SATURDAY 06 FEBRUARY 2010

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00qfb1t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00qb5y1)
The First Cities and States (4000 - 2000 BC)

Early Writing Tablet

This week's programmes in the history of the world looks at the growing sophistication of humans around the globe, between 5000 and 2000 BC. Mesopotamia had created the royal city of Ur, the Indus valley boasted the city of Harappa and the great early civilisation of Egypt was beginning to spread along the Nile. New trade links were being forged and new forms of leadership and power were created. And, to cope with the increasing sophistication of trade and commerce, humans had invented writing.

In today's programme, Neil MacGregor describes a small clay tablet that was made in Mesopotamia about 5000 years ago and is covered with sums and writing about local beer rationing. The philosopher John Searle describes what the invention of writing does for the human mind and Britain's top civil servant, Gus O'Donnell, considers the tablet as an example of possibly the earliest bureaucracy


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00qfb3n)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00qfb3q)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00qfb3s)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b00qfb3v)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00qfb3x)
Daily prayer and reflection with Mark Coffey.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b00qfb3z)
The weekly interactive current affairs magazine featuring online conversation and debate.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b00qfb41)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b00qfy6q)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b00qfy6s)
Series 14

Wensleydale - Middleham

Clare Balding explores the joys of group walking.

For 25 years a group of Yorkshire friends have been meeting every few months for a hike through the countryside of northern England. Clare joins them on their silver jubilee walk.

The group first met as anxious parents watching their sons play rugby at Bradford Grammar School; when their sons left home they decided to keep in touch by organising regular rambles. Since then the walkers have helped each other through all that life can throw at you, using the healing powers of friendship, stunning landscapes and a good walk.

Clare meets up with the group as it tackles one of its favourite routes across the horse racing gallops of Middleham in Wensleydale.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b00qfy6v)
Farming Today This Week

The law which gave people in England and Wales more access to the countryside - commonly known as the right to roam - caused many arguments when it was introduced ten years ago. Now the maps showing where people can and can't go are to be reviewed. The idea is to give walkers, farmers and other landowners the chance to change any mistakes.

Charlotte Smith visits a Warwickshire farm to find out what impact the right to roam is having on farmers' livelihoods. Charlotte also talks to ramblers about whether they think they have enough access to the countryside.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b00qfy6x)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b00qfy6z)
With James Naughtie and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b00qfy71)
Real life stories in which listeners talk about the issues that matter to them.

Fi Glover is joined by comedian Dave Gorman.

With poetry from Salena Godden.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b00qfy73)
Peter Curran meets trekking-guide writer Kate Clow, who has trail-blazed a number of long-distance walks in rural Turkey. She connected a series of paths to make Turkey's first long-distance walking route, the Lycian Way, and has since forged the St Paul Trail in the region walked by the saint, the Turkish Lake District. It reveals a side of Turkey usually unseen by the travellers to Istanbul or the coastal resorts. In addition art historian Francis Russell tells Peter about exploring the huge range of fascinating - often unexcavated - ruins from the Hittites to the Ottomans, that are a testament to Turkey's historical heritage.

Peter also meets Peter Allison, a former safari guide, and asks him where the magic lies in watching African animals in the bush and if the growing tourist trade has benefitted the clients, the local people or the wildlife.


SAT 10:30 Stefan Gates's Cover Story (b00qfzbw)
When he was four, food writer Stefan Gates appeared on the cover of Led Zeppelin's classic album Houses of the Holy. This deeply personal programme follows him as he investigates for the first time the story behind this iconic cover.

It is a famously unsettling image. Taken at the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland, Stefan and his sister Samantha appear naked climbing up the eerie landscape against a bright orange apocalyptic sky.

It's a photo that's dogged Stefan all his life. Ever since he was a child, the picture has disturbed him, even scared him. He's ambivalent about it; should he be proud of it or is there something to be ashamed of? He's purposely never found out the story behind it. He has never even listened to the record.

Now he sets out to revisit that chapter in his life and to confront his own mixed emotions about it, discovering the story behind the image, and its ideas and ethics. He discovers his sister's memories of the difficulties in getting it made, confronts his mother about why she let him pose naked as a child and meets Aubrey Powell, the cover art's photographer, from the famous graphic design team Hipgnosis. Finally, he makes an emotional journey back to the Giants Causeway to listen to the album for the very first time.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b00qfzbz)
A look behind the scenes at Westminster with Steve Richards.

The Labour MP Ann Cryer reflects on the Legg Report, as MPs have once again been under scrutiny over their expense claims. But how good are MPs themselves at scrutinising the government? In the week when the prime minister appeared before the select committee chairs, should our MPs get legal training?

Plus John Hutton, Sir Menzies Campbell and Bernard Jenkin discuss the future of the nation's defences. And should the Pope have intervened in the UK's equality debate?


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b00qfzc1)
Kate Adie introduces BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the headlines.

It's the Mexican choice: Plata o plomo - silver or lead: you work for the drug cartels or they kill you. Katya Adler's been in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez meeting the young police recruits preparing to confront the country's murderous drug gangs.

There's tension on the streets of Ukraine ahead of Sunday's presidential election. Both sides accuse the other of planning to rig the poll. There's speculation about a return of the street protests reminiscent of the Orange Revolution in 2004. James Coomarasamy meets a man who could be called the Ukrainian Frank Sinatra. He, like many, has become disillusioned with Ukrainian politics.

In China, the gender imbalance is a serious issue. Chris Hogg in Shanghai says it means more and more Chinese men will find it harder to find a bride in the years ahead. And getting your children married so you can become a grandparent is a vitally important ambition for many Chinese parents - it's still the best way to ensure you will be cared for in old age.

Twenty years ago much of the world got its first proper look at Nelson Mandela. After 27 years behind bars in South Africa he was released and cameras from around the world rolled as he walked to freedom. Today Mr Mandela is in retirement and has cut back his public appearances. Among his closest friends is the man who represented him in his many court battles against the apartheid regime, George Bizos. Andrew Harding has been to meet him and learned that the old lawyer is still fighting for a better South Africa.

Emma Jane Kirby in Paris has a series of confrontations with taxi drivers as she muses on what the revolution of 1792 has done for the service industry in France.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b00qfzc3)
Paul Lewis with the latest news from the world of personal finance.


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (b00qf7bn)
Series 70

Episode 5

Sandi Toksvig chairs the topical comedy quiz. The panellists are Francis Wheen, Jeremy Hardy, Micky Flanagan and Jack Dee.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b00qfzc5)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b00qfzc7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b00qf7bq)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate from Edgware in Middlesex. The panellists are The Daily Telegraph's chief political commentator Benedict Brogan, Francis Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, broadcaster and parliamentary candidate Esther Rantzen, and Brian Paddick, former Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner and former Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b00qfzc9)
Jonathan Dimbleby takes listeners' calls and emails in response to this week's edition of Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00b0c4h)
The Small Back Room

Richard Stevens' dramatisation of Nigel Balchin's tense Second World War thriller.

Sammy Rice is called in to try and solve the mystery of a series of unexploded bombs that are being scattered after German air raids. They lie dormant and then inexplicably explode on human contact.

Holland/Brine ...... Paul Jesson
Sammy ...... Damian Lewis
Tilly ...... Dominc Rowan
Waring ...... Nick Rowe
Sue ...... Rebecca Saire
Mair ...... Christopher Benjamin
Stuart ...... Will Keen
Joe ...... Stuart Laing
Pinker/Strang ...... Sean Baker

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 15:30 Ken Clarke's Jazz Greats (b00qc036)
Series 8

Sonny Rollins

Ken Clarke MP profiles great jazz musicians of the 20th Century.

New York sax player Sonny Rollins is regarded as one of most influential and unique saxophonists in contemporary jazz. He began playing in the late 1940s, rehearsing and performing with such luminaries as Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey and Tadd Dameron. By the mid 1950s he was winning popularity polls and enjoying widespread critical acclaim. He has since gone on to develop a fluid and easily accessible style, often lauded for bringing jazz to a wider audience.

Ken talks to Mercury Music Prize-nominated saxophonist Denys Baptiste, a fellow Sonny Rollins fan.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b00qfzcc)
Weekend Woman's Hour

With Jane Garvey. Writer Margaret Forster on grandmothers; fashion icon Zandra Rhodes on how to stand out in a crowd; award-winning singer Nanci Griffith on her music and career; Natasha Walter on the return of sexism; working parents and arguments for extending leave; older women behind the wheel - are they a risk?


SAT 17:00 PM (b00qfzcf)
Saturday PM

Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (b00qf5p9)
Evan Davis is joined by a panel of top business guests to discuss how much technical understanding they need of their products, and he asks them to reveal the secrets of a good showroom.

Evan is joined by Lisa King, chief operating officer of Christie's, Dr Markus Miele, managing director of the appliance manufacturer Miele, and Frank Meehan, chief executive of handset manufacturer INQ Mobile.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00qfzch)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b00qfzck)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00qfzcm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b00qfzcp)
Clive Anderson and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.

Clive is joined by the American investigative journalist and author of Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser, Conservative MP Nadine Dorries and actor Clive Mantle.

Arthur Smith finds out how to lose a million from former dotcom millionaire Benjamin Cohen.

With comedy from Jo Caulfield and music from Tom McRae and Ian King.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b00qfzcr)
Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster

Clive Coleman profiles Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. In a week in which the Pope has attacked UK equality laws, Clive looks at the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Who were his influences and what is his vision for the Church?

Interviewees include Clifford Longley, whose daughter's wedding he officiated, and Austin Ivereigh, former press secretary to his predecessor, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b00qfzct)
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by historian Tristram Hunt, writer Bidisha and writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet to review the cultural highlights of the week.

When Martin Amis was working on the original version of The Pregnant Widow back in 2006, he described it as 'blindingly autobiographical'. He abandoned much of that version the following year; what remains is mainly set in Italy in 1970 and explores the impact of the sexual revolution of the time. Twenty-year-old Keith Nearing spends the summer in an Italian castle with his girlfriend Lily and other friends, including Scheherazade - the object of much sexual longing on Keith's part. His callow take on sexual politics back then is also commented on from the rueful perspective of the older Keith.

The 1995 Rugby World Cup, which had many of the elements of a Hollywood movie already, has been translated to the screen with Clint Eastwood in the director's chair. Morgan Freeman stars as Nelson Mandela, a new president seeking to start bridging the deep divisions in his nation. The green and the gold colours of the national rugby team are viewed by black South Africans as being synonymous with the old apartheid order, but Mandela forges a link with Springboks captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to get the whole nation behind the team as South Africa hosts the World Cup. But they don't stand a chance of actually winning it... do they?

Tamsin Oglesby's play Really Old, Like 45 at the National Theatre in London is a satirical comedy based in the near future which takes the problems posed by an ageing population as its theme. The action cuts between a government research centre where increasingly sinister solutions are being proposed and the domestic lives of three siblings who are coping in very different ways to advancing age: Lyn (Judy Parfitt) has Alzheimer's and is often blissfully unaware that anything's wrong, Alice (Marcia Warren) is treating all her problems with cheerful resolution, while Robbie (Gawn Grainger) seems to lose 10 years every time he's offstage, reappearing in ever more youthful costume.

Some of the most iconic images of war in the second half of the 20th century came to us via the lens of photojournalist Don McCullin. Shaped by War at the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester is the largest ever exhibition of his work to be staged in the UK. The images range from gang members in 1950s north London, through conflicts all over the globe, including Cyprus, Vietnam and Biafra, to meditative British landscapes. There are also artefacts from his his career, including a ruined Nikon camera which protected him from an AK-47 bullet when he was on assignment in Cambodia.

Frank Cohen is often dubbed 'the Saatchi of the North' and selected works from his collection are currently on view at Manchester Art Gallery in the exhibition Facing East. Contemporary artists from China, India and Japan are represented, their work being typified by vivid colour and a fascination with popular and commercial culture. Pieces include The Big Kiss by Chen Lei - a fibreglass sculpture featuring a small boy balancing a polar bear on his nose - and The Skin Speaks a Language Not Its Own by Bharti Kher - a reclining, life-size elephant decorated with bindis.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b00qfzcw)
Open Sesame

Konnie Huq looks back at four decades of Sesame Street, the experimental American children's television show which mixed radical educational techniques with extraordinary subject matter and subversive humour.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00q9l86)
Book 2: The Honourable Schoolboy

Part 2

Dramatisation of John le Carre's classic novel featuring intelligence officer George Smiley.

Smiley's operation in Hong Kong becomes increasingly dangerous when the government and American Intelligence begin to take notice.

George Smiley ...... Simon Russell Beale
Jerry Westerby ...... Hugh Bonneville
Peter Guillam ...... Richard Dillane
Connie Sachs ...... Maggie Steed
Sam Collins ...... Nicholas Boulton
Doc De Salis ...... Bruce Alexander
Craw ...... Philip Quast
Tiu ...... Paul Courtenay Hyu
Pelling ...... John Biggins
Mrs Pelling ...... Kate Layden
Liese Worth ...... Daisy Haggard
Hibbert ...... Ewan Hooper
Martello ...... John Guerrasio
Eckland ...... Rhys Jennings
Luke ...... Joseph Cohen-Cole

Directed by Marc Beeby

This episode is available until 3.00pm on 14th February as part of the Series Catch-up Trial.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b00qfzcy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b00qck2s)
The author Sir Terry Pratchett is calling for euthanasia tribunals to give sufferers from incurable diseases the right to medical help to end their lives. His idea comes as two polls are published which show widespread support for assisted dying. A system that allowed people to get medical help to die would avoid the harrowing dilemma of either watching a loved one suffer, or face jail for helping them out of their misery. But is there moral cowardice at the heart of this debate? Is it more about fear of our own death, rather than a genuine compassion for others? Whose death is it anyway?

Our witnesses are:

Dr Kevin Yuill - senior lecturer in history and American Studies at the University of Sunderland. Currently working on a book on assisted suicide.

Debbie Purdy - has MS and campaigns for assisted dying.

Rev Dr Lee Rayfield, Anglican Bishop of Swindon - Used to teach medical and dential students and has a particular interest in questions of medical ethics.

Andrew Norman Wilson - author and columnist.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b00qbvg7)
Russell Davies chairs the 2010 final of the perennial general knowledge contest. Contestants Ian Bayley from Oxford, David Clark from Port Talbot, Anne Hegerty from Manchester and Rob Hannah from Torquay compete to be this year's winner.


SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (b00q9lzn)
Roger McGough introduces listeners' requests, including Stevie Smith's galloping cat and Les Murray's poem defining the quintessentially Australian quality of 'sprawl'. Plus a whirling drunken evening with Tony Harrison and a recollection of high summer from Sylvia Plath and Robert Graves.

With readers Tanya Moodie, John Telfer and David Henry.