Saint James at the tip of north west Spain. The experience utterly changed him. It was, he says, a resurrection. He is now embarking on a second pilgrimage which will cover almost twice the distance; from Rome to Santiago de Compostela. John Laurenson walks with him for a couple of days to hear his story and talk about life, God, pilgrimage, about Luther's criticism – that they are a waste of time - and the sacrifice they can represent for his family of a wife and four children. John also talks to him about how, in a part of the world where religious observance has become the affair of a small minority, going on pilgrimages in Europe has never been more popular, with new routes opening all the time.

Producer / Presenter: John Laurenson
Executive Producer: Rajeev Gupta


MON 16:00 Who gets the houses? (m0028sj2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:30 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0028jr5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


MON 17:00 PM (m0028jr7)
President Trump criticises European plans to support Ukraine

The American leader criticises the Europeans' approach to support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, defence companies' stock soars in expectation of increased defence spending. Plus, is the government watering down its proposals for employment rights? And we hear from the English town with an unexpectedly high population of yellow-tail scorpions.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0028jr9)
Sir Keir Starmer insists that Donald Trump's desire for peace in Ukraine is "sincere", while the US President again criticises Volodymyr Zelensky's stance on the war.


MON 18:30 One Person Found This Helpful (m0028jrc)
Series 2

1. Happy Sleepy Sauce

Frank & guests Laura Smyth, Sunil Patel, Simon Evans & Kyrah Gray discuss googling, goggling, groping, gropping and the correct way to punch yourself in the face.

This is the panel game based on what we all sit down and do at least once a day - shop online and leave a review, as an all-star panel celebrate the good, the bad & the baffling.

Everyone has an online life, and when the great British public put pen to keyboard to leave a review, they almost always write something hilarious. And our all-star panel have to work out just what they were reviewing – and maybe contribute a few reviews of their own... and more... So if you’re the person who went on Trip Advisor to review Ben Nevis as “Very steep and too high”, this show salutes you!


Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer & Peter Tellouche

Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans with the producer David Tyler

A Pozzitive Production for BBC Radio 4


MON 19:00 The Archers (m0028jl6)
At No.6 The Green Jazzer moans to Brad about the posh dinner Tracy’s making him go to with Susan and Neil. But Brad has other things on his mind, including the pancake eating competition. Jazzer would far rather go to that, but Tracy refuses to change their dinner date to let him do both. Brad then tells jealous Jazzer he’ll fast before the competition to make sure he beats Zainab. The prize is as good as his.

Akram fills Azra in on how Adil is doing in Pakistan, then outlines some ideas to get his business up and running. They share happy memories of biking together, before Azra shocks him with news about Zainab wanting to work in a pub. Later, they consider the idea of moving back to Solihull, amongst old friends. Azra confesses that, despite the sewage spill, they feel settled in Ambridge. She thinks Akram might grow to like it there too.

Despite Emma’s best efforts the Tearoom has been dead all day. Both Pat and Emma hope Natasha’s punt on getting customers back with the pancake competition works. Pat’s frustrated that not many people have signed her petition about the sewage overspill. Emma suggests drumming up a bigger response with a media blitz. Later, Emma shows Pat the work she’s been doing online to publicise the petition, using photos of damage at Bridge Farm and adding links to the Borsetshire Clean Water Action Group. Even better, Emma then gets an invite for an interview on Radio Borsetshire – at last, an opportunity for their voices to be heard!


MON 19:15 Front Row (m0028jrg)
Daniel Evans as Edward II, Laura Carreira's film On Falling, last night's Oscar winners

Sean Baker made Oscar history, becoming the first person to win four Academy Awards for directing, editing, writing and producing a single film, Anora. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh joins Samira to look at this year's Oscar winners and what they say about cinema today. The RSC's co-artistic director Daniel Evans discusses playing Christopher Marlowe's Edward II. Filmmaker Laura Carreira talks about her award-winning debut feature On Falling, about the social isolation and the injustices faced by a Portuguese woman working in the gig economy in Scotland. And, we look back at the work of late artist Jack Vettriano with Rachel Campbell Johnson.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Ruth Watts


MON 20:00 Rethink (m0028bpc)
Liberalism

Across the West, the long-established liberal order appears to be struggling to adapt to the economic and social challenges of the 21st century. As a result, traditional politics is being rejected by voters at the ballot box, increasingly usurped by narratives once considered too radical for the mainstream.

In Europe, right wing populists and the far-right are in the ascendancy in countries such as France, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. Across the Atlantic, Donald Trump has returned to the White House for a second term.

The roots of political liberalism can be traced back to the 18th century, with much of the modern liberal world order emerging out of the end of World War II. But as similar patterns emerge across numerous democracies, could we be witnessing the end of liberalism?

Presenter: Ben Ansell
Producer: Ben Cooper
Editor: Clare Fordham

Contributors:
Jon Cruddas, author and former Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham
Edmund Fawcett, political journalist and author
Sarah de Lange, Professor of Political Pluralism at the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam
Catherine de Vries, Professor of Political Science at Bocconi University
Michael Gove, Editor of The Spectator and former Conservative MP for Surrey Heath


MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m0028bpf)
AI in Science: Promise and Peril

This week, Google has launched a new AI tool called Co-Scientist. We hear from one researcher who has tried it out with stunning results. But how much should we trust tools like this - and what are the dangers?

And what about the problem of AI generated text and images? We talk to an ‘image integrity analyst’ who hunts down fake or manipulated pictures in scientific papers.

Finally, the planets of the solar system are coming into an unusual alignment. Astronomer Royal for Scotland Catherine Heymans shares how to glimpse the planetary parade.

Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producers: Ilan Goodman, Sophie Ormiston & Ella Hubber
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


MON 21:00 Start the Week (m0028jq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:45 The Bottom Line (m002648t)
The Decisions That Made Me

Decisions That Made Me: Julian Douglas (VCCP, Global CEO)

When do you start that side hustle you've always talked about doing? What if it gets you fired from work? And even if you do leave, make your success and build your hustle into a successful business, can you ever decide to step away and go back to your career? Julian Douglas, global CEO of advertising agency VCCP, talks to Evan Davis about his decision to go in to advertising, being fired for his night life start up, and then walking away from the company he founded to go back to his former career.

Production team:
Producers: Simon Tulett and Michaela Graichen
Researcher: Drew Hyndman
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0028jrj)
Trump criticises Zelensky for saying end of war "very far away"

US President Trump renewed his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, calling for him to be "appreciative" of US support and saying Zelensky "better not be right" that the war will continue for a long time. Earlier on Truth Social, Donald Trump wrote that Zelensky, "doesn't want there to be Peace."

President Trump also says tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada are definitely coming into force at midnight. We speak to the Premier of British Columbia who says Canada's sovereignty is under threat.

And could the film that won Best Picture at the Oscars, Anora, change attitudes towards sex workers?


MON 22:45 The Jura Affair by William Boyd (m0028jrl)
1: The Book on the Train

A sparkling new 10-part literary whodunnit from the acclaimed author William Boyd, set on the remote Scottish Isle of Jura, and featuring amateur sleuth, Bethany Mellmoth.

When Orwell obsessive Bethany Mellmoth finds herself in possession of a rare copy of 1984, so begins a literary trail that will take her to the remote Scottish island where the book was written. On Jura Bethany, in the seemingly genteel company of an antiquarian bookseller, she takes on the role of amateur sleuth, as she faces skulduggery and scams, and even threats to her own life...

Today: when a man drops a book on the tube, George Orwell-obsessive Bethany Mellmoth decides it's fate when she sees it's a rare copy of 1984. But what should she do with it?

The Jura Affair was inspired by and developed from a short story published in 2017.

Writer: William Boyd, is one of the UK's most acclaimed writers. He is the author of 17 novels, including A Good Man in Africa, winner of the Whitbread Literary Award and the Somerset Maugham Award; An Ice Cream War, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and shortlisted for the Booker prize; Any Human Heart, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet; and Restless, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year.
Reader: Ruth Everett
Producer: Justine Willett


MON 23:00 Limelight (p0dy5zc1)
The Incident at Ong's Hat

The Incident at Ong’s Hat - Episode 5: The Other Side

All roads lead back to Ong’s Hat, as Charlie has an experience that defies explanation and Sarah’s ultimate fate is revealed.

Cast:
Charlie - Corey Brill
Sarah - Avital Ash
Rodney Ascher - Himself
Det. Stecco - James Bacon
Casey - Hayley Taylor
Ringo - Benjamin Williams
Kit - Randall Keller
Denny Unger - Himself
Joseph Matheny - Himself
Newscasters: Elizabeth Saydah, Dean Wendt

Created and Produced by Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto
Inspired by Ong’s Hat: The Beginning by Joseph Matheny
Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Jon Frechette, Chris Zabriskie, Anthéne, Alessandro Barbanera, Blanket Swimming, Macrogramma (under Creative Commons)
Editing and Sound Design - Jon Frechette
Additional Editing - Brandon Kotfila and Greg Myers
Special Thanks - Ben Fineman

Written and Directed by Jon Frechette
Executive Producer - John Scott Dryden

“Ong’s Hat Survivors Interview” courtesy of Joseph Matheny
Visit thegardenofforkedpaths.com & josephmatheny.com

A Goldhawk production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0028jrn)
Sean Curran reports as MPs from all parties rally round the Prime Minister's diplomatic efforts to build a lasting peace in Ukraine.

TUESDAY 04 MARCH 2025

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0028jrq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 00:30 My Dear Kabul by Writers in the Paranda Group (m0028jqd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0028jrs)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0028jrv)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0028jrx)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0028jrz)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0028js1)
Shrove Tuesday

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with the Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones

Good morning. Today is Shrove Tuesday, historically the day for being shriven in preparedness for Ash Wednesday and the Lenten disciplines that will follow.

To be shriven is to confess one sins and receive the assurance of God's forgiveness of our sins. This should follow reflection on one’s shortcomings - identifying those serious matters to be addressed during Lent, and given up, through creating new and better habits.

Shrove Tuesday was also for eating up the rich foods which were forbidden during the Lenten fast – meat if you were rich; and if you only had butter, eggs and sugar, well, they can still provide a feast of pancakes. In some places preparing for Lent turned into a longer period of Carnival, literally ‘Farewell to meat’, culminating in Mardi Gras, ‘Fat Tuesday’.

Carnival and confession are strange bedfellows. But I find good reason for holding both in mind as we embark on Lent.

Together, feast and fast span the human condition – from the relishing of the rich abundant life for which we were created, to our equal need sometimes to step back into reflection and repentance. Shrove Tuesday reminds us that the redeeming grace that Jesus Christ has won for us on the cross is for us in our abundance and in our contrition.

So let's remember that holiness can be found not only in Lenten fasting, but also in feasting, the foretaste of the heavenly banquet. And today, enjoy your pancakes!

Lord Jesus Christ, who feasted with sinners, give us courage to offer the full span of our lives to your redeeming love. Amen


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0028js3)
04/03/25 - The cost of avian flu, apple supply chain and soy-free dairy cow feed

Bird flu continues to hit poultry farms across the country with 49 cases in England, 2 in Northern Ireland and 1 in Scotland. We hear from one farmer about the hidden cost of having an outbreak - from £10,000 worth of wasted eggs to the loss of the next 2 years of business.

We visit a distribution centre for the AGPO growers’ co-operative based in Kent, where apples and pears are delivered daily from nearby nitrogen cold storage facilities before being sent on to supermarkets.

And a trial at the University of Nottingham on dairy cattle has suggested that removing soya completely and using alternatives, can actually lead to an increase in milk production.

Presented by Anna Hill
Produced by Heather Simons


TUE 06:00 Today (m0028jkh)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m0028jkk)
Doyne Farmer on making sense of chaos for a better world

Doyne Farmer is something of a rebel. Back in the seventies, when he was a student, he walked into a casino in Las Vegas, sat down at a roulette table and beat the house. To anyone watching the wheel spin and the ball clatter to its final resting place, his choice of number would’ve looked like a lucky guess. But knowing the physics of the game and armed with the world’s first wearable computer, which he’d designed, a seemingly random win was actually somewhat predictable.

Doyne is an American scientist and entrepreneur who pioneered many of the fields that define the scientific agenda of our time, from chaos theory and complex systems to wearable computing. He uses big data and evermore powerful computers to apply complex systems science to the economy, to better predict our future. Much like roulette, economics can appear random but, with the right tools and understanding, it is anything but.

Now Director of the Complexity Economics Programme at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at Oxford, Doyne says there’s a real need to act, to use these powers of prediction to help resolve one of the most pressing questions of our time - how best to prevent climate change.

Presented by Jim Al-Khalili
Produced by Beth Eastwood


TUE 09:30 Inside Health (m0028jkm)
Will wearables revolutionise healthcare? Cardiff Science Festival special

Fitness trackers at the ready! Join James Gallagher at Cardiff Science Festival as he runs through the ways wearable tech is making an impact on health and how it might shape the future of medicines and care. With him are Dr Sanne Lugthart, Haematology consultant at the University Hospital of Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. She's pioneering using wearables and an app to track pain in people who suffer from sickle cell disease.

Also on the panel is Professor Kathryn Peall who is Personal Chair, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University. Kathryn tells James all about working with data from the UK Biobank to test if wearables could predict Parkinson's disease. She's also developing 80s-style headbands that could help take hospital grade sleep monitoring to the comfort of the bedroom. And, running experiments with the audience and on his skydiving assistant Danni, James is also joined by Damian Bailey, Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry from the University of South Wales.

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producers: Tom Bonnett and Hannah Robins
Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Editor: Colin Paterson


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0028jkp)
Obesity and children, How carers are coping, Lucy Edwards' new book

A third of children and young people worldwide will be overweight or obese by 2050, according to a new worldwide study, while rates of obesity in children, younger teenagers and younger adults more than doubled between 1990 and 2021. But if you're worried that your child is overweight or obese, how can you help them? What is the best way to approach this tricky topic without making things worse? Krupa Padhy is joined by nutritionist and child feeding expert Julia Wolman and child psychologist Laverne Antrobus.

In 2023, Eleanor Williams was found guilty of making up an Asian grooming gang in her hometown of Barrow-in-Furness. Her case was turned into the podcast series, Unreliable Witness, and we hear from producer Liz Lane about a new twist to the story.

The vast majority of the UK's 5.8 million unpaid carers are female and more than half of them feel overwhelmed, according to the latest State of Caring survey by the charity Carers UK. Their report found an increasing number of people who are looking after a disabled, older or ill relative are experiencing poor mental health because they cannot take a break from caring. Krupa talks to Helen Walker, CEO of Carers UK, and Laura Barnes, who cares full time for her 100-year-old grandmother Joan.

The body that governs the football Women's Super League is now considering the idea of suspending relegation – meaning no team would be demoted - in order to give time for the league to expand from 12 to 16 teams. Suzy Wrack, football writer at the Guardian and author of A Woman's Game, explains what this means for the game.

Journalist and disability activist Lucy Edwards has just published her debut fiction book, Ella Jones vs the Sun Stealer, a mystery aimed at younger readers. It tells the story of 12-year-old Ella Jones who has been blind for two years and is navigating her new world with the help of her guide dog Maisie, her sister Poppy and her best friend Finn. She joins Krupa to talk about the book and her experiences sharing her own story online.

Presenter: Krupa Padhy
Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths


TUE 11:00 Add to Playlist (m00289xp)
Emma Rawicz and Neil Brand reach for the skies

Bandleader and jazz saxophonist Emma Rawicz and the writer and composer Neil Brand join Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe as they add the next five tracks to the playlist. The journey takes them from Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, across the English Channel in a rickety aeroplane, then right up to the moon with Les Paul and Mary Ford.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

The Bucket’s Got a Hole in it by Kid Ory
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines by Ron Goodwin
Conversation by Joni Mitchell
How High the Moon by Les Paul and Mary Ford
Sweet Child O’Mine by Guns N’ Roses

Other music in this episode:

Tamacún by Rodrigo y Gabriela
Double Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra: Mvt 1 by Philip Glass, performed by Katia & Marielle Labèque
My Bucket's Got a Hole In It by Hank Williams
Bucket's Got a Hole In It by Louis Armstrong
My Bucket's Got a Hole In It by Van Morrison
633 Squadron: Main Title Theme by Ron Goodwin
Amassakoul by Tinariwen
Some Unholy War by Amy Winehouse
Didn't It Rain by Sister Rosetta Tharpe


TUE 11:45 My Dear Kabul by Writers in the Paranda Group (m0028jkr)
Episode 2 - We Won't Vanish

A women's writers' group confront the new reality of living under Taliban rule after their return to power in 2021. Read by Juliet Stevenson, Indira Varma, Chipo Chung and Shala Nyx.

My Dear Kabul is a collective diary kept by a group of women writers in Afghanistan after the Taliban's return to power in August 2021. That fateful summer, as the Taliban advance across Afghanistan intensified, the women, brought together by their writing, were about to publish their first short story collection. Almost immediately, they began keeping a record of their experiences on WhatsApp, telling the story of everyday life in their homeland as cities transform, families change, and freedoms disappear. Some were students, newly married, mothers, and grandmothers, and while some remained in their homeland, others were forced to flee where they had to contend with becoming refugees and asylum seekers in unwelcoming countries

My Dear Kabul is an Untold Narratives project. Untold Narratives works to develop and amplify the work of writers marginalised by community or conflict, and share their stories with readers, locally and globally.

The readers are Juliet Stevenson, Indira Varma, Chipo Chung and Shala Nyx who throughout their careers actively work to support children and women’s rights, and more broadly human rights in the UK and internationally.

Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Sound design by Peter Ringrose
Produced by Elizabeth Allard


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0028jkv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m0028jkx)
Call You and Yours: Going Green

Is going green affordable for you? On Call You and Yours, we'd like you to tell us.

Government advisers say households will need to make significant changes to their lifestyles to help the UK reach net zero by 2050. In 15 years' time, the Climate Change Committee says, 80% of cars should be electric and one in two homes should have a heat pump.

If you've made either of these switches - how's it gone, or are the costs putting you off?

It's not all about money though. Perhaps you've tried eating less meat, or avoiding flying?

Tell us what you've done, what you're trying to do - or what's stopping you.

Email us now, youandyours@bbc.co.uk and don't forget to leave a number so we can call you back. After 11am on Tuesday, you can call us on 03700 100 444.

PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY


TUE 12:57 Weather (m0028jkz)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m0028jl1)
President Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine.

President Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine we explore what this will mean on the front line and speak to General Sir Richard Sherriff who was formerly NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. Our Culture Editor gives us the latest as BBC bosses are questioned in Parliament, and we speak to a BRIT Award winner about how youth clubs were key to his success.


TUE 13:45 Assume Nothing (m0028jl3)
Killer Dust

2. Burying Evidence

An unmarked grave – and missing documents. What do the authorities know?

In this series, casually scanning old newspaper archives, Ophelia Byrne comes across an odd headline: “Hush hush process in Ballyclare firm.”

The newspaper was printed in 1967. “Strictly no photographs” was the order issued at the opening of the new factory.

“90 guests steered clear of a top-secret process.” All workers “will have to sign an oath of secrecy.”

What, she wonders, is this factory making?

Ophelia doesn’t know it when she starts out, but her subsequent investigation into this company, Turner and Newall, will take her from a small town in Northern Ireland across the Irish Sea to places like Rochdale, Leeds and London.

It will bring her to one million documents released for a transatlantic trial – papers which show cover-ups and even corporate espionage.

The product, of course, is asbestos. You may think you know the story – it’s a dangerous substance.

But Ophelia marries previous journalistic investigations to new documents which reveal what government agencies knew about its risks, and when.

She combs through company correspondence which the manufacturers claimed did not exist, and clearly never imagined would become public.

This is the story of Killer Dust, from mountains of the material in mines still operating in countries today, to the skyscrapers of Manhattan, and the terraced streets of the north of England.

It is the story too of the people who fought and died for the truth to expose the reckless pursuit of profit in the making of one of the most dangerous building materials on the planet.

Presenter/ Producer: Ophelia Byrne
Studio Engineer: Gary Bawden
Executive Editor: Andy Martin


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0028jl6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Body Horror (m001qlln)
Episode 2

Former mortician Caroline has had a full body transplant.

But what shadows are left by the body's former inhabitant?

And whose voice is it she hears in her head?

Continuing Lucy Catherine's three-part dystopian thriller is set in London in 2050.

Caroline ..... Jill Halfpenny
Gloria ..... Shelley Conn
Paulina ..... Chetna Pandya
Anastasia ..... Samantha Dakin
Trevor ..... Clive Hayward
Mel ..... Liza Sadovy
Karina ..... Heather Craney
Che ..... Ikky Elyas
BodyEx Computer ..... Scarlett Courtney
Young Mum ..... Lucy Reynolds
Security Guard ..... Greg Jones

Developed through the Wellcome Trust Experimental stories scheme.

Director: Toby Swift

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.


TUE 15:00 History's Heroes (m0028jl8)
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3

Noor Khan: The Operator

A female agent, codename Madeleine, is sent to the heart of occupied France to transmit messages back to the Allies. Will the Nazis detect her?

Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for incredible tales of deception, acts of resistance and courage.

A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producers: Emma Weatherill and Suniti Somaiya
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Written by Alex von Tunzelmann
Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts


TUE 15:30 Thinking Allowed (m0028jlg)
ECOLOGY

Laurie Taylor talks to Vron Ware, Visiting Professor at the Gender Institute of the LSE, about the reality of living next to a huge army community in the UK. Talking to both sides of the divide, she explores the impact of the sprawling military presence on Salisbury Plain, an area of British countryside which is home to rare plants and wildlife. Is military occupation a positive asset in terms of conservation and ecology? Also, Sunaura Taylor, Assistant Professor in the Division of Society and Environment at UC Berkeley, describes environmental damage below the ground in Tucson Arizona and its ripple effects through the largely Mexican American community living above.

Producer: Jayne Egerton


TUE 16:00 Artworks (m0028jll)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Monday]


TUE 16:30 When It Hits the Fan (m0028jlq)
Trump, Zelensky, the King and Mummy Pig

In the wake of Donald Trump's decision to pause all US aid to Ukraine, David Yelland and Simon Lewis reflect on the breakdown in the relations between presidents Trump and Zelensky. How far was his humiliation in the Oval Office press huddle orchestrated in the Trumpian echo chamber? Was deploying the stabilising effect of the King both before and after that car crash press conference the wisest use of royal PR in decades?

Also - how toy giant Hasbro managed to interrupt the global crisis to announce that Peppa Pig is to have a new sibling. What's the secret to creating a moment of pure PR magic?

Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 17:00 PM (m0028jlv)
Zelensky ready to work under Trump's 'strong leadership'

President Zelensky puts out a message of reconciliation, saying his team is ready to work on peace under Trump's 'strong leadership'. Reaction from America and Europe.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0028jlz)
President Zelensky says he's ready to work under the strong leadership of Donald Trump after the US suspended military aid to Kyiv


TUE 18:30 Heresy (m0028jm3)
Series 13

Episode 3

Victoria Coren Mitchell is joined by Jo Bunting, Phil Wang and David Mitchell to discuss prime ministers, believing what you read and whether the grass is always greener.

Written and presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell with additional material from Dan Gaster and Charlie Skelton
Produced by Victoria Coren Mitchell and Daisy Knight
Series created by David Baddiel

Sound Design - David Thomas
Broadcast Assistant - Jenny Recaldin

An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0028jm7)
At the Tearoom, before the pancake eating competition starts, Zainab tells relieved Akram she was never going to take a job at The Bull. Brad meanwhile isn’t feeling great, following his starvation diet. Natasha introduces Zainab and Brad in boxing-match style with ridiculous nicknames, but then Brad collapses to the floor. Later, while embarrassed Brad recovers, Natasha desperately tries to find a replacement, but it doesn’t look promising.

Before setting off in the Riley Jazzer confesses how anxious he is about going to this posh restaurant. Tracy susses he’s more upset about not going to the pancake event, but she’s not changing her mind. However, Tracy then gets a call telling her what’s happened to Brad. By the time Tracy and Jazzer reach The Tearoom people have started drifting away. Tracy insists on taking Brad off to feed him up – she’s already cancelled the meal with Susan and Neil. Seeing Natasha’s desperation Jazzer offers to take Brad’s place, but quickly changes his mind when he sees Tracy’s face. With a load of uneaten pancakes left on her hands Natasha has no choice but to offer them free to all comers.

Back at Ambridge Hall Akram cajoles Zainab into making up with Azra, instead of fighting all the time. Zainab feels bad about the books and photos that were ruined by the sewage, but Adil has found replacements for some of the photographs at least, which Akram has brought back with him. When asked about moving back to Solihull Zainab admits she’d like to give Ambridge a try for a little longer yet.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0028jmc)
Raoul Peck on photographer Ernest Cole, the death of Bill Dare, 14th-century art in Siena, Colum McCann's novel Twist

A new exhibition at London's National Gallery hopes to shed light on artists in 14th Century Siena, who have often been overshadowed by their Tuscan neighbours in Florence. Samira is joined in the studio by one of the curators, Imogen Tedbury, and by Maya Corry, a Renaissance expert from Oxford Brookes University to discuss the astonishing colours and use of gold by artists like Duccio, the Lorenzetti brothers and Simone Martini.

The death has been announced of Bill Dare, the creator of Radio 4's The Now Show and Dead Ringers. He nurtured new writers and performers including David Baddiel, Rob Newman, Hugh Dennis and Steve Punt, of The Mary Whitehouse Experience as well as the comedian Jon Holmes, who explains how they first met.

Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck, best-known for his Oscar and BAFTA nominated documentary about James Baldwin 'I Am Not Your Negro', discusses his latest film 'Ernest Cole: Lost and Found', about the brief life of a young South African photographer who had to flee his homeland in 1968 to publish his book of photos which exposed the horrors of apartheid to the world.

The Booker and Oscar-nominated writer Colum McCann discusses his thrilling new novel Twist, a dive in to the dark depths of the modern human condition set on board a ship repairing the fragile cables which connect us on the ocean floor.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Claire Bartleet


TUE 20:00 File on 4 Investigates (m0028jmh)
Locked up: Woman held in mental health facility for 45 years

File on 4 Investigates tells the story of Kasibba – a woman locked up as a schoolgirl in a mental health hospital. She languished there for 45 years - despite not being mentally ill. She was finally freed two years ago after the intervention of a rookie psychologist. Reporter Carolyn Atkinson asks why so many autistic people and/or those with a learning disability, including children, are still locked up and why successive governments have failed to meet their promises to move people from hospital to home.

Reporter: Carolyn Atkinson
Producer: Ben Robinson
Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Carl Johnston


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0028jmm)
Blind Female CEOs

In a recent episode of In Touch, we interviewed Sandi Wassmer, who at the time, we believed to be the UK's only blind female CEO. Among the very positive responses we received were a couple pointing us in the direction of two other blind women in the top job, and who would make excellent guests.

Always keen to respond to listeners' suggestions, we were delighted when Agnes Lunny and Halima Begum, CEOs of Positive Futures and Oxfam GB respectively, agreed to join us. They tell us about their journey to the positions they hold today, the challenges they've faced and what could be done so that others can follow in their footsteps.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Fern Lulham
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole

Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch"; and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.’


TUE 21:00 World of Secrets (m0026jxv)
The Bad Guru

The Bad Guru: 6. The Return

Miranda returns to Paris after some surprising news about the guru Gregorian Bivolaru.

This episode contains sexual content, allegations of sexual exploitation and some strong language.


TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m0028bnv)
Self-checkouts: Have Shops Reached Peak Self-Scan?

Self-checkouts have become a staple in supermarkets, fast food chains and other shops, but now some companies are reconsidering their use. Evan Davis explores the technology's role in the retail landscape and asks whether we’ve reached peak self-checkout, or if they’re just a step on the way to an even more digitised shopping future. With insights from industry leaders and experts, he examines the economics behind un-manned tills, generational differences in consumer acceptance, and their links to a recent rise in shoplifting. Plus, is automation actually making our lives easier, and what's lost if the personal touch disappears from shopping?

Guests:
Julian Metcalfe, founder, Itsu;
Robert Elsey, chief digital and information officer, Co-op
Natalie Berg, retail analyst and host of the Retail Disrupted podcast

Presenter: Evan Davis
Producers: Simon Tulett and Eleanor Harrison-Dengate
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Editor: Matt Willis


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0028jmr)
Zelensky says he's prepared to work with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is ready to hold peace negotiations and is prepared to work under US President Donald Trump’s ‘strong leadership’. The announcement comes after the US suspended all military aid to Ukraine. We hear from Republican Congressman Tim Burchett and Ukrainian opposition MP Lesia Vasylenko.

Also on the programme: we hear from the doctors treating wounded Gazans in Jordan; and is it acceptable to sip on an alcohol-free beer at work?


TUE 22:45 The Jura Affair by William Boyd (m0028jmw)
2: Gower and Fontaine Ltd

A sparkling new literary whodunnit for Radio 4 from the acclaimed author William Boyd, set on the Isle of Jura.

When Orwell obsessive Bethany Mellmoth finds herself in possession of a rare copy of 1984, so begins a literary trail that will take her to the remote Scottish island where the book was written. On Jura Bethany, in the seemingly genteel company of an antiquarian bookseller, she takes on the role of amateur sleuth, as she uncovers skulduggery and scams, and even threats to her own life...

Today: With her mother off to Ghana for Christmas, and her ex becoming increasingly erratic, Bethany decides to take the copy of 1984 back to Jura, where she hopes to reunite it with its owner...

Writer: William Boyd, is one of the UK's most acclaimed writers. He is the author of 17 novels, including A Good Man in Africa, winner of the Whitbread Literary Award and the Somerset Maugham Award; An Ice Cream War, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and shortlisted for the Booker prize; Any Human Heart, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet; and Restless, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year.
Reader: Ruth Everett
Producer: Justine Willett


TUE 23:00 X Man: The Elon Musk Origin Story (m000xkyc)
3. Planet B

Elon Musk made his first fortune when eBay bought PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion. He used his share of the money to start the rocket company, SpaceX. Then, he began talking about very big plans for the future of humanity. He wanted humans to become ‘a multi-planetary species’ and said he was accumulating resources to 'extend the light of consciousness to the stars’. Soon he was talking about establishing human settlements on Mars. Future-of-humanity questions used to belong to religion and philosophy; under ‘Muskism’ they belong more to engineering and entrepreneurship. People have been dreaming of escaping to Planet B for a long time, but what’s the real cost of those dreams for the people left behind? As President Trump talks up the Mars programme, while dismantling aid initiatives around the globe, Jill Lepore traces Silicon Valley's existential catastrophism to an extraterrestrial vision of capitalism.

Jill Lepore is the Kemper Professor of American History at Harvard University and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She’s also a staff writer at The New Yorker and an acclaimed author.

Series Producer: Viv Jones
Researchers: Simon Leek, Oliver Riskin-Kutz, Thomas Farmer
Editors: Richard Vadon, Hugh Levinson
Sound design and mix: James Beard, Graham Puddifoot
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Original music by Corntuth
Production Coordinators: Jack Young, Maria Ogundele


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0028jn2)
Alicia McCarthy reports on government plans to tackle the growing threat from the Iranian regime.