The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Drug Mules - Laurie Taylor talks to Jennifer Fleetwood, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Leicester, about her study of women in the international cocaine trade. Drawing on 'in depth' interviews with female traffickers imprisoned in Ecuador, she uncovered narratives which went beyond the stock dichotomy of helpless 'victims' versus confident 'agents'.
Also, a 'dads only' parenting project. Alan Dolan, Associate Professor in the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick, considers how learning to be a good father can clash with ideals of masculinity as well as traditional notions of fathering.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaunaka Rishi, Director of the Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies.
The second pilot badger cull ends today. Charlotte Smith speaks to the Badger Trust - which has commissioned a poll asking for the public's view - and to a spokesman for the cull company in Gloucestershire. The pilot cull is part of the Government's strategy for controlling TB in cattle.
One of the world's biggest food fairs gets underway today in Paris. We speak to a Devon pork processor who says it's the perfect place to look for new export opportunities.
And we hear about research into one of the oldest and most common of commodities on the farm - manure.
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Panamanian Montezuma oropendola. In a clearing in the humid rainforest in Panama a tall tree appears to be draped in hanging baskets. These are the nests of a New World blackbird, Montezuma oropendola. The male produces an ecstatic bubbling liquid call as he displays to females, reaching a crescendo whilst bowing downwards from his perch, spreading his wings and raising his tail. They weave long tubular basket-like nests from plant fibres, which they suspend in clusters from tall trees. Colonies can contain up to one hundred and seventy nests, but more usually number about thirty.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
What was Napoleon's impact during his lifetime, in France and across Europe and how much of this can we see today? With Tom Sutcliffe, Andrew Roberts examines the man in his new biography, Jenny Uglow explores living in Britain through Napoleon's Wars, 1793-1815, Sudhir Hazareesingh looks at his legend, while musicologist Gavin Plumley focuses on Schubert in Vienna in the aftermath of Napoleon.
Neil MacGregor examines the life and legacy of Johannes Gutenberg, who invented moveable type and pioneered the printing press. For many, it is the moment at which the modern world began, as the book as we know it was born. It is without doubt the point at which access to knowledge stopped being the privilege of the few.
Jane Garvey considers the moral dilemma provoked by the case of the footballer, Ched Evans. Should convicted sex offenders, once released from prison, be able to return to their previous lives? American soprano Angel Blue talks about how she came to be an opera singer and what it's like to play Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme. Football journalist Amy Lawrence has been reporting on the game for the last twenty years. She talks about her new book, Invincible, which looks at what made Arsenal's team so special for their unbeaten season in 2003-4. Elaine Constantine's film, Northern Soul, portrays the intensity of the American inspired dance movement in the north of England in the late 1960s. Elaine and Northern soul dance instructor, Sharon Sullivan, talk about the film and why the movement still speaks to audiences today. Emily St.John Mandel is an American writer and the author of Station Eleven. The novel has been receiving rave reviews and has just been shortlisted for the 2014 National Book Awards. Emily kicks off a series in which we ask Woman's Hour guests what success means to them.
In Rachel Joyce's best selling novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Queenie Hennessy is told she has days to live. She sends a letter of rose pink paper in which she bids goodbye to Harold Fry. It is a letter that inspires a walk, a cast of well-wishers, a journey of its own. Harold will save her.
Harold's story began its life as an award winning Radio 4 play so it only seems apt that this companion novel should grace the airwaves too.
In this novel there is a second letter - a quieter, longer, more complicated letter. It is in this one that Queenie reveals the shocking and beautiful truth of her life. It is Queenie's story and it is a love song to the man she loves.
'It's all very well for a man to step out of his front door and tell his friend to wait while he walks the length of England. It's an entirely different kettle of fish when you are the woman at the other end.'
Bhutan is a landlocked country in the eastern Himalaya, best known as a Buddhist kingdom where the policy of 'Gross National Happiness' replaced GDP. Anthropologist and linguist Mark Turin has special access to enter Bhutan as part of a major collaborative research project to document the country's endangered oral traditions. He is there to help identify which of Bhutan's languages and cultures are most at risk as the country opens up to global influences through television and the internet.
Mark takes a journey from Thimphu, the capital, across high mountain passes, to the village of Ura in rural Bumthang district. There he participates in a dramatic five-day festival of rituals and fire dances. He meets members of parliament, teachers, and broadcasters who speak not only Dzongkha, the national language, but English and their local indigenous languages. Along the way, Mark learns more about the challenges facing communities who live in Bhutan's remote valleys.
A journey through the cultural and linguistic landscape of the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, presented by anthropologist Mark Turin.
Kerry Godliman and husband Ben (Ben Abell) decide to sell their house and Kerry reluctantly has to deal with the modern version of Beelzebub - the dreaded estate agent!
Their house sale forces Kerry to finally organise her photo collection and she takes a stroll down memory lane to remember various scenes from her incident filled childhood. She remembers her first date with husband-to-be Ben and has a flashback to her student days with fellow housemates Diane and Rachel.
This week's list includes sketch a self portrait, bleach tash, take kids to cinema and grout! Kerry has to have another chat with her doom laden father Martin who brings her down to earth with a bang as he shares his negative views on house moving.
There's also a chat with best friend Hazel (Bridget Christie) and we find out how stressful it can be choosing a child's name.
The cast includes co-writer David Lane Pusey, Rosie Cavaliero, Lucy Briers, Nicholas Le Prevost, Dominic Frisby, Jen Brister and Melissa Bury.
In 1954, the French critic and semiotician Roland Barthes began a series of essays in which he analysed the popular culture of his day. He called his essays "Mythologies." In this series of witty talks, the acclaimed writer and critic Peter Conrad delivers a series of 21st Century Mythologies in a French accent of the mind. Conrad ranges over the defining popular icons of our era, from the Shard, to the Kardashians to today, Her Majesty the Queen.
In a special You and Yours, we investigate a web of companies that sold millions of pounds of pension investments to hundreds of people - and has left many of them desperately trying to find out where their money has gone.
There were a number of companies involved...all of them promised a lump sum upfront and then big returns further down the line.
But You and Yours has spoken to dozens of worried people who have transferred their pensions and then heard little or nothing since.
We've also discovered that many of the people behind these companies are difficult to trace - as is a lot of the money.
What happened raises important questions about the way pensions are regulated.
In 1960 the women telephonists of the Enfield exchange said goodbye to the last manual telephone exchange in Greater London. For decades they had put through calls using this plugboard machine, providing a polite and friendly voice to any caller. With the expertise of the Science Museum's Keeper of Technology, Dr Tilly Blyth, and Curator of Communication, John Liffen, Aleks Krotoski uncovers the hidden histories of the life of the exchange and how it provided a new kind of employment for young women.
Part of the Enfield Exchange is on display in the new Information Age gallery at the Science Museum. The gallery tells the story of the evolution in how we communicate with each other. The objects in the exhibition represent cultural moments from the last 200 years - not just technological innovations.
We also hear from the women who worked as telephonists about the relationship between the supervisors and operators, some of whom were only 15 years old, the aches and pains the plugboard caused and the prestige brought by a job with the GPO.
Marion and Richard live a quiet life in their perfect garden, sheltered from a turbulent world by their manicured hedge. Then one day, after an explosive row with their daughter Sophie, out of the hedge emerges a mysterious hand. Slowly the outside world starts to bleed into their fragile haven.
The fifth heat of the 2014 series sees competitors from Leeds, Leek in Staffordshire and Ulverston in Cumbria facing Russell Davies' wide-ranging music questions. The programme comes from Media City in Salford.
Orchestral music, chamber music, opera, church music, jazz, folk, stage and film musicals, classic rock and sixty years of pop hits are all fair game - with the contestants having no idea where the next question will take them. There are plenty of musical extracts to suit every taste, with full details of the music played available on the programmes' webpages.
Writer and Broadcaster Brian Sibley tells the story of James Bond author Ian Fleming's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 50 years on from publication.
Most of us know the film of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with its inventor father, Caractacus Potts, the twins Jemima and Jeremy and their adventures in their flying car. But few realise that Ian Fleming's original book is quite different. Potts was 'Pott' (or Crack Pott) in the book, the original manuscript's adventures take place in Kent and Northern France, and it was screenwriter Roald Dahl who added the characters of the Child Catcher and Truly Scrumptious.
Brian Sibley speaks to Fleming's nieces, Lucy Fleming and Kate Grimond, and to Ian Fleming bibliographer Jon Gilbert, to hear how Fleming's only children's book was written and published.
Fleming told the original story aurally to his son Caspar, and he only decided to write it down long hand when he was convalescing after serious illness. The book coincided with the last years of Fleming's life and contain some of the elements of the Bond Books – a great adventure story at its heart and the love of cars. The vehicle itself was inspired by Fleming watching the racing at Brooklands and a legendary driver called Count Zborowksi, who had a car named Chitty Bang Bang.
Brian Sibley goes to Brooklands to take a spin on the old race track, as well as talking to original illustrator John Burningham and the writer of the sequels, Frank Cottrell Boyce. He also catches up with legendary composer of the film score Richard M. Sherman.
We communicate with each other in more ways than ever and with an ever expanding range of devices and platforms. But they all piggy back on an earlier invention, our original social networking technology - language.
In this edition of the Digital Human Aleks Krotoski explores the idea of language as a technology itself and how people over the years have attempted to improve it; re-engineer it for maximum efficiency, or use it as a lever of social change.
She speaks to Professor David Crystal about how we're living through a period of rapid language growth comparable to the renaissance or industrial revolution. Evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel explains how we can consider language as a technology devised by natural selection while linguist Arika Okrent charts the attempts down the years by those who think they can perfect the function of language by devising their own.
The Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd welcomes his latest curator Phill Jupitus.
With author and journalist Will Storr, physicist and comedian Lieven Scheire and actor and presenter Sandi Toksvig.
There's a muddle over Caroline's requirements for the Hunt Ball. Realising it's not appropriate to expect Roy to help, Caroline calls Elizabeth, who assures her everything's under control. Privately Elizabeth admits to Jill that Geraldine doesn't communicate, and that Roy's left a lot of loose ends. Jill can't understand why Elizabeth doesn't ask Roy; she's sure he'd be only too happy to help. Reluctantly Elizabeth calls Roy with a list of questions. Surprised to hear from her, he agrees to sort it all out. She's grateful, but before Roy can begin any sort of conversation, she's gone.
David's happy Jill doesn't know about Elizabeth and Roy. It's Elizabeth's mess, and if she's chosen to deal with it in private, that suits all of them. When Jill gets home she remarks that Elizabeth seems stressed, but puts it down to working with difficult Geraldine.
There's been an offer on the farm in Northumberland. They're not in a position to counter-offer, but Ruth spots another farm which might be suitable. Unhappy about all the uncertainty, she feels they need to be ready to act quickly; perhaps they should get Rodway's moving with a sales pack for Brookfield. Unsettled Jill asserts she'll have to start tidying, ready for the photos.
Robert Webb and Miles Jupp on performing completely wet on stage in Neville's Island.
And Sarah Dunant discusses the Royal Academy exhibition of the Renaissance portrait painter, Moroni.
Will Robson gets exclusive access to some of the British military's most secretive, sophisticated and controversial drones, and talks to the men and women who operate them. He gets an insider perspective on what it means to fight a war remotely, and finds out how long distant combat affects those at the controls.
In a remote corner of west Wales, in a matt green shipping container, a group of engineers and military officials crowd around a high-tech bank of screens and joysticks. A monitor feeds them live aerial footage of the Carmarthenshire coastline. The image is crisp, they can make out dolphins swimming in the wake of a fishing trawler. They're testing the limits of the British Army's Watchkeeper surveillance drone, one of a new fleet of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) which have an £850m pound price tag.
The British military is a global leader in UAS technology, and Watchkeeper is just one element. As drones become ever more important to the way Britain fights its wars, the Government's Select Defence Committee are demanding more transparency.
While the military have welcomed UAS as a way of reducing costs and casualties, not everyone is convinced. Critics say that drones could bring an age of airborne occupation and dispassionate warfare. They claim that when war can be fought without consequence to the aggressor, violence quickly becomes easier than diplomacy.
Will Robson explores the debate around one of this generation's most divisive military technologies.
What is a caliphate? What ideals does such an Islamic state embody - and how could or should it be implemented? Analysis consults a range of voices to explore how the concept has evolved and has been expressed over the centuries. Edward Stourton talks to historians, religious scholars and political thinkers who offer their perspectives on caliphates of the past, the revivalist rhetoric of the present and the beliefs shared by many Muslims about its future return.
Artificial lighting is ubiquitous in the developed world - but the effects of night time illumination on wildlife are not yet fully understood. While we know that artificial light changes the behaviour of some animals we're still a long way from knowing whether those changes can damage wildlife populations. This week Monty Don finds out what we do know with particular regard to an important but often overlooked group of animals - insects.
From the author of Brooklyn, a powerful and honest portrayal of one woman's journey through grief, and towards hope, read by Brid Brennan.
It is the 1960s and Nora Webster is living with her two young sons in a small town on the east coast of Ireland. Her husband, Maurice, has just died and Nora must work out how to forge a new life for herself, and her children.
Today: On a rare night out in a pub, Nora finds herself alone on a crowd.
Writer: Colm Toibin was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of six novels including The Blackwater Lightship and The Master, both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Brooklyn which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Costa Novel Award, plus an earlier collection of stories, Mothers and Sons.
Jarvis Cocker attempts to fly to the moon, with the aid of astronaut Chris Hadfield - famous for his rendition of David Bowie's Space Oddity on the International Space Station.
En route he hears stories of those touched by the moon in its many manifestations.
The House of Lords has agreed unanimously to make "revenge pornography" a crime punishable by up to two years in jail in England and Wales. And calls for the government to focus on prevention of obesity rather than surgery. Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.
TUESDAY 21 OCTOBER 2014
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b04lp52d)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6sjj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04lp52g)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04lp52j)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04lp52l)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b04lp52n)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04mttcz)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaunaka Rishi, Director of the Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b04lpzym)
Pesticides report, Land Girls memorial, Dung beetles
A report published today by the agricultural consultants Andersons claims that banning too many pesticides will lead to lower yields on farm, which in turn could result in an increase in food imports, and job losses. The report says around 40 substances could be banned or restricted by the EU. But one conservation group, the Pesticide Action Network, says this is just scaremongering, and that organic growers can produce high yields without the use of pesticides.
A bronze statue will be unveiled later today at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire. It's to honour the thousands of Land Girls who worked the land to help feed the nation during both world wars. We meet Iris Newbold, who worked as a Land Girl in Yorkshire when she was 17.
And we find out how dung beetles are being used to increase the amount of pasture available on farms.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hky3h)
Satin Bowerbird
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents Australia's satin bowerbird. Then male is a blackish looking bird with bright purple eyes, whose plumage diffracts the light to produce an indigo sheen with a metallic lustre. He builds a U-shaped bower of sticks on the forest floor into which he hopes to lure a female. But brown twigs on a brown woodland floor aren't very eye-catching, so he jazzes up the scene with an array of objects from berries and bottle-tops to clothes-pegs and even ballpoint pens. All have one thing in common: they are blue. The male dances around his bower to attract the greenish females: often holding something blue to impress her. As he poses, he calls enticingly to advertise his prowess. Once she's made her choice, she will leave to build her nest and rear her young alone.
TUE 06:00 Today (b04lpzyp)
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (b04lpzyr)
Margaret Boden on artificial intelligence
Maggie Boden is a world authority in the field of artificial intelligence - she even has a robot named in her honour.
Research Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Sussex, Maggie has spent a lifetime attempting to answer philosophical questions about the nature of the human mind, but from a computational viewpoint.
"Tin cans", as she sometimes calls computers, are information processing systems, the perfect vehicle, she believes, to help us understand, explore and analyse the mind.
But questions about the human mind and the human person could never be answered within one single academic subject. So the long career of Maggie Boden is the very epitome of cross-disciplinary working. From medicine, to psychology, to cognitive and computer science, to technology and philosophy, Professor Boden has spent decades straddling multiple academic subjects, helping to create brand new disciplines along the way.
TUE 09:30 One to One (b04lpzyt)
Isabel Oakeshott and Surrogacy
Political journalist and commentator Isabel Oakeshott almost went down the route of surrogacy in India, after having four miscarriages when trying for her second child. In the end, she did have a baby naturally, but has always wondered about the route she almost took.
In the first of two interviews for One to One, she talks to Natalie, who had twins through a surrogate in the UK, and she explores how surrogacy works here.
Producer: Sara Conkey.
TUE 09:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6scv)
Dürer: An Artist for All Germans
Neil MacGregor focuses on the work of Dürer (1471-1528), arguing that he is the defining artist of Germany, his image - and his self-image - known to all Germans. He was a new kind of artist, clearly fascinated by himself, and the first great artist in Europe to paint so many self-portraits. He embodies the Renaissance idea of the artist as a hero and a star, the artist of a new world and a new technology. Dürer was also the first artist to sell his work widely throughout Europe.
Producer Paul Kobrak.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04lpzyw)
Doreen Lawrence and the Unicef report into child deaths due to violence
Doreen Lawrence and Anita Tiessen on a new UNICEF report into child deaths due to violence. Professor Craig Jordan on his pioneering work in breast cancer prevention and treatment. Alison Light on her book Common People, looking at family history. Anjum Anand cooks the perfect Diwali supper. Feminist nail bars. Jane Garvey presents.
Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Eleanor Garland.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b04m0q75)
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy
Harold Fry
By Rachel Joyce
While Harold Fry walks from Devon to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Queenie makes notes and Sister Mary Inconnue types them up. They won't stop until he arrrives and that is how Queenie will keep waiting.
Queenie ..... Sophie Thompson
Harold ..... Paul Venables
Sister Mary Inconnue ..... Roslyn Hill
Sister Catherine ..... Elaine Claxton
Sister Lucy ..... Hannah Genesius
Finty ..... Jane Slavin
Mr Henderson ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Napier ..... Shaun Mason
Directed by Tracey Neale
TUE 11:00 Shared Planet (b04lpzz0)
Hen Harriers: Trust in Conservation
Hen harriers are persecuted in the British Isles because they eat grouse. Seals cause problems for salmon fishermen; lions eat the livestock of pastoralists in Africa and so on. All over the world there are conflicts between people and wildlife, often with devastating consequences. In Shared Planet this week Monty Don looks at how we are approaching solving these issues, who is taking the bull by the horns and getting people around a table to come up with a shared solution? Conflict resolution is growing area that brings together scientists, local people, businesses, NGOs and many others who are affected by wildlife conflict. It is a demanding task finding a solution that all parties feel they can accept, on a par with the negotiations undertaken with trade unions by ACAS. This new area for conservation brings political and social science to sit alongside traditional conservation ideas. Monty Don investigates.
TUE 11:30 Chant (b04lpzz2)
Richard Coles delves into the 1990's when a recording of Benedictine monks singing became so popular it sold in the millions around the world.
If an album of classical music sold anywhere near one million copies at that time, it was considered unusual. For one to sell more than that was unprecedented. Adding further to this phenomenon was the fact that this was unfamiliar music at the time, Gregorian Chant, performed not by celebrity artists who might attract a large following, but by monks from a remote corner of Northern Spain. EMI marketed this album Canto Gregoriano, or Chant as it was named in Amercia, as a unique antidote to stress.
Richard Coles with former EMI employees Kick Klimbie and Jane McCann, retrace EMI's marketing tactics in the promotion of Canto Gregoriano. Professor Adrian North will also be providing insights throughout the programme into the psychology of marketing, exploring what drives people to buy certain things, and how music can impact upon us physically and emotionally.
Richard Coles also takes a trip to the Isle of Wight, where Gregorian Chant is still an important aspect of life at both St Cecilia's Abbey and Quarr Abbey, and questions whether such music is still capable of having any meaning or impact upon our lives in the twenty-first century.
Producer: Luke Whitlock.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.
TUE 12:00 News Summary (b04lp52q)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 21st Century Mythologies (b04lpzz4)
The Oyster Card
In 1954, the French critic and semiotician Roland Barthes began a series of essays in which he analysed the popular culture of his day. He called his essays "Mythologies." In this series of witty talks, the acclaimed writer and critic Peter Conrad delivers a series of 21st Century Mythologies in a French accent of the mind. Conrad ranges over the defining effluvia of our era, from the Shard, to the Kardashians to today, the Oyster Card.
TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b04lq03h)
Call You and Yours: Are you worse off than your parents' generation?
On Call You and Yours, we're asking are you worse off than your parents? The Chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission Alan Milburn says the under 30s are missing out on home ownership, job prospects are poor, and the work that is available is badly paid. So have young people never had it so bad? Their parents enjoy final salary pension schemes but these days that kind of workplace benefit is a rare luxury. We want to hear from you about the struggles of the under 30s. Are you worse off than your parents? Or if you're a parent are your children not enjoying the opportunities you did? Email us on youandyours@bbc.co.uk or ring 03700100444 the lines open at 11, or text 84844.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b04lp52s)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b04lq03k)
Oscar Pistorius is sentenced to five years in jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but he could be eligible for parole after 10 months. Andrew Harding reports from Pretoria, and we get reaction from the ANC's Women's League.
The Home Secretary, Theresa May, has insisted she has confidence in Fiona Woolf, the lawyer appointed to chair the Government's historic child abuse inquiry, after details emerged of her personal links to the former Home Secretary, Lord Brittan. The Labour MP, Simon Danczuck, tells us Mrs Woolf should stand down.
The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Nick Hardwick, says there's been a rapid deterioration in safety inside jails in England and Wales, with staff shortages, overcrowding and prison policy all contributory factors. He speaks to us, the head of the Prison Service, Michael Spurr responds. And Danny Shaw reports on the growing problem caused by inmates' use of legal highs.
The paraplegic campaigner, fundraiser and former event rider who walked the London Marathon in 17 days using a robotic suit, Claire Lomas, responds to the news that a paralysed man has become the first person in the world to walk again as a result of a revolutionary procedure, which involved transplanting cells from his nose into his severed spinal cord.
The UKIP leader Nigel Farage accuses David Cameron of "deliberately deceiving" voters by suggesting
he can limit immigration from within the EU. He also defends his decision to link up with a member of
a controversial right-wing Polish party in the European Parliament - and DJ Mike Read's Calypso song.
And Andrew Bomford looks ahead to the final report of the City Growth Commission, aimed at reviving England's major regional cities.
Presented by Mark Mardell.
TUE 13:45 Hidden Histories of the Information Age (b04m3bcc)
Tat-1
In 1957 the singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson in 1957 performed a concert to an audience sitting in St Pancras Town Hall in London. Astonishingly, Paul Robeson was in New York at the time, and he was performing live over a transatlantic phone line.
Robeson was an outspoken critic of lynching laws and anti-fascism. Because of his support of these causes, he was a victim of early attempts by the US FBI to quash civil rights activism, and was blacklisted by the State Department. His passport was cancelled so he could not leave the US.
But Robeson was also an innovator, who used the latest tools to go around the restrictions that were imposed upon him. When the authorities increasingly tried to silence him, he used technology to make his voice heard.
Aleks Krotoski tells the story of how Paul Robeson came to perform for his British fans using the new transatlantic telephone cable, called TAT-1, It was laid between 1955 and 1956, and it linked Newfoundland, Canada and Oban on the West Coast of Scotland.
TAT-1 is one of the objects on display in the Information Age Gallery at the Science Museum in London. This new gallery features the evolution in how we communicate with one another. The objects in the gallery represent cultural moments from the last 200 years, not just technological innovations.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b04lpxxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Tommies (b03thc49)
21 October 1914
by Jonathan Ruffle.
Series created by Jonathan Ruffle
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
Through it all, we follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
Indira Varma, Lee Ross and Alex Wyndham star in this story, set at Ypres during the first Battle of Langemarck. Mickey's signals unit goes forward with the British offensive. And just as no battle plan survives contact with the enemy, so Mickey's plan to be a battlefield tourist is not about to survive contact with an artillery captain on a mission of his own.
Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: David Hunter.
TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (b04lq28m)
Series 6
Behind the Curtain
Secret telephone discos for cold calling salesmen, moral dilemmas which emerge behind the scenes on a reality television show and Joe Dunthorne attempts to gain access to the OULIPO.
Josie Long peers behind the curtain to reveal stories from behind the scenes.
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b04lq28p)
Making a Splash
Tom Heap meets Darren Reynolds, a health and environment professor, who has developed a mini treatment plant that can turn dirty water into clean drinkable water.
The technology could be transported around the globe and put to use in places where clean water is scarce, such as in areas where there is a humanitarian crisis.
Costing The Earth discovers how the machine works and looks at other technology that could improve the water supplies of millions of people around the world.
Presenter: Tom Heap
Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.
TUE 16:00 Law in Action (b04lq28r)
Can the PM Go to War?
The House of Lords votes this week on a government proposal to increase the sentence for internet trolling to two years. We ask Baroness Deech QC - herself a victim of trolling - what she thinks of the idea.
Also: with British military aircraft now deployed against the forces of Islamic State in Iraq, we ask whether the Prime Minister needs to seek consent from Parliament before committing British forces to action overseas.
Did the vote in the House of Commons in 2013 rejecting military action against President Assad of Syria create a convention that should now be followed in all cases? We hear from Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chair of the House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee, and Gavin Phillipson of Durham University.
The Minister of Justice and Lord Chancellor, Chris Grayling, gave evidence last week to the House of Lords Constitution Committee. He was asked whether the Lord Chancellor should be a lawyer. Mr Grayling, who is not a lawyer, didn't think so. But what do others think? And does it matter?
And TV justice: we talk to the criminal barrister Robert Rinder who, as "Judge Rinder", is attracting large audiences to his ITV show, in which he adjudicates on real disputes.
Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg
Producers: Keith Moore and Tim Mansel
Editor: Richard Knight.
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b04lq2ls)
Adam Hills and Steven Pinker
Last Leg presenter and comedian Adam Hills and psychologist and popular science author Steven Pinker discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Under discussion are two tales of non conformists, Albert Camus' The Outsider and Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull, as well as Strunk & White's Elements of Style, a style guide written in the 1930s but still influential today. The guests talk about whether Camus' protagonist is a sociopath or a pathetic man to be pitied, and whether Jonathan Livingston Seagull is an inspiration or a product of California's 1970s hot tub scene.
Producer Sally Heaven.
TUE 17:00 PM (b04lq2lv)
Coverage and analysis of the day's news.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04lp52v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b04lq2lx)
Series 1
Health and Beauty
Multi-award winning comic Mark Watson attempts to answer the big questions and make sense of life.
Written and performed by Mark Watson, Tim Key and Tom Basden as they tackle academic and abstract topics.
This time Mark looks at "Health & Beauty". Our world is full of people telling us how to be healthier and more attractive. But how can we tell if we are well, both mentally and physically? Does living more healthily lead to better mental health, or not so much because you have to eat stuff like cabbage and you wish you were dead? At the same time many people claim to be beautiful, but does beauty really matter or is it, as the popular saying goes, in the eye of the beholder?
Why is it so hard to get to the bottom of what will make us look and feel good, and will this eternal quest ever end?
Producer: Lianne Coop
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in October 2014.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b04lq2lz)
Eddie shares Ed's concern over him affording a place of his own. He suggests No.1 The Green might be an option. But Ed laments that even with both he and Emma working they're still not earning enough. Eddie suggests to a reluctant Will that he asks his brother to beat at the shoot; after all he knows the ropes. Ed is being harangued by Susan at Ambridge View when Will calls him, and so he agrees to his brother's offer.
Susan and Clarrie continue to speculate on Elizabeth and Roy. They guess Jill doesn't know yet - concluding that's probably for the best for now.
Clarrie tells Joe he'll have to spruce up the cider shed if Carol Tregorran's visiting - it's filthy in there. She takes it upon herself to make a start, digging out Joe's numerous discarded pork scratching packets and ferret magazines along th way. She's incredulous when Eddie turns up with a poncho and panpipes, unveiling his plan to charge punters for him recounting a dodgy 'history of the turkey'. It's a great gimmick to kick off sales. Joe's on board, but Clarrie doesn't want anything to do with it. Eddie sees it as his mission to educate, inform and entertain. Who wouldn't be happy to stump up for that?
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b04lq2yd)
John Kander; Jimmy Page; The Babadook reviewed; René Burri remembered
Kirsty Lang talks to John Kander, composer of the hit musicals Cabaret, Chicago and now The Scottsboro Boys.
Jimmy Page discusses his project to remaster Led Zeppelin IV.
We review Australian horror film The Babadook. Plus Magnum photographer René Burri, who has died aged 81, in an interview from the Front Row archive.
Producer: Ellie Bury
Presenter: Kirsty Lang.
TUE 19:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6scv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b04lq2yg)
Ebola
Ebola is now regarded as an international threat to peace and security, according to the World Health Organisation. Yet, when the WHO was first warned of an unprecedented outbreak, the organisation said it was "still relatively small."
Now the UK has asked for volunteers to travel to West Africa to try to bring Ebola under control. Thousands of American troops are also flying out to the region. But could all this have been avoided? Simon Cox asks why it took so long for the world to wake up to the threat posed by Ebola? He also investigates the treatments that are now, belatedly, being developed - treatments that have existed for decades. Vaccines and other drugs are being rushed into production at an unprecedented pace, by-passing the usual safety controls. However, all predictions are that many more people will die before the disease is brought under control. Even then, will it become endemic?
Reporter: Simon Cox
Producer: John Murphy.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b04lq2yj)
Blind People in Sierra Leone; 'Affordable' Braille; Accessible Pedestrian Signals
Peter White talks about the increased risk blind people face in contracting the Ebola virus with the director of Vision for the Blind - an organisation for visually impaired people in Sierra Leone. To prevent infection the advice is to avoid bodily contact, but this makes life difficult when you rely on touch for communication and assistance. And the 'no touching' advice means that sighted people are reluctant to offer help for fear of spreading infection.
We also look at concerted attempts to develop far cheaper equipment to enable people to read electronically generated Braille. Technical problems mean that much of the equipment on the market is far too expensive to buy unless you have government or charitable assistance, and is largely unaffordable in poorer countries. We feature in particular piece of equipment being developed by an American consortium which could eventually sell for hundreds, rather than thousands.
And have you detected a decline in the numbers of crossings with audible or tactile signals to tell blind and partially sighted people when it's safe to cross the road? In Touch wants to hear listeners experiences, and what explanations they've been given if they have complained.
Producer: Lee Kumutat.
TUE 21:00 Inside Health (b04lq2yl)
Private hospitals, Hyperbaric medicine, Sick day rules to reduce kidney damage, Warfarin
As more NHS operations are done in the private sector, how much do we know about patient safety in private hospitals? Kits to self-monitor warfarin have been recommended by NICE, so why is the uptake so poor? Hyperbaric medicine - using high doses of oxygen to accelerate healing; And sick day rules - the medicines you should stop taking while you are unwell to reduce kidney damage.
TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (b04lpzyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b04lp52x)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b04lq2yn)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04lq2yq)
Nora Webster
That Is Why God Made Music
From the author of Brooklyn, a powerful and honest portrayal of one woman's journey through grief, and towards hope in rural Ireland.
It is the 1960s and Nora Webster is living with her two young sons in a small town on the east coast of Wexford. The love of her life, Maurice, has just died and so Nora must work out how to forge a new life for herself, and for her grieving children.
Today: Nora discovers the healing power of music.
Reader: Brid Brennan
Writer: Colm Toibin was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of six novels including The Blackwater Lightship and The Master, both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Brooklyn which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Costa Novel Award, plus an earlier collection of stories, Mothers and Sons.
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett.
TUE 23:00 Small Scenes (b04lq2ys)
Series 2
Episode 2
Oxford Zoo is annexed by its own monkey kingdom and a young woman falls under the romantic spell of "The Great Dimbleby."
Symphonious sketch show, starring Daniel Rigby, Sara Pascoe, Mike Wozniak, Cariad Lloyd and Henry Paker.
Written by Benjamin Partridge, Henry Paker and Mike Wozniak.
Producer: Simon Mayhew-Archer.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04lq2yv)
Sean Curran reports on efforts to give voters the power to change their MP between elections. There's a sceptical hearing for the child abuse inquiry's new head. And can 'doing nothing' be the best way to deal with Islamic State?
Editor: Peter Mulligan.
WEDNESDAY 22 OCTOBER 2014
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b04lp53v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6scv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04lp53x)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04lp53z)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04lp541)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b04lp543)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04mttth)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaunaka Rishi, Director of the Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b04lsl1q)
Buy British Milk; Manure Bedding; Grey Squirrels
We hear the latest on milk prices, as dairy processor Arla reach out to UK customers exhorting them to buy British. The NFU's Chair of their Dairy Board responds.
Also, as part of this week's focus on the many and varied uses of manure - we find out how and why cow dung is being given a new life as bedding for cows.
Grey squirrels are declared the number one pest for young broadleaf saplings. Chief Executive of the Royal Forestry Society, Simon Lloyd, explains why he's calling for landowners to join forces against this rodent in order to put trees first.
Presented by Anna Hill and Produced by Mark Smalley.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkygm)
Red-billed Quelea
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the World's most numerous bird; red billed quelea. Red-billed queleas are the most numerous birds in the world and as part of the weaverbird family sound and look like small neat sparrows. Their ability to adapt to local conditions and travel for food allows large populations of fast-breeding queleas to build up. The statistics are mind-boggling. Some flocks of red-billed quelea can comprise millions of birds which may take hours to fly past. There are probably between one and a half and ten billion birds in Africa. They breed in vast colonies; one colony in Nigeria covered one hundred and ten hectares and contained thirty one million nests.
WED 06:00 Today (b04lsl1s)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b04lsl1v)
Guy Martin, Dr David Drew, Sofka Zinovieff, Mark Bell
Libby Purves meets motor cycle racer Guy Martin; former NHS consultant Dr David Drew; writer Sofka Zinovieff and theatre director Mark Bell.
Guy Martin is a lorry mechanic, motorcycle racer and presenter. In his new series Speed on Channel 4 he attempts to set new speed records by using the very best of British engineering talent. Among his record attempts he rides a motorbike in the Pike's Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, racing to an altitude of over 4000m. He also has a go at setting the record for the furthest distance covered in 24 hours on a tandem recumbent. Speed with Guy Martin is on Channel 4.
Dr David Drew is a former NHS consultant who blew the whistle on what he says were poor standards of personal care at the hospital where he worked. His book Little Stories of Life And Death tells of his personal experience - how he spoke up for patients and suffered the consequences. Little Stories of Life And Death is published by Matador.
Sofka Zinovieff is the granddaughter of Robert Heber-Percy, nicknamed The Mad Boy, and Jennifer Fry. Robert Heber-Percy was the companion of the flamboyant writer, composer and artist, Lord Berners. The couple lived at Faringdon House in Oxfordshire where many of the great minds, beauties and wits of the day would spend weekends including Stravinsky, Picasso and Gertrude Stein. Sofka inherited Faringdon House from her grandfather and writes about her family in The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother and Me, published by Jonathan Cape.
Mark Bell is the director of The Play That Goes Wrong which is currently running at London's Duchess Theatre. He trained at Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq and runs workshops teaching the art of physical theatre. The Play That Goes Wrong is a highly physical comedy packed with finely-tuned farce and Buster Keaton-inspired slapstick. The Play That Goes Wrong is at London's Duchess Theatre.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6scx)
Porcelain: The White Gold of Saxony
Neil MacGregor focuses on how 18th century German chemists discovered the secrets of Chinese porcelain, known then as 'white gold' - translucent, fine-glazed, and much-coveted. Porcelain became a lucrative source of income, and was used for prestigious diplomatic gifts. The Meissen porcelain factory remained one of the most prestigious parts of German manufacturing right up until 1945.
Producer Paul Kobrak.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04lsl1x)
Kim Phuc archive; Womb Transplants; India Knight
An iconic photograph of Kim Phuc inspired Christina Noble to set up a charity supporting thousands of children in Vietnam. We play an interview with Kim from our archive and speak to Christina, who's won a Women of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. There's an update on the recent vote in Northern Ireland to criminalise paying for sex. Jenni is joined by India Knight with advice for those in their prime: Older, Wiser, Happier, and she speaks to Sophie Lewis who was born without a womb, and Consultant Richard Smith on the prospects for womb transplants in the UK.
Presented by Jenni Murray
Produced by Corinna Jones.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b04m0rzf)
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy
David
By Rachel Joyce
As Harold walks, Queenie writes. She tells of how she fell in love with Harold twenty four years ago and the day she met his son, David.
Queenie ..... Sophie Thompson
Harold ..... Paul Venables
Sister Mary Inconnue ..... Roslyn Hill
David ..... Monty d'Inverno
Sister Catherine ..... Elaine Claxton
Sister Lucy ..... Hannah Genesius
Finty ..... Jane Slavin
Mr Henderson ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Directed by Tracey Neale
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b04lsl1z)
Christine and Adam - Keeping Mum
Fi Glover with a conversation asking when is it right to tell somebody else's secret? A mother and son have different ideas about whether she should have revealed his sexuality.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
WED 11:00 Soldiers of the Empire (b04lsl23)
The Fight in Fairyland
On 22 October 1914, a Flemish priest from a village near Ypres recorded in his diary that Indian troops had been arriving throughout the hours of darkness in London double decker buses. The First Battle of Ypres had just begun and the Indian soldiers were being moved up to the front line.
Santanu Das tells the story of the Indian Army on the Western Front, from disembarkation in Marseilles where the troops were greeted by excited crowds, to the grim reality of the trenches. Ill-equipped and inadequately trained for industrial combat, they nonetheless resolutely held one third of the British frontline between October and December 1914.
Santanu speaks to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of officers and men. Some of these descendants have re-discovered diaries and detailed accounts of the war which chronicle their ancesters' encounters with local people and describe the mutual curiosity between the Indian soldiers and the French and Flemish villagers. Close bonds sprang up between the Indians and the local families with whom they billeted, with many sepoys home about their 'French mothers'.
Back in India, the families waited for news from the front which was sometimes very slow to come back. The grandson of one Indian sowar (cavalryman) didn't discover how his grandfather had died until 40 years after the end of the First World War, when he heard from an old comrade how his grandfather died from his wounds after saving the life of a British officer at the Battle of Cambrai.
Producer: Philippa Goodrich
A Juniper TV production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.
WED 11:30 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b04lsl25)
Series 2
Tempting Fete
Lucy borrows Kat's guitar and finds that this machine irritates aliens. Meanwhile tempers are fraught as preparations are made for the annual village fete, and Richard receives some surprising news from The Computer.
Series two of Eddie Robson's sitcom about an alien race that have noticed that those all-at-once invasions of Earth never work out that well. So they've locked the small Buckinghamshire village of Cresdon Green behind an impenetrable force field in order to study human behaviour and decide if Earth is worth invading.
The only inhabitant who seems to be bothered by their new alien overlord is Katrina Lyons, who was only home for the weekend to borrow the money for a deposit for a flat when the force field went up.
So along with Lucy Alexander (the only teenager in the village, willing to rebel against whatever you've got) she forms The Resistance - slightly to the annoyance of her parents Margaret and Richard who wish she wouldn't make so much of a fuss, and much to the annoyance of Field Commander Uljabaan who, alongside his unintelligible minions and The Computer (his hyperintelligent supercomputer), is trying to actually run the invasion.
Katrina Lyons ...... Hattie Morahan
Richard Lyons ...... Peter Davison
Margaret Lyons ...... Jan Francis
Lucy Alexander ...... Hannah Murray
Field Commander Uljabaan ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Computer ...... John-Luke Roberts
Madeleine ...... Jane Slavin
Penny ...... Elaine Claxton
Written by Eddie Robson
Script-edited by Arthur Mathews
Original music written and performed by Grace Petrie
Producer: Ed Morrish.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b04lp545)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 21st Century Mythologies (b04lsl27)
Celebrity Pets
In 1954, the French critic and semiotician Roland Barthes began a series of essays in which he analysed the popular culture of his day. He called his essays "Mythologies." In this series of witty talks, the acclaimed writer and critic Peter Conrad delivers a series of 21st Century Mythologies in a French accent of the mind. Conrad ranges over the defining effluvia of our era, from the Shard, to the Kardashians to today, celebrity pets.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b04lsl29)
Tesco; Doctors' Wages
Tesco's suppliers demand refunds on cash they pay to have their products stocked in stores
Behind the scenes at a Christmas magazine cover shoot
Will paying GP's to diagnose dementia help identify the disease more often in its early stages?
Celebrity facelifts what works; what doesn't; what you need to know if you are planning on having one.
How French supermarkets are seeing off the threat from discount grocers.
Why are comparison websites pushing duel fuel deals when buying gas and electricity from separate suppliers is cheaper.
WED 12:57 Weather (b04lp547)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b04lsl2c)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Mark Mardell.
WED 13:45 Hidden Histories of the Information Age (b04m3gc6)
Our World
On June 25th 1967, 400 million people across the globe watched a ground-breaking TV show. It was called, in English, OUR WORLD and it was a feat beyond technological imagination: it was the first programme that linked up countries live by satellite. So everyone was watching what was happening on the other side of the world - or possibly next door - at the exact moment in time when it was actually happening.
In our modern, 24-hour news world, it's hard to understand just how monumental this was, both technologically and politically. It was the golden age of television. Youth culture had a voice that was about to get much louder. International diplomacy was stretched to breaking point. And our world was rapidly shrinking.
Aleks Krotoski tells the story of how the programme came about. She talks to curators from the Science Museum.
The yellowing pages of Our World's original script is one of the exhibits in the new Information Age gallery at the Science Museum. It tells the story of the evolution in how we communicate with one another. The objects in the exhibition represent cultural moments from the last 200 years - not just technological innovations.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b04lq2lz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b04n94m3)
Golden Years
Friedrichstrasse, Berlin
by Sebastian Baczkiewicz.
The first of two plays based on the myths of rock and roll.
When artist Karin gives an interview about her new exhibition she reveals the long-hidden true story behind an iconic photo of herself and a 70s rock star.
Directed by Marc Beeby.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b04lsmhj)
Renting and Letting
Happy with the home you rent or let out? What rights do landlords and tenants have? Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk.
The cost of renting a home continues to rise so what should you expect for your money and what standard should a property be in?
How is your deposit protected and how do you get it back when you leave?
What are the rules about tenancy agreements?
If you're a landlord, are you aware of your obligations to tenants and what are the rules about gas, electricity and furniture?
Or perhaps you have a query about renting or letting through an agency?
Who can advise or help resolve disputes?
To answer your questions, presenter Ruth Alexander will be joined by:
Sian Evans, Head of Property Litigation, Weightmans.
Christopher Hamer, The Property Ombudsman.
Chris Town, Vice Chair. Residential Landlords Association.
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.
Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producer: Diane Richardson.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b04lq2yl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b04lsmhl)
Junk Food Traders in Secondary Schools; Darjeeling Tea Workers
Tea workers in Darjeeling. Laurie Taylor talks to Sarah Besky, Assistant Professor in Anthropology at the University of Michigan, about her study of the tough lives of tea plantation workers, and the struggle to re-make one of the world's most expensive teas for the 21st century consumer. Also, the sociologist, Adam Fletcher, discusses an emerging underground trade in junk food at English secondary schools. Is this an unforeseen result of 'healthy food' policies?
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b04lsmhn)
Liddiment and Hastings leave the Trust; Women in the media; Mirror complaint
Two of the founding members of the BBC Trust leave their position this week. David Liddiment and Alison Hastings have seen the governing body through some tough times over the last few years, dealing with upsets like Savile, executive pay and the collapse of the Digital Media Initiative. Steve Hewlett talks to them about the challenges, dilemmas, and their views on the future of what some have described as a discredited arm of the organisation.
The House of Lords heard evidence this week about the representation of women in news and current affairs broadcasting both on and off screen. A number of recent studies have indicated concern about of women in terms of employment, casting and participation. Steve Hewlett hears from two experts who gave evidence to the Inquiry - Suzanne Franks, Professor of Journalism at City University London and author of 'Women and Journalism' and Jane Martinson, Head of Media at the Guardian. Steve also hears from Dorothy Byrne, Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) says it's considering whether to continue with a full investigation into the Sunday Mirror for the sex sting carried out against MP Brooks Newmark, despite the complaint against the newspaper being dropped. It would be the first time that a press regulator has continued to investigate a complaint in the absence of a complainant, and could be a significant precedent. Steve talks to Jane Martinson, Head of Media at the Guardian, who has been following the story.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b04lsmhq)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04lp549)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 In and Out of the Kitchen (b01q8l39)
Series 2
Valentine's Day
Tradition in the Trench/MacIlveny household dictates that Valentine's Day is the one day of the year when Damien is not allowed in the kitchen and Anthony can be left alone to cook a special meal to celebrate the occasion... much to Damien's chagrin.
Meanwhile, Damien struggles to finish the links to a new series for Sky Arts all about the dietary habits of the great poets. And his dad has an unfortunate accident whilst walking the dog...
Written by Miles Jupp.
Damien Trench ...... Miles Jupp
Anthony MacIlveny ...... Justin Edwards
Damien's Mother ...... Selina Cadell
Builder ...... Ben Crowe
Mr Mullaney ...... Brendan Dempsey
Marion Duffett ...... Lesley Vickerage
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2013.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b04lsmhs)
David asks Jill whether she'd consider accompanying them north to view their latest farm prospect next week. Jill's unsure. She confides to Peggy that she feels she should go; Ruth and David are trying so hard to make her feel included. Peggy admits she'd be heartbroken if Jill left. Jill assures her she's had plenty of offers of accommodation if she decides to stay in Ambridge. Carol joins them, and Jill canvasses their opinion as to whether they agree Susan and Clarrie are behaving strangely at the moment and asking odd questions. Peggy and Carol start to cover, but then decide Jill needs to know the truth about Elizabeth and Roy.
Proud Joe shows Carol the newly tidied cider shed. Carol shows a polite interest in Eddie's upcoming 'interactive exhibition', but her real interest lies in tasting the cider. She concedes it's excellent; Joe should consider marketing it. John would have loved it. They reminisce for a while, and Carol lets slip that David and Ruth may have to sell up. Joe can't believe it. Slightly the worse for drink he heads over to Brookfield to express his sympathies, He's in full flow to Ruth and David when Jill walks in. It's too much for her, and she rushes out in tears.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b04lsmhv)
Michael Sheen, Egon Schiele, Daniel Kehlmann, classic hip-hop album Illmatic explored
Michael Sheen talks to Kirsty Lang about performing Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood on stage in New York; Lynda Nead reviews the new Egon Schiele exhibition The Radical Nude at London's Courtauld Gallery; Daniel Kehlmann on his new novel F; and Akala, Erik Parker, One9 and Jacqueline Springer discuss the classic hip hop album Illmatic, 20 years on.
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
WED 19:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6scx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b04lsmhx)
Ched Evans
The case of the footballer and convicted rapist Ched Evans is a morality tale for our times. Evans, who played for Wales and Sheffield United, was jailed for 5 and a half years after being found guilty of raping a woman who was so drunk she couldn't give her consent. Clayton McDonald, then a Port Vale defender, who was also involved, was cleared of the same charge. Evans has always maintained his innocence and has not apologised to the victim. He's now been released on licence and there are calls for him to return to his footballing career. An online petition with 150,000 signatures says Sheffield United should not take him back. The story may read like a tawdry tabloid expose, but it actually goes to the heart of the kind of society we want and the kind of people we want to be. Should a convicted rapist who's served his time and maintains his innocence be entitled to get his job back? Does the need for forgiveness and rehabilitation trump the need for continuing disgrace and the need to make an example of someone who for many should be a role model? Does the fact of being a high profile figure put you in a different moral category that deserves extra punished? Or does that send out a message that even though you've served your time you still may not be allowed the chance to rebuild your life and reintegrate in to society.
Panellists: Michael Portillo, Melanie Phillips, Claire Fox, Giles Fraser
Witnesses: Charlotte Webster, David Walsh, Dr Clare Carlisle, Dr Nina Burrowes
Produced by Phil Pegum.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b04lsmhz)
Series 4
Risk and Reward
Entrepreneur Robyn Scott tells the remarkable story of her transformative work with murderers and other violent criminals in one of South Africa's most notorious jails, and she argues that accepting more risk will improve public services.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b04lq28p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Midweek (b04lsl1v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b04lp54c)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b04lsmj1)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04lsmj3)
Nora Webster
The Power of a Widow's Curse
From the author of Brooklyn, a powerful and honest portrayal grief and hope in rural Ireland, read by Brid Brennan.
It is the 1960s and Nora Webster is living with her two young sons in a small town on the east coast of Ireland. Her husband has just died and Nora is struggling to work out how to forge a new life for herself, and for her grieving children.
Today: When her son's education comes under threat, Nora realises the power of a widow's curse.
Reader: Brid Brennan
Writer: Colm Toibin was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of six novels including The Blackwater Lightship and The Master, both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Brooklyn which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Costa Novel Award, plus an earlier collection of stories, Mothers and Sons.
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett.
WED 23:00 The Music Teacher (b01gvryw)
Series 2
Episode 5
Richie Webb returns as multi-instrumentalist music teacher Nigel Penny.
Nigel finds himself agreeing to join an unusual Simon and Garfunkel tribute act. Meanwhile Belinda is attempting to keep a coachload of pensioners captive in the Arts Centre Gift Shop.
Directed by Nick Walker
Audio production by Matt Katz
Written and produced by Richie Webb
A Top Dog Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:15 Terry Pratchett (b01r9rtv)
Eric
Episode 3
Eric has summoned a demon and wished to meet the most beautiful woman in the world. Unfortunately, this lands him in a wooden horse in the middle of a rather famous siege.
Fortunately, he is accompanied by junior wizard Rincewind, and his indefatigable Luggage.
Terry Pratchett's many Discworld novels combine a Technicolor imagination with a razor sharp wit, especially when he rewrites Faust as spotty teenage demonologist Eric.
Rincewind ..... Mark Heap
Death ..... Geoffrey Whitehead
Eric ..... Will Howard
Lavaeolus ..... Rick Warden
Elenor ..... Christine Absalom
Sergeant ..... Ben Crowe
Demon King Astfgl ..... Nicholas Murchie
Creator ..... Robert Blythe
Adapted in four parts by Robin Brooks.
Director: Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04lsmj5)
The Prime Minister blames human rights legislation for the failure to deport more foreign criminals.
Responding to a report by the public spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, David Cameron says the Government is taking action.
The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, accuses Mr Cameron of attacking the Welsh NHS to divert attention from problems in England.
Sinn Fein and the nationalist SDLP face accusations of blocking the National Crime Agency from fully operating in Northern Ireland and leaving it open to criminal gangs.
And the food critic, Jay Rayner, offers MPs his recipe for improving food production.
Susan Hulme and team report on today's events in Parliament.
THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER 2014
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b04lp55g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6scx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04lp55j)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04lp55l)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04lp55n)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b04lp55q)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04n69cp)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaunaka Rishi, Director of the Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b04lsqgn)
Farmland birds, environmental stewardship, beetroot harvest
The annual count of farmland birds is expected to show another decline when it's published by Defra later this morning. The annual 'bird index' began nearly 50 years ago, and has seen a year on year decrease in species such as the grey partridge, the turtle dove and corn bunting. The RSPB is calling for more targeted financial help for farmers to sustain natural habitats.
It's been a good growing season for many agricultural crops, but some beetroot and potato farmers are now struggling after seeing sales fall by as much as 20 percent. With more product around, but less demand, prices are being affected, and some farmers are having their contracts cut.
We report on a free app that can help farmers work out the available nitrogen, phosphate and potash values in manure and slurry.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkyht)
House Crow
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the house crow, native of southern Asia. Leggier and longer-billed than the slightly larger European carrion crow and having a charcoal grey bib and collar and raucous call, these are common birds in towns and villages from Iran through India to Thailand. As scavengers they eat almost anything, which is how they've come to live alongside us. We provide water as well as food and have introduced the birds into areas of the Middle East and Africa. Although they don't fly long distances, the crows often hop aboard ships and arrive in foreign ports. Ship-assisted house crows have the potential to spread around the globe, a beautiful example of avian exploitation of human activity.
THU 06:00 Today (b04lsqgq)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b04lsqgs)
The Haitian Revolution
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Haitian Revolution. In 1791 an uprising began in the French colonial territory of St Domingue. Partly a consequence of the French Revolution and partly a backlash against the brutality of slave owners, it turned into a complex struggle involving not just the residents of the island but French, English and Spanish forces. By 1804 the former slaves had won, establishing the first independent state in Latin America and the first nation to be created as a result of a successful slave rebellion. But the revolution also created one of the world's most impoverished societies, a legacy which Haiti has struggled to escape.
Contributors
Kate Hodgson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in French at the University of Liverpool
Tim Lockley, Reader in American Studies at the University of Warwick
Karen Salt, Fellow in History in the School of Language and Literature at the University of Aberdeen
Producer: Luke Mulhall.
THU 09:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6sd1)
From Clock to Car: Masters of Metal
Neil MacGregor focuses on the long tradition of German metalwork, from finely-engineered clocks to the Volkswagen Beetle. German gold and silversmiths were established as the best in the world, but it was for the making of scientific instruments that Germany's workers of the other metals were especially renowned. They worked across a whole range of disciplines at the highest level, combining academic, scientific and practical skills with mathematics and creative artistry.
Producer Paul Kobrak.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04lsqgv)
Candi Staton. Family Impact of Reporting Historical Sexual Abuse
Candi Staton sings live in the Woman's Hour studio. Dr Nina Burrowes explains what to do if a friend or family member tells you they have experienced sexual abuse; Fiona Doyle talks about the impact on her family. Leanne Wood, leader of Plaid Cymru tells us why she'd like to see more women in politics. And why shisha cafes are cool places for young, non-drinking women to hang out.
Presenter : Jenni Murray
Producer : Kirsty Starkey.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b04m3ckm)
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy
Poems
By Rachel Joyce
Harold Fry has been walking forty days and Queenie waits. She writes and Sister Mary types. Did David steal the poems and will Queenie's secret be revealed?
Queenie ..... Sophie Thompson
Harold ..... Paul Venables
Sister Mary Inconnue ..... Roslyn Hill
David ..... Monty d'Inverno
Sister Catherine ..... Elaine Claxton
Sister Lucy ..... Hannah Genesius
Finty ..... Jane Slavin
Mr Henderson ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Directed by Tracey Neale
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b04lp55s)
Home-Grown Heroes
War may still be raging in the east, but Ukraine's gearing up for elections -- and Jamie Coomarasamy says there are some unexpected candidates; Michael Bristow in Indonesia meets a former jihadist who now works for the government and has become something of a celebrity; not far from California's information hub, Silicon Valley, an old Native American language faces extinction - Caroline Davies explains why it's being allowed to go; a civil war rumbles on in South Sudan -- James Copnall's been meeting some who were forced to flee into the bush, living off wild animals and water lilies; the European Union's spent billions on programmes aimed at integrating the Roma people, but many remain out on the margins of society, as Lucy Irvine's been finding out in Bulgaria.
THU 11:30 Cuba Offline (b04lsqgx)
Cuba is one of the last pre-internet cultures on the planet. Partly as a result of the US blockade, partly because of the Cuban government's policy, only a small elite can get online. Most people over school age have never experienced the internet. But as Nick Baker finds out with the aid of Anglo-Cuban journalist Arnaldo Hernandez Diaz, things are beginning to change.
Nick and Arnaldo go to state-run internet cafés, speak to bloggers, and visit one of the country's first estate agents. It has a dot com address but, however modern it looks, it isn't really online. A staff member has to shell out for expensive hotel Wi-Fi to update the website. Nick and Arnaldo also learn about the lively unofficial market in downloaded TV and movies, circulating door to door rather than digitally.
If and when the internet becomes widely accessible, the effect on Cuba's economy might be more significant than the impact on freedom of speech. The programme also looks at the American attempt to infiltrate Cuba's fledgling mobile phone and text service, and what the state is doing to defend itself from 'harmful outside influences'.
Speakers include Cubans queuing for hours to get email service on their phones and people who would dearly love to get connected, to spread their opinions or advertise their services.
There's no question Cuba is preparing itself for increased internet access, and it will have a major effect on social, cultural and media life there. Nick and Arnaldo consider the potential damage to Cuba's very personal social culture, and the political impact of Cuba finally getting online.
Produced by Nick Baker
A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b04lp55v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 21st Century Mythologies (b04lsqgz)
The E-Reader
In 1954, the French critic and semiotician Roland Barthes began a series of essays in which he analysed the popular culture of his day. He called his essays "Mythologies." In this series of witty talks, the acclaimed writer and critic Peter Conrad delivers a series of 21st Century Mythologies in a French accent of the mind. Conrad ranges over the defining effluvia of our era, from the Shard, to the Kardashians to today, the e-reader.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b04lsqh1)
Disability benefits; School bus fares; Are we back in love with carpet?
New research from a group of five charities - the MS Society, Parkinson's UK, Motor Neurone Disease Association, the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society and The Cystic Fibrosis Trust - shows that thousands of people with progressive illnesses are having to do what the charities call "farcical" fitness to work tests, causing them financial stress and anxiety.
The Business Growth Fund has just announced a ten million pounds investment in the parent company of Victoria Carpets - a 100 year old manufacturer of floor coverings. We ask if we're forsaking bare floorboards for something more comfy... and warm.
Students in England now have to stay in education or training until they're 17. Next year it rises to 18. But most local authorities - outside of London - only help towards the cost of getting to school if you live within a certain distance and if you're under 16. Is this fair?
Producer: Olive Clancy
Presenter: Winifred Robinson.
THU 12:57 Weather (b04lp55x)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b04lsqh3)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Mark Mardell.
THU 13:45 Hidden Histories of the Information Age (b04m3ftg)
Leo Computer
The company that brought computers into business was Lyons, known for its cakes and teashops. Aleks Krotoski tells the story of how this technology transformed office work.
One element of the first Lyons Electronic Office, or LEO, computer is on display in the 'Information Age' gallery at the Science Museum in London. This new gallery tells the story of the evolution in how we communicate with with each other. The objects in the exhibition represent cultural moments from the last 200 years - not just technological innovations.
Aleks Krotoski talks to Dr Tilly Blyth and Jessica Bradford of the Science Museum about how Lyons brought computers to its business and hears from one of the first programmers. A tea shop manager recalls how LEO changed her working life.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b04lsmhs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b04n9301)
Golden Years
Monty Street, Mansfield
by Sebastian Baczkiewicz.
The second of two plays based on the myths of rock and roll.
Ezra and Lottie are an ordinary couple with an extraordinary problem - a dead rock star in their bathtub. And why are there Hell's Angels at their door?
Directed by Marc Beeby.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b04lsr0n)
Series 28
The Dales Way, Part Six
Clare Balding enjoys the final leg of The Dales Way in the company of one of the men who designed it, Colin Spearman. Colin, joined by his wife Fleur, explains his intention of linking the industrial conurbations of West Yorkshire with the Lake District. As they walk from Staveley to Bowness, Clare reflects on her experience of the route and how much it has meant to her. Colin , Fleur and Clare celebrate the end of the journey with ice cream and a paddle in Lake Windermere.
Producer Lucy Lunt.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b04lp62b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b04lpd9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b04lss81)
Babadook, Scary children, Nightcrawler, Lightsabers
Director of The Babadook, Jennifer Kent explains how she used the psychological to create horror, and the talks about the challenges in casting kids. Film critic Kim Newman takes a look at children in horror films, from The Innocents to The Exorcist. British actor Riz Ahmed discusses his new role in Nightcrawler and discusses the role that instant internet news plays in todays media and our responsibility as consumers of it. Francine Stock presents a new series running throughout The Film Programme for the next two months- The Story Of The Sound Effect. To mark the BFI's season Days Of Fear And Wonder, the programme will hear from the people who created some of the most famous sound effects in the history of science fiction cinema. This week, Ben Burtt on the lightsaber.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b04lss83)
Hobbit; Genetics of height; Solar science; Snails
It's 10 Years since an unusual skeleton was unearthed on the island of Flores. This species, Homo floresiensis, dubbed 'the Hobbit' because of its short stature, offered a whole new picture of human evolution and has been causing divisions among scientists ever since. Lucie visits Professor Chris Stringer in the Natural History Museum to pick over the bones of a controversial find.
Tall parents tend to have tall children. We already know that height is genetic. Less well known is how various genes control the growing process. Recent research from the University of Exeter found nearly 700 genetic variants that play a role in influencing a person's height. Professor Tim Frayling, a lead author, explains how the work, which involve scanning more than a quarter of a million genomes, could help with disease, forensics and predicting a child's adult height.
Great ball of fire. The Sun throws out more than just light and heat; for solar scientists, it is also a source of many mysteries. Why is the surface of the sun less hot than its corona, or outer atmosphere? New research using the NASA satellite telescope, IRIS, or the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph is providing new insights.
Earlier this month, a group of more than 100 snail experts (malacologists) from across Europe gathered in Cambridge to discuss the latest research into molluscs - the group of animals that includes everything from squid and octopus in the seas to slugs and snails on land. After three days of lectures, the malacologists were let loose in the Cambridge Botanic Gardens. Reporter Helen Scales went with them on a snail hunt.
Producer - Fiona Roberts.
THU 17:00 PM (b04lss85)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04lp55z)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b04lss87)
Series 4
Episode 2
John Finnemore, the writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-upper in things like Miranda, records a fourth series of his hit sketch show.
2/6: This second edition of the fourth series has a sketch that you'll never really own; the rudest of awakenings for one particular pet; and a look at the often ignored positive side of stereotyping.
The first series of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme was described as "sparklingly clever" by The Daily Telegraph and "one of the most consistently funny sketch shows for quite some time" by The Guardian. The second series won Best Radio Comedy at both the Chortle and Comedy.co.uk awards, and was nominated for a Radio Academy award. The third series actually won a Radio Academy award.
In this fourth series, John has written more sketches, like the sketches from the other series. Not so much like them that they feel stale and repetitious; but on the other hand not so different that it feels like a misguided attempt to completely change the show. Quite like the old sketches, in other words, but about different things and with different jokes. (Although it's a pretty safe bet some of them will involve talking animals.)
Written by and starring ... John Finnemore
Also featuring ... Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan.
Original music by ... Susannah Pearse.
Producer ... Ed Morrish.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b04lstkm)
Ed's still feeling the pressure of living at Ambridge View. Jazzer reckons Ed works too hard. He should kick back a bit; why doesn't he take Fallon to see 'Halloween'? Ed declares he and Emma are out that night, but suggests maybe Jazzer should go with Fallon. Jazzer demurs; he might be on a promise. He suggests instead that he and Ed should have a proper session sometime soon - just a few jars.
Jill confronts Elizabeth over what she's heard about her and Roy. Elizabeth admits everything. When Jill sees her obvious anguish and regret she soften, and comforts her tearful daughter. Jill has to break it gently to Elizabeth that quite a few people know about the affair. Elizabeth fears her reputation is in ruins, but Jill reassures her that she's still very much loved, and that Lily and Freddie will just need time to come to terms with what's happened. Grateful Elizabeth doesn't know what she'd do without her mum. The two of them decide to go for a walk. On the way Jill calls at the shop and puts Susan firmly in her place. Meanwhile Elizabeth ignores a voicemail message from Roy, and mother and daughter set off.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b04lstkp)
Boris on Churchill; Serena reviewed
In tonight's Front Row Boris Johnson considers Churchill's legacy on the 50th anniversary of his death, and there's a review of the film Serena - a dark tale about a troubled marriage in the Depression-era, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.
Also in the programme: this year's Art Review Power 100 List is assessed, and brothers Harry and Jack Williams discuss moving from writing comedy to a sombre subject matter in their TV drama about a missing child.
Presenter: Razia Iqbal
Producer: Rebecca Nicholson.
THU 19:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6sd1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
THU 20:00 Law in Action (b04lq28r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b04lstkr)
Flash Sales
Flash sale companies are growing fast. Evan Davis and guests discuss how this new retail sector is changing the way we shop. How does the business model work? Just how low can the prices go? And are these internet discounters a help or a hindrance for luxury brands?
Guests :
Victoria Walton, co-founder Sportpursuit
Jamie Jackson, executive vice-chairman MySale Group
Ilan Benhaim, co-founder Vente-Privee
Producer : Rosamund Jones.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b04lss83)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b04lsqgs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b04lp561)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b04lstkt)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04lstkw)
Nora Webster
She Had No Idea What to Do
From the author of Brooklyn, a powerful and honest portrayal grief and hope in rural Ireland, read by Brid Brennan.
It is the 1960s and Nora Webster is living with her two young sons in a small town in Wexford. Her husband has just died and Nora is trying to find a way to forge a new life for herself, and for her grieving children.
Today: With Donal struggling at school and Aine becoming more and more involved in politics, Nora fears she cannot hold the family together.
Reader: Brid Brennan
Writer: Colm Toibin was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of six novels including The Blackwater Lightship and The Master, both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Brooklyn which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Costa Novel Award, plus an earlier collection of stories, Mothers and Sons.
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett.
THU 23:00 52 First Impressions with David Quantick (b04lstky)
Series 1
Episode 2
Journalist and comedy writer David Quantick has met and interviewed hundreds of people. What were his first impressions, how have they changed and does it all matter?
In this second programme (of four), there are stories about David Bowie, Fidel Castro and his dad, among others.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04lstl0)
Sean Curran watches as Labour keeps up its attack on the Government's record on Health Service funding.
Also on the programme.
* Fixed-Term Parliaments. Are they a good innovation? Or have they made politics dull and predictable?
* More discussion on the critical balance between individual freedom and the rights of the nation to be protected.
* Does NATO have a role to play in combating the deadly Ebola outbreak?
* And Of Mice and Men. MPs discuss whether a cat should be introduced into Parliament, in the light of the increasing numbers of mice seen scurrying around the Palace of Westminster.
FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER 2014
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b04lp577)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6sd1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04lp579)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04lp57c)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04lp57f)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b04lp57h)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04n69jm)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaunaka Rishi, Director of the Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b04lsxh1)
Pumpkin Harvest; Environment Agency on Slurry; First Aid for Farmers
Will there be a pumpkin shortage at Halloween next week? We hear from a grower in Lincolnshire who describes that up to 40% of the crop is rotting in the fields around Spalding, the 'Pumpkin Triangle'. However, it's a very different picture in Kent, where pumpkin growers are reporting a bumper crop.
Concluding our week's theme on the pros and cons of using manure as a natural fertiliser, Charlotte Smith speaks to Chris Tuckett of the Environment Agency who describes the damage caused by slurry entering streams and watercourses.
Also, given the numbers of accidents that occur in agriculture, we hear a report from Aberdeenshire farmers who're attending a First Aid course.
And it's farewell to Farming Today's 'Friday Funny'. In a close-run ballot, listeners have voted 54% against 46% to discontinue the end of week gag. So this is the final one, sent in by Jon Hunt of Gloucester:
"I don't buy fat-free milk because I don't want to encourage cows with negative body image."
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkylk)
King Eider
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Arctic specialist the king eider duck. Relatives of the larger common eider found around the British coast, king eiders breed around the Arctic and sub-Arctic coasts of the northern hemisphere. As true marine ducks they can dive to depths of 25 metres on occasion, to feed on molluscs and marine crustaceans. The drake King Eider has colourful markings; having a black and white body with a reddish bill, surmounted by an orange-yellow shield. His cheeks are pale mint-green and his crown and nape are lavender-grey. He uses his bill pattern and head colours in a highly ritualised display to woo his mate, fluffing up his chest and issuing an amorous coo-ing call.
FRI 06:00 Today (b04lsxh3)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b04mgsj9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6sd5)
Bauhaus: Cradle of the Modern
Neil MacGregor focuses on the Bauhaus school of art and design, founded in Weimar in 1919.
Our cities and houses today, our furniture and typography, are unthinkable without the functional elegance pioneered by the Bauhaus.
Producer Paul Kobrak.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04m3jct)
Norway female conscription; biscuit girls; paddle dolls and eating disorders
Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychological illness and the number of patients has increased by 15 per cent since 2000. Every year, GPs diagnose about 5,000 young people as having an eating disorder, but following new report critics say it takes too long for patients to see a specialist. The study involved 445 adults who have suffered from or are suffering from anorexia. Once they'd been referred, 48% had to wait over a month before their treatment started.
They are called the biscuit girls or known locally as the cracker packers and they used to work at Carr's Factory in Carlisle. Now Hunter Davies has written a book called "The Biscuit Girls" featuring interviews with six of the women who worked there as far back as the 1940s.
A new Egyptology exhibition opens on Friday, October 24th at The Atkinson in Southport. Not seen for 40 years, it represents the lifetime collection of a Victorian woman called Anne Goodison. Among the star exhibits are a couple of uniquely preserved and intriguingly named "Paddle Dolls".
Presenter:Jenni Murray
Producer:Bernadette McConnell.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b04m3cf2)
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy
The Arrival
By Rachel Joyce
Queenie is waiting for Harold Fry to arrive but she is runnng out of time. As she writes we discover why she has hidden away from him for over twenty years.
Queenie ..... Sophie Thompson
Harold ..... Paul Venables
Sister Mary Inconnue ..... Roslyn Hill
Sister Catherine ..... Elaine Claxton
Sister Lucy ..... Hannah Genesius
Finty ..... Jane Slavin
Mr Henderson ..... Michael Bertenshaw
David ..... Monty d'Inverno
Directed by Tracey Neale
FRI 11:00 Reclaiming the Swastika (b04lsxh5)
For most people in the West, the swastika remains inextricably linked to the atrocities committed by the Nazis in the last century. But there have been calls to reclaim the symbol from its Nazi links and restore its origin as an ancient symbol signalling good luck. Many people find the idea deeply offensive.
So can these two views ever be reconciled? Mukti Jain Campion examines the symbol's long and surprising pre-Nazi history and discovers how the Nazi adoption of it is based on a mistaken interpretation of ancient Indian texts.
She talks to historians, visits the world's oldest identified swastika in Ukraine, meets a tattoo artist in Copenhagen with a mission to revive the ancient symbol and hears what the swastika means today to a 93 year old Jewish holocaust survivor.
Produced by Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 Jeeves - Live! (b03y00qw)
Series 2
Jeeves Takes Charge
Martin Jarvis performs the second of two of two celebrated P.G. Wodehouse stories, starring Bertie Wooster and his urbane valet Jeeves.
Recorded before a live audience, the performance was a highlight of the 2013 Cheltenham Festival of Literature.
This is Bertie's account of how he hired Jeeves as his 'gentleman's personal' gentleman. Jeeves's first task is to assist Bertie in spiriting away a scandalous family memoir, before publication. And more crucially, extricating the young master from the clutches of Florence.
It's a one-man tour de force - as well as Jeeves and Wooster, Jarvis also portrays Bertie's fiendish fiancée Florence Craye. In reviews for his previous one-man Radio 4 Wodehouse performance, The Times said, "Outshining all was Martin Jarvis in the funniest performance of the year...Jarvis switched unerringly from one character to the next."
Martin Jarvis received a Theatre World Award for his performance as Jeeves in 'By Jeeves' on Broadway.
Directed by Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b04lp57k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 21st Century Mythologies (b04lsxh7)
The 9/11 Museum
In 1954, the French critic and semiotician Roland Barthes began a series of essays in which he analysed the popular culture of his day. He called his essays "Mythologies." In this series of witty talks, the acclaimed writer and critic Peter Conrad delivers a series of 21st Century Mythologies in a French accent of the mind. Conrad ranges over the defining cultural icons of our era, from the Shard, to the Kardashians to today, the e 9/11 Museum.
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b04m3jcw)
Anne Fine on Gender-Biased Books; Overcrowded Canals; Fare Wars
Four major publishers have decided to stop printing books with titles including 'for girls' and 'for boys'. The bestselling children's author Anne Fine tells Peter White why it's about time gender-biased books are taken off the shelf.
Rising property prices in London and the south-east have led some people to give up bricks and mortar, and head on to the canals. The Canal and River Trust says it's a growing concern, because "the system wasn't designed to hold so many boats". You & Yours finds out the true extent of the rise, and discovers what life is like aboard a London narrow boat.
Plus fare wars: Simon Calder tells us about the increase in flights this winter from London City Airport to Dublin.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Natalie Donovan.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b04lp57m)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b04lsxh9)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
FRI 13:45 Hidden Histories of the Information Age (b04m3jcy)
GPS
Soldiers traditionally learned to find their way around with a compass and a map. Aleks Krotoski explores how GPS transformed navigation during the first Gulf War in 1991.
An early brick sized GPS device is on display in the 'Information Age' gallery at the Science Museum in London. This gallery tells the story of the evolution in how we communicate with with each other. The objects in the exhibition represent cultural moments from the last 200 years - not just technological innovations.
Aleks Krotoski tells the story of the development of GPS, from its first use by the US military to now being a part of every modern mobile phone, with Dr Tilly Blyth and Dan Green of the Science Museum, historian Professor Jeremy Black of Exeter University and a British soldier whose life was saved by it in the first Gulf War.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b04lstkm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b01hxpxw)
James Graham - The Grudge
A wry political comedy from James Graham. The only British prime minister ever to be assassinated was shot as he entered the House of Commons. Two centuries later, as the turbulent elections of 1997 loom, could that event change the political landscape of a sleepy rural constituency, its settled incumbent and unwitting electorate?
Director ..... Peter Kavanagh.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b04lsxhc)
Findon
Eric Robson chairs the horticultural panel programme from Findon in West Sussex. Bunny Guinness, Christine Walkden and Matthew Wilson take questions from the audience of local gardeners.
Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
For more information on Tristan Gooley, the Natural Navigator featured in this week's programme - visit his website here: www.naturalnavigator.com
This week's questions and answers:
Q. Can I dig out and transplant a small offshoot (a sucker from the rootstock) of a Japanese Maple? If so, what is the best time to do this?
A. Yes, you could do this, but as Japanese Maples are grafted onto the rootstock of other Acers, so you may get a surprise if the shoot is from the roots! However, it could be a seedling. Either way, move it in late spring.
Q. How and when should I prune a vigorous Honey Suckle?
A. Cut it down to two foot next May. You could train the shoots horizontally to encourage flowering.
Q. Can I propagate from Agapanthus seeds? Do they need to be dried and what's the best time to do this?
A. The seeds have to be fully ripe before you sow them. The capsule will turn brown and start splitting - this is the time to harvest. Leave the seeds somewhere quite warm to dry out for about a month. Sow the seeds in a gritty soil mix - possibly a mix of John Innes cutting compost with 25 to 50 percent grit added. Plant them about an inch deep, leave them on the kitchen windowsill and be prepared to wait for anything from a month to up to six months for germination. Leave the seedlings in the seed tray for the first year until you see at least one true leaf. Feed the bulbs with a half-strength fertiliser in the fist year to keep them growing and try and keep them growing for as long as possible. Then let them go dormant and when they come into growth the second year it's time to pot them individually. Alternatively, you could just divide up existing Agapanthus plants.
Q. Is there a good time to move Peonies and does the panel have any advice on how to encourage flowering?
A. The books say don't do it, but Peonies do move well. Lift the plant in a big clump if possible. Move it in February/ March if you have clay soil. Make sure it has enough moisture. If it's too big to move as one clump, split it gently with your hands and a knife. Make sure you don't plant too high because peonies need lots of moisture and they won't get this if grown on high ground.
Q. What is the secret to the successful propagation of French Tarragon?
A. Cuttings. Put them straight into a gritty soil early in the spring.
Q. When is a gnarly old rose bush too old?
A. When it stops flowering well and looks decrepit.
Q. How should I tame my large Callistemon (Bottlebrush) plant?
A. Prune beyond the knobbly bits soon after flowering and be bold - they look great if you grow them in large swathes.
FRI 15:45 Ian Fleming's Thrilling Cities (b04lsxhf)
Chicago and New York
Long In 1959, Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, was commissioned by the Sunday Times to explore some of the world's most exotic cities. Travelling to the Far East and then to America, he left the bright main streets for the back alleys, abandoning tourist sites in favour of underground haunts, and mingling with celebrities, gangsters and geishas. The result is a series of vivid snapshots of a mysterious, vanished world.
Fleming wote, 'On November 2nd, armed with a sheaf of visas...one suitcase...and my typewriter, I left humdrum London for the thrilling cities of the world. All my life I have been interested in adventure and abroad. I have enjoyed the frisson of leaving the wide, well-lit streets and venturing up back alleys in search of the hidden, authentic pulse of towns. It was perhaps this habit that turned me into a writer of thrillers.'
In today's episode, Fleming flies to the USA and visits the garage in Chicago where the St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place. In New York, he thrills at the sight of the traffic lights changing from red to green in unison all the way down Park Avenue.
Read by Simon Williams
Abridged by Mark Burgess
Copyright Ian Fleming Publications Ltd 1963
Produced by David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b04m3jd0)
Lynda Bellingham, Ben Bradlee, Geoffrey Perry, John Holt
Andrea Catherwood on:
Lynda Bellingham, a much loved actress, best known as the gravy making mum in Oxo television ads.
Ben Bradlee, charismatic editor of the Washington Post, at the helm of the paper when it broke the Watergate scandal which brought down President Nixon.
John Holt, the honey voiced Jamaican reggae artist and songwriter.
Geoffrey Perry, a Berlin born Jew who became an officer in the British army and captured Lord Haw Haw, the Nazi propaganda broadcaster, at the end of the war.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b04m3jd2)
Lord Heseltine has been criticised for his use of the word 'handicapped' on Radio 4's Any Questions. But should Jonathan Dimbleby or the programme's producers have stepped in to correct him? Radio 4's Peter White, who's also the BBC's Disability Affairs Correspondent, gives his take on the evolution of terminology -and the minefield of words to avoid.
Moral Maze presenter Michael Buerk also came under fire this week for his choice of words in a live on-air trail. He was promoting this week's debate on whether the footballer and convicted rapist Ched Evans should be allowed to return to his footballing career. But the trail led many to accuse the presenter of victim blaming.
And will there ever be a perfect political interview to please all listeners? This week the interviewing skills of Today presenters John Humphrys and Sarah Montague are called into question. But who is really at fault here - is it the combative approach of interviewers or the impenetrable defence of politicians?
The BBC wants to reflect the UK's ethnic diversity more accurately in both television and radio broadcasting. In order to widen their pool of expert contributors, the BBC Academy has launched a series of Black and Minority Ethnic Expert Voices Days. Two applicants who attended the event explain why they want to help change the look and sound of the BBC.
And get your headphones at the ready for a glimpse into the world of surround sound and binaural audio.
Produced by Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b04lsy01)
Christine and Adam - Understanding Dad
Fi Glover with a conversation between a mother and son about the distance between the son and his father, and the similarities she sees in them.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b04m3jd4)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04lp57p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b04lsy03)
Series 85
Episode 1
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, featuring Sarah Millican, Sara Pascoe and Hugo Rifkind, with regular panellist Jeremy Hardy.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b04lsy0c)
Brian admits he's struggling to come to terms with the possible sale of Brookfield. As he and David reminisce Brian expresses his gratitude for the listening ear David's provided over the years. He suggests he could help them diversify rather than move, but David would rather move the farm than lose its soul. Brian admits when it's put like that there's not much he can say. Meanwhile he'll keep everything crossed that David and Ruth aren't forced to sell.
Jazzer's finding the company of Ed and Roy a bit of an effort. No matter how much he tries to ply them with drink, they're both stubbornly morose. He finally gets through to Ed, who asserts to Roy that maybe they should take a leaf out of Jazzer's book and grab whatever life throws at them. Buoyed up by Jazzer's promise to help grow the sheep shearing business, Ed has several more drinks for the road, before disgracing himself on Susan's sofa.
Drunk Roy turns up at Lower Loxley. At first Elizabeth offers comfort. With nothing left to lose Roy misreads the signs and tries to kiss her. Elizabeth pushes him off; nothing's changed and he's drunk. She resolves to make coffee and call him a cab.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b04lsy0l)
Timothy Spall, Picasso Museum, Maria João Pires, Memphis
Timothy Spall has brought JMW Turner to life in Mike Leigh's new film, Mr Turner - he tells Damian Barr how he did so, learning to paint like the master and using his own love of the sea.
The Picasso museum in Paris closed for renovation in 2009, and was scheduled to re-open two years later. But the work took four years longer than that, went over budget and culminated in the sacking of the museum's president. Waldemar Januszczak reviews the refurbishment.
Damian talks to the legendary Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires, who at the age of seventy has recorded Beethoven's Piano Concertos for the first time.
And Memphis, the musical, arrives in the UK, starring Beverley Knight and Killian Donnelly. A story of music, race and America in the fifties, how well does it work on the London stage? Gaylene Gould reviews.
Presenter: Damian Barr
Producer: Sarah Johnson.
FRI 19:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04k6sd5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b04lsy0t)
Dr Carol Bell, Carwyn Jones AM, Rhun Ap Iorwerth AM, Bernard Jenkin MP
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, Powys, with Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones AM, Energy expert Dr Carol Bell, Chair of the Public Administration Select Committee Bernard Jenkin MP and Plaid Cymru's Economic Spokesman Rhun Ap Iorwerth AM.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b04lsy13)
A Lesson from Love Locks
Adam Gopnik draws a poignant lesson on the nature of true love from the eyesore of love locks in Paris. "Love should never be symbolised by a shackle. Love - real love, good love, love to grow on rather than be trapped in - is a lock to which the key is always available."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04lsyrg)
Omnibus
Episode 3
Prof Kathy Willis, Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, with the omnibus edition of her history of our changing relationship with plants during the early 20th century.
Kathy Willis examines how the complete picture of photosynthesis led to new opportunities to manipulate plant growth; the ability of plants to exhibit multiple forms that shed light on why flowering plants evolved so quickly; the legacy of tree diseases during the 20th century; the hunt for wild ancestors of our domestic crops in order to maintain resilience within our future food supplies; and botanical medicines and the hunt for new medicinal cocktails at home and abroad.
Producer Adrian Washbourne.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b04lp57r)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b04lsyrj)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04lsyrl)
Nora Webster
Will We Be Alright?
From the author of Brooklyn, a haunting portrayal of grief and hope in rural Ireland, read by Brid Brennan.
It is the 1960s and Nora Webster is living with her two young sons in a small town in Wexford. Her husband has just died and Nora is struggling to work out how to forge a new life for herself, and for her grieving children.
Today: A message from her dead husband forces Nora finally to move on.
Reader: Brid Brennan
Writer: Colm Toibin was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of six novels including The Blackwater Lightship and The Master, both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Brooklyn which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Costa Novel Award, as well as an earlier collection of stories, Mothers and Sons.
Producer: Justine Willett
Abridger: Sally Marmion.
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b04lq2ls)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04lsyrn)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b04lsyrq)
Christine and Adam - The Isolation of Depression
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a son who hid the worst of his depression and his mother who wants to understand what happened.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
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 (b04lpsbx)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b04m0q75)
15 Minute Drama
10:41 WED (b04m0rzf)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b04m3ckm)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b04m3cf2)
21st Century Mythologies
12:04 MON (b04lpxwx)
21st Century Mythologies
12:04 TUE (b04lpzz4)
21st Century Mythologies
12:04 WED (b04lsl27)
21st Century Mythologies
12:04 THU (b04lsqgz)
21st Century Mythologies
12:04 FRI (b04lsxh7)
50 Years of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
16:00 MON (b04lpxx7)
52 First Impressions with David Quantick
23:00 THU (b04lstky)
A Good Read
16:30 TUE (b04lq2ls)
A Good Read
23:00 FRI (b04lq2ls)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (b04l3ly6)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (b04lsy13)
Analysis
21:30 SUN (b04l0gf3)
Analysis
20:30 MON (b04lpyhv)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (b04l01vc)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (b04l3ly4)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b04lsy0t)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b04mqt7h)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (b04lss83)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (b04lss83)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b04lp624)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b04lp624)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 MON (b04lpyhz)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 TUE (b04lq2yq)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 WED (b04lsmj3)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 THU (b04lstkw)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 FRI (b04lsyrl)
Brazilian Bonanza
00:30 SUN (b03c4839)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b04lp4z6)
Chant
11:30 TUE (b04lpzz2)
Classic Serial
21:00 SAT (b04l065l)
Classic Serial
15:00 SUN (b04lpd9w)
Costing the Earth
15:30 TUE (b04lq28p)
Costing the Earth
21:00 WED (b04lq28p)
Counterpoint
23:00 SAT (b04l0gdn)
Counterpoint
15:00 MON (b04lpxx5)
Cuba Offline
11:30 THU (b04lsqgx)
Desert Island Discs
11:15 SUN (b04mgsj9)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (b04mgsj9)
Drama
14:15 MON (b01ghgk5)
Drama
14:15 WED (b04n94m3)
Drama
14:15 THU (b04n9301)
Drama
14:15 FRI (b01hxpxw)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b04lp3x1)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b04lpsbn)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b04lpzym)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b04lsl1q)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b04lsqgn)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b04lsxh1)
Feedback
20:00 SUN (b04l3nnr)
Feedback
16:30 FRI (b04m3jd2)
File on 4
17:00 SUN (b04l0x07)
File on 4
20:00 TUE (b04lq2yg)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (b04lsmhz)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b04l01v1)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:00 THU (b04lp55s)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b04lpyhs)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b04lq2yd)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b04lsmhv)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b04lstkp)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b04lsy0l)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b04l3lxt)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b04lsxhc)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
00:30 SAT (b04k6rm5)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
09:45 MON (b04k6sjj)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
19:45 MON (b04k6sjj)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
00:30 TUE (b04k6sjj)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
09:45 TUE (b04k6scv)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
19:45 TUE (b04k6scv)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
00:30 WED (b04k6scv)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
09:45 WED (b04k6scx)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
19:45 WED (b04k6scx)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
00:30 THU (b04k6scx)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
09:45 THU (b04k6sd1)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
19:45 THU (b04k6sd1)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
00:30 FRI (b04k6sd1)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
09:45 FRI (b04k6sd5)
Germany: Memories of a Nation
19:45 FRI (b04k6sd5)
Hidden Histories of the Information Age
13:45 MON (b04lpxx3)
Hidden Histories of the Information Age
13:45 TUE (b04m3bcc)
Hidden Histories of the Information Age
13:45 WED (b04m3gc6)
Hidden Histories of the Information Age
13:45 THU (b04m3ftg)
Hidden Histories of the Information Age
13:45 FRI (b04m3jcy)
Ian Fleming's Thrilling Cities
15:45 FRI (b04lsxhf)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (b04lsqgs)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (b04lsqgs)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b04lq2yj)
In and Out of the Kitchen
18:30 WED (b01q8l39)
Inside Health
21:00 TUE (b04lq2yl)
Inside Health
15:30 WED (b04lq2yl)
Ivy Benson: Original Girl Power
10:30 SAT (b04lp3x7)
Jeeves - Live!
11:30 FRI (b03y00qw)
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme
18:30 THU (b04lss87)
Kerry's List
11:30 MON (b04lpsc1)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b04lh20k)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b04m3jd0)
Law in Action
16:00 TUE (b04lq28r)
Law in Action
20:00 THU (b04lq28r)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b04lp3xf)
Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life
18:30 TUE (b04lq2lx)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b04l01tg)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b04lp4yh)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b04lp50w)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b04lp52d)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b04lp53v)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b04lp55g)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b04lp577)
Midweek
09:00 WED (b04lsl1v)
Midweek
21:30 WED (b04lsl1v)
Money Box Live
15:00 WED (b04lsmhj)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (b04l01v5)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b04l01v5)
Moral Maze
22:15 SAT (b04l10jy)
Moral Maze
20:00 WED (b04lsmhx)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b04l01tq)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b04lp4yr)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b04lp514)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b04lp52n)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b04lp543)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b04lp55q)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b04lp57h)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b04lp4yw)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (b04l01v3)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (b04lp4z8)
News Summary
12:00 MON (b04lp518)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (b04lp52q)
News Summary
12:00 WED (b04lp545)
News Summary
12:00 THU (b04lp55v)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (b04lp57k)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b04l01tv)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b04lp4z0)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b04lp4z4)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b04l01vt)
News
13:00 SAT (b04l01v9)
On Language Location
11:00 MON (b04lpsbz)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (b04lp628)
One to One
09:30 TUE (b04lpzyt)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (b04lpd9y)
Open Book
15:30 THU (b04lpd9y)
PM
17:00 SAT (b04l01vf)
PM
17:00 MON (b04lpxxc)
PM
17:00 TUE (b04lq2lv)
PM
17:00 WED (b04lsmhq)
PM
17:00 THU (b04lss85)
PM
17:00 FRI (b04m3jd4)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b04lpdb2)
Plants: From Roots to Riches
21:00 FRI (b04lsyrg)
Poetry Please
23:30 SAT (b04l065q)
Poetry Please
16:30 SUN (b04lpdb0)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b04l3lzs)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b04lpsbl)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b04mttcz)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b04mttth)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b04n69cp)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b04n69jm)
Profile
19:00 SAT (b04l01vp)
Profile
05:45 SUN (b04l01vp)
Profile
17:40 SUN (b04l01vp)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:55 SUN (b04lp62b)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b04lp62b)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b04lp62b)
Ramblings
06:07 SAT (b04l3br1)
Ramblings
15:00 THU (b04lsr0n)
Reclaiming the Swastika
11:00 FRI (b04lsxh5)
Saturday Drama
14:30 SAT (b0076htk)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b04lp3x5)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b04l01vr)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b04l01tl)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b04lp4ym)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b04lp510)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b04lp52j)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b04lp53z)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b04lp55l)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b04lp57c)
Shared Planet
21:00 MON (b04l0tg8)
Shared Planet
11:00 TUE (b04lpzz0)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b04l01tj)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b04l01tn)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b04l01vh)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b04lp4yk)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b04lp4yp)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b04lp4zg)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b04lp50y)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b04lp512)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b04lp52g)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b04lp52l)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b04lp53x)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b04lp541)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b04lp55j)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b04lp55n)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b04lp579)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b04lp57f)
Short Cuts
15:00 TUE (b04lq28m)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b04l01vm)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b04lp4zl)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b04lp51d)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b04lp52v)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b04lp549)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b04lp55z)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b04lp57p)
Small Scenes
23:00 TUE (b04lq2ys)
Soldiers of the Empire
11:00 WED (b04lsl23)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b04lp626)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b04lp626)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (b04lpsbs)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (b04lpsbs)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b036jc44)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b04m3rrs)
Terry Pratchett
23:15 WED (b01r9rtv)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b04lp6vd)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b04lpdb4)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b04lpdb4)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b04lpxxh)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b04lpxxh)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b04lq2lz)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b04lq2lz)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b04lsmhs)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b04lsmhs)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b04lstkm)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b04lstkm)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b04lsy0c)
The Bottom Line
17:30 SAT (b04l3cmq)
The Bottom Line
20:30 THU (b04lstkr)
The Digital Human
16:30 MON (b04lpxx9)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b04l3br3)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b04lss81)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b04lpd9r)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b04lpd9r)
The Life Scientific
09:00 TUE (b04lpzyr)
The Life Scientific
21:30 TUE (b04lpzyr)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b04lpd9t)
The Listening Project
10:55 WED (b04lsl1z)
The Listening Project
16:55 FRI (b04lsy01)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (b04lsyrq)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b04lsmhn)
The Museum of Curiosity
12:04 SUN (b04l0gdv)
The Museum of Curiosity
18:30 MON (b04lpxxf)
The Music Teacher
23:00 WED (b01gvryw)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (b04lsy03)
The Now Show
12:30 SAT (b04l3lxy)
The Waiting
13:30 SUN (b04dmxw6)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (b04lp3x9)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b04lp4zd)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b04lpyhx)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b04lq2yn)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b04lsmj1)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b04lstkt)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b04lsyrj)
The Write Stuff
19:15 SUN (b09z77pk)
The Year of the Drone
20:00 MON (b04k9gj6)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b04l10jf)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b04lsmhl)
Today in Parliament
23:30 MON (b04lpyj3)
Today in Parliament
23:30 TUE (b04lq2yv)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (b04lsmj5)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (b04lstl0)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (b04lsyrn)
Today
07:00 SAT (b04lp3x3)
Today
06:00 MON (b04lpsbq)
Today
06:00 TUE (b04lpzyp)
Today
06:00 WED (b04lsl1s)
Today
06:00 THU (b04lsqgq)
Today
06:00 FRI (b04lsxh3)
Tommies
14:15 TUE (b03thc49)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b04hkxj9)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b04hkxq8)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b04hky3h)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b04hkygm)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b04hkyht)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b04hkylk)
Under My Bed
19:45 SUN (b04lpdb8)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b04l01tx)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b04l01tz)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b04l01v7)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b04l01vk)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b04lp4yy)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b04lp4z2)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b04lp4zb)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b04lp4zj)
Weather
05:56 MON (b04lp516)
Weather
12:57 MON (b04lp51b)
Weather
21:58 MON (b04lp51g)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b04lp52s)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b04lp52x)
Weather
12:57 WED (b04lp547)
Weather
21:58 WED (b04lp54c)
Weather
12:57 THU (b04lp55x)
Weather
21:58 THU (b04lp561)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b04lp57m)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b04lp57r)
Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully
11:30 WED (b04lsl25)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (b04lp4zq)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b04lpf6g)
Wireless Nights
23:00 MON (b04lpyj1)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b04lp3xc)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b04lpsbv)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b04lpzyw)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b04lsl1x)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b04lsqgv)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b04m3jct)
World at One
13:00 MON (b04lpxx1)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b04lq03k)
World at One
13:00 WED (b04lsl2c)
World at One
13:00 THU (b04lsqh3)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b04lsxh9)
You and Yours
12:15 MON (b04lpxwz)
You and Yours
12:15 TUE (b04lq03h)
You and Yours
12:15 WED (b04lsl29)
You and Yours
12:15 THU (b04lsqh1)
You and Yours
12:15 FRI (b04m3jcw)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b04l01ts)