The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
As a bookish child with a posh accent, growing up on Merseyside in the 1980s, Matthew Baylis identified with the much-mocked Prince Philip as a fellow outsider. He even had a poster of him on his bedroom wall.
Years later, as an anthropology student, Baylis learned of the existence of a Philip cult on the South Sea island of Tanna. Why was it there? Nobody had a convincing answer. Nobody even seemed to want to find one.
His curiosity fatally piqued, he travelled over 10,000 miles to find a society both remote and slap-bang in the shipping-lanes of history. It's a place where US airmen, Lithuanian libertarians, and Graeco-Danish Princes have had as much impact as the missionaries and the slave-traders. On the rumbling slopes of this remarkable volcanic island, banjaxed by frequent doses of the local narcotic, suffering from a relentless diet of yams and regularly accused of being a divine emissary of the Duke, Baylis attempted to get to the bottom of this bizarre cult. In doing so he draws some ironic lessons about our own island 'myths' and comes to respect the pragmatic realpolitik of his South Seas hosts.
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Craig Gardiner.
'They have built their country from scratch, I hope they don't destroy it' - An iPM listener puts us in touch with a South Sudanese woman who has spent years building the country, and is now watching it unravel. Your News with Pete Tong. IPM@bbc.co.uk.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
The Battle of Flodden was a turning point in the history of the UK, setting the stage for the subsequent Union of the Crowns between Scotland and England in 1603.
The border village of Branxton lays claim to having the "smallest visitor centre in the world". Housed in a converted telephone box, this unique project - dedicated to the Battle of Flodden - is the brain child of Clive Hallam-Baker a battle expert who lives just opposite. Flodden was the largest battle fought between England and Scotland. However today, Clive reflects on the joy of being a 'borderer' - living happily across the land of two countries.
Lord Joicey owns much of the land that bore witness to the Battle of Flodden. His estate is located in England but in working the land itself he shares the same issues as his neighbour just a mile away in Scotland. He values his cross border friendships and discusses the geographical quirks of this border that lead to his wife coming 'up' from Scotland to marry him in England.
Archaeologist Chris Burgess has been working with groups from both sides of the borders to understand more fully the landscape where the Battle of Flodden took place. Volunteers have come to commemorate their past and to enjoy each other's company in the present.
Just a few miles from the battle ground is the border village of Crookham. Here, the United Reformed Church has created a peace garden and centre for reconciliation. Designed by Dougie James, Rev Dave Herbert and Rev Mary Taylor explain how this is a truly cross-borders initiative which they hope will provide a quiet and peaceful place for people to relax, reflect and perhaps find closure.
Charlotte Smith takes a look at the challenges and opportunities for British farmers in 2014. From advances in technology, to shorter supply chains, improvement in efficiency and growing the dairy industry as well as taking advantage of export markets and helping smaller farmers innovate.
Christine Tacon is a chartered engineer who ran the cooperative farming group's business for over a decade. She was recently as appointed the first Groceries Code Adjudicator, ensuring a fair relationship between our largest supermarket retailers and their direct suppliers.
Mike Gooding is the manager director of FAI farms- a network of commercial and research farms, both in the UK and as far afield as China and Brazil. Mike has been heavily involved in the meat industry and overseeing the latest R&D projects in agriculture
Professor David Leaver is the president of the Royal Association of Dairy farmers and has spent over 20 years researching the dairy industry and working in education, holding roles including the principal and chief Executive of the Royal Agricultural University as well as holding a number of other university posts.
And the agricultural journalist and Farmers Weekly chief reporter Johnann Tasker, who has been writing about farming and agriculture for over fifteen years.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Thought for the Day and Weather.
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein with lawyer and founder of the Rosenblatt Opera Recitals Ian Rosenblatt, the Inheritance Tracks of comedian Jennifer Saunders, the story of Roger Mason who along with a friend and fellow veterinary surgeon, took much needed animals to the Falkland Islands after the 1982 War in an old converted fishing boat, the delights of Riga in Latvia with travel writer Adrian Mourby, one of Britain's leading forensic scientists, Mike Silverman, talking about a life in forensics, poems from Kate Fox and JP Devlin meets a Second World War meteorologist.
Jazz pianist Jamie Cullum explores the piano's place in modern life. With recent stories about the decline of the piano, Jamie delves behind the myths to find out about the history of the instrument he is most passionate about and looks at how the piano industry is still thriving in the UK.
In the first episode, Jamie begins by focusing on the piano itself and traces the story of an old abandoned piano that he rescued from a street corner. His journey leads him to the London Borough of Camden where piano historian Dr. Alastair Laurence takes him on a tour around the area that, only a century ago, was the world centre of the piano making industry.
After exploring some of the remaining piano retailers in the neighbourhood and playing London's most out of tune piano, Jamie travels to the Yorkshire Dales to visit one of the few places left in the country where pianos are still being made from scratch.
At Newark College, Jamie talks to the course leader and students at the last piano tuning course in the country and learns some surprising facts about the physics of piano tuning.
Finally, Jamie visits the Brontë's old family home to play on the sisters' own piano that has been carefully restored.
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft.
Some say that the hand is where the mind meets the world. So what happens if you lose a hand? What are the options for a replacement? Are we focusing too much on the hands' ability to grip and hold and overlooking their sensitivity to heat and cold, to smooth or rough surfaces? And the power of the human hand to create music out of chaos: how does a conductor communicate with an orchestra, to get its individual members to play as one and translate his vision into a compelling performance?
Bridget Kendall's guests are: prof. Simon Kay, a surgeon based in Leeds, who performed the first hand transplant in the UK; New Zealander Lynette Jones, Senior Research Scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who studies tactile sensations; and Sakari Oramo, a Finnish musician who recently became the Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Duration: 44 minutes
First broadcast:Saturday 28 December 2013 [Photo/illustration by Shan Pillay]
Foreign correspondents: James Copnall meets the men now controlling the opposing forces in the battle for South Sudan; Nick Meo hears the concerns surrounding the huge project designed to cover over the radiation threat from the old Chernobyl plant in Ukraine; Humphrey Hawksley examines the working conditions of the brick makers helping to construct India's economic miracle; Matthew Teller relives a historic flight along the River Nile -- it may have taken three months to complete, but those responsible were hailed as heroes and Mary Harper meets the skaters from Somalia taking to the ice and hoping to make their mark at an international tournament in Siberia.
Payouts for storm power cuts; Insurer data breach alert; Bank customers in group action; The Faberge Mystery
As storms continue to batter parts of the UK, if you lose power who compensates you and by how much?
The specialist travel insurer Staysure is warning thousands of customers of a data breach of its IT systems.
Nine customers of Royal Bank of Scotland banking group have gone to court to keep their current accounts open. They were due to be forcibly closed. RBS says it is required to comply with its regulatory obligations and cannot comment further.
And what are your rights if what you buy at auction turns out to be not quite what's billed? Money Box listener Beena Rawlinson thought she'd bought an item by the famous designer Faberge. But she got a nasty surprise. Hear more about her story.
Razor sharp Scottish comedian Kevin Bridges talks to his comedy mentor, Frankie Boyle.
Chain Reaction is the long running host-less chat show where last week's interviewee becomes this week's interviewer.
Owen Bennett-Jones is joined by four of the BBC's top foreign and economic correspondents who give their predictions about what is likely to shape our world in 2014. James Robbins draws on more than ten years experience as the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, while North America Editor Mark Mardell provides his view from Washington. Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet takes a short break from reporting across the world while Chief Business correspondent Linda Yueh gives her view of the global economic outlook. Where is our attention most likely to be focused? And what will be the consequences for the United Kingdom and the rest of the world?
A married couple confront each other for the first time, a year after the husband attempted to have his wife murdered.
Justin, has taken out a contract to have his estranged wife, Melissa, murdered. Unfortunately, he manages to hire an undercover detective as his hit-man. Melissa escapes unharmed, but the case never comes to trial, as the policeman is implicated in a corruption enquiry.
A year later, Melissa appears at Justin's door. She wants - for important personal reasons - to forgive him. But first he has to admit his murderous intentions towards her, which he has denied all along. They face off, in the wake of all that has gone before.
From a solo boy chorister singing "Once in Royal David's City" at King's College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve to Aled Jones hitting the Top 10 with "Walking in the Air", the voice of the boy treble has long held a fascination for composers and audiences. But why? Is it because of its impermanence or what it implies about our notions of boyhood? Or is it just the sheer soaring quality?
Christopher Gabbitas knows about being a treble because, as a child, he was a chorister at Rochester Cathedral. He's now a baritone with the world famous a cappella group "The King's Singers", but he remembers his treble days and the repertoire he sang, with great affection. In this programme he asks what it is about the singing voice of a boy which can inspire a range of reactions. And he finds out how different composers through the centuries have used- and continue to gain inspiration from - the treble voice.
Among the people he talks to are his King's Singer colleague, Paul Phoenix, who became famous in the 1970s as the treble soloist for the theme music to the BBC's drama series "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy".
Christopher also meets academic Martin Ashley to hear how the sound of boys' voices has changed over the decades.
And he eavesdrops on a singing lesson to hear what makes a successful treble sound.
We also hear about the way in which composers in opera have used boy's voices from Handel to Britten and into the present day.
And there's an interview with the film composer Elliot Goldenthal who's used treble voices in his scores for "Alien 3" and "Interview with the Vampire".
Weekend Woman's Hour: Malala Yousafzai; Feminism in 2013; Life after divorce; Elizabeth Jane Howard; Chloe Howl
Malala Yousafzai has become a global symbol of peaceful protest in her campaign for girls' education. But she is also a teenager, a 16 year old girl who likes music and is teased by her brothers. She joins Jane to talk about the girl behind the headlines. Women have made their mark in 2013. Laura Bates, Caroline Criado-Perez and Reni Eddo-Lodge discuss the issues that unite and divide feminists, and their hopes for the year ahead. This week's drama, Hester, is based on the novel by Mrs Oliphant. Kate Clanchy and Zena Forster discuss her work.
The poet Kate Tempest performs the Teen's Speech. How to be happy after divorce: extracts from our phone-in programme with some of your experiences. We remember Elizabeth Jane Howard, acclaimed author of The Cazalet Chronicles, who died on 2 January. And there's music from Chloe Howl, the 18-year old pop star and BBC Sound Of 2014 nominee.
Clive Anderson picks some highlights from the best chat, music and comedy on Loose Ends in 2013.
Janet Yellen is President Obama's choice to replace Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve when his term ends later this month, making her the most powerful central banker in the world and, arguably, the most powerful woman in the world. But who is she? Mary Ann Sieghart finds out - discovering, among other things, how Janet Yellen reacted when an earthquake shook her office.
Robert Redford has given the performance of a lifetime according to many critics in his most recent film "All Is Lost". It's literally a one-man film set entirely at sea with about a page's-worth of dialogue over 100 minutes. Will our panel marvel at this bravura performance by the 77 year old Sundance Kid?
How To be A Heroine (or what I've learned from reading too much) is a book looking at strong female characters in novels and how they've changed over the years and how readers' relationships with them have also developed as they themselves grow up.
Lost Boy is a new play exploring what happened to the children in the Peter Pan story. Set on the eve of the First World War, we re-meet J M Barrie's characters now they've grown up and are preparing to face the world on the edge of horror.
is a new BBC TV drama based around a flirtatious relationship between 2 commuters on an early morning train. The cast includes Sheridan Smith, Olivia Colman, David Morrissey and Sean Maguire - it seems like a simple premise, but can the drudgery of commuting become dynamic drama?
And we visit The Wallace Collection in London to look at their permanent collection which is uniquely permanent in that a condition of the bequest that founded it states that no item can never be loaned out.
Roy Hudd explores Charles Chilton's forgotten 1961 radio masterpiece which inspired the musical Oh What a Lovely War.
Broadcast on the BBC Home Service, The Long, Long Trail told the story of the First World War in a unique way - through the songs sung by soldiers. It was the result of Charles Chilton's personal quest to learn about his father who was killed at Arras in March 1918, aged 19, and whom he had never met.
In 1962, Chilton, already a renowned pioneering BBC radio producer, adapted the programme with director Joan Littlewood and the cast of Theatre Workshop into the landmark stage musical Oh What a Lovely War.
But then the programme disappeared and was never broadcast again. However, shortly before he died in January 2013, Chilton gave a copy to the British Library, so we can now rediscover The Long, Long Trail.
For this programme, Roy Hudd, a close friend and collaborator of 'Charlie', is joined by satirist Ian Hislop, radio historian and Chair of the UK Radio Archives Advisory Committee Professor Hugh Chignell, archivist Helen O'Neill at the London Library, singer Pat Whitmore, Charles's widow Penny Chilton, and their children Mary and David Chilton. Together, they tell the story behind Charles Chilton's remarkable musical documentary, reveal why it was revolutionary and reflect on its significance today.
This Pulitzer prize winning novel is Hemingway's masterpiece; set in Cuba on the Gulf Stream, this is the thrilling and tantalising story of an epic battle between an old, experienced fisherman and a large marlin. Santiago, has gone 84 days without catching a fish, and is considered unlucky; his only friend is young Manolin, the boy whom he's taught how to fish. When on the 85th day, Santiago sets sail again, his luck seems to change when he catches the biggest fish of his life. But the biggest battle of his life is about to commence.
Cited by the Nobel Committee as contributing to Hemingway's Nobel Prize in Literature, the novel is a seemingly simple tale, full of emotion and drama.
It's the story of the struggle of life - a meditation on life and death, and old age. It's about the challenge of survival and the pitting of one man's ageing body and ageing mind against nature. It's about an ancient culture about to come to an end, and a practice as old as time itself. It's a final act, and the boy is there to remind us that life moves on, and a new generation steps forward.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
Experts debate the issue of immigration with residents of Birmingham. Ritula Shah is in the chair.
As levels of immigration have risen to historically high levels so too has public concern about the issue: a series of opinion polls indicate that UK voters rank its importance as second only to the economy.
In the past year, two leading liberal thinkers have published controversial books warning against the dangers of excessive levels of immigration.
Prof Paul Collier, a development economist from Oxford University, and David Goodhart, director of the think tank Demos, both argue that if mass immigration is not properly controlled it has the potential to undermine trust and a sense of mutual obligation.
In front of an audience hosted by Birmingham City University, the two men debate their ideas with Nazek Ramadan of Migrant Voice and Susie Symes, Chair of the Museum of Immigration and Diversity.
The event was recorded as part of Birmingham City University's City Talks series on Tuesday 17th December 2013.
How is the colour silver referred to in heraldry? And which cult movie was based on a 1951 story called The Sentinel?
The competitors in the fourth heat of Brain of Britain won't stand a chance of making it through to the semi-finals of the tournament unless they can answer these and many other questions put to them by Russell Davies. The programme this week comes from Media City in Salford, and the competitors are all from Scotland and the north of England. One of them may be going all the way to lifting the trophy as the 61st Brain of Britain champion at the end of the series.
In South Korea, former Zen monk Ko Un is revered as a pro-democracy activist and the people's poet. To mark his 80th birthday, Mike Greenwood explores his prolific output, in particular his epic masterwork, Ten Thousand Lives (Maninbo), in which he puts into poems the faces and lives of all the people he has known or known of. Conceived when he was imprisoned in the 1980s for rebelling against the military dictatorships then controlling South Korea, Maninbo has been published in 30 volumes in Korean. Now, for the first time, the first 10 volumes have been translated into English.
We use readings from this treasure box of poems to provide a unique window on to modern Korea, with contributions from Andrew Motion and Ko Un himself, three-times Nobel Prize for Literature runner up. "Poetry" he says, "is the music of history."
Ko Un has given us special access to his home near Seoul where, in a series of intimate interviews, he shares his story.
Born into a peasant family in 1933, Ko Un began writing poems from an early age. Traumatised by the horrors of the Korean war, he became a monk. After leaving the Buddhist community in 1962, another lost decade of despair followed, including problems with alcohol and multiple suicide attempts. After a profound political awakening in 1972, he joined in vigorous opposition to the military regime and in the struggle for human rights. He was detained, tortured, and imprisoned repeatedly and for long periods. Finally set free in 1980, Ko Un married, moved to the countryside, fathered a daughter, and entered a period of stability and happiness, though it would be more than a decade before he was granted a passport.
SUNDAY 05 JANUARY 2014
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b03npq54)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SUN 00:30 O Henry Stories (b018gzmd)
Mammon and the Archer
Mammon and the Archer by O.Henry.
A young man is encouraged to pursue the love of his life by his father. But is it cupid or cold hard cash that decides his fate?
A Christmas classic by a cherished American writer, to warm the soul and intrigue the listener with satisfyingly unexpected plot twists.
Reader...John Guerrasio
Abridger...Annie Caulfield
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03npq56)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03npq58)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
5.20am.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03npq5b)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b03npq5d)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b03nrnqp)
St Mary's Church, Grafton Regis
The bells of St.Mary's Church, Grafton Regis in Northamptonshire.
SUN 05:45 Profile (b03nrmdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b03npq5g)
The latest national and international news.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b03nrnqr)
In the Interest of Boredom
The Desert Fathers complained of the 'noonday demon' that tempted them away from God. Pliny wrote of people ending their lives because of taedium. But it was Charles Dickens who gave it the name we use today: boredom. He called it the 'chronic malady' of modern life.
John McCarthy explores this most frustrating of moods, that strips the world of meaning and forces us to face ourselves. With readings from David Foster Wallace, Fernando Pessoa and Evagrius Ponticus, and music by Alain Chamfort, Shostakovich and Erik Satie.
Producer: Jo Fidgen
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b03nrnvy)
The Politician and the Pigs
The Minister for Farming, Food, and Marine Environment George Eustice returns to his agricultural roots in West Cornwall. Before entering politics he worked on the family farm, growing strawberries. The enterprise, Trevaskis Farm, has now been taken on by his brother Giles. He's transformed the business into a multi-million pound enterprise which includes a farm shop and restaurant. Giles also has a passion for the rarest native British pig breed, the Lop. The Eustice brothers talk pigs, politics, and what it's like to have a farming minister in a farming family.
Produced and presented by Sarah Swadling.
SUN 06:57 Weather (b03npq5j)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b03npq5l)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (b03nrnw0)
The Archbishop of Sudan, Daniel Deng, shares his hopes and concerns for the country as violence continues to build in South Sudan.
Dorian Jones reports from Turkey on how the restoration of an Armenian church has become the focal point for ethnic Armenians seeking to rediscover their cultural identity and faith in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast.
As an Islamic charity unveils plans to open a new hostel for Muslim Women in Manchester Edward hears why it's needed and discusses the taboo subject of domestic violence within the Muslim community.
Should foreign aid be made conditional on a country's record on religious freedom and human rights? Former Tory minister Liam Fox believes it should and debates the issue on the programme.
Bob Walker reports on a campaign by a group of UK Sikhs to have the events around the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, recognised as genocide by the UN 30 years on.
As the film Railway Man comes to UK cinema screens Louise Reynolds talks about the war-time experiences of her father, Bishop Eric Cordingly, as a Chaplain in the notorious Changi Prison during the 2nd World War.
St James Church Piccadilly has erected a 26-foot-high wall to 'draw attention to Israel's anti-Palestinian policies'. But is it too political a gesture for the Church? Rev Lucy Winkett, Rector of St James's Church and Professor Alan Johnson, Senior Research Fellow at the British Israel Communications and Research Centre discuss.
SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b03nrnw2)
Prisoners' Advice Service
Lady Edwina Grosvenor presents the Radio 4 Appeal for the Prisoners' Advice Service.
Reg Charity:1054495
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope 'The Prisoners Advice Service'.
SUN 07:57 Weather (b03npq5n)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b03npq5q)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b03nrnw4)
Canon Stephen Shipley presents a special feature reflecting on the 90th anniversary of the first church service to be broadcast by the BBC which took place at St Martin in the Fields on January 6th 1924. The programme features archive from that first church service broadcast in 1924 by the then vicar of St Martin's, the Revd Dick Sheppard and an extract from the very first religious talk on the BBC in 1922 by the Revd John Mayo. Canon Stephen is joined by former broadcaster and Organiser of Religious Programmes at the BBC World Service, Pauline Webb, who talks about the contribution BBC Religious Programmes has had on ecumenism, and broadcaster Canon Angela Tilby explores the nature of broadcast worship.
Producer: Mark O'Brien.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b03mjcby)
The Perils of Belief
John Gray reflects on the damage that can be caused by evangelical belief in a religion or in a political idea. "Whether they are religious or political, evangelists seem to me a blight on civilisation. For them as for those they persecute or bully, belief is an obstacle to a fulfilling life."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b03k72zr)
Starling
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough presents the starling. Throughout autumn parties of starlings have been crossing the North Sea to join our resident birds and as winter's grip tightens they create one of Nature's best spectacles. These huge gatherings, sometimes a million or more strong, are called murmurations and they offer the birds safety in numbers.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b03nrpbz)
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b03nrpc1)
For detailed synopses, see daily episodes.
SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b03nrpc3)
Ray Mears
Kirsty Young's castaway is woodsman Ray Mears.
A traveller to the world's remotest corners and a renowned expert in bushcraft, wild cooking and survival techniques, he's one of very few castaways who would genuinely relish the challenges of a desert island.
Those of us not possessed of his spirit and skill can live vicariously through his exploits on TV and through his survival handbooks. Enlightening and entertaining the sofa-bound masses is only one strand on his hand whittled bow: he's also trained elite troops for The British Army and in 2010 he was called on by police to help them track the fugitive killer, Raoul Moat.
It was survival skills of a different type he needed when he lost his first wife Rachel to cancer: he met his second wife Ruth at a book signing and they share not just a love of each other, but also of the great outdoors.
He says of the wild: "I can see nature; I feel it intuitively and I can understand what can't be written."
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.
SUN 12:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b03mfp0r)
Series 12
Episode 1
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Arthur Smith, Henning Wehn, Bridget Christie and Ed Byrne are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as poison, etiquette, jelly and David Mitchell.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b03nrpsb)
The best of British food and farming.... the search begins
Sheila Dillon, chef Richard Corrigan and food writer and broadcaster Valentine Warner help launch the 2014 BBC Food & Farming Awards.
From the UK's Best Food market to the Best Drinks Producer, The Food Programme explains how to get involved and nominate your very own food hero. Sheila will be catching up with the previous year's winners to find out what happened next, and she'll also be explaining why 2014 is a particularly important year for us all to share our food stories and experiences with the judges.
Producer: Dan Saladino.
SUN 12:57 Weather (b03npq5s)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b03nrpsd)
The latest national and international news, including an in-depth look at events around the world. Email: wato@bbc.co.uk; twitter: #theworldthisweekend.
SUN 13:30 Hardeep's Sunday Lunch (b03kpkyq)
Series 2
Foundlings
In the first programme of this four part series Hardeep Singh Kohli meets Iain Hogg and Alison Lofthouse. 40 years ago in the Scottish seaport of Grangemouth two babies were found cold, alone and abandoned just 18 months apart. For 35 years those two people thought they were the only one to be found in this way until they made an astonishing discovery. As Hardeep cooks Sunday lunch for Iain and Alley he hears about the events that finally brought them together and why uncovering the identity of the woman who abandoned them remains an issue.
Producer: Catherine Earlam.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b03mjcbc)
Shropshire
Peter Gibbs presents the horticultural panel show from Shropshire. Answering questions from the local audience are Chris Beardshaw, Bob Flowerdew and Anne Swithinbank.
Chris explores the pioneering history of the Shropshire Horticultural Society and the early days of the longest running flower show. Anne Swithinbank visits The Quarry in Shrewsbury to share her passion for one of the stars of the winter garden.
Producer: Howard Shannon.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
This week's questions:
Q. Does the panel have any suggestions for a temporary screen to hide an unsightly area of my garden? It needs to be 4-5ft(1.5m) high by August next year.
A. Michaelmas Daisies would provide a good cover. Give them a chop in May so that they become bushy rather than too tall. Try the small perennial Rudbeckias, the upright grass Calamagrostis, or even Popping Corn with its vibrant red cobs.
Q. Could the panel tell me what would happen if I pollarded a Silver Birch to about 8ft (2.4m)?
A. Pollarding would ruin the appearance of such a tree. The best way to reduce the size of a Birch tree is to coppice it. Coppicing is rejuvenating from ground level whereas pollarding is cutting the head off.
As this is a single stem specimen and the bark is fully developed, coppicing may not be effective and it may remain as a stump. Wait until spring and cut into the bark with a pruning saw, penetrating only a few millimetres. Imagine it as a clock face, cutting from the twelve point around to two. This generates dormant buds from below the cut and throws up a new shoot. The following year do it on the opposite side a little further up, forming a second shoot. Let these shoots mature to about a thumb-size in thickness and then cut off the tree head. Go into a 5-8 to eight year rotation, taking out any old wood.
Q. What would the panel suggest using to underplant a traditional laid hedge?
A. If it is a naturalistic setting, you can't beat Sweet Cicely. It is a Cow Parsley-like plant with a ferny leaf and white flowers. Mix in early flowering specimens such as Trachystemon Orientalis. It is a member of the Borage family with blue flowers and broad, bristly foliage. Also try adding Lamiums, such as the Florentinum with its yellow flowers.
Q. What could I plant into a south-facing window box for a splash of colour this spring? Incidentally, I usually forget to water anything I plant!
A. The best survivors are Pinks. You could add Rosemary and Sage in-between. Try adding structure with some small Euonymus such as the Emerald 'n' Gold or Emerald Gaiety. Add spring flowering plants and bulbs that can be taken out and added to the garden.
Q. How can I control the rampaging Nasturtium that is taking over my allotment?
A. You can eat all parts of the annual form of Nasturtium. It will prolifically produce seeds in hot, impoverished soil. It is best to dig it in a good 30cm (11inches), burying the seeds too deep to allow them back through. When you see the seeds germinating, pluck them out and eat them in a salad.
Q. Does the panel have any suggestions for low growing planting to stabilize a steep, 8ft high riverbank? It is prone to flooding but is well drained the rest of the time.
A. Iris Pseudacorus or Yellow Flag is robust and could be planted in clumps during spring. Once it has developed you could add some smaller boggy plants. You might need to introduce some mechanical stability, such as gabions, to support the bank and allow you to place plants behind the barrier. Another structural solution is to take staffs of alder and willow. Trim out sections of the fresh wood and knock them into the ground. Place these at regular intervals with the willow weaved in between. You will end up with living verticals, connected by a basket-like structure where sediment collects. The plants will root into the ground and can be pruned over winter.
SUN 14:45 Witness (b03p7sjv)
The Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr
In December 1963 the 19-year-old son of Frank Sinatra - Frank Jr - was kidnapped for a ransom. He was released unharmed after two days. Barry Keenan, the man behind the crime, speaks to Mike Lanchin and describes the events of his doomed 'get rich quick' plot.
SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b03nrqfr)
The World According to Garp
Episode 1
John Irving's audacious, darkly comic and heartbreaking story about the life and times of T.S. Garp dramatised by Linda Marshall Griffiths.
New England 1942. Garp is born to nurse Jenny Fields, who raises him alone. As Garp becomes a young man he falls in love with wrestling or more specifically, the wrestling coach's daughter Helen. Helen will only marry a writer and so begins Garp's journey into becoming a novelist. Unfortunately for him, his mother Jenny is writing something of her own.
This compassionate coming-of-age story became a worldwide best seller and put Irving on the map as a leading novelist. This is the first episode of a three part dramatisation of a novel that is both acclaimed for its originality, and controversial for its dark representation of gender politics and sexual violence. Published in 1978 it went on to win the US National Book Award and was made into a film in 1982.
Dramatist Linda Marshall Griffiths adapted Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany for Radio 4 in 2009.
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
SUN 16:00 Bookclub (b03nrrbm)
Donna Tartt - The Secret History
With James Naughtie.
Donna Tartt discusses her cult debut novel The Secret History, first published in 1992.
"I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell."
In a rare visit to the UK, Donna Tartt discusses The Secret History, which she has described as a 'why dunnit'. It's a murder mystery about a group of classic students at a privileged New England college; but from page one she discloses that the friends have murdered one of their number, Bunny. A literary thriller with allusions to Euripides and Dostoevsky, The Secret History was an overnight sensation and has gripped readers for decades.
As always in Bookclub, a group of invited readers join in the discussion too.
February's Bookclub choice : The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
Producer : Dymphna Flynn.
SUN 16:30 Provincial Pleasures (b03nrrbp)
Born in January 1914, Norman Nicholson lived all bar two of his 73 years in the same small industrial town - most of them in the same house.
Millom (Cumbrian dialect for "At the mills") is not the Lake District of Hawkshead or Windermere. It's a place where industry failed and unemployment was disproportionately high. Yet it was here, in isolation from the literary world, that Norman Nicholson became a world-class poet. He wrote about quarrying and iron works, slag banks and granite. He was one of the first to argue that industrial heritage should be valued on a par with our cultural heritage.
Championed in his early life by TS Elliot, Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney, Nicholson chose to focus his energies on a non-literary audience, spending his evenings lecturing at the Workers Educational Association. During the 1970s, his poem Windscale about a nuclear accident became an environmentalists anthem.
Eric Robson visits Millom, the town Norman Nicholson dedicated his life to. What do the locals think of the poet who did more than anyone else to reflect the soul of this Cumbrian village? When poets are often restless people, what motivated Nicholson to live his entire life in an apparently depressed provincial town?
Contributors include Melvyn Bragg (chairman of the Norman Nicholson Society), poet Paul Kingsnorth, academic David Cooper (Manchester Metropolitan University) and author Kathleen Jones.
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 17:00 The Only Way Is Up (b03mfxyh)
Simon Cox charts the sometimes the painful challenges of recovery through the struggles of three organisations; a school, a company and a football team, as they fight back and try to haul themselves away from the bottom. What's it like working on a day-to-day basis at the bottom of the league amid increasing pressure to improve performance? How do they do it? The programme highlights the fight and attempts to overcome difficult circumstances and paints a vivid picture those who work in these organisations.
It hears from staff, pupils and Governors at Llanwern High School, until recently, branded as the worst performing school in Wales. What effect do bad results have on the morale of pupils, parents and staff? It charts the struggle of those who are putting everything into keeping an old family department store afloat. Will a major shop re-fit and Christmas sales save Wildings? Or is it past it's sell by date? And the programme follows the ups and downs of Newport County as it begins life back in the professional football league after 25 years.
Producer: Jim Frank.
SUN 17:40 Profile (b03nrmdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b03npq5v)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (b03npq5x)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03npq5z)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b03nrrpb)
Honestly, what do you pick from this week's radio after all the gluttony - gastronomic and aural - of the last fortnight? For a start, there's an ode to what might possibly be next year's best-selling Christmas present - a mini-3-D printer; there are dark linguistic tales and misunderstandings taking place at an American airport news-stand. And a blast of fresh air to rejuvenate the skin and clear the head in the form of a very beautiful poetic trek through the Cairngorms.
Simon Parkes' Pick of the Week
Today - 30 December 2013 - Alan Bennett reads the Shipping Forecast - Radio 4
Today - 2 January 2014 - Rowan Williams - Radio 4
PM - 30 December 2013 - Dr David Nott interview - Radio 4
Gypsy Pride and Prejudice - Radio 4
Russell Davies With... Petula Clark - Radio 2
Meet David Sedaris - Radio 4
Sunday Feature - Anything but Banal - the Fascination of the Villain- Radio 3
Friday Firsts - Finding Your Voice - Radio 4
About the Boys - Radio 4
Piano Pilgrimage - Radio 4
Click - 3d printing - World Service
Assignment - World Service
Tweet of the Day - Ravens - 2 January 2014 - Radio 4
The Living Mountain - Radio 4
If there's something you'd like to suggest for next week's programme, please e-mail potw@bbc.co.uk.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (b03nrrxy)
Susan and Neil take a condolence card round for Peggy but as she's not in Neil suggests a walk might be nice. Susan isn't happy though and insists on returning home. Once there, Neil feels that something still isn't right. Susan admits she's very fed up. She wants a holiday and to get away from her routine. Neil does his best to appease her but his suggestion of a takeaway does little to cheer her up.
Peggy and Jennifer start to pack up Jack's room at The Laurels. Peggy reminisces and Jennifer reminds her how many people loved Jack. Later they discuss arrangements for Jack's funeral and draft an announcement for the Echo. Jennifer writes a piece tactfully referring to Hazel, who has been less than sympathetic to Peggy. Jennifer reassures Peggy that she won't let Hazel spoil anything.
Helen devises a plan allowing her to drop in on Rob. Helen still hasn't told her family that she's seeing Rob, and is struggling to find a good time. Helen asks whether he's told Jess yet. He says he has. Helen asks whether he's spoken to her since but he insists she should forget about Jess. It's just the two of them now, together.
SUN 19:15 Meet David Sedaris (b03npb2y)
Series 4
The Sea Section; Dog Days
One of the world's best storytellers is back on BBC Radio 4.
This week, dealing with family tragedy in 'The Sea Section' and some comic verse about our canine friends in 'Dog Days'.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 19:45 Modern Welsh Voices (b03nrry0)
Our Sickness
Our Sickness by Joe Dunthorne
When a young woman wakes to find her eyes won't open, she and her boyfriend embark on a quest to find a cure. The fourth of five original stories by writers from Wales.
Read by Ceri Murphy
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
SUN 20:00 More or Less (b03mjcbk)
The Power of Pension Fees
When the government announced that fees charged by pension providers could be capped, many listeners were sceptical that the benefits could be as great as was being claimed. Money Box presenter Paul Lewis explains why the numbers do add up. And Tim Harford interviews Dr Matt Levy of UCL about the power of compound charges, and why people often find it so hard a mathematical concept to understand.
Are Christians "by far the most persecuted religious body on the planet"? It's claimed that an average of 100,000 have died as martyrs every year for the past decade. The Vatican's called it a credible number. But is it? Ruth Alexander and Tim Harford fact-check the widely-quoted statistic.
Plus, the logic of imperial measures, as explored by Number Hub presenter Matt Parker; and is Britain's railway really Europe's 'most improved'?
Also, six cyclists were killed in just two weeks in London at the end of 2013. Does this statistic show dangers have increased for cyclists? Tim interviews Jody Aberdein, who has crunched the numbers for Significance Magazine (You can find the article Jody co-wrote with Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/
10.1111/j.1740-97
13.2013.00715.x/pdf).
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Ruth Alexander.
SUN 20:30 Last Word (b03mjcbh)
Elizabeth Jane Howard, John Fortune, Vera Houghton, Sir Christopher Curwen, Harold Camping
Julian Worricker on
The award-winning novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard. Hilary Mantel reflects on the writer who she says helped us to do the necessary thing - open our eyes and our hearts.
Also the comedian and satirist John Fortune who found fame through his TV collaborations with John Bird and Rory Bremner.
Vera Houghton, a pioneer in the fields of abortion law reform and free birth control.
Sir Christopher Curwen, who was head of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, when Oleg Gordievsky - Britain's star source inside the KGB - was successfully exfiltrated from Moscow.
And the American radio evangelist, Harold Camping, who was the first major end-of-the-world forecaster of the internet age.
Producer: Neil George.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (b03nrlyn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:00 on Saturday]
SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b03nrnw2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 today]
SUN 21:30 In Business (b03mj272)
The Music Industry
It has been long established that the music industry has changed irrevocably over the past decade, with the internet disrupting the status quo as it has many other sectors. But the story has moved on from an industry dying from dwindling record sales.
The traditional way of releasing your record has changed thanks to new publishing companies, companies that gather music statistics and the streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer. Now these companies are disrupting the industry once again. Peter Day speaks with the key businesses involved such as Spotify and Musicmetric and the traditional, established players such as Sony Music.
Yet streaming services have also caused controversy because their payments to musicians are seemingly minuscule. Radiohead's lead singer Thom Yorke has battled against Spotify, calling it the 'last fart of a dying corpse' ; how can musicians make money now? Peter hears from a band just starting out, Yossarian, to Moby who has sold millions of records and singer songwriter Billy Bragg. We compare how much musicians receive from different sources of revenue.
But others see the streaming services as saviours and the future of the music industry. Is the problem of small returns from songs streamed actually a clash between a new way of listening to music and the traditional way the industry has been run? Sony Music explain how they are writing their record deals with musicians and that they are thinking about changing this for the new digital age.
Producer: Charlotte Pritchard.
SUN 22:00 UK Confidential (b03mj8lz)
1984
Martha Kearney uncovers the secrets within the Government files of 1984.
Margaret Thatcher's government faced some formidable adversaries. The long-anticipated battle with the National Union of Mineworkers and its leader, Arthur Scargill, finally erupted, dominating the political scene well into 1985. The charismatic Ken Livingstone, leader of the Greater London Council, was winning the costly PR war against abolition of the GLC. And terror hit home with the shooting of policewoman Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan Embassy and the IRA bombing of the Conservative Party Conference in Brighton.
On the world stage, the Cold War reached a crucial turning point. The cost of the nuclear arms race was rocketing and the world needed a new approach to East-West relations. Rising star of the Soviet Politburo, Mikhail Gorbachev, was invited to Britain and spent five hours at Chequers in a now famous meeting with the Prime Minister.
As the official Cabinet papers of 1984 are opened to the public for the first time, Martha Kearney discovers how these events were viewed in Government. With access to the Prime Minister's personal correspondence, minutes of top secret meetings and telephone calls, and confidential policy advice, Martha can now offer fresh insights into history.
Former Ministers and other key insiders from the time join Martha in the studio to help her interpret the papers and give their own impressions of the revelations within them.
Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b03nrsnh)
Nosheen Iqbal of the Guardian looks at how newspapers covered the week's biggest stories.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b03mj1y6)
Idris Elba on Mandela; Films for 2014; Newcastle Film Club
Francine Stock talks to Idris Elba about playing Mandela in a new film Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom directed by Justin Chadwick. Elba has recently appeared in Thor: The Dark World, Pacific Rim and BBC TV detective series Luther.
Analyst Charles Gant and independent cinema owner Kevin Markwick look back at the box office highs and lows of 2013 before turning their attention to the most anticipated films of 2014 and the awards season.
Daniel Bruhl tell all about his big filmic break.
And the award-winning film club in Newcastle, County Down in Northern Ireland.
Producer: Ruth Sanderson.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b03nrnqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 06 JANUARY 2014
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b03npq78)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b03mg95w)
Love
A Thinking Allowed special on 'love'. What are the origins of our notions of high romantic love? Was the post war period a 'golden age' for lifelong love? Has marriage for love now failed? Laurie Taylor hopes to finds some answers with the help of the social historian, Claire Langhamer, the philosopher, Pascal Bruckner, and the sociologist, Professor Mary Evans.Revised repeat.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b03nrnqp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03npq7b)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03npq7d)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03npq7g)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b03npq7j)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03pn73t)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Craig Gardiner.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b03nsrhr)
There are concerns in Northern Ireland that rural development and environmental projects will lose out on millions of pounds, as farmers are set to receive a greater share of EU funding. The RSPB says this will have a detrimental effect on wildlife and the countryside.
According to a recent study, plastic debris on the UK's riverbeds is damaging wildlife habitats - both in the river system and further out to sea. Researchers studying the Upper Thames have discovered more than eight thousand items including food wrappers, discarded packaging and polystyrene cups.
And do you know someone who may fit the bill of Outstanding Farmer of the Year? Nominations are now open for this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Lucy Bickerton.
MON 05:56 Weather (b03npq7l)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mztnb)
Crossbill
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough presents the story of the Crossbill. Crossbills are large finches that specialise in eating conifer seeds. To break into the pine or larch cones, they've evolved powerful bills with crossed tips which help the birds prise off the woody scales of each cone. Crossbills breed very early in the year and incubating birds sometimes have snow on their backs.
MON 06:00 Today (b03nsrht)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 MINT: The Next Economic Giants (b03nsrhw)
Mexico - Brave New World
Mexico's hope of becoming the workshop of North America was shattered by China's domination of cheap exports, but recently, the Mexican dream is in sight again. As Beijing opts for "quality not quantity" of growth, companies are returning, drawn by competitive labour and proximity to the US market. In the first part of a landmark series, the economist Jim O'Neill travels across Mexico to investigate. He discovers that its ambitions now go far beyond cheap manufacturing. But can Mexico's youthful, reforming government overcome the challenges of widespread poverty, crime and a huge number of people living outside the formal economy?
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b03nsrhy)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 1
"Captures the true essence of happiness" Ferran Adria (Chef, El Bulli)
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reader: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03nsrj0)
Judith Tebbutt, Digital Spare Rib, Taekwondo
In September 2011, Judith Tebbutt was snatched by Somali pirates while on holiday at a beach resort in Kenya. Her husband David was murdered during the abduction, but she was taken to Somalia where she was held hostage for six months. Jane Garvey talks to her about how inner resilience and family love helped her survive, and about the challenge of trying to build a new life back home.
Taekwondo, the fast and furious martial art in which competitors use kicks to make contact with their opponent's head and body is enjoying something of a surge in popularity with women and girls - possibly due to the success of Jade Jones, who won gold at the London Olympics. Jade chats about the sport and winning Gold in London and we visit a club in Liverpool talking to some young taekwondo enthusiasts .
The iconic feminist magazine Spare Rib was first published in 1972 and ran until 1993. It quickly established a reputation as the leading publication for feminist thought, debate and comment. Now the British Library is hoping to make it available online and it is on a quest to track down all the magazine's old contributors to seek their permission to republish their work.
Plus the new set of emerging economies grabbing attention - the MINT economies of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey. All week we'll be looking at the status of women and girls in each of the countries starting today with Mexico.
Presented by Jane Garvey.
Producer Kirsty Starkey
Edition Editor Beverley Purcell.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03nsrj2)
Carmen
Episode 1
Carmen by Dan Allum
Producer/Director Charlotte Riches
Episode One
Carmen is imprisoned by Officer Don Jose after fighting in a bar, but is determined not to stay incarcerated for long.
Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen is best known for the Bizet opera it later inspired. Dan Allum takes the original story as his inspiration for this exciting and powerful new interpretation starring Candis Nergaard as Carmen. With original music and songs in Romany and English by Dan Allum. Musical arrangement by James Fortune.
MON 11:00 Hack My Hearing (b03nt1st)
Aged 32, science writer Frank Swain is losing his hearing.
Audiologists are concerned there may be a rising tide of 'hidden hearing loss' among young people. As electronic prices have fallen, sound systems have become cheaper and more powerful.
At the same time, live music events and personal music players are more popular than ever, resulting in an increase in noise-related hearing damage.
In this programme, Frank asks what the future holds for people like him, part of a tech-savvy generation who want to hack their hearing aids to tune in to invisible data in the world around them.
Could these designers and hackers create the next supersense?
Producer: Michelle Martin
Credits:
Sound files of tinnitus kindly provided by Action on Hearing Loss. Free Helpline: 0808 808 0123
Sonified data produced by Semiconductor, with audio courtesy of CARISMA, operated by the University of Alberta, funded by the Canadian Space Agency. Special thanks to Andy Kale.
Colour music created by cyborg artist Neil Harbisson.
MON 11:30 North by Northamptonshire (b03nt1sw)
Series 3
Episode 3
Visitors are expected in Wadenbrook, and a revelation is long overdue.
Sheila Hancock narrates the bittersweet adventures of the residents of a small town in Northamptonshire.
Written by Katherine Jakeways.
As is well-known: Yorkshiremen wear flat caps and Essex girls wear short skirts; Liverpudlians are scallies and Cockneys are wideboys. Northamptonians gaze wistfully at these stereotypes and wish for an identity of any kind and a label less ridiculous than Northamptonians. Northamptonshire, let us be clear, is neither north, nor south nor in the Midlands. It floats somewhere between the three eyeing up the distinctiveness of each enviously.
Katherine Jakeways gives Northamptonshire an identity. And she waits, eagerly, for her home-county to thank her. And possibly make her some kind of Mayor.
Narrator ...... Sheila Hancock
Rod ...... Tim Key
Frank ...... Rufus Wright
Mary ...... Penelope Wilton
Jonathan ...... Kevin Eldon
Esther ...... Katherine Jakeways
Keith ...... John Biggins
Norman ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Orson ...... Nathaniel Parker
Jan ...... Felicity Montagu
Producer: Steven Canny
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.
MON 12:00 You and Yours (b03nt1sy)
Straw power station
We hear about the Danish power station run on straw...and we go into a consumer time tunnel, and hear from someone who's been collecting our throwaway labels and packaging for the last fifty years. It'll take you back.
MON 12:57 Weather (b03npq7n)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b03npq7q)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
MON 13:45 Acts of Union and Disunion (b03nt1t0)
Orientation
On September 18th this year, the voters of Scotland will decide in a referendum whether they want their nation henceforth to be independent of the United Kingdom, or remain within the union that has bound Britain together since the Act of Union of 1707.
In "Acts of Union and Disunion", Linda Colley, Professor of History at the University of Princeton, examines the forces that bind together the diverse peoples, customs and loyalties of the United Kingdom. And the often equally powerful movements that from time to time across the centuries threaten to pull Britain apart.
In the first of fifteen programmes, Colley offers us - literally - an overview, as she begins her journey with the story of the 18th century Scottish writer and controversialist James Tytler, the first person to look down from a hot air balloon on what Shakespeare had earlier called 'this scepter'd isle'.
In these refreshingly original talks, Linda Colley sets out to counter a number of well-established conventional views of Britain's history and offer a personal take on the united - and divided - history of our nation: "Although Britain is sometimes viewed as an old and stable country, these in fact are very selective visions. Historically speaking, Great Britain - and still more the United Kingdom - are in some respects recent and synthetic constructs that have often been contested and in flux in the past, just as they continue to be contested and in flux now...."
Producer: Simon Elmes.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b03nrrxy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b0387tmr)
Mark Burgess - Joan and the Baron
Bordeaux, late 1970's: a Frenchman in his seventies; an Englishwoman in her sixties.
He is a poet, a translator of Elizabethan verse, a racing driver, yachtsman, wine maker, theatre and film producer and, at one time, the most notorious womaniser in Paris. He is also a Rothschild.
She is from Stockwell in London, born to an unmarried mother who disapproved of books and reading. But after a convent school education as a scholarship girl and another scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art she became one of the most influential directors of the twentieth century, creating the Theatre Workshop in Stratford East and earning the sobriquet 'the Mother of Modern Theatre'. She is Joan Littlewood.
Following the recent deaths of their respective partners, Baron Philippe seems to be moving on with his life while Joan declares she has no wish to. She shut-down emotionally at the point of her beloved Gerry Raffles' death and has no desire to return to her famous theatre in Stratford East or ever to direct again. The Baron extends an invitation to his Mouton estate.
Joan and the Baron explores the growth of friendship between this unlikely pair, after a chance meeting in Vienne.
Written by Mark Burgess
Director: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b03nt5gs)
(5/17)
Which philosopher's best known work is the 'Critique of Pure Reason'? Russell Davies has the question, and will be hoping one of this week's contestants has the answer, as they start their bid for the title Brain of Britain 2014.
This week's contenders are from London, Berkshire and Cornwall. The winner will take a place in the series semi-finals, and move a step closer to the 61st Brain of Britain title which will be awarded in the spring. The questions cover the widest possible range of general knowledge, from history, science, mythology and the Classics to film, music and popular culture.
As always there'll be a chance for a listener to win a prize with questions designed to outwit the contestants, in 'Beat the Brains'.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b03nrpsb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Staging a Revenge: The New Jacobean Theatre (b03nt5qf)
Shakespearian drama is strongly associated with The Globe - all the more so since Sam Wanamaker's reconstruction was completed on London's Southbank 16 years ago. But the outdoor "Wooden O" was only part of the story.
The ambition of Shakespeare's company was also for an indoor theatre to alternate with the open spaces - a theatre that was intimate, candlelit, more sophisticated and attractive to a high-paying audience.
Now such a theatre has been built next door to The Globe, completing Sam Wanamaker's original vision for a pair of theatres - one for summer and one for winter.
The opening production is The Duchess of Malfi. John Webster's classic play was originally performed on the stage of the Blackfriars (the first professional indoor theatre in London.) How did the intimate, candlelit space contribute to the dark intensity of Webster's revenge tragedy?
Isabel Sutton finds out, with the help of Dominic Dromgoole, Farah Karim-Cooper, Jonathan Bate, Tiffany Stern, Peter McCullough and Eve Best.
Producer: Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 16:30 The Slow Coach (b038c0dt)
Episode 2
Liz Barclay follows three busy people as they continue an experiment to slow down their lives. Their 'slow coach' is Carl Honoré, spokesperson for a growing 'Slow Movement'. He argues that the 'virus of hurry' has infected every corner of our lives. 'Slow' has become a dirty word - a byword for lazy and unproductive. But can we actually be more productive, as well as happier and healthier, if we connect with our 'inner tortoise'?
Three volunteers put Carl's theories to the test by following his advice over the course of a month.
In programme 1, Carl gave them each a bespoke recipe for slowing down, with tips to follow each day. Now, in programme 2, he asks them to step back from the daily grind to reflect on the bigger picture. What are the pressures keeping them speedy? Can they slow down in a way that will last?
Lizzie works part-time as a health visitor, and has three young children. She's found it challenging to put Carl's suggestions into practice. She visits a conference on families and relationships to ask if it's inevitable that life as a working parent is a constant race against the clock.
Steve runs a business, and is overwhelmed by his workload. He's been following Carl's tips on switching off technology and reducing distraction. Now he tries the practice of mindfulness to develop his focus and find a sense of calm.
Scott is on jobseeker's allowance but lives a hectic life running local activities like a Carnival. He's been learning to say 'no', and pace himself instead of panicking. Now he wants to find out if slowing down can help him to take control of his life and its direction.
Liz follows their successes and struggles, and asks if it's really possible to slow down in a fast-forward world.
Producer: Tessa Watt
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 17:00 PM (b03nt7dl)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03npq7s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b03nt7cn)
Series 12
Episode 2
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Marcus Brigstocke, Holly Walsh, John Finnemore and Rufus Hound are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as Eton, babies, Russia and hats.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b03nt7cq)
Lynda is lovingly combing Constanza, in order to make a blanket for Leonie's baby. Robert's at a loose end but Lynda's too busy to lend a supportive ear so he heads to The Bull.
Jim visits Joe in an attempt to organise the upcoming wassail. Joe suggests they do so at The Bull. They are joined by Eddie who finds himself much admired regarding his support of Darrell.
Robert tells Lynda he's offered to help Eddie revamp Fat Paul's old truck to provide a des res for Darrell. Lynda is mildly horrified at the thought of a potential eyesore but Robert reassures her it's only a stopgap. Lynda tells Robert she plans to take a rest. Sceptical Robert thinks she'll have a new project by the end of the month.
Elizabeth takes Jill to the doctors and they bump into Eddie who is waiting for Darrell. Jill is keen to apologise once again for nearly hitting Joe, Eddie and Bartleby. Elizabeth takes Jill home but receives a phone call informing her that a company involved with the steam fair - a regular money-spinner - has gone bust. Elizabeth makes her apologies and Jill is left alone - tea for one!
MON 19:15 Front Row (b03nt7cs)
Costa Book Awards; 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen; Mexico's cultural leaders
With Mark Lawson
Front Row announces the category winners for this year's Costa Book Awards. The director of the Costa Book Awards, Bud McLintock, announces the winners of the novel, first novel, poetry, biography and children's book categories and literary critic Sam Leith discusses the judges' choices.
Steve McQueen discusses 12 Years A Slave, a film which tells the true story of Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. The film has already seen McQueen named Director of the Year at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and is hotly tipped for Oscar success. With previous films including Hunger and Shame, McQueen explains what attracts him to projects, and why the subject of slavery needed to be tackled.
As part of Radio 4's MINT season, Front Row begins a short series of discussions and interviews looking at the cultural life of the MINT countries. Today the focus is on Mexico: film critic Fernanda Solórzano tells Mark about the current state of Mexican cinema.
Mark hears from some of Front Row's People of the Year 2013 about their plans for 2014, and their upcoming projects in the next year. Film director Clio Barnard discusses working with a writer for the first time to adapt a novel for the screen, and actress Olivia Colman talks about learning to salsa with Nick Frost for her next film.
Producer Claire Bartleet.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03nsrj2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 Riding the Graphene Wave (b03kpnjx)
Construction work is underway to build a world-class laboratory at Manchester University. Costing £61m, the National Graphene Institute aims to be the world's leading centre of graphene research and commercialisation.
Graphene is super-strong and super-conductive - it's often called a 'wonder material' - and it was invented in Manchester by Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, who won a Nobel prize for their work. The city takes great pride in the discovery, seeing a direct line of descent from its legacy of industrial invention, and has awarded the two scientists the freedom of the city in recognition of their work.
Gerry Northam finds out how the the UK is competing in the global market as Korea, China and the USA pour money into the patenting and commercialisation of Manchester's magic material. What will it take for graphene to move out of the laboratory and into the commercial world?
Investors are running the numbers to work out which applications are most ready for go-to-market products, and which countries are making fastest progress in finding ways to manufacturer graphene. Can graphene give the UK a significant new role in the 21st century global economy?
Producer: Philip Reevell
A City Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b03mj1xw)
Greenland: To dig or not to dig?
Could Greenland become the world's next resource hotspot? The government there hopes so - they've been travelling the world touting the country's vast reserves of oil and gas, and huge deposits of iron ore, gold and rare-earth elements. As melting icecaps make all these resources more accessible, mining promises riches for Greenland and the ultimate prize of full independence from Denmark. But there's a catch - many of the rare earth minerals are surrounded by uranium, pitching Greenland into the world of nuclear politics and environmental hazard. Nowhere is this clearer than in the small town of Narsaq in the country's south. Two proposed rare-earth mines could reverse the town's economic decline, but one just miles away will mine uranium too. James Fletcher travels to Narsaq to ask whether mining will be a blessing or a curse.
MON 21:00 Shared Planet (b03mfvl9)
Do We Care Too Much About Nature?
"Do we care too much about nature?" This is the question we will be asking in a special edition of Shared Planet recorded with a live audience in the Great Hall at the University of Bristol. Together with questions asked by Shared Planet listeners and members of the public in the audience Monty Don hosts two guests John Burton, Chief Executive Officer of The World Land Trust and Hannah Stoddart, Head of the Economic Justice and Policy team at Oxfam GB. And of course Shared Planet correspondent Kelvin Boot will make an appearance.
Producer Mary Cowell.
MON 21:30 MINT: The Next Economic Giants (b03nsrhw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b03npq7v)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b03nt7cx)
Special report from Afghanistan at the start of 2014 - the year British troops withdraw;
George Osborne says more benefit cuts will be needed;
The role of the devil in religion.
With Ritula Shah.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03phdbr)
The Lonely Londoners
Episode 1
Don Warrington reads Sam Selvon's 1950's classic about the lives of a group of Caribbean immigrants in London
Sam Selvon's rich and touching 1956 novel about the lives of a group of Caribbean immigrants in London opens as Moses Aloetta, an old hand who has lived in the city for ten years, goes to Waterloo station to meet another boat train of hopeful new arrivals from the West Indies. They've come to find work and wealth in the capital of the mother country, but they meet with a cold welcome and bitter weather. Despite this, Moses and his friends of the Windrush generation go about making new lives for themselves with vigour and panache, navigating the rules and regulations of their new home, lending support to each other when needed, learning to survive; it's not long before, as Moses puts it, 'the boys coming and going, working, eating, sleeping, going about the vast metropolis like veteran Londoners.'
The Lonely Londoners will be broadcast the week before Colin MacInnes' vibrant novel about London, Absolute Beginners, set just a couple of years later as racial tensions rise; together the two books offer an unforgettable portrait of a city and a society undergoing convulsive change.
Reader: Don Warrington
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer: Sara Davies.
MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b03mfwjz)
Baby Talk
Michael Rosen looks at language and communication. This week we're talking baby talk, or 'Infant Directed Speech'. He asks if the cooing parentese is a natural phenomenon or is it simply a culturally learnt trait. Does it benefit or hinder language development, and do animals use it? Michael also discovers some interesting examples of baby talk in letters that Jonathan Swift wrote to two lady friends.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03nt7d1)
The Environment Secretary gives a warning of a continuing threat of flooding and says some power companies did not react fast enough to help customers over the Christmas break.
Owen Paterson tells MPs that the Government is doing everything it can to deal with the problem after hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power over parts of Christmas and New Year.
MPs debate coalition proposals to shake-up the water industry and Labour calls for more protections for consumers.
And the Education Secretary insists he did take civil servants' advice before approving the opening of three troubled free schools.
Sean Curran and team report on today's events in Parliament.
TUESDAY 07 JANUARY 2014
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b03npq8w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b03nsrhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03npq8z)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03npq91)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03npq93)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b03npq95)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03pn73b)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Craig Gardiner.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b03nt8hj)
As the Oxford Farming Conference calls for UK farmers to seek alternatives to the "tried and tested", Farming Today looks at what lessons could be learned from New Zealand - a country with similar climate and similar farming techniques that continues to outstrip the UK in production.
We visit two farms praising New Zealand's techniques. Robert Craig runs a dairy farm in Cumbria, and says controlled grazing is boosting his bottom line. While on the Black Mountains in Wales, sheep breeder Penny Chantler says New Zealand Romneys do better than traditional breeds on less.
But the sheep and beef industry body, EBLEX, says the UK isn't that far behind, and progressive farmers are already borrowing a lot of ideas from New Zealand.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Willy Flockton.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mztp0)
Mistle Thrush (Song)
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough presents the story of the Mistle Thrush. Mistle thrushes are early singers and you'll often hear one singing from the top of a tall tree in windy winter weather. Because of this habit, an old name for the thrush is 'storm cock'.
TUE 06:00 Today (b03nt8hl)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 MINT: The Next Economic Giants (b03p81z7)
Indonesia - Commodity Curse
Indonesia has enjoyed a boom created by its exports of raw materials to China, India and other growing economies. But commodity prices are notoriously volatile and the world's fourth largest nation needs to create a more stable economy as it expands even further and urbanises rapidly. International investors are queuing up to exploit this major market, but as Jim O'Neill discovers in the second part of this series on the so-called MINT countries, the Indonesian story is complex: poverty, poor infrastructure and an historical aversion to foreign interference could all threaten the dream of joining the world's economic A list.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b03nt8hn)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 2
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reader: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03nt8hq)
Resolutions; Caring For An Ex; Eva Dolan
Why bother with New Year resolutions: Jenny Eclair and Viv Groskop give us their view. Taking on the care of an ex-partner: Woman's Hour listener, Rachel and Emily Holzhausen from Carers UK discuss the issues. Crime writer Eva Dolan on her debut novel, Long Way Home.
In today's discussion of the MINT economies we talk about Indonesia with Ayesha Kariapper of Care International, Dwi Faiz of UN Women Indonesia, and to Anis Hidayah, Director of Migrant Care.
And China correspondent for The Guardian, Tania Branigan on the detention of sex workers in China.
Presented by Jane Garvey
Produced by Lucinda Montefiore.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03nt8hs)
Carmen
Episode 2
Carmen by Dan Allum
Episode Two
Carmen meets Don Jose again at a party. He is unable to resist her charms, despite the trouble she brings with her.
Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen is best known for the Bizet opera it later inspired. Dan Allum takes the original story as his inspiration for this exciting and powerful new interpretation starring Candis Nergaard as Carmen. With original music and songs in Romany and English by Dan Allum. Musical arrangement by James Fortune.
TUE 11:00 Shared Planet (b03nt8hv)
Deer Management
It is estimated that in the United Kingdom, that the number of certain deer species in our countryside has almost tripled in the last 20 years. Deer are possibly the most likely mammal we are ever likely to see in the wider countryside. However in many areas deer are blamed for destroying crops and woodland, and the booming populations will fuel concerns they are having a harmful impact on other wildlife. Add to this an increasing human population pushing ever deeper into deer habitat, are we at a point whereby the management of deer in Western Europe has become a critical issue? Monty Don explores this question a field report looking at the damage deer can do in our increasingly urbanised landscape.
Producer Andrew Dawes.
TUE 11:30 Piano Movements (b03nt8hx)
Nick Baker experiences some moving stories involving pianos, their owners, and the people who move them around. There's nothing more likely to crystallise feelings towards a piano than having to move it - up or downstairs - from one place to another.
Siobhan is faced with shifting an old family upright into a new first floor flat. Alison is overseeing the removal of a Steinway B from the home of her late employer, a famous orchestral conductor. Nick Baker follows their progress as pianos are lugged sweatily up stairs or craned out of windows, suspended temporarily 30ft above the street. Indeed Nick himself has had a difficult experience moving a piano. He still feels responsible for Lesley losing more than her dignity in an ill-fated piano moving exercise. She lost part of a finger as well.
Nick witnesses the back-breaking exploits of Marek, Bartek and Jacek as they negotiate a cramped Victorian conversion with a family upright in Catford, London. And there's Penny, organiser of the Two Moors classical music festival, who watched as a 9 foot Bösendorfer grand - twenty six grand, to be precise - fell off the back of a lorry and 13 feet into a Devon ditch.
So, forget Laurel and Hardy, chimps and Bernard Cribbins. Piano movement is a serious business. It can also be seriously expensive.
High end piano removals expert Julian Rout is on a mission to turn piano logistics into an art form. He's intent on harnessing the complementary strengths of humans and technology. Less muscle, more machines. But he's battling against the man and van trade.
It turns out, the piano movements that tug most at the heartstrings are not those of Beethoven or Bartok - but piano movements like these.
Producer: Tamsin Hughes
A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b03nt8hz)
Gambling: Pleasurable or dangerous?
If gambling is a pastime that you enjoy and sometimes make some money from, Winifred Robinson wants to hear from you. But call us too if things have got out of control.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b03npq97)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b03npq99)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
TUE 13:45 Acts of Union and Disunion (b03nt8j1)
Islands
On September 18th this year, the voters of Scotland will decide in a referendum whether they want their nation henceforth to be independent of the United Kingdom, or remain within the union that has bound Britain together since the Act of Union of 1707.
In "Acts of Union and Disunion", Linda Colley, Professor of History at the University of Princeton, examines the forces that bind together the diverse peoples, customs and loyalties of the United Kingdom. And the often equally powerful movements that from time to time across the centuries threaten to pull Britain apart.
In her second talk, Professor Colley examines the island nature of the United Kingdom, and the way the geography, history and political rhetoric of Britain have often been at odds: "There are in fact over 6000 islands set around the island of Great Britain. One of these - Ireland - is large, almost 33,000 square miles. But many of these offshore islands are tiny, like most of the 500 islands of the Hebrides; and some are quasi-autonomous. The Isle of Man only came under the full sovereignty of the British monarch in the 1760s and retains its own parliament; while Orkney and the Shetlands were once linked to Scandinavia. It has never simply been a case, then, of what Winston Churchill styled "our long island history". There are multiple islands involved in the British past, with multiple and sometimes diverging histories."
Producer: Simon Elmes.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b03nt7cq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b011vg99)
A Scattering
"It is a devastating piece of work and all of us on the jury felt it was a book we would wish everybody to read."
This is how the chair of the Costa Prize jury described Christopher Reid's slim book of poems when they announced him as winner, in what was a very competitive field, of the overall award in 2009.
At the age of sixty, Christopher Reid lost his wife, the actress Lucinda Gane, to cancer. In this radio adaptation, Robert Bathurst reads this Costa prize winning collection of poems written in response to her death.
The poems describe the inevitable arc, from the first diagnosis of illness to a provisional (it never could be final) acceptance of the poet's enforced membership of "the club of the left-over living". Along the way he paints a panorama of grief and loss.
Christopher Reid has taken an intensely personal tragedy and made the emotion of it universal. The result is life-enhancing because ultimately it's all about the triumph of love after death.
Producer: Kate McAll
BBC/Cymru Wales.
TUE 15:00 Making History (b03nt8j3)
Tom Holland and a cast of leading historians, together with listeners, discuss the latest historical research from across the UK including, this week, the religion of the Picts.
Tom is joined by Professor Martin Carver from the University of York and Dr Gareth Williams from the British Museum in a programme that shines a light on the people of the Dark Ages and also tackles an increasingly thorny issue about how to handle rare artefacts and documents.
Dr Fiona Watson is joined by Dr Alex Woolf from the University of St Andrews on a journey to a Pictish monastery in the remote coastal village of Portmahomack, north of Inverness. It's a site which, thanks largely to the work on Martin Carver, tells us a lot about the reach of Christianity and how the east coast of Britain lost its economic and political advantage after the fall of Rome. Oddly, it was Portmahomack's links to the west through the Great Glen which helped its monastery become established during this period.
And at the British Library, the gloves are off as Helen Castor responds to listener's concerns about the way in which she handled rare documents in her recent TV series for BBC 4.
Contact the programme: making.history@bbc.co.uk
Produced by Nick Patrick
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Shared Experience (b03mfwjx)
Series 1
Mothers Who Left Their Kids
Fi Glover talks to four women who have made the painful choice to leave their children, how they have dealt with separation, and if they can ever rebuild their relationship with them.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b03nt8j7)
Chimps and Language
What distinguishes humans from our closest relatives, the chimps? It long used to be thought that we were set apart as 'Man the Tool-Maker', but 50 years ago the primatologist Jane Goodall demonstrated that chimps make them too. This left mankind distinguished from animals by the way in which we inhabit the realm of language, our use and understanding of grammar representing a key attribute of being human. But this, too, is having to be reassessed, not least because of the accomplished way in which, for example, the famous bonobo chimp Kanzi communicates with his human keepers.
Michael Rosen speaks to Dr Catherine Crockford of the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig - who studies chimp communication in Uganda's forests - and psycholinguist Martin Edwardes to assess whether the utterances of chimps constitute words, and whether their combination of them represents syntax and grammar. Michael also meets the actor Peter Elliott, whose career has been spent playing the parts of chimps in films. He even appears in Kanzi's favourite film, 'Greystoke', about the childhood of Tarzan.
Producer: Mark Smalley.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b03nt8bw)
Series 32
David Baddiel on John Updike
Writer and comedian David Baddiel chooses the American novelist, John Updike. With Matthew Parris and Justin Cartwright.
His novels perfectly captured the shifting moral codes of middle America in the 1970s and 80s but do John Updike's novels still have something important to tell us today? The writer and comedian David Baddiel makes the case for Updike in conversation with Matthew Parris and the novelist and Updike expert, Justin Cartwright.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.
TUE 17:00 PM (b03nt8j9)
Coverage and analysis of the day's news.
TUE 17:57 Weather (b03npq9c)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03npq9f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Chain Reaction (b03nt8bk)
Series 9
Frankie Boyle talks to Grant Morrison
Comedian Frankie Boyle continues the chain talking to comic book legend Grant Morrison.
They're talking Batman, where ideas come from and the future of humanity.
Chain Reaction is the long-running host-less chat show where last week's interviewee becomes this week's interviewer.
Producer: Carl Cooper
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b03nt8jc)
Helen and Pat discuss Pat's birthday celebrations. She wants a quiet gathering along with Tom and Kirsty. Pat suggests Helen could tell them her news on the night. Helen insists it can wait, and decides to get some fresh air.
Tony visits Alan to arrange the funeral. Jennifer will be speaking and Peggy has created a list of Jack's achievements. It's clear how proud she is of Jack. Tony is concerned about Hazel and wonders how to deal with it.
Kirsty bumps into Helen. Kirsty is wrapped up in wedding preparations and is determined to get married in April. Helen is preoccupied with her own thoughts but as she almost admits her news, Henry takes a nasty tumble. Helen rushes him home, just as Tony is warning Pat to back off Helen. She'll tell them whatever it is in her own time.
Kirsty and Tom meet Alan and fix a date for their wedding -
24.04.14. A date Tom is unlikely to forget!
Upset following Henry's fall and feeling harassed by Pat, Helen blurts out the news that she and Rob are a couple. As Tom and Kirsty burst in, announcing they have a wedding date, Pat is in a clear state of shock. Tom wants to know what the hell is going on.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b03nt8jf)
Delivery Man; Graeme Simsion; comedy in Indonesia
With Mark Lawson
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion was one of the surprise hits of last year and has been published in more than thirty countries. The protagonist Don Tillman - a socially-awkward professor who may be on the autistic spectrum - has devised a questionnaire to ask women, in his quest to find love. Graeme Simsion explains how the book started life as a screenplay, and talks about writing a romantic novel from an unexpected perspective.
Delivery Man stars Vince Vaughn playing another slacker character. This time he's an under-achiever who finds out that his donations to a fertility clinic have resulted in his fathering over five hundred children, with 142 of them legally trying to find out their father's identity. Journalist and broadcaster Katie Puckrik reviews.
The artist Jeff Koons broke the record for the highest price paid for a work of art by a living artist, when his Balloon Dog (Orange) sold at auction for $58,405,000 last year. A major retrospective of Koons's work is opening at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York in 2014. Jeff Koons talks to Mark about whether the vast prices paid for his art affect his work, and explains why we should not be afraid of contemplating contemporary art work.
As part of Radio 4's MINT Season, looking at the world's new group of emerging economies, Front Row is exploring the cultural life of the four MINT countries. Today we move to Indonesia: arts and culture critic Amir Sidharta tells Mark about the rising trends in Indonesian standup comedy and popular music.
Mark asks some of Front Row's 2013 People Of The Year about their plans for 2014. David Suchet discusses whether he will play King Lear, and Eleanor Catton talks about the film of her Booker Prize winning novel, The Luminaries.
Producer: Rebecca Nicholson.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03nt8hs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b03nt8jh)
Chemical Weapons
As a complex operation continues to destroy the remainder of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, how much will we ever know about the supply routes through which the Assad regime acquired the basic ingredients for its arsenal? Vast quantities of chemicals are traded around the world every day, so what chance do we have of controlling their use by rogue states and terrorists? In the first of a new series, Allan Urry reports from the headquarters of the OPCW - the organisation set up to stop the spread of chemical warfare and which is overseeing the removal and destruction of the Syrian weapons. He also investigates the efforts of terrorist groups including Al Qaeda and al Shabab to develop nerve agents of their own; and examines the global attempts to limit the availability of "dual use" chemicals which are essential in the manufacture of every day products from fertilisers to toothpaste but which can also be turned into powerful explosives for use in IEDs and other bombs.
Producer: Paul Grant.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b03nt8jk)
Stephen Remington; tactile bank notes
Peter White talks to Stephen Remington, the outgoing CEO of Action for Blind People. Stephen reflects on the past twenty years of running the charity and looks to the future of the organisation, which for the past five years has been an associate part of the RNIB group.
Brian Williams, a listener, asks In Touch to look into the Bank of England's plans to put tactile markings on the new plastic notes, scheduled to be introduced in 2016.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b03nt8jm)
Claudia Hammond asks whether the use of physical restraint in mental health services should be eliminated. She's joined by Jimmy Noak, director of nursing at Broadmoor Hospital, and by service user consultant, Jane McGrath, to find out what restraint involves, when it's used, when it goes wrong and why some people even ask for restraint for themselves when they are in crisis.
Also Claudia talks to Sophie Forster from Sussex University about her research into mind wandering and asks whether mind wanderers are less happy than others. And what are the challenges of starting a new business when you have a serious mental health problem? Claudia talks to one listener about her journey to self employment.
TUE 21:30 MINT: The Next Economic Giants (b03p81z7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b03npq9h)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b03nt8jp)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03phxkx)
The Lonely Londoners
Episode 2
Don Warrington reads Sam Selvon's 1950's classic about the lives of a group of Caribbean immigrants in London.
Episode 2: Moses has met Sir Galahad off the boat train at Waterloo and sets about introducing him to his new home. Galahad is keen to show he's not overawed by London, but a trip to the employment exchange leaves him in need of Moses' help.
Sam Selvon's rich and touching 1956 novel describes how Moses and his friends of the Windrush generation go about making new lives for themselves with vigour and panache, navigating the rules and regulations of their new home, lending support to each other when needed, learning to survive; it's not long before, as Moses puts it, 'the boys coming and going, working, eating, sleeping, going about the vast metropolis like veteran Londoners.'
The Lonely Londoners will be broadcast the week before Colin MacInnes' vibrant novel about London, Absolute Beginners, set just a couple of years later as racial tensions rise; together the two books offer an unforgettable portrait of a city and a society undergoing convulsive change.
Reader: Don Warrington
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer: Sara Davies.
TUE 23:00 Andrew Maxwell's Public Enemies (b03gg7rd)
Nationalism
Andrew looks at Nationalists, from a variety of movements, who are easy to demonise. So very, very easy.
But rather than do that - and it really is very easy - Andrew will explore the reasons for joining such organisations and the logical outcomes of their policies.
Andrew Maxwell is one of the UK's most informed and fearless stand ups. In this series of one-off stand up shows, he uses his trademark intelligence and political incisiveness to dig behind the clichés and assumptions about four possible threats to British society: food, the internet, drugs and Nationalism.
Series showcasing a comedian at the top of his abilities tackling difficult and important 'slow news' topics with a depth and perceptiveness that remains outside the remit of mainstream 'topical' comedy.
Written and performed by Andrew Maxwell.
Script edited by Paul Byrne.
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2013.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03nt8jr)
Susan Hulme follows a lively Commons question session for the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Also on the programme:
* What exactly went wrong when Gatwick Airport ground to a halt at Christmas time, and who was to blame? A committee of MPs tries to find out.
* More reaction in the continuing saga of the disgraced former chairman of the Co-Op Bank, Paul Flowers.
* Should we be concerned over a possible influx this year of Romanians and Bulgarians into the UK? Both MPs and peers debate the issue.
WEDNESDAY 08 JANUARY 2014
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b03npqbt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b03nt8hn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03npqbw)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03npqby)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03npqc0)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b03npqc2)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03pn72t)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Craig Gardiner.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b03nt9vc)
Farming Today reports from the Oxford Farming Conference. We hear from the Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, on a flying visit to the conference between emergency meetings about floods. Outgoing president of the National Farmers Union, Peter Kendall, gives his own personal take on reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy, arguing that one size can't fit all when it comes to rural development. Irish agriculture minister, Simon Coveney, talks about the challenge of food security and the need to meet the growing demand of a global population which is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. And we pay a visit too to the "Oxford Real Farming Conference", whose delegates are opposed to big agri-business and argue for a different approach to farming.
Presented by Anna Hill. Produced in Oxford by Emma Campbell.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mztpd)
Great Tit
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough presents the story of the Great Tit. That metallic 'tea-cher, tea-cher' song of the great tit is instantly recognisable and you can hear it on mild days from mid-December onwards. It's the origin of the old country name, 'Saw-Sharpener'.
WED 06:00 Today (b03nv0gn)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 MINT: The Next Economic Giants (b03p824m)
Nigeria - Africa's Hope
Economist Jim O'Neill was the first to spot the huge potential of the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and predict how the world would change. In this landmark series, Jim travels to four countries which could one day stand alongside them and join the world's economic elite. Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey - MINT - could become the new name on people's lips, and further overturn the old world order. Today Jim investigates Nigeria; can a big nation of young, vibrant, natural entrepreneurs overcome the country's terrible legacy - decades of corruption, crime, and mismanagement?
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b03nt87n)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 3
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reader: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03nt9vf)
Rape Crisis Centres; Women in Nigeria; Swedish parenting; Body image and self-esteem
Inside a Rape Crisis Centre. Are Swedish parents failing their children and raising a nation of brats? We continue our exploration of the emerging MINT economies - why are the benefits of the Nigerian boom not reaching women? And self esteem and body image. Jenni Murray presents.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Karen Dalziel
Output Editor: Eleanor Garland.
WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03nt9vh)
Carmen
Episode 3
Carmen by Dan Allum
Producer/Director Charlotte Riches
Episode Three
Carmen introduces Don Jose to her camp and a life of robbery and violence.
Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen is best known for the Bizet opera it later inspired. Dan Allum takes the original story as his inspiration for this exciting and powerful new interpretation starring Candis Nergaard as Carmen. With original music and songs in Romany and English by Dan Allum. Musical arrangement by James Fortune.
WED 11:00 Natalie Haynes' Brave New Algo-World (b03nt9vk)
Comic and critic Natalie Haynes attempts to find the algorithm to determine the perfect joke.
Data structures exercise a tight grip on financial trading, but algorithms are now breaking out into virtually all spheres of human activity - from politics to household cleaning. Both university students and schoolchildren are being encouraged to learn computer programming to stand a chance in the brave new algo-world.
Natalie traces the Western World’s increasing reliance on big data and ponders how its analysis could transform comedy, including a University of Edinburgh research project on unsupervised computer joke generation.
Along her mathematical journey, Natalie charts some of the chaotic muddles that algorithms have led us into, from security scares to retail problems, such as the offensive computer generated T-Shirts available recently on Amazon.
Natalie explores how these complex computer programmes are being used to determine not just stock prices but espionage tactics, film scripts, architecture and online dating. She glimpses the future of algorithms and the effect they may have on the things we buy, the partners we choose and the politicians we elect.
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2014.
WED 11:30 Clare in the Community (b03nt9vm)
Series 9
Stand By Your Man
Clare has mysteriously abandoned her honeymoon and come back to work at Sparrowhawk Family Centre. The rest of the social workers have an unfortunate experience on a community project, and Brian struggles to enjoy a holiday on his own.
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her 30s, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
Clare continually struggles to control both her professional and private life.
In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden.
Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ...... Alex Lowe
Jill ...... Nina Conti
Petra ...... Nina Conti
Ray ...... Richard Lumsden
Helen ...... Liza Tarbuck
Libby ...... Sarah Kendall
Joan ...... Sarah Thom
Queenie ...... Hannah Gordon
Hazel ...... Hannah Gordon
Ben ...... John Norton
Producer: Alexandra Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b03nt9vp)
Millions of pounds worth of work making homes more energy efficient has ceased or is about to be cancelled because of uncertainty about green subsidies. The work relies on money from energy companies. It's the ECO funding we pay for through our bills which adds nine percent to prices - on average we each pay about £112 a year towards it.
High business rates contributed to the decline of Blockbuster says the administrator. At the time they went into administration they were paying 10% of their turn over in business rates. But now new research suggests that had the revaluation gone ahead then shops in Greater Manchester would be paying £60m less and shops in Bond street £60m more. So just how unfair is the current business rate system?
The Blue Badge scheme is designed to help park your car closer to where you want to be if you're disabled. As parking becomes more expensive, there has been a rise in the number of incidents of fraud involving the Blue Badge. In an effort to prevent fraud the Government changed the the way people apply for their badges. But that has meant a longer wait for a badge and if you don't display your Blue Badge you are likely to get a penalty.
High Intensity Training or HIT is the latest big thing in the world of getting fit. It need only last minutes and devotees say it get you healthier faster than an hour at the gym. So what is the science behind HIT? Dr Michael Mosley tells us why it worked for him.
WED 12:30 Face the Facts (b03nt9vr)
The affordable housing that's unaffordable
John Waite investigates why some new housing developments have been given planning permission without any affordable housing.
Councils set a target for what percentage of new build homes in their area should be affordable to people on lower incomes and will only grant planning permission for a scheme on condition that the developers include a proportion of low-cost homes. But following a change in the law in April 2013, some of Britain's biggest house-builders have told councils that they are no longer able to meet their obligation because it unfairly cuts their profit margins.
Face the Facts hears the allegation that some councils have been presented with out-of-date calculations that make a housing development appear less profitable than it actually is.
WED 13:00 World at One (b03npqc6)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
WED 13:45 Acts of Union and Disunion (b03nt9vt)
Sea
On September 18th this year, the voters of Scotland will decide in a referendum whether they want their nation henceforth to be independent of the United Kingdom, or remain within the union that has bound Britain together since the Act of Union of 1707.
In "Acts of Union and Disunion", Linda Colley, Professor of History at the University of Princeton, examines the forces that bind together the diverse peoples, customs and loyalties of the United Kingdom. And the often equally powerful movements that from time to time across the centuries threaten to pull Britain apart.
In her third programme, Professor Colley wades into the choppy waters of Britain's relationship with the sea that surrounds us:
'Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves,
Britons never, never, never will be slaves'
"'Rule Britannia' was first performed in 1740, but the ideas behind it were older. From the late 16th century, a succession of politicians and propagandists had drawn on maritime references in order to manufacture claims about Britain's special destiny. The encircling seas, it was argued, demonstrated that God and nature had designed Britain as a single polity, and had also provided for it a distinctive mission and medium. 'We seem...to have been formed by Providence', remarked one writer, 'for ploughing the sea'...."
Producer: Simon Elmes.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b03nt8jc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Pam Zinnemann-Hope - On Cigarette Papers (b03nt9vw)
When her mother died, poet Pam Zinnemann-Hope found a cache of letters and notes in the attic and an envelope marked 'Don't throw away'. Inside were fragile cigarette papers and pencilled on them, in poor Russian, recipes. Intrigued, Pam started researching her parents' love story that started in 1930s Germany.
It's a poignant story of families nearly wrecked by betrayal, imprisonment, escape and dislocation and drawn from the tips of the icebergs that the letters and recipes hint at.
The poems in 'On Cigarette Papers' are taken from the book of the same name. Pam is a prizewinning poet and performer and has had work published in various journals. This is her first radio drama.
Cast:
Pam ..... Pam Zinnemann-Hope
Lottie ..... Emma Fielding
Kurt ..... Greg Wise
Oma Leah ..... Eleanor Bron
Grossma Hertha ..... Susan Engel
Grossvater Erich ..... Timothy Morand
Officer ..... Sean Baker
Russian Translator ..... Dolya Gavanski
Little Pam .....Eliza Rayner
Written by Pam Zinnemann-Hope
Producer: Janet Whitaker
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b03nt9vy)
Rights, Returns and Refunds
Was your Christmas shopping a success, or are you disappointed by faulty goods, presents that didn't arrive, poor service or unwanted gifts? Call 03700 100 444 between
1pm and
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now.
Joining presenter Paul Lewis to explain your consumer rights and talk you through, returns, refunds and resolving disputes will be:
Alonso Ercilla, Fair Trading Lead Officer, Trading Standards Institute.
Jane Negus, Executive, European Consumer Centre Services.
Call 03700 100 444 between
1pm and
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Standard geographic charges apply. Calls from mobiles may be higher.
WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b03nt8jm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b03nt9w0)
Sensory Multiculturalism in an East End Market; Cultural Passions
Cultural passions - From a love of Proust to an enthusiasm for tennis and tarot readings; a diverse range of aesthetic pleasures excite human beings. Laurie Taylor talks to the cultural theorist and writer, Elizabeth Wilson, about the emotional commitment people bring to their enjoyment of both 'high' and 'low' culture. Professor Wilson analyses why such pleasures are sometimes seen as suspect; invoking, by turns, a fear of elitism as well a dislike of mass culture. Also, the sociologist, Alex Rhys-Taylor, charts a sensory journey into the heart of an East End Market.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b03nt9w2)
'Dramatised' natural history; Channel 5; Sir Hayden Phillips on IPSO jobs
A leading lawyer and the editor of The Times have joined the panel that will appoint the members of the new press regulatory board. Lord Browne of Eaton-under-Heywood and journalist John Witherow are joined on the panel by the former editor-in-chief of the Manchester Evening News, Paul Horrocks, and the former chairwoman of the Commission for Social Care Inspection Dame Denise Platt. However, the Hacked Off campaign group says the appointments have failed to meet independence criteria set out by Lord Justice Leveson. Steve Hewlett asks Sir Hayden Phillips, the chairman of the appointment panel, about the measures in place to ensure the process is independent.
There have been reports this week that Richard Desmond, chairman of Northern and Shell, may be looking to sell Channel 5. Having bought the TV station for £103.5?million in 2010, he subsequently secured deals with shows like Big Brother which have helped the channel turn a profit. Steve Hewlett talks to chairman of DCD Media David Elstein, who launched Channel 5 as its Chief Executive in 1997, about the impact Mr Desmond has made, and about which players might be interested in buying the terrestrial broadcaster.
A new natural history series starts on the BBC next week. Described as 'Pixar meets Life', Hidden Kingdoms is, 'the untold story of the natural world's most fascinating diminutive characters'. Filming techniques include using blue screens to superimpose animals into scenes, and mocking up natural habitats. Steve Hewlett talks to the head of the BBC's Natural History Unit Wendy Darke, about why natural history producers now feel the need to use artifice to draw in audiences.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b03nt9w4)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03npqc8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b03nt9w6)
Series 5
Glastonbury
Mark Steel returns to Radio 4 for a fifth series of the award winning show that travels around the country, researching the history, heritage and culture of six towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness, and does a bespoke evening of comedy in each one.
As every high street slowly morphs into a replica of the next, Mark Steel's in Town celebrates the parochial, the local and the unusual. From Corby's rivalry with Kettering to the word you can't say in Portland, the show has taken in the idiosyncrasies of towns up and down the country, from Kirkwall to Penzance, from Holyhead to Bungay.
This first edition of the series comes from Glastonbury, Somerset, which lives up to every expectation of being the most new-agey, hippyish town Mark has ever visited. He talks about the Tor and King Arthur, visits the two chain shops on the High Street, is given an unusual reason for not being able to get into his dressing room, and makes a crucial mistake when it comes to cider. From January 2014.
Written and performed by ... Mark Steel
Additional material by ... Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator ... Trudi Stevens
Producer ... Ed Morrish.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b03nt9w8)
Following a disturbed night's sleep, Pat reflects on Helen's news and can't make sense of it. The dates don't add up. Pat concludes that Rob and Helen must have been seeing each other before Jess came to Ambridge.
Helen is devastated at Pat's reaction. However, Rob is quick to soothe her. It's better to be truthful. And besides, at least now Helen can move in as soon as possible.
George is getting a bit fed up keeping Holly the puppy inside. Ed promises to take them outside later and George is thrilled.
Pat and Tom discuss Helen's news. Pat is concerned about how long the affair has been going on. Tom is awkward around the subject and Pat realises Tom knew about it. Mystified by Helen's behaviour, Pat tells Tony that she feels like she doesn't know Helen at all.
In the garden with Holly and George, Ed accidentally throws a ball into the pond. Holly races straight in after it. Although Ed immediately pulls Holly out, George is convinced Ed threw the ball into the pond on purpose. Emma tries her best to calm George down but he is adamant - Ed hates Holly. Ed is gutted but thinks George's reaction is due to Will winding him up.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b03nt9wb)
Bletchley Circle creator Guy Burt; author Donal Ryan; the rise of Nollywood
With Mark Lawson.
The Bletchley Circle, a drama about a group of women who worked at Bletchley Park during WWII, returns to our screens this week. It stars Anna Maxwell Martin, Rachael Stirling, Sophie Rundle and Julie Graham as former code-breakers turned detectives who have uncovered a conspiracy. The writer and creator of the series, Guy Burt, on imagining post-war life for the Bletchley code-breakers.
Author Donal Ryan discusses his second novel, The Thing About December. Donal discusses his love of exposing his characters' interior monologues and explains how his day job as an Employment Inspector helps impose a discipline on his writing.
Molly Dineen reviews two documentaries released this week. Kiss the Water is a poetic biography of Megan Boyd, who spent her life in the remote Scottish Highlands making anglers' flies so unique that they were desired all over the world, whilst The Square documents the ongoing struggles of the Egyptian Revolution through the eyes of the activists involved in the conflict.
As part of Radio 4's MINT season, Front Row has been investigating arts and culture in the emerging economies of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey. Tonight, Nigerian film maker Obi Emelonye discusses the rise of the multiplex in Nigeria.
Producer: Olivia Skinner.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03nt9vh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 The State of... The 'Never Had It' Generation (b03nt9wd)
Most of today's young adults, under 25, entered the job market since the recession started in 2008. They've not had free university education, there's intense competition for jobs and if they have a chance to buy a first home, it's likely they'll be doing that much later than their parents.
Julian Worricker brings together 4 people aged 25 and under to discuss whether they really are the "Never Had It" generation and, if they've not had what their parents had, how much is that really holding them back? These are playwright Rachel Hirons, entrepreneur Jermaine Hagan, the Investors Chronicle's Katie Morley and Gus Baker of Intern Aware. They will question Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, pension expert Ros Altmann, Ashley Seager from the Intergenerational Foundation and David Willetts MP, author of "The Pinch" and Universities Minister, on what help is needed, if any - and who could pay for that help.
#neverhadit
Presenter: Julian Worricker
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b03nt9wg)
Series 4
Refugee Stories
Agnes Woolley examines what is missing from the stories told by, and about, refugees. She laments what she calls the 'hard authenticity of testimony' - the way in which refugees to the UK are forced to tell their own stories, and never to change them, despite any number of changes in perspective. And she asks why the stories told about those seeking refuge - by politicians and newspapers - are equally unchanging.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 Fructose: The Bittersweet Sugar (b03nt9wj)
If you believe the headlines fructose is "addictive as cocaine" , a "toxic additive" or a "metabolic danger". So how has a simple sugar in fruit got such a bad name and is there any evidence behind the accusations that it has caused the obesity epidemic? Meanwhile, a new health claim approved by the European Union promoting the benefits of fructose containing foods or drinks, comes into force in the New Year. So where does the truth lie? Dr Mark Porter talks to leading world experts to sift through the evidence.
WED 21:30 MINT: The Next Economic Giants (b03p824m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b03npqcb)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b03nv2mr)
Inquest into police shooting of Mark Duggan concludes, Iraqis flee violence in Fallujah, Russian war dead honoured: with Ritula Shah.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03q08hb)
Colin MacInnes - Absolute Beginners
Episode 3
London, 1958. The teenage narrator of Colin MacInnes cult classic sets about making some serious money in an attempt to win back the love of his life, only to get a nasty shock. There are more shocks to come when he has a warning visit from Ed the Ted, and a worrying visit from Mr Cool.
Read by Joel MacCormack
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies.
WED 23:00 Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme (b03nt9wl)
Series 2
Science
Tim Key returns and he's back to grapple with the concept of science by telling the story of Keith Lewis's Monster.
He also has plans for a very special scientific experiment.
Written and presented by Tim Key.
Musical accompaniment is provided by Tom Basden.
Producer: James Robinson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.
WED 23:15 iGod (b00wr7v2)
Food
iGOD is a highly original and funny new late-night comedy series for Radio 4. It stars Simon Day (The Fast Show) and David Soul (Starsky & Hutch) and is written by one of the head writers of the BAFTA award-winning The Thick Of It, Sean Gray and produced by Simon Nicholls (Ed Reardon's Week / News At Bedtime).
We all worry about the end of the world, as economists and environmentalists speak in apocalyptic terms everyday. iGOD says that trying to predict the end of the world is as pointless as moisturising an elephant's elbow.
In each episode, an unnamed, all-seeing narrator (David Soul - Starsky and Hutch) shows us that it is stupid to be worrying, as he looks back at some of the most entertaining apocalypses on parallel Earths. Each week our case study is a normal bloke called Ian (Simon Day) who manages to accidentally initiate the apocalypse of a different parallel world through a seemingly harmless single act (telling a lie, being lazy, cooking some lambshanks). A succession of comic vignettes ensue that escalate to the end of a parallel world.
With a full-range of sound effects and wonderfully funny and surreal twists, iGOD will be a true aural extravaganza.
Written by Sean Gray
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03nt9wn)
Sean Curran and team report from Westminster on Prime Minister's Question Time and other top stories from the Commons and the Lords. Editor: Rachel Byrne.
THURSDAY 09 JANUARY 2014
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b03npqdh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b03nt87n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03npqdk)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03npqdm)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03npqdp)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b03npqdr)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03nt7v7)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Craig Gardiner.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b03nt7v9)
Day two of the Oxford Farming Conference, and a report is launched, calling for a new way of working and more productive relationships between those who own the land and those who farm it. "Share-farming" could be the way forward, according to land agents Bidwells, who wrote the report after surveying 100 farmers and 50 agri-industry experts. Its author says that seeking outside investment and bringing in more professional land managers would mean new sources of capital to help farmers develop their businesses and work in partnership. But what would it all mean, would it work in practice, and what do farmers at the conference make of it all? Farming Today finds out.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Emma Campbell.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mztpj)
Ring-Necked Parakeet
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough presents the story of the ring-necked Parakeet. These long-tailed emerald-green parakeets from Africa and Asia first appeared in the wild in the UK in 1969. Forty years on ring-necked parakeets are here to stay and their progress is being carefully monitored.
THU 06:00 Today (b03nv0m9)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 MINT: The Next Economic Giants (b03p8311)
Turkey - Beyond the Silk Road
For centuries, Turkish traders have exploited their location on the historic Silk Road between east and west, selling to merchants travelling in both directions. And, as Jim O'Neill reports Turkey's geography remains important to this day as the country becomes an aviation hub, a conduit for gas and oil, and a unique visitor destination. Yet Turkish plans go much further too. So can this ambitious country combine its deep-rooted trading skills with ultra modern technology to develop world-beating manufacturers? Or will its much lauded potential remain just that?
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b03nt88s)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 4
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reader: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03nt862)
Elif Shafak on Turkey; Music industry; Tory candidate selections; Accents over the years
Dr Sarah Wollaston MP joins Jenni to talk about whether the Conservatives are doing enough to increase the number of women candidates selected to run at the next election.
Female performers are hugely visible in the music industry - but what of those behind the scenes? We look at the work of women in business and technical roles.
Turkey is one of the world's fastest growing economies. However, with just one in four women looking for work, economic participation is the lowest of all the MINT countries. Elif Shafak and Alev Scott join us to discuss life for women in Turkey today.
And we delve into the Woman's Hour archive to hear how the accents of our guests and presenters have changed.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Rebecca Myatt
Editor: Ruth Watts.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03nt8bc)
Carmen
Episode 4
Carmen by Dan Allum
Producer/Director Charlotte Riches
Episode Four
Carmen stirs up the rivalry between Don Jose and Garcia with deadly consequences.
Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen is best known for the Bizet opera it later inspired. Dan Allum takes the original story as his inspiration for this exciting and powerful new interpretation starring Candis Nergaard as Carmen. With original music and songs in Romany and English by Dan Allum. Musical arrangement by James Fortune.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b03nt864)
Russia: Digging up the Dead
Of the estimated 70 million deaths attributed to World War two, 30 million died on the Russian front. Of those, as many as 4 million Soviet soldiers are still "missing in action". These men - more than the entire population of Ireland or New Zealand - are still unaccounted for.
Despite all the official rhetoric on Victory Day, many in power today would rather not contemplate the fate of these men. They lie forgotten and unrecognised by Russia's top brass and the state.
But as Lucy Ash discovers, a growing number of volunteers, armed with spades and metal detectors, are now searching for the soldiers. Seventy years after World War II, they feel compelled to look for their remains.
Olga Ivishina, a journalist with the BBC Russian Service from the city of Kazan, belongs to this Diggers Movement. While many young Russians professionals spend their holidays on beaches in Thailand, Olga gives up her free time to camp in the forest. Many days she has to wade waist-deep through mud, sometimes in pouring rain, to find the bodies of these fallen soldiers.
Ilya Prokofiev, one of the most experienced diggers, is scathing about what he calls the 'cult' of the Unknown Soldier. "Officials pay tribute at the eternal flame monument every 9th May', and I tell them: 'You're the ones who made this soldier nameless, what are you proud of? Have you no conscience? This soldier had a family, he had children, he had a surname, a name and patronymic, he had a life, he had a love of his own. What are you proud of?".
THU 11:30 Motown - Speaking In The Streets (b03nt8wt)
In 1970, Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, set up a Motown spoken word record label.
It was called Black Forum and recorded poetry, civil rights speeches, African-American soldiers in Vietnam and more. It closed in 1973 after eight releases. Those releases have started to attract interest with some reissued. They stand as a powerful testament to the African-American experience at a turbulent time in America.
The financial educator and spoken word record collector Alvin Hall listens to the recordings and talks to those involved in their creation.
Featuring: :
* Theatre director and producer Woodie King Jr., Producer of “Black Spirits: Festival of New Poets in America”, and “It’s Nation Time: African Visionary Music”
* Professor Suzanne E Smith, author of "Dancing in the Street: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit"
* Pat Thomas, author of "Listen Whitey: The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965 – 1975"
* Elaine Brown, singer/songwriter of the album “Elaine Brown” and former leader of the Black Panthers
* Suzanne de Passe, former Creative Director and President of Motown
* Amiri Baraka, star of “Black Spirits: Festival of New Poets in America”, “It’s Nation Time: African Visionary Music” and civil rights activist, poet, and writer
Black Forum releases:
* Dr Martin Luther King Jr. – Why I Oppose The War In Vietnam
* Stokely Carmichael – Free Huey
* Langston Hughes and Margaret Danner – Writers Of The Revolution
* Guess Who’s Coming Home – Black Fighting Men Recorded Live In Vietnam
* Ossie Davis and Bill Cosby – Address The Congressional Black Caucus
* Black Spirits - Festival of New Black Poets in America
* Imamu Amiri Baraka – It’s Nation Time
* Elaine Brown – Elaine Brown
Producer: Ekene Akalawu
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b03nt8ww)
Spark Energy, cuts to legal advice, singles holidays abroad
Free advice services including Citizens Advice are laying off staff just at the time that legal aid is being withdrawn from a whole lot of areas including disputes about benefit payments and housing. We look at the findings of the Low Commission. There's an update on our investigation into how customers of an energy company are being transferred without their knowledge. Because they can't or won't pay their bills. Plus, we look at the singles holiday market. For many, it's a chance to leave the husband or wife at home while others don't get what they were expecting.
THU 12:57 Weather (b03npqdt)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b03npqdw)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
THU 13:45 Acts of Union and Disunion (b03nt8wy)
Liberty
On September 18th this year, the voters of Scotland will decide in a referendum whether they want their nation henceforth to be independent of the United Kingdom, or remain within the union that has bound Britain together since the Act of Union of 1707.
In "Acts of Union and Disunion", Linda Colley, Professor of History at the University of Princeton, examines the forces that bind together the diverse peoples, customs and loyalties of the United Kingdom. And the often equally powerful movements that from time to time across the centuries threaten to pull Britain apart.
Programme 4: Liberty
Today, Professor Colley challenges the notion of 'liberty' in Britain, from the historic words of Magna Carta onwards:
"While liberty has provided a broadly accessible master narrative whereby varieties of Britons over the centuries have been able to tell and organize stories about themselves and their state, the political repercussions of this have been decidedly mixed. At one level, radicals and reformers in these islands have often invoked ancient liberties, real and imagined, in order to campaign for new freedoms in fact. At another level, references to the country's proud heritage of freedom have frequently worked to legitimize British interventions overseas, peaceful and violent..."
Producer: Simon Elmes.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b03nt9w8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b0124nqv)
Don Webb - A Bobby's Job
A Bobby's Job.
A young detective gets pulled in to investigate some thieving at a local firm. But every step he takes, tugs him slowly into places he shouldn't be. A radio noir by Don Webb.
Directed by Gary Brown
Life looks good for Mark and Helen Bellis. He's a young detective constable, just passed the sergeant's exam. That opens the door to a higher bracket, maybe a thirty thousand a year job. With Helen's job at the bank, they can trade up to a bigger house and start a family. Then the police job cuts loom and suddenly the way forward doesn't look quite as clear. Helen's dad, Richard, thinks his daughter married beneath her. He's an old school businessman, Mason and Golf Club captain. Very conscious of his standing in the community. Local company director. He introduces Mark to his security manager, Joby Dale. He's an ex Met Commander with a tricky little problem. Someone in the company is thieving. But he doesn't know how high up the thief is. So, he reckons, with a little help on the side from Mark, he can find out who it is, stop him and, at the same time, move himself up the power structure. Without finding himself in the firing line. Or being blamed for the breach. Mark is intrigued. And he can do with a few quid on the side. What can be the harm?
Written by TV veteran Don Webb (Juliet Bravo, Z cars) and starring Mark Jordon (lead in TV's Heartbeat).
THU 15:00 Open Country (b03nt8x0)
Strangford Lough
Helen Mark goes to Strangford Lough, one of the richest marine environments within the United Kingdom, to meet the people who love its isolation and beauty. She talks to Michael Faulkner who moved to Islandmore on the Lough after his business collapsed. For him and his wife, living alone on the island was a time to reflect. This was also the place Michael's father escaped to for family holidays. He was Brian Faulkner, the last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from 1971-72, who presided over some of Ulster's most tumultuous times. To find out about the wildlife of the lough, Helen meets Andrew Upton, manager with the National Trust and a keen bird watcher. Helen finishes her day listening to flute player Ben Healey who is keen to keep the heritage of Irish music alive. These are some of the people who work, play and rest on Strangford Lough.
Produced in Bristol by Perminder Khatkar.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b03nrnw2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Bookclub (b03nrrbm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b03nt8x6)
Chiwetel Ejiofor; Frank Cottrell Boyce; Ken Loach; What makes a film British?
With 12 Years a Slave already tipped as one of the leading films in the awards season, Francine Stock talks to British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor about his role as a kidnapped free man who finds himself working on a plantation. Directed by Steve McQueen, whose previous work includes Hunger and Shame, the film has received 10 BAFTA nominations including Best Actor for Ejiofor.
We explore the controversy surrounding what makes a film British, as the BAFTA nominations are announced. Eyebrows were raised about the space adventure Gravity made by an American studio with an American cast, making it into the Best British Film shortlist while 12 Years A Slave, with a British director and leading actors, failed to classify as British. Ben Roberts head of the BFI Film Fund explains the mysterious world of what makes a film British and the sinister-sounding criteria of the Cultural Test.
We join the director Ken Loach in the cutting room in London's Soho as he and his editor Jonathan Morris and assistant Paul Clegg put together his latest film Jimmy's Hall, set in 1930s Ireland and due for release this year. This film is expected to be one of the last to be physically cut on film as the industry moves almost entirely into digital systems. Ken outlines why he feels there's a certain rhythm and camaraderie to this traditional way of editing.
Screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce discusses The Railway Man, starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth. Based on the memoir of Eric Lomax, it tells the tale of a man who survived building the railway in Burma as a prisoner of war during the Second World War and years later, sets out to find his torturer. Lomax didn't live to see the film released and Cottrell Boyce explains why this project is very close to his heart.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b03nt8x8)
Antarctica weather and climate change; GM Fish Oils; Melanin Fossils; Time Travel
Scientists following in the footsteps of Edwardian explorer, Douglas Mawson, have been trapped in pack ice in the Antarctic. The Chinese vessel that came to their rescue also became "beset" in the ice. The BBC's Andrew Luck Baker talks to Adam Rutherford about the catacylsmic event that caused multi-year ice to break away and trap the Academik Shokalskiy and Professor John Turner of the British Antarctic Survey underlines the importance of differentiating between extreme weather events and the impact of climate change.
A team at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire has succeeded in genetically engineering plant seeds to contain the Omega-3 oil usually found in oily fish. Seeds from Camelina sativa (false flax) plants were modified using genes from microalgae - the primary organisms that produce these beneficial fatty acids.The oil has now been incorporated into salmon feed to assess whether it's a viable alternative to wild fish oil. Dr Johnathan Napier tells Melissa Hogenboom that he hopes the plants will provide a sustainable source of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.
From fossils we know an awful lot about the animals that walked on the Earth, swam in the sea and flew in the air. But fossils have never been good at revealing the colour of these animals. With increasingly sophisticated sampling techniques however, scientists are starting to get a much better, technicolour glimpse into these extinct fauna. And it turns out that colour played a much more important role than just camouflage and decoration. Johan Lindgren form Lund University in Sweden has been finding out how the pigment, melanin, allowed ancient marine reptiles to travel all over the oceanic globe.
Show Us Your Instrument: Dr Andrew Polaszek, Head of Terrestrial Invertebrates at the Natural History Museum reveals his compound microscope (with Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast) which he uses to discover "hidden biodiversity", particularly in parasitoid wasps.
Stephen Hawking threw a party for time travellers and issued the invitation after the event. Astrophysicists after a long poker game decided to use Twitter instead, to flush out the time travellers in our midst. Professor Robert Nemiroff from Michigan Tech University and his students mined social media for references to the Comet ISON and the naming of the new Pope Francis, before both those events had actually happened.
Producer: Fiona Hill.
THU 17:00 PM (b03nt934)
Coverage and analysis of the day's news.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03npqdy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b0156jzr)
Series 1
Episode 1
John Finnemore, writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-up in things like Miranda and That Mitchell and Webb Look returns with half an hour of his own sketches, each funnier than the last. Although, hang on, that system means starting the whole series with the least funny sketch. Might need to rethink that. OK, it's a new show filled with sketches written and performed by John Finnemore, but now no longer arranged in strict order of funniness. Also, he's cut the sketch that would have gone first.
This week's show sees a big job, a small job, the career path of the average TV executive, and a tiger with a gun.
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is written by and stars John Finnemore. It also features Carrie Quinlan (The News Quiz, The Late Edition), Lawry Lewin (The Life & Times of Vivienne Vyle, Horrible Histories) and Simon Kane (Six Impossible Things).
Producer: Ed Morrish.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b03nt84f)
Susan and Emma discuss Jack's obituary which has been given a whole page in the Borchester Echo. They flick through and realise Lynda's production has been reviewed.
Lynda is furious with Tristram Hawkshaw's candid review of her 'panto'. Lynda sees it as a challenge, and declares next year will be bigger and better. Robert fondly remarks her supposed rest was short-lived. Even he underestimated.
Tom drives Peggy over to The Laurels. In the car, Tom relays his future plans for the farm and Peggy is impressed. When they arrive, Tom shares a touching moment with Peggy, remarking on how strong she's been. She feels she owes it to Jack - she loved him very dearly. Tom replies that Jack loved her too. Peggy's mind is on her family as she leaves Jack's room for the final time.
Emma is upset to learn that George wants to take Holly to live with Will and Nic. However, Susan is preoccupied having stumbled across Neil's laptop with information about flights and hotels in Brazil. Susan is delighted. But when she asks Neil about it, he admits he was checking on behalf of Christopher for the football world cup. Deflated Susan remarks that she knows her place.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b03nt938)
Istanbul Special: Orhan Pamuk; Magnificent Century; Baba Zula
With John Wilson.
As part of Radio 4's MINT Season, John reports on the arts and culture of modern Istanbul.
Turkey's most famous cultural figure, the Nobel Prize winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, has created a museum full of objects from his latest novel, the Museum of Innocence. He takes John round this museum and discusses the huge changes taking place in Istanbul.
Magnificent Century, a television drama about Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, has become Turkey's most successful cultural export, with 200 million viewers in 45 countries. John meets Selin Arat from production company Tims at Topkapi Palace, the epicentre of the Ottoman Empire for over 300 years and the setting for the show.
John talks to Azize Tan, Director of the Istanbul International Film Festival, about the films that top the Turkish box office, including a stand-up show by the comedian Cem Yilmaz, and reports on the controversy surrounding Turkey's oldest cinema which was knocked down last year after 3 years of protest.
Baba Zula is Istanbul's most popular alternative music act. John meets founder Murat Ertel, who plays an electric version of the traditional Turkish plucked instrument the Saz.
Producer: Timothy Prosser.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03nt8bc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b03nt93b)
Right to Die
The UK's Supreme Court recently heard another challenge to the law governing assisted suicide. Appellants are seeking clarity on when a health professional might be prosecuted for helping someone to die.
Belgium legalised euthanasia for adults in 2002. Now around 2 per cent of all recorded deaths occur as a result of people asking to end their lives. Pro-euthanasia advocates want the law to be broadened - there's been talk of legislating for people with dementia. And recently, the upper house of parliament, the Senate, voted by a large majority to extend the right to request euthanasia to children who are terminally ill. Supporters claim this is logical. Detractors say it is insanity.
In The Report, Linda Pressly explores how the euthanasia law works in Belgium - are there lessons for us to learn here in the UK?
THU 20:30 In Business (b03nt93d)
Stitch in Time
As fashion retailers demand an ever faster response to consumer desires and costs rise abroad, there are signs of a fledgling revival in British textile manufacturing. Peter Day finds out how real it is, and whether it can last.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b03nt8x8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 MINT: The Next Economic Giants (b03p8311)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b03npqf0)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b03nt93g)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03phxyk)
The Lonely Londoners
Episode 3
Don Warrington reads Sam Selvon's 1950's classic about the lives of a group of Caribbean immigrants in London
Episode 3: Moses's friend Tolroy was horrified when his entire family turned up at Waterloo, wanting to enjoy his new prosperity in London. He has eventually got them settled off the Harrow Road, and Aunt Tanty is rapidly becoming a well-known character in the area. But she still hasn't ventured into the centre if the city by tube or bus, something that she decides to remedy.
Sam Selvon's rich and touching 1956 novel describes how Moses and his friends of the Windrush generation go about making new lives for themselves with vigour and panache, navigating the rules and regulations of their new home, lending support to each other when needed, learning to survive; it's not long before, as Moses puts it, 'the boys coming and going, working, eating, sleeping, going about the vast metropolis like veteran Londoners.'
The Lonely Londoners will be broadcast the week before Colin MacInnes' vibrant novel about London, Absolute Beginners, set just a couple of years later as racial tensions rise; together the two books offer an unforgettable portrait of a city and a society undergoing convulsive change.
Reader: Don Warrington
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer: Sara Davies.
THU 23:00 Great Political Myths (b007rgks)
Episode 2
On Sunday 5th January 2014, the journalist Simon Hoggart died. As a tribute, Radio 4 revisits his 2007 series, Great Political Myths. In this instalment, Simon does his best to ensure that the facts DO get in the way of a good story.
The producer was Mandy Baker.
THU 23:15 Great Political Myths (b007s1wg)
Episode 3
On Sunday 5th January 2014, the journalist Simon Hoggart died. As a tribute, Radio 4 revisits his 2007 series, Great Political Myths. In this the final part, Simon turns his attention to the evil cartoon and the fiendish latex puppet.
The producer was Mandy Baker.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03nt8yj)
Rachel Byrne reports from Westminster.
FRIDAY 10 JANUARY 2014
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b03npqfy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b03nt88s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03npqg0)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03npqg2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03npqg4)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b03npqg6)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03nt7wq)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Craig Gardiner.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b03nt7ws)
There are warnings that the 'anti-science' attitude of the European Union risks condemning British farmers to a so called 'new Dark Age'. A report out today says the UK should take back the power to decide if it wants to grow GM crops. The former Government Life Science Advisor says the UK could become cut off from playing a potentially major role in pioneering new technologies.
The Woodland Trust says the amount of new woodland to be planted in England over the coming year will reach a ten year low. Defra has announced that this year it will fund the planting of two-thousand hectares of permanent forest. But the Trust says this isn't enough to reach Government targets.
As Farming Today continues to look at entrepreneurial ways to survive in the agricultural industry, one farmer talks about why he decided to go back to university at the age of 42 to study for a Master's degree in Business Administration.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Lucy Bickerton.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mztqr)
Collared Dove
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough presents the story of the Collared Dove. Although these attractive sandy doves grace our bird-tables or greet us at dawn almost wherever we live in the UK, their story is one of the most extraordinary of any British bird.
FRI 06:00 Today (b03nv0qv)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b03nrpc3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b03ntb28)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 5
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Read by: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03nt7yv)
Anne Boleyn; Women in US banking; Rape in Congo; Accents; Everlasting menopause
Why, when we know so little about Anne Boleyn, has so much been written about her; Women in Banking - the US versus the UK; changing male attitudes to rape in Congo; your views on radio voices; and the Everlasting Menopause - hot flushes when you're over sixty. Sheila McClennon presents the programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03ntb2b)
Carmen
Episode 5
Carmen by Dan Allum
Producer/Director Charlotte Riches
Episode Five
Carmen realises that her fate is catching up with her and decides to face her destiny head on.
Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen is best known for the Bizet opera it later inspired. Dan Allum takes the original story as his inspiration for this exciting and powerful new interpretation starring Candis Nergaard as Carmen. With original music and songs in Romany and English by Dan Allum. Musical arrangement by James Fortune.
FRI 11:00 The Welsh M1 (b03nt8g7)
Episode 1
The A470 runs nearly two hundred miles through the heart of Wales from Llandudno to Cardiff Bay. It was created to connect north and south of the country yet it takes four hours - sometimes more - to make the journey. It's certainly not the fastest road in the UK but to drive the A470 is to truly understand the landscape, history, culture and language of Wales.
In the first of two programmes, Cerys Matthews sets out on a road trip down the A470 in search of a nation's identity and the essence of Welshness. She travels through the Welsh-speaking heartland of the north-west, meeting writers, musicians and historians. She falls into conversation on the streets of Llanrwst, encounters poetry in the paving stones of Blaenau Ffestiniog and discovers the roots of one of her favourite folk songs on the high passes of the A470 beyond Dolgellau.
The A470's route is ancient, its northern sections following the old Roman road, Sarn Helen. Yet it's also modern: the politics of Wales are complicated by the challenge of bringing together a whole nation both geographically and symbolically. The A470 was created in 1979 by re-designating older roads. And that's why this tarmac tribute to nationhood winds back and forth across the Welsh landscape, apparently reluctant to reach its final destination.
As she travels south Cerys hears many different definitions and descriptions of the A470: a road to nowhere; the road Wales deserves; a highway of loss; the Welsh M1.
Producer: Jeremy Grange.
FRI 11:30 The Stanley Baxter Playhouse (b01q7gz5)
Series 5
The Spider
By Rona Munro.
At last, the true story can be told of Robert the Bruce and his encounter with that spider on the eve of battle with the English.
Veteran comedian Stanley Baxter plays the role of Scotland's greatest monarch - portrayed in this sharply observed comedy by award winning writer Rona Munro as self-obsessed, selfish, demanding, rather spoilt, and with a pretty bad case of arachnaphobia. Hugh Ross plays the hermit who sorts the wayward monarch out and saves the day.
Press reviews for past series:
'Brilliant.. with the veteran Baxter still hitting all the notes faultlessly. Perfect listening." - Radio Times
"Writer Rona Munro turns tragedy inside out to brilliant comic effect." - Daily Telegraph
"The seemingly indestructible Glasgow funny man triumphs again." - The Times
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b03nt84c)
Groceries online, wood thefts, energy tariffs, cinema attendance
After more disappointing sales figures this time over Christmas, Morrisons finally starts selling groceries online in an effort to compete with its rivals.
Middle-class homeowners are being accused of stealing wood from nature reserves to fuel their wood burners. So when is it ok to take logs you find just lying around?
We hear the remarkable story of a woman who fell into the sea from a passenger ship 20 miles out and in the dark yet lived to tell the tale and we report from the house designed to cut a thousand pounds off the cost of the average annual energy bill.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Jon Douglas.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b03npqg8)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b03npqgb)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
FRI 13:45 Acts of Union and Disunion (b03p7sgd)
Monarchy
On September 18th this year, the voters of Scotland will decide in a referendum whether they want their nation henceforth to be independent of the United Kingdom, or remain within the union that has bound Britain together since the Act of Union of 1707.
In "Acts of Union and Disunion", Linda Colley, Professor of History at the University of Princeton, examines the forces that bind together the diverse peoples, customs and loyalties of the United Kingdom. And the often equally powerful movements that from time to time across the centuries threaten to pull Britain apart.
Programme 5: Monarchy:
"To understand how and why monarchy has mattered here, we need to look not just at tradition and custom, but also at disjunctions and at change over time. A patchwork of different kingdoms existed throughout these islands from the early middle ages. England finally became a single kingdom in the 10th century; while a single king controlled most of Scotland by the 12th century. Early medieval Wales and Ireland, however, experienced multiple and competing rulers..."
Producer: Simon Elmes.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b03nt84f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Tony McHale - Dead in the Water (b03nt8n9)
In a bustling fairground best friends Holly and Nicole are recording sounds for a school science project. Amongst the melee of people, rides and music Holly overhears snippets of a conversation between two men, the words "poison...shooting...dead in the water". Could she have just stumbled on a murder plot? With Nicole's help Holly sets out to investigate and when the girls identify the voices on the recording, they have their first clue. But can they stop the murder in time? As Holly and Nicole try and discover the intended victim before time runs out they begin to realise they might just have stumbled on something even more sinister than they could ever have imagined.
A thriller from Tony McHale starring Yasmin Paige (Submarine, Pramface) as Holly and Lily Lovelace (The Fades, Skins) as Nicole.
Holly ..... Yasmin Paige
Nicole ..... Lily Loveless
Vickers ..... Gary Amers
Joel ..... Jody Latham
Kay ..... Jo Hartley,
Maria ..... Kacey Ainsworth
Police Officer ..... Paul Stonehouse
Keely ..... Sinead Michael.
Writer ..... Tony McHale
Director ..... Heather Larmour
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b03nt85t)
Wiltshire
Eric Robson hosts GQT from Wiltshire with Matt Biggs, Matthew Wilson and Christine Walkden taking the local audience's questions. Bob Flowerdew encourages us to step out into the winter garden in a new series of topical tips. Matthew and Matt discuss the wonder of foxgloves whilst visiting a national collection at the Botanic Nursery, Wiltshire.
Produced by Howard Shannon.
Assistant Producer: Darby Dorras.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
This week's questions:
Q. What should I do to encourage my rose Zéphirine Drouhin to climb? It has been in the same limestone position for three years now but has not grown beyond 2-3ft (91cm).
A. This is one of the most disease-riddled breeds you could choose to grow. They are prone to mildew, black spot, rust etc. Roses like a heavy soil with a lot of organic matter and a lot of sunshine. I would take it out, improve the soil and then replant it. Think about adding clay and some decent topsoil.
If you wish to replace it, choose something a little more vigorous that will have enough energy to battle the hard conditions.
Q. Could the panel suggest an ornamental tree for a northwest-facing slope? It must not exceed10ft (3m).
A. Caragana Arborescens is a member of the pea family and has lots of small leaves and yellow flowers. It will grow in poor soil conditions and will reach about 8ft (2.4m) at the most. Sorbus Fruticosa is a beautiful, shrubby Sorbus growing to about 5ft. It has mountain ash-like flowers which are followed by lovely white berries until March. A variety of Crab Apple called Malus Sargentii has lots of white blossom followed by small, bright red crabs. It has a graceful shape and will form a very broad head.
Q. I have been asked to propagate a Colutea Arborescens. What would be the best method?
A. Take seeds from the inflated seedpods. Sow them as soon as possible in some grit and place them at the base of a north-facing wall.
Q. Could the panel recommend some easy to grow vegetables that will feed my family rather than the local roe deer? We are already growing courgettes and onions.
A. Try Jerusalem Artichoke as I don't think the deer would take to them. Think carefully about where you plant them and perhaps add a barrier so that they don't spread. Try adding something to deter the deer. They will be frightened off by a human scent, so leave an old pair of boots or scatter some human hair.
Q. Box blight has swept through Bradford on Avon. Could the panel suggest some alternative plants that will create the same effect?
A. Ilex Crenata is a small leaved Japanese holly and Hetzii is a low growing cultivar. Green globe provides a very good look-alike. Loniceranitida is not particularly glamorous but is tough and small leaved. If you have alkaline conditions you could try Rosemary, Teucrium Chamaedrys or Lavender. Sarcococcas could also work well.
Q. Could the panel suggest planting that would attract insects for bats to feed on?
A. Try scented plants such as the wide range of Vibernum. Nicotiana would work well, especially at nighttime. The more fragrance you can add, the more diversity you will find. Avoid double headed flowers and F1 hybrids because they won't produce as much nectar. Also try Umbellifers or Ivy.
Grassland would be excellent because damp conditions attract the gnats and grass is a good food source for moth larvae. Also try light coloured flowers because moths are more likely to be attracted to pale colours at night.
Image: (c) RHS Images The Royal Horticultural Society.
FRI 15:45 First for Radio (b03ntb7d)
Series 2
Five Thousand Lads a Year
This returning series features three emerging novelists who have been well praised and won prizes but haven't until now written short stories for radio. Ned Beauman (author of Boxer, Beetle and The Teleportation Accident), Jenn Ashworth (Cold Light and The Friday Gospels) and Ali Shaw (The Man Who Rained, The Girl with Glass Feet) make their story debuts for Radio 4.
2. Five Thousand Lads a Year
In Jenn Ashworth's tale, the confident writer always succeeds with his workshops, but one new client has a chilling effect on him..
Reader Paul Hilton
Producer Duncan Minshull.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b03nt85w)
Simon Hoggart, Prof Janet Rowley, Saul Zaentz, Terry Biddlecombe, Phil Everly
Matthew Bannister on
Simon Hoggart, who wrote the political sketch in the Guardian and presented the News Quiz here on Radio 4.
Professor Janet D. Rowley whose work on Leukaemia demonstrated that cancer is a genetic disease.
The film producer Saul Zaentz. Three of his movies - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus and The English Patient - won Best Picture Oscars.
Champion National Hunt jockey Terry Biddlecombe, known for his party lifestyle, battle with his weight - and later in life - partnership with the trainer Henrietta Knight.
And Phil Everly who, with his brother Don, had a string of chart hits in the late 1950s and early 60s.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (b03nt8bf)
The Week That Kills
Tim Harford tries to find out why this is the week of the year in which most deaths occur. It's often thought that the spike in so-called 'excess' winter deaths is caused at least in part by the fact that some people living in poverty can't afford to turn up the central heating when freezing weather sets in. But Tim discovers the picture is much more complicated than that. He goes through the data with Claudia Wells from the Office for National Statistics, and Professor Rachel Vreeman of the Indiana University School of Medicine in the United States.
Are there really two million millionaire pensioners in the UK? The Intergenerational Foundation says two million over 60-year-olds are living in "millionaire households" and, it argues, don't need their pensions protected by the government. Tim looks into the numbers.
Estimates of the death count in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003 range from 100,000 to one million. Tim explores why such a range exists and what methods are used to count those killed during war. And he discovers why the death count hasn't stopped Iraq's population growing by almost a third in that time. He speaks to Glen Rangwala from Cambridge University and Patrick Gerland from the UN's demographics team.
And after last week's abject apology from mathematician and comedian, Matt Parker, he is back to apologise for that apology. This time Tim makes him answer for the unforgiveable comments he made about the nautical mile.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Ruth Alexander.
FRI 17:00 PM (b03nt8bh)
Coverage and analysis of the day's news. Including Weather at
5.57pm.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03npqgd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b03pctrw)
Series 42
Episode 1
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by special guest Elis James for a comic romp through the week's news. With Mitch Benn, Jon Holmes and Laura Shavin.
Written by the cast with additional material from Andy Wolton, Jane Lamacraft and Paul Davighi. Produced by Colin Anderson.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b03nt8bm)
When finalising Pat's birthday dinner plans, Helen makes it clear she'd like Rob to join them. Pat eventually agrees he can, but when Tony remarks on her generosity, Pat replies that her birthday is ruined anyway.
Tom and Kirsty discuss their wedding. Tom feels they need to increase the number of guests. Kirsty worries that costs are stacking up but Tom points out all his hard work over Christmas paid off, so why not put it into the wedding?
Tom and Kirsty are horrified to discover Rob will be joining them for the meal. However, Helen is still smitten and delighted when Rob hands her a big bouquet of flowers. Rob presents Pat with a book she's been wanting. Although it's thoughtful, Pat doesn't soften.
Over dinner the atmosphere is strained. Everyone tries to keep conversation diplomatic but it's too awkward for Kirsty who decides they should leave. Pat is sympathetic and hopes it might encourage Rob to leave too. Helen and Rob notice the tension but console each other, hoping it will just take time.
At the end of the night, Helen admits she's upset with Tony and Pat's attitude. She wants them to see that she's never been happier. Pat feels the situation is hopeless - Helen is besotted.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b03nt8bp)
Colin Firth; Hostages
With Kirsty Lang.
Colin Firth talks about his new film, The Railway Man, a true story in which he plays Eric Lomax, a British Army officer who is tormented as a prisoner in a Japanese labour camp during World War II. Decades later, Eric learns that the Japanese interpreter he holds responsible for much of his treatment is still alive, and sets out to confront him. Colin also considers the fine art of pretending to be patrician - and Paddington Bear as Mr Darcy.
Hostages is a new US TV drama, hot on the heels of Homeland and - like it - based upon an Israeli TV series. Hostages stars Toni Collette as a top surgeon in Washington DC, who - together with her family - gets caught up in the middle of a grand political conspiracy. Sarah Crompton, arts editor of the Telegraph, reviews.
Es Devlin is a stage designer whose work has ranged from west end theatre productions, to designing the London Olympics closing ceremony, and creating tour-sets for artists including Kanye West, Pet Shop Boys and Take That. Es takes Kirsty around her studio where she is preparing work for Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House, Harry Hill's new musical I Can't Sing and Miley Cyrus's upcoming tour. She discusses working in genres as diverse as opera, theatre and pop music, and why she feels stage directors should get more credit.
Singer Sam Smith is tipped for success after winning BBC's Sound Of 2014; previous winners include Adele, Jessie J and Haim. Smith, who topped the charts in 2013 with his Naughty Boy collaboration, La La La, is also the winner of the BRIT Critics' Choice. He talks to Kirsty about his reaction to receiving both awards and his plans for the year ahead.
Producer: Rebecca Nicholson.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03ntb2b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b03nt8rl)
Sarah Teather MP, Sadiq Khan MP, Patrick O'Flynn, Chris Grayling MP
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Heythrop College in London with Justice Secretary Chris Grayling MP, Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan MP, Patrick O'Flynn the new Communications Director for UKIP and former coalition minister the Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b03nt8br)
Unknown Knowns
John Gray reflects on "unknown knowns" - what we know but prefer not to think about, whether it's the truth about the invasion of Iraq or the failures of the financial system that led to the banking crisis. "We humans are sturdy and resilient animals with enormous capacities of creativity and adaptability; but consistently realistic thinking seems to be beyond our powers."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Acts of Union and Disunion (b03nt8vf)
Acts of Union and Disunion: Omnibus
Episode 1
On September 18th this year, the voters of Scotland will decide in a referendum whether they want their nation henceforth to be independent of the United Kingdom, or remain within the union that has bound Britain together since the Act of Union of 1707.
In "Acts of Union and Disunion", Linda Colley, Professor of History at the University of Princeton, examines the forces that bind together the diverse peoples, customs and loyalties of the United Kingdom. And the often equally powerful movements that from time to time across the centuries threaten to pull Britain apart.
In tonight's Omnibus Edition, Professor Colley explores Britain not as a small group but as a collection of thousands of islands; surrounded by seas that offer a defence - and a point of access... She looks at the British notion of liberty, as championed from Magna Carta onwards, and at the place of monarchy within the history of these islands:
"One of the ways in which political peoples have often managed to cohere - at least for a time - is through evolving and believing stories about themselves. So what have been the stories of identity, union, and belonging that varieties of Britons have selected to tell about themselves?"
Producer: Simon Elmes.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b03npqgg)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b03nt8bt)
French president scandal, Lords vote on EU referendum bill, Plebgate officer pleads guilty: with David Eades.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03phyb4)
The Lonely Londoners
Episode 4
Don Warrington reads Sam Selvon's 1950's classic about the lives of a group of Caribbean immigrants in London
Episode 4: Galahad is getting on well in London, in fact he sometimes feels like a king as he strolls through the park, three or four pounds in his pocket, sharp clothes on, off to meet a new girl under the clock in Piccadilly tube station. But there's a darker side to the city, and a hungrier one, that prompts Galahad into a high-risk exploit.
Sam Selvon's rich and touching 1956 novel describes how Moses and his friends of the Windrush generation go about making new lives for themselves with vigour and panache, navigating the rules and regulations of their new home, lending support to each other when needed, learning to survive; it's not long before, as Moses puts it, 'the boys coming and going, working, eating, sleeping, going about the vast metropolis like veteran Londoners.'
The Lonely Londoners will be broadcast the week before Colin MacInnes' vibrant novel about London, Absolute Beginners, set just a couple of years later as racial tensions rise; together the two books offer an unforgettable portrait of a city and a society undergoing convulsive change.
Reader: Don Warrington
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer: Sara Davies.
FRI 23:00 Book at Bedtime (b03phydw)
The Lonely Londoners
Episode 5
Don Warrington reads Sam Selvon's 1950's classic about the lives of a group of Caribbean immigrants in London
Episode 5: As summer comes to the city, Moses's friend Harris organises a dance, and Moses contemplates his life after ten years in London.
Sam Selvon's rich and touching 1956 novel describes how Moses and his friends of the Windrush generation go about making new lives for themselves with vigour and panache, navigating the rules and regulations of their new home, lending support to each other when needed, learning to survive; it's not long before, as Moses puts it, 'the boys coming and going, working, eating, sleeping, going about the vast metropolis like veteran Londoners.'
The Lonely Londoners will be broadcast the week before Colin MacInnes' vibrant novel about London, Absolute Beginners, set just a couple of years later as racial tensions rise; together the two books offer an unforgettable portrait of a city and a society undergoing convulsive change.
Reader: Don Warrington
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer: Sara Davies.
FRI 23:15 Four Thought (b03nt9wg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:45 on Wednesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03nt8vh)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster as members of the House of Lords hold their first debate on the bill that would allow a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU in 2017.
The private member's bill has already been approved in the Commons, where some Labour and Lib Dem MPs tried, and failed, to delay its passage.
The bill is expected to face fiercer opposition in the Lords and its supporters fear the proposals will run out of parliamentary time.
Several times during today's debate, peers were warned against provoking a row with the elected House of Commons by delaying or thwarting the bill.
Also on tonight's programme, Mark casts an expert eye over the runners and riders for one of the plum political jobs at Westminster.
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 MON (b03nsrj2)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b03nsrj2)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b03nt8hs)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b03nt8hs)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 WED (b03nt9vh)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b03nt9vh)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b03nt8bc)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b03nt8bc)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b03ntb2b)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b03ntb2b)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (b03mjcby)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (b03nt8br)
About the Boys
15:30 SAT (b03mfvlc)
Acts of Union and Disunion
13:45 MON (b03nt1t0)
Acts of Union and Disunion
13:45 TUE (b03nt8j1)
Acts of Union and Disunion
13:45 WED (b03nt9vt)
Acts of Union and Disunion
13:45 THU (b03nt8wy)
Acts of Union and Disunion
13:45 FRI (b03p7sgd)
Acts of Union and Disunion
21:00 FRI (b03nt8vf)
All in the Mind
21:00 TUE (b03nt8jm)
All in the Mind
15:30 WED (b03nt8jm)
Andrew Maxwell's Public Enemies
23:00 TUE (b03gg7rd)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b03nt8rl)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b03nrn9m)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (b03nt8x8)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (b03nt8x8)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b03nrnqp)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b03nrnqp)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 MON (b03phdbr)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 TUE (b03phxkx)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 WED (b03q08hb)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 THU (b03phxyk)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 FRI (b03phyb4)
Book at Bedtime
23:00 FRI (b03phydw)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (b03mj8ls)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (b03nsrhy)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (b03nsrhy)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (b03nt8hn)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (b03nt8hn)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (b03nt87n)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (b03nt87n)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (b03nt88s)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (b03nt88s)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (b03ntb28)
Bookclub
16:00 SUN (b03nrrbm)
Bookclub
15:30 THU (b03nrrbm)
Brain of Britain
23:00 SAT (b03mfn0f)
Brain of Britain
15:00 MON (b03nt5gs)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b03nrpbz)
Chain Reaction
12:30 SAT (b03mjcbp)
Chain Reaction
18:30 TUE (b03nt8bk)
Clare in the Community
11:30 WED (b03nt9vm)
Classic Serial
21:00 SAT (b03mcl9b)
Classic Serial
15:00 SUN (b03nrqfr)
Correspondents' Look Ahead
13:10 SAT (b03mjcbw)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (b03mj1xw)
Crossing Continents
11:00 THU (b03nt864)
Desert Island Discs
11:15 SUN (b03nrpc3)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (b03nrpc3)
Drama
14:15 MON (b0387tmr)
Drama
14:15 TUE (b011vg99)
Drama
14:15 THU (b0124nqv)
Face the Facts
12:30 WED (b03nt9vr)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b03nrhy8)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b03nsrhr)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b03nt8hj)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b03nt9vc)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b03nt7v9)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b03nt7ws)
File on 4
20:00 TUE (b03nt8jh)
First for Radio
15:45 FRI (b03ntb7d)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (b03nt9wg)
Four Thought
23:15 FRI (b03nt9wg)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b03nrlyl)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b03nt7cs)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b03nt8jf)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b03nt9wb)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b03nt938)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b03nt8bp)
Fructose: The Bittersweet Sugar
21:00 WED (b03nt9wj)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b03mjcbc)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b03nt85t)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (b03nt8bw)
Great Political Myths
23:00 THU (b007rgks)
Great Political Myths
23:15 THU (b007s1wg)
Hack My Hearing
11:00 MON (b03nt1st)
Hardeep's Sunday Lunch
13:30 SUN (b03kpkyq)
Immigration: Good for Whom?
22:15 SAT (b03nbsgd)
In Business
21:30 SUN (b03mj272)
In Business
20:30 THU (b03nt93d)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b03nt8jk)
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme
18:30 THU (b0156jzr)
Ko Un: The People's Poet of Korea
23:30 SAT (b03mcl9g)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b03mjcbh)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b03nt85w)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b03nrmdp)
MINT: The Next Economic Giants
09:00 MON (b03nsrhw)
MINT: The Next Economic Giants
21:30 MON (b03nsrhw)
MINT: The Next Economic Giants
09:00 TUE (b03p81z7)
MINT: The Next Economic Giants
21:30 TUE (b03p81z7)
MINT: The Next Economic Giants
09:00 WED (b03p824m)
MINT: The Next Economic Giants
21:30 WED (b03p824m)
MINT: The Next Economic Giants
09:00 THU (b03p8311)
MINT: The Next Economic Giants
21:30 THU (b03p8311)
Making History
15:00 TUE (b03nt8j3)
Mark Steel's in Town
18:30 WED (b03nt9w6)
Meet David Sedaris
19:15 SUN (b03npb2y)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b03mjcgm)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b03npq54)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b03npq78)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b03npq8w)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b03npqbt)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b03npqdh)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b03npqfy)
Modern Welsh Voices
19:45 SUN (b03nrry0)
Money Box Live
15:00 WED (b03nt9vy)
Money Box
12:00 SAT (b03nrlyn)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b03nrlyn)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (b03mjcbk)
More or Less
16:30 FRI (b03nt8bf)
Motown - Speaking In The Streets
11:30 THU (b03nt8wt)
Natalie Haynes' Brave New Algo-World
11:00 WED (b03nt9vk)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b03mjcgw)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b03npq5d)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b03npq7j)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b03npq95)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b03npqc2)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b03npqdr)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b03npqg6)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b03npq5g)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b03mjcgy)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b03npq5l)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b03npq5q)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b03mjchn)
News
13:00 SAT (b03mjch8)
North by Northamptonshire
11:30 MON (b03nt1sw)
O Henry Stories
00:30 SUN (b018gzmd)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (b03nrnvy)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (b03mj1y4)
Open Country
15:00 THU (b03nt8x0)
PM
17:00 SAT (b03nrm22)
PM
17:00 MON (b03nt7dl)
PM
17:00 TUE (b03nt8j9)
PM
17:00 WED (b03nt9w4)
PM
17:00 THU (b03nt934)
PM
17:00 FRI (b03nt8bh)
Pam Zinnemann-Hope - On Cigarette Papers
14:15 WED (b03nt9vw)
Piano Movements
11:30 TUE (b03nt8hx)
Piano Pilgrimage
10:30 SAT (b03nrlyg)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b03nrrpb)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b03mjcrs)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b03pn73t)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b03pn73b)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b03pn72t)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b03nt7v7)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b03nt7wq)
Profile
19:00 SAT (b03nrmdr)
Profile
05:45 SUN (b03nrmdr)
Profile
17:40 SUN (b03nrmdr)
Provincial Pleasures
16:30 SUN (b03nrrbp)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:55 SUN (b03nrnw2)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b03nrnw2)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b03nrnw2)
Riding the Graphene Wave
20:00 MON (b03kpnjx)
Saturday Drama
14:00 SAT (b03nrlyq)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b03nrlyd)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b03nrmdt)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b03mjcgr)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b03npq58)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b03npq7d)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b03npq91)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b03npqby)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b03npqdm)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b03npqg2)
Shared Experience
15:30 TUE (b03mfwjx)
Shared Planet
21:00 MON (b03mfvl9)
Shared Planet
11:00 TUE (b03nt8hv)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b03mjcgp)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b03mjcgt)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b03mjchg)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b03npq56)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b03npq5b)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b03npq5v)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b03npq7b)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b03npq7g)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b03npq8z)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b03npq93)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b03npqbw)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b03npqc0)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b03npqdk)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b03npqdp)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b03npqg0)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b03npqg4)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b03mjchl)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b03npq5z)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b03npq7s)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b03npq9f)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b03npqc8)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b03npqdy)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b03npqgd)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b03nrnqr)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b03nrnqr)
Staging a Revenge: The New Jacobean Theatre
16:00 MON (b03nt5qf)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b03nrnw4)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b03nrnw0)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b03nrpc1)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b03nrrxy)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b03nrrxy)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b03nt7cq)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b03nt7cq)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b03nt8jc)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b03nt8jc)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b03nt9w8)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b03nt9w8)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b03nt84f)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b03nt84f)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b03nt8bm)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b03mj1y6)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b03nt8x6)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b03nrpsb)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b03nrpsb)
The Forum
11:00 SAT (b03nrlyj)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b03nt9w2)
The Now Show
18:30 FRI (b03pctrw)
The Only Way Is Up
17:00 SUN (b03mfxyh)
The Report
20:00 THU (b03nt93b)
The Slow Coach
16:30 MON (b038c0dt)
The Stanley Baxter Playhouse
11:30 FRI (b01q7gz5)
The State of... The 'Never Had It' Generation
20:00 WED (b03nt9wd)
The Unbelievable Truth
12:00 SUN (b03mfp0r)
The Unbelievable Truth
18:30 MON (b03nt7cn)
The Welsh M1
11:00 FRI (b03nt8g7)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b03nrpsd)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b03nt7cx)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b03nt8jp)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b03nv2mr)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b03nt93g)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b03nt8bt)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b03mg95w)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b03nt9w0)
Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme
23:00 WED (b03nt9wl)
Today in Parliament
23:30 MON (b03nt7d1)
Today in Parliament
23:30 TUE (b03nt8jr)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (b03nt9wn)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (b03nt8yj)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (b03nt8vh)
Today
07:00 SAT (b03nrlyb)
Today
06:00 MON (b03nsrht)
Today
06:00 TUE (b03nt8hl)
Today
06:00 WED (b03nv0gn)
Today
06:00 THU (b03nv0m9)
Today
06:00 FRI (b03nv0qv)
Tony McHale - Dead in the Water
14:15 FRI (b03nt8n9)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b03k72zr)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b03mztnb)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b03mztp0)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b03mztpd)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b03mztpj)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b03mztqr)
UK Confidential
22:00 SUN (b03mj8lz)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b03mjch2)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b03mjch4)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b03mjch6)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b03mjchj)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b03npq5j)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b03npq5n)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b03npq5s)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b03npq5x)
Weather
05:56 MON (b03npq7l)
Weather
12:57 MON (b03npq7n)
Weather
21:58 MON (b03npq7v)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b03npq97)
Weather
17:57 TUE (b03npq9c)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b03npq9h)
Weather
21:58 WED (b03npqcb)
Weather
12:57 THU (b03npqdt)
Weather
21:58 THU (b03npqf0)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b03npqg8)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b03npqgg)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b03nrsnh)
Witness
14:45 SUN (b03p7sjv)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b03nrm20)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b03nsrj0)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b03nt8hq)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b03nt9vf)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b03nt862)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b03nt7yv)
Word of Mouth
23:00 MON (b03mfwjz)
Word of Mouth
16:00 TUE (b03nt8j7)
World at One
13:00 MON (b03npq7q)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b03npq99)
World at One
13:00 WED (b03npqc6)
World at One
13:00 THU (b03npqdw)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b03npqgb)
You and Yours
12:00 MON (b03nt1sy)
You and Yours
12:00 TUE (b03nt8hz)
You and Yours
12:00 WED (b03nt9vp)
You and Yours
12:00 THU (b03nt8ww)
You and Yours
12:00 FRI (b03nt84c)
iGod
23:15 WED (b00wr7v2)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b03mjcrv)
iPM
17:30 SAT (b03mjcrv)