The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
These timely 'dispatches from Lahore, New York and London' encompassing memoir, art and politics, collect the best essays of the award-winning author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid.
Hamid makes a compelling case for recognising our common humanity while relishing our diversity, for resisting the artificial mono-identities of religion or nationality or race, and for always judging a country or nation by how it treats its minorities as 'Each individual human being is, after all, a minority of one'.
In two essays, author and journalist Mohsin Hamid considers his country's – and its Asian neighbours' – history and progress, on the occasions of Pakistan's 60th and 65th birthdays.
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Dr Calvin Samuel.
'She must have held the patient's hand, I'm sure that's how she got infected.' At the request of a listener, iPM investigates the life of a Dr Olivet Buck, an African doctor in Sierra Leone who was treating ebola sufferers. And Charlotte Green tells us her 'I was there when...' story about the Storm of '87. Presented by Eddie Mair and Jennifer Tracey. Email iPM@bbc.co.uk.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Helen Mark makes a trip to the Belfast Hills and hears from the people who live and work in the landscape to discover how their lives have been shaped by the tough environment.
The Belfast Hills form an arc around the edge of the city, visible from virtually anywhere in Northern Ireland's capital.
Largely ignored by many of those living just a few miles in the city, the hills have always been a bustling centre of life. In fact without the linen industry that thrived in the Belfast Hills, the city would not have prospered.
Farming was common, mainly dairy and beef cattle, along with pigs and sheep, and the flax that grew in the hills fed the linen industry. Mills sprung up along with vast 'bleaching greens' to weave and finish the linen before it was taken down to the city to be sold.
Helen Mark meets with several local voices that have contributed to the Belfast Hills Spoken History Project: Roy Thompson has farmed in the area all his life; Joan Cosgrove and Rosalind Shaw provide memories of their childhood growing up and running riot in the Belfast Hills.
And how has the area changed? Helen finds out how the Belfast Hills are now a destination for those hoping to enjoy walking and the views across the whole of the city.
A look at the farmers and producers who rear, grow and make the elements of our Christmas dinner in the busy run up to the festive season. Anne Hill visits Produce world in Norfolk and talks to site director George Rivers about the vast quantities of parsnips he'll be producing which will go in to Christmas Dinners all over Britain. Michael Mack from FARMA, the National Farmers' Retail and Markets Association tells Sybil Ruscoe that the season of goodwill is good business and that its the most important time for producers both large and small. Christmas is probably the only time that most of us will tuck in to a whole roasted turkey. The Charlotte and Robert Garner farm at Godwick in Norfolk. They used to rear just a hundred turkeys each December but now they're raising five thousand free range birds a year, and delivering across the UK. They talk to Anna Hill about the run up to the festive season. Turkeys haven't always reigned supreme as the Christmas Bird. Geese used to take pride of place on Victorian and Edwardian Christmas dinner tables. Although it became unfashionable for a while, goose has been making a comeback.Hamish and Katherine Patterson produce free-range geese on their small hill farm near Hawkshead in the Lake District and they shared with Caz Graham how you rear the perfect Christmas goose. Stilton cheese sells vast quantities at Christmas.The largest stilton maker is the Long Clawson dairy deep in rural Leicestershire. Ben Jackson talked to Ashley Wreake, the managing director of the dairy, he explained how hectic this time of year is for the business. Presenter Anna Hill. Producer Ruth Sanderson.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Thought for the Day and Weather.
The choreographer Matthew Bourne and X Factor 2013 winner Sam Bailey join Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles.
We meet the friends of Malala Yousafzai who were shot by the Taliban in Pakistan two years ago and are now studying in rural Wales. They will be reunited with Malala this week as she receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
Tim Wootton was told he wouldn't live long enough to finish school because of a genetic disease. Now in his 40s he explains what impact that's had on his outlook on life, and what others can learn from him.
Listener James Showers also shares lessons from his life, a life spent constantly re-inventing himself; head hunter, carpenter, rain forest resident, hermit, and now undertaker.
Matthew Bourne's production of 'Edward Scissorhands' is on until January 11th at Sadler's Wells.
The Frequency of Laughter is a six-part history of radio comedy, covering 1975-2005, presented by journalist and radio fan Grace Dent. In each episode she brings together two figures who were making significant radio comedy at the same time, and asks them about their experiences. This is a conversational history that focuses on the people who were there and the atmosphere within the BBC and the wider comedy world that allowed them to make great radio - or not.
This final edition features Justin Edwards and Jan Ravens looking at radio comedy in the early 2000s. Justin is now known for his work on In And Out Of The Kitchen and Radio 4 Extra's Newsjack, but got his first series in 2003 as part of the sketch team The Consultants. Jan's association with radio comedy dates back to the early 1980s when she became the first-ever female radio comedy producer, but became beloved of the Radio 4 audience for her work on Dead Ringers, which started in 2000. Grace asks them about the atmosphere within the Radio Comedy department and within the BBC; they discuss the difference between topical comedy and satire, and whether the Radio 4 audience necessarily wants either; and they discuss the contribution a good sound engineer can make to a programme.
The Frequency of Laughter is presented by Grace Dent, a journalist for The Independent, and is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
Presenter ... Grace Dent
Guest ... Justin Edwards
Guest ... Jan Ravens
Interviewee ... Jerry Peal
Producers ... Ed Morrish & Alexandra Smith.
This week's autumn statement has drawn the battle lines on the economy for the approaching general election. Will it be the economy that determines the outcome as in past elections? And how do George Osborne and Ed Balls link their economic judgments to their politics?
What tactics will Liberal Democrats and Conservatives employ as they campaign in marginal seats? And as Gordon Brown retires from politics, two former colleagues remember him.
Reporters tell their stories: in this edition, Carrie Gracie travels to China's most troubled region Xinjiang - it's in the midst of a crackdown on what the authorities describe as 'terrorism driven by religious extremism'. Fergal Keane, just back from Ukraine, examines the circumstances which led to one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts in decades. Mike Wendling's in the United States where a campaign to persuade the Washington Redskins football team to change its name is gathering pace. Will Ross is in north eastern Nigeria where bows and arrows, magic and ancient hunting rifles are now being used in the battle against the Boko Haram jihadists. And David Mazower's at a festival in Poland where it's clear a growing number of Poles feel profound loss about the Jewish nation in their midst which was ripped apart in the Second World War.
HSBC credit card glitch; Stamp duty changes; Air Passenger Duty for kids; State pension rises
We are charging you £12 for not paying what you owed us on time even though we did not send you a statement to tell us what you owed. That seems to be what has happened to xxxx HSBC customers. I say xxxx because when we asked the bank for the number affected it wouldn't go beyond 'some'. Which isn't a number. Hmmm.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the average cut in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) will be £1500 on 700,000 sales a year and cost £1.1bn. The average increase in SDLT for homes around £1 million and more will be £27,000 on 18,000 sales which brings in an extra £0.5bn. So the net cost - borne by all taxpayers including those who do not own their own home - is £600m. But that will probably rise to £800m after behavioural changes. Who are the winners and losers? And how will it affect the market?
Children under 12 fly free! Well not quite. But from 1 May they will fly free of Air Passenger Duty in economy which will by then be £13 for short flights and £71 for long haul. If you've already booked that summer 2015 trip with the kids can you get the tax back?
She's my customer. No she's mine! Well I'm sending her a bill for the gas she's used! Well. So am I! Aaarrgghhhh! Who should our listener pay for her gas? Or must she pay them both?
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, who is joined by Fred MacAulay, Holly Walsh and Bob Mills, alongside regular panellist Jeremy Hardy.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Felsted School in Essex with Mark Littlewood the Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP, Rachel Reeves MP the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pension and Mark Serwotka the General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union.
According to the Office of Budget Responsibility, sixty per cent of public spending cuts still lie ahead. Where do you think the axe should fall?
A Devon hospital trust is to save money by denying routine operations to smokers and morbidly obese people unless they quit or lose weight. Should sick people face discrimination? Should we all take more responsibility for our own health?
Also - Scotland now has stricter drink driving rules than the rest of the UK. Should the law be the same everywhere?
And should fee-paying schools lose charitable status unless they do more for the community? Labour says so. Do you agree? To have your say, call Any Answers on 03700 100 444.
Lieutenant Mario Conde has been suspended for taking a well-deserved pop at a fellow officer. But Major Rangel is short of staff and has to call Conde in for a case involving the disappearance of a Cuban with U.S. citizenship who has come home to visit his family. The final story in the Havana Quartet.
Mario Conde ..... Zubin Varla
Rangel ..... David Westhead
Manolo ..... Lanre Malaolu
Josefina ..... Lorna Gayle
Skinny ..... Ben Crowe
Tamara ..... Adjoa Andoh
Andres ..... Ian Conningham
Rabbit ..... Monty D'Inverno
Fermin ..... Shaun Mason
Friguens/ Alfonso Forcade ..... John Rowe
Gomez ..... Cyril Nri
Miriam ...... Anna Madeley
Adrian ..... Nicholas Pinnock
Molina .... Sam Dale
Leonardo Padura is a novelist and journalist who was born in 1955 in Havana where he still lives. He has published a number of short-story collections and literary essays but he is best known internationally for the Havana Quartet series, all featuring Inspector Mario Conde.
In 1998, Padura won the Hammett Prize from the International Association of Crime Writers and in 2012, he was awarded the National Prize for Literature, Cuba's national literary award.
The Smiths' 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out' is explored through personal stories. Released in 1986 on 'The Queen Is Dead' album, it has become an anthem of hope, loss and love. As a teenager, Andy listened to it with his father, as he drove him to work. They had a moment of connection, and when his father died suddenly a few weeks later, the song took on huge significance. When her young son was ill, Sharon Woolley drew strength from this music as she sat by his bedside in the small hours of the morning. For comic artist Lucy Knisley, the song got her through a bad break-up with her long-term boyfriend - and it's meaning changed for her when unexpected events unfolded.
The celebrated civil rights activist Professor Angela Davis on what it's like to go from being on the FBI's ten most wanted list to a place in the 100 'cool' American's exhibition in Washington earlier this year.
We discuss the link between hormones and mental health and what it's really like to be a teen with PMT.
The TV series Little House on the Prairie was based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder. We look at the continuing enduring appeal of her original books and the latest annotated autobiography Pioneer Girl.
We hear about the campaign to stop parents who have abused their children from continuing to disrupt their lives and from a woman whose daughters were abused by their father and despite being convicted of the offence still fought for access to them.
Plus you may not know the name Bevis Shergold but she made a huge contribution to the war effort interrogating POW's in Egypt and Algeria as well as representing Britain in the 1948 London Olympics.
A debate on whether there is a place for men in the feminist movement? And can the struggle for equality for women around the world also improve the lives of men as well?
Sara Cox, Richard Curtis, Lee Mack, Josie Lawrence, Andrew O'Neill, Hiss Golden Messenger, Francesca Belmonte
Clive talks to Richard Curtis, award-winning, international film-director and script writer, and the creator of 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', 'Love Actually', 'Notting Hill' and 'Mr Bean', about his new children's book 'Snow Day' and his adaptation with Paul Mayhew Archer of Roald Dahl's 'Esio Trot', as part of the BBC's Xmas programming.
In new film 'Bonobo' comedienne and actress Josie Lawrence leads a commune whose social structure, like that of the Bonobo ape, centres around recreational sex. Hilarity ensues.
Clive's co-host Sara Cox meets comic Andrew O'Neill; transvestite, and 'pharmacist baffler'. He is also married and in a steam-punk band, and his current Radio 4 show examines gender identity, using his own experiences.
And mid sell-out tour, multi-award winning star of 'Not Going Out' and 'Would I Lie To You'? Lee Mack talks sitcoms, well-crafted gags and sharp one-liners.
With music from Hiss Golden Messenger who performs 'Saturday's Song' from his album 'Lateness of Dancers', available now on Merge Records. And more music from Francesca Belmonte who performs her new single 'Stole', available on Monday 29th December on False Idols.
The presidential election in Afghanistan was drawn-out and controversial. The man who emerged as the winner is a United States-trained anthropologist who is described by friends as one of the world's leading intellectuals. Ashraf Ghani was born in Afghanistan, studied in Lebanon and the United States, and worked for years for the World Bank. As finance minister of Afghanistan he fell out with President Karzai and most of his colleagues - the same friends who point to his intellectual capacity and moral integrity also acknowledge his ferocious temper. Humility is another word that's often mentioned - it is said that he is never happier than when sitting cross-legged drinking tea with tribal elders in the Afghan provinces. But can he turn his intellectual vision into political reality at this vital moment of transition in Afghanistan?
Men Women and Children, Hope, William Blake, Olive Kitteridge, End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck
Jason Reitman's latest film Men Women and Children is a lighthearted look at the way the internet has become woven into everyone's existence for good or bad; the pitfalls, the temptations and the endless possibilities.
Hope is a new play by Jack Thorne at London's Royal Court Theatre. It's a dark comedy about a cash-strapped Labour council trying to balance its books and do the least harm in the face of cuts.
William Blake is the subject of a major exhibition at the Ashmolean in Oxford. He was a printmaker, painter and revolutionary poet of the prophetic books, and this show attempts to reveal how he acquired and developed his skills and also to show his legacy.
HBO's new series 4 part mini series , Olive Kitteridge is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and stars Frances McDormand in a tale of marital affairs, mental illness, intrigue, crime and tragedy in a small New England town.
Acclaimed novel End of Days by German author Jenny Erpenbeck explores a multi-narrative story of a family whose destiny could spiral in many directions.
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Charlotte Mendelson, Kate Mossman and Michael Arditti. The producer is Oliver Jones.
Stephen Tuck discovers what brought Malcolm X to Oxford in 1964 just weeks before his assassination, and how the speech he made there was one of the most important of his life.
For Malcolm X, Oxford was 'hot' - but why? What was it that attracted him there when he was turning down so many other invitations to speak abroad and when he was preparing to step up the struggle against racial inequality at home in the United States?
These questions lead Stephen Tuck into the remarkable story of Malcolm X's last year of life when he travelled in Africa, the Middle East and Europe - a year during which this black nationalist American Nation of Islam advocate began evolving into a campaigner for international civil liberties.
But what also emerges is an untold story of racial discrimination and protest in Oxford, and how we choose to remember the struggle for racial equality as happening elsewhere - in the Southern States of America, or South Africa - rather than in the Britain of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Tuck uses archive from the original debate and the personal testimonies of those who knew Malcolm X, as well as some of the people who were there at the Oxford Union or at the edge of Britain's own racial fault line fifty years ago, to reveal how Oxford affected Malcolm X and how Malcolm X changed Oxford.
Brian Sibley's dramatisation of T. H. White's classic retelling of the King Arthur story continues. Full of zeal for Arthur's new chivalric order, Lancelot rides into Camelot.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
The surgeon and writer Atul Gawande argues that better systems can transform global healthcare by radically reducing the chance of mistakes and increasing the chance of successful outcomes.
He tells the story of how a little-known hospital in Austria managed to develop a complex yet highly effective system for dealing with victims of drowning. He says that the lesson from this dramatic narrative is that effective systems can provide major improvements in success rates for surgery and other medical procedures. Even a simple checklist - of the kind routinely used in the aviation industry - can be remarkably effective. And he argues that these systems have the power to transform care from the richest parts of the world to the poorest.
The programme was recorded at The Wellcome Collection in London before an audience.
The Reith Lectures are chaired and introduced by Sue Lawley and produced by Jim Frank.
Who wrote the original James Bond theme as first heard in the film Dr No? And which Renaissance artist wrote poems which have been set to music by both Benjamin Britten and Shostakovich?
Paul Gambaccini asks the questions in the second semi-final of the general knowledge music quiz, with another place in the 28th Counterpoint Final up for grabs.
This week's semi-finalists, from the Vale of Glamorgan, Wiltshire and Cheshire, have all won their heats with impressive scores, and the competition is sure to be tough. As always, they will each have to choose a special musical topic on which to answer individual questions, with no prior warning of the categories offered.
Paul Farley listens to old and new poetry of extinction one hundred years after the death of Martha, the last ever passenger pigeon. With poems from Fleur Adcock, Sean O'Brien, W.S. Merwin and David Harsent and the sounds of X-ray audio, the samizdat music of the Soviet Union that used black-market plates of skulls and ribcages to capture the beginnings of rock and roll. Producer: Tim Dee.
SUNDAY 07 DECEMBER 2014
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b04tcg4g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SUN 00:30 Border Crossings (b03vh0cl)
Wheer d'ye Belang?
Katrina Porteous, the poet, explores the wild places and ancient histories of the Northumbrian hills in her poem and personal essay about the Borderlands.
Border Crossings is a pair of specially commissioned pieces from either side of the Border. Each explores the unique qualities of the debatable lands and the centuries of interlinked history between England and Scotland, the amity and the animosity. The first of our commissions is by the poet Katrina Porteous who was born in Scotland and now lives in Northumbria. In her personal essay, Wheer d' ye Belang? she vividly captures the formidable landscape of the Northumbrian hills and their ancient history and culture.
Poet Katrina Porteous was born in Aberdeen and has lived on the Northumberland coast since 1987. Much of her poetry explores the Northumbrian landscape and its communities, especially the fishing community. Her latest collection, Two Countries, is published by Bloodaxe.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard and Di Speirs.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04tcg4j)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04tcg4l)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
5.20am.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04tcg4n)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b04tcg4q)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b04tchvs)
The bells of St Mary and St Chad, Brewood in Staffordshire.
SUN 05:45 Profile (b04tcbd0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b04tcg4s)
The latest national and international news.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b04tchvv)
Gossip and Whispers
Psssst ...listen ... John McCarthy considers the pleasures and perils of loose tongued talk.
Gossip is one of the ways we make connections within our social groups but it can be hurtful and isolating for those being gossiped about. The sharing of secrets can reinforce the intimate bonds of friendship - or break them. And rumours, as they fly from ear to mouth to ear, can shift shape to become monstrous or hilarious.
The programme includes readings from works by Ted Hughes, Jen Hadfield and Elias Canetti and music by Tracey Thorn and The Inkspots.
Readings by Peter Marinker, Stella Gonet, Ted Hughes and Jen Hadfield.
Produced by Natalie Steed
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b04tchvx)
Arty Farming
Nearly 40 years ago, the artist Victoria Crowe painted a shepherdess called Jenny Armstrong trudging through the snow on the wind-whipped Scottish Borders. That celebrated painting, Large Tree Group, has now been translated into a handwoven tapestry by master weavers at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh. Made from undyed sheep wool donated by some 70 producers - from small-scale crofters to large estates - the tapestry will form part of the National Museums Scotland's collection. That is, after its exhibition in London where this programme begins.
It's both the story of an unlikely friendship between a young artist and an elderly farmer and the tale of a precious tapestry, tracing it back from the gallery to the farm gate.
Featuring interviews recorded in London and Scotland with the curator, spinners, weavers, a farmer and the artist herself - Vicky Crowe.
Produced and presented by Anna Jones.
SUN 06:57 Weather (b04tcg4v)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b04tcg4x)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (b04tchvz)
Human trafficking; Christian refugees; Biblical movie blockbusters
A new international partnership to combat human trafficking has been launched by the Catholic Church and law enforcement agencies in the UK. Edward Stourton examines its objectives.
A report by the Christian think tank Theos argues that only a belief in God can provide the true foundation for humanism. The report's co-author Nick Spencer and the philosopher A.C. Grayling debate.
Bishop Geoffrey Taylor has been visiting Erbil on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury, gathering information about the plight of Christian refugees from Mosul and the Nineveh Plain. He describes the current conditions as winter approaches.
Thousands of Finns have resigned from the country's Evangelical Lutheran Church after their leader Archbishop Kari Makinen voiced his support for same-sex marriage. We hear how the wave of resignations has hit the Church both spiritually and financially.
The Catholic Church in the Amazon region of Brazil is leading the fight against government plans to develop the area. Its combative rhetoric and actions stand in stark contrast to the conservatism of the Church in other parts of Latin America. Bruce Douglas reports.
Ridley Scott's biblical Boxing Day blockbuster 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' is a lavish production that joins a long line of cinema epics based on the Holy Scriptures. Film critic Richard Fitzwilliams has seen an advanced screening and gives the programme his verdict.
Producers:
Dan Tierney
Peter Everett
Series producer:
Amanda Hancox
Contributors
Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe
Bishop Geoffrey Taylor
A.C. Grayling
Nick Spencer
Jeanette Ostman
Richard Fitzwilliams.
SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b04tchw1)
St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal 2014
The Rev Dr Sam Wells makes the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal for St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Reg Charity:261359
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 082 82 84.
- Make a cheque to St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal, and send it to FREEPOST St Martin's Christmas Appeal.
- Or donate online via the Radio 4 website.
The BBC Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal is now in its 88th year. The money raised from this annual appeal supports work with homeless and vulnerable people across the UK, through the work of The Connection at St Martin's and the Vicar's Relief Fund.
SUN 07:57 Weather (b04tcg4z)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b04tcg51)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b04tchw3)
A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse
The second in our Advent series live from St Joseph's Church Bradford. This week's theme takes a promise of Isaiah: 'A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse'
Bradford Catholic Youth Choir is directed by Thomas Leech and the service is led by the priest of St Joseph's Fr John Newman.
Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10, Romans 5: 1-11; Colossians
1:15-23;
The Voice of God (Woodlands); Rorate Caeli (chant); A tender shoot (Goldschmidt); Kyrie (Missa Piccola - Milliken); Cuncti simus concanentes (Anon); O Mary of promise (Gaelic folk hymn); Hail to the Lord's anointed (Cruger). Organist: Daniel Justin; Producer: Katharine Longworth.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b04sy4tv)
Faking It
Philosopher Roger Scruton reflects on the difference between original art that is genuine, sincere and truthful, but hard to achieve, and the easier but fake art that he says appeals to many critics today.
He argues that original artists from Beethoven and Baudelaire to Picasso and Pound tower above those contemporary artists whose pieces push fake emotion - and who, by focusing on avoiding cliche, end up cliches themselves.
Producer: Arlene Gregorius.
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b04svjxg)
Atlantic (Island) Canary
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the Atlantic canary singing in the Tenerife treetops. The ancestor of our cage-bird canaries is the Island or Atlantic Canary, a finch which is native to the Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands which include Tenerife. The Canary Islands were named by early travellers "the islands of dogs from 'canis', the Latin for dogs, because of the many large dogs reputedly found there. And so the common and popular song-bird which is now a symbol of the islands became known as the canary. Unlike their domestic siblings, wild Island canaries are streaky, greenish yellow finches: males have golden- yellow foreheads, females a head of more subtle ash-grey tone. But it's the song, a pulsating series of vibrant whistles, trills and tinkling sounds; that has made the canary so popular. They were almost compulsory in Victorian and Edwardian parlours; a far cry from the sunny palm -fringed beaches of the Atlantic islands.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b04tckj9)
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.
SUN 09:45 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b04tcytb)
Making a Difference
Aasmah Mir reports on how the money from last year's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin in-the-Fields has been spent on changing the lives of homeless people through the work of The Connection at St Martin's, and how instances of homelessness around the country have been averted through grants from the Vicars Relief Fund.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b04tckjc)
Writer ..... Mary Cutler
Director ..... Julie Beckett
Editor ..... Sean O'Connor
Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer ..... Buffy Davis
Helen Archer ..... Louiza Patikas
Brian Aldridge ..... Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Alice Carter .....Hollie Chapman
Clarrie Grundy ..... Heather Bell
Will Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Ed Grundy ..... Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Shula Hebden Lloyd ..... Judy Bennett
Adam Macy ..... Andrew Wincott
Elizabeth Pargetter ..... Alison Dowling
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Rob Titchener ..... Timothy Watson
Peggy Woolley ..... June Spencer.
SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b04tckjf)
Julie Bentley
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Chief Executive of the Guide Association, Julie Bentley - or, more accurately, Girlguiding.
The name change is surely a clue to the evolving nature of an organisation determined to be relevant and useful to girls in the 21st century. Indeed being relevant and useful is how Julie Bentley has spent her entire working life. From her early efforts at an HIV charity to running the Family Planning Association she says her passion lies with helping young people develop confidence and direction.
Never a Brownie or Girl Guide herself, she was brought up in what she describes as "a happy working class family in Essex" and it took her a little while to find her own self assurance and sense of purpose. A painfully shy child, who was bullied at primary school, she later went on to become Head Girl, but left school with very few qualifications. In her 30s she used a bequest from her mother to fund her Master's degree.
She says of the Girl Guides, "It is not about itchy brown uniforms and sewing and baking. It is a modern, contemporary, vibrant organisation."
Producer: Christine Pawlowsky.
SUN 12:00 News Summary (b04tcg53)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:04 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b04stzf5)
Series 62
Episode 3
The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a visit to the Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent. Regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Omid Djalili, with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell provides piano accompaniment.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b04tckjh)
Cookbooks of 2014
A review of cookbooks and food writing of 2014. Sheila Dillon is joined to discuss the year in books by Allan Jenkins, editor of Observer Food Monthly, investigative journalist Joanna Blythman and blogger Alex Ryder aka Gingey Bites.
Sheila also hears from publisher Sarah Lavelle about this year's sales. And cookery writer Diana Henry talks about her addiction to cookbooks.
Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Emma Weatherill.
SUN 12:57 Weather (b04tcg55)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b04tckjk)
Global news and analysis; presented by Mark Mardell.
SUN 13:30 Olive Wars (b04tcl5w)
The olive harvest in the West Bank is all about tradition. The first rains of the winter signal the start of gathering the olives on which so many Palestinian farmers depend.
The BBC's Middle East Editor, Jeremy Bowen, has been travelling during the harvest through the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, and wanted by the Palestinians for a state. He spoke to Palestinian farmers, Jewish settlers, oil exporters, and Israeli soldiers, and found that the harvest is about a lot more than olives, or oil, or the soap they make from it.
In a land where everything is politicised, so is the olive harvest. It's the politics of the struggle for land between the Palestinians and the Israelis who want it, and in that struggle the olive tree has become a potent symbol. And the olive harvest has at times become a serious flashpoint.
'Olive Wars' shows how every year the harvest is at the heart of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis for control of the land.
Jeremy Bowen, who has been reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 1991, finds that the status quo in the West Bank guarantees more bloodshed. He concludes that is not just disastrous for Palestinians and Israelis. At a time when the whole world can feel the impact of the tumult in the Middle East, it's not good for the rest of us either.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b04sy3qw)
Bournemouth
Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from Bournemouth. Chris Beardshaw, Matt Biggs and Christine Walkden answer questions from an audience of local gardeners.
Produced by Howard Shannon
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
This week's questions and answers:
Q. I can't work out why I can't get my Pansies to continue flowering through the seasons, please help!
A. They flower better in warmer temperatures so after the autumnal equinox even deadheading won't be able to keep the plants flowering through the colder months. Stick with Violas if you want flowers in poorer conditions.
Q. Some of our neighbour's trees have been removed and this has exposed our garden. Could the panel recommend some tall, evergreen, colourful and quick-growing varieties that will restore our privacy?
A. Elaeagnuses are all good, things like the 'Quick Silver' could work, especially if some of the sprawling branches were removed and the others taken up. The variegated Eleagnuses have good evergreen foliage and small scented flowers. The Photinia 'Red Robin' would provide colour. Stransvesia would also work. It's also worth considering growing climbers up through those plants.
Q. My young Spring Cabbages have been chewed, what is it?
A. This looks like a caterpillar has nibbled the edges - you can tell by the crisp nature of the damage. The holes in the middle look like slugs have been at it but the majority of the damage is due to cabbage white caterpillars.
Q. What else could be grown in a prairie garden with very sandy soil that would add colour?
A. Digitalis Lutea would work and the Lisa Macchias are well worth a try, but avoid Nummularia and go for Atrapo Perera. Eupatoriums 'purple bush' would work well. Don't be afraid to throw in a few annuals like Leucanthemums.
Q. Is there any way I can restrict the growth of a Koelreuteria Paniculata 'Golden Tree' to 15 feet (
4.57 metres)?
A. They don't take pruning very well, so just 'tip-prune'. Just as the buds are swelling but before they have burst prune back the principal boughs by a couple of inches (5cm). Enjoy it while it lasts, but remove it when it is really getting too big. Get something smaller that will do well in that space.
Q. I'm confused - should we be digging in egg shells and grit to encourage drainage or digging in compost to retain moisture?
A. Both are correct depending on the situation. Gardeners want good structure, good air concentration and good drainage. Those qualities are largely aided by the addition of organic matter. However, if the basic structure of the soil is heavy use coarse materials to open up the soil.
Q. I have a Magnolia Grandiflora in my garden. It's in magnificent health but doesn't flower - can you
help me?
A. They can take a while to get flowering but they sometimes need the extra shelter and warmth of a south-facing wall to get flowering.
8.Q. Do members of the team have a favourite orchid, and if so, why?
A. Christine adores the Cypripedium Calceolus 'Lady's Slipper Orchid' and the orchids of Patagonia. Matt loves the tiny Neo Falcata Orchid, known as the 'Japanese Wind Orchid'. Chris loves the Pyramidal Orchid and the Common Spotted Orchid as well as Cymbidiums.
SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b04tcldm)
Sunday Omnibus
Fi Glover with conversations between men who have had help to get off the streets from The Connection at St Martin in the Fields, for which the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal raises money, a couple planning a collaborative writing project, and a mother and son who were both sent to boarding school.
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.
SUN 15:00 The Once and Future King (b04tclg7)
The Lengthening Shadow
Brian Sibley's dramatisation of T. H. White's classic retelling of the King Arthur story continues. Murder and betrayal threaten to undermine all that Arthur holds dear.
Original music by Elizabeth Purnell
Directors: Gemma Jenkins, Marc Beeby and David Hunter.
SUN 16:00 Bookclub (b04tcxm4)
Patrick O'Brian - Master and Commander
With James Naughtie. In a special 200th edition of the programme we celebrate the centenary of author Patrick O'Brian and Allan Mallinson is our guide to the first in his hugely popular series of Napoleonic naval stories, Master and Commander.
Known as the Aubrey/Maturin novels, the twenty books are regarded by many as the most engaging historical novels ever written. Master and Commander establishes the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, who becomes his ship's surgeon and an intelligence agent.
O'Brian won fans not just because of the story-telling and his power of characterisation but also his detailed depiction of life aboard a Nelsonic man-of-war : the weapons, food, conversation and ambience, the landscape and the sea.
Master and Commander was first published in 1969 and the twentieth novel in the series Blue at the Mizzen, in 1999, a year before O'Brian died.
Allan Mallinson also writes novels about the Napoleonic wars and knew O'Brian. And as always on Bookclub a group of invited readers join in the discussion.
December's programme marks the 200th edition of Bookclub which began in 1998 and has featured the world's leading authors from the late 20th/early 21st century like Toni Morrison, JK Rowling, Hilary Mantel, Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, Paul Auster, Alan Bennett. James Naughtie's impressive list of guests also includes writers who are no longer with us like Muriel Spark, Gore Vidal, Douglas Adams, Carol Shields, and Sue Townsend. All are available online to download and keep forever, via the programme's website bbc.in/r4bookclub .
Presenter : James Naughtie
Interviewed guest : Allan Mallinson
Producer: Dymphna Flynn
January's Bookclub choice : A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka.
SUN 16:30 The Echo Chamber (b04tcxm6)
Series 4
The Knowledge
Paul Farley does the Knowledge, collecting taxi poems and sounds from all over London. Including poems by John Challis, Sean O'Brien and David Harsent and songs, prose texts and other performances from a recent series of art events held in the capital's surviving cabbies shelters. Producer: Tim Dee.
SUN 17:00 Jeremy Thorpe: The Silent Conspiracy (b04wz633)
Jeremy Thorpe, the former Liberal leader, led a life which combined major political achievements with persistent rumours of scandal, culminating in a trial for conspiracy to murder and his acquittal. But was there an establishment cover-up to protect him during his political career? Tom Mangold has been investigating, in a programme containing both new evidence and material from the 1970s that has never previously been broadcast.
Producer: Martin Rosenbaum.
SUN 17:40 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b04tcytb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b04tcg57)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (b04tcg59)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04tcg5c)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b04td783)
Antonia Quirke's Pick of the Week includes ten-ton trucks, a horse called Tarzan and an astronaut imagines the vocab of the future. Ewoks swill vodka, King Arthur nurtures a new round table and a villainous drugs baron is gunned down in a rainstorm, but many dream he is still alive.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (b04td785)
Jill admits to Carol that she's tired, and she's having second thoughts about going out. Carol insists she needs fresh air and a good laugh, so picks her up and takes her for a drive. They make plans for Jill to help decorate Carol's tree on Friday - an opportunity to reminisce about Christmases past. Carol also invites Jill to a little drinks party on Friday week.
Ed's pleased to learn that Susan took the news of their engagement well. Emma tells him she was over the moon and is already making plans for the wedding. Ed wants to tell his family before they find out via Susan.
As Eddie, Clarrie and Joe make final preparations for the History of the Turkey pageant, Ed and Emma turn up and announce that they're getting married. Everyone's delighted. The show goes ahead, and everyone seems to enjoy the occasion. Joe and Eddie put on a great performance, and it all helps to promote turkey sales. It ends with Carol's moving reading from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
SUN 19:15 Hal (b04tdqwq)
Series 1
Fidelity
Hal Cruttenden stars as a 40-something husband and father who, years ago, decided to give up his job and become a stay at home father. His wife, Sam, has a successful business career which makes her travel more and more. His children, Lilly and Molly, are growing up fast, and his role as their father and mentor is diminishing by the day.
So what can Hal do as he reaches a crossroads in his life? Help is (sort of) at hand in the form of his eager mates - Doug, Fergus and Barry - who regularly meet at their local curry house for mind expanding conversations that sadly never give Hal the core advice he so desperately needs.
Hal is confused even further as he regularly has visions of his long dead and highly macho father, who he's forced to engage in increasingly frustrating conversations.
In this last episode of the series, Hal faces a new challenge - unwanted romantic attention. Happily married to Sam and with two adoring daughters, life is a picture of roses at home. But how will Hal cope with the romantic attention of a new, attractive neighbour Angie?
The cast includes co-writer Dominic Holland, Ed Byrne, Ronni Ancona, Anna Crilly, Gavin Webster, Dominic Frisby, Samuel Caseley and Emily and Lucy Robbins.
Produced by Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2014.
SUN 19:45 Shorts (b04tdqws)
Writing West
The Two Penelopes
SHORTS: New writing. New writers.
The second of three Midlands Odysseys: short stories written by writers new to radio in response to The Odyssey - transplanting episodes from Homer's epic to contemporary West Midlands settings.
Penny volunteers at a Birmingham care home for the elderly to distract herself from the disappointments of her own life. She helps one of the residents to wind wool for an unusual knitting project...
By Natalie Haynes.
Producer: Mair Bosworth.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (b04t6t62)
What do you really think of Radios 4 and 5 and their extra bits? The BBC Trust wants listeners' input for a major review it's conducting. But will your views change anything? Trustee Elan Closs Stephens tells Roger Bolton why reviews like this matter.
Radio 4's World War 1 drama Home Front is set to run for four years and a total of approximately 600 episodes. Roger goes on a behind-the-scenes tour of the epic production and puts listeners' questions talks to the series editor Jessica Droomgoole and producer Lucy Collingwood.
Jarvis Cocker took the Radio 4 audience back to primary school with his Archive on 4 on the well-loved programme "Singing Together". It was a weekly broadcast that started in 1939 and quickly became a treasured musical memory. But most of the broadcasts have been lost. We hear from Feedback listener Christopher Goodman who has succeeded where the BBC failed - in saving a little bit of our musical heritage for posterity.
And Archers Addicts question the point of a radio drama where the actors' voices are far too similar.
Produced by Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 20:30 Last Word (b04t6t60)
Jeremy Thorpe, Ian McLagan, Viktor Tikhonov, Trevor Pharo and Sabah
Matthew Bannister on
Jeremy Thorpe who was a charismatic leader of the Liberal Party, but fell from grace after facing trial on charges of conspiring to murder a former male model who claimed to have had a sexual relationship with him. Although he was acquitted, Jeremy Thorpe's political career was over.
Also Ian McLagan, the keyboard player with the Small Faces and the Faces. Billy Bragg pays tribute.
Viktor Tikhonov the ruthless coach of the Soviet Ice Hockey Team,
Trevor Pharo - the South Coast sales executive otherwise known as Bingo the Clown,
And the celebrated Lebanese singer Sabah.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (b04tc9n9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b04tchw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 today]
SUN 21:30 In Business (b04sy0hw)
Sovereign Wealth Funds
Government owned Sovereign wealth funds are treasure troves of money earned by oil resources and mighty export earnings, vast nest-eggs for the future when overseas earnings dry up. Obscure though they may be, SWFs have extraordinary flows of cash to invest and potentially enormous international clout. This programme investigates SWFs: who they are and what they're doing.
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b04tcg5f)
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.
SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b04tds7y)
Miranda Green of Newsweek analyses how the papers are covering the biggest stories.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b04sxzqq)
Kevin Macdonald on Jude Law, Jason Reitman, Ewoks
With Francine Stock.
Director Kevin Macdonald on Jude Law's Scottish accent in his submarine drama Black Sea. And how geo-politics caught up with a film that's partly set in Crimea.
Jason Reitman discusses the moral panic about social media in his ensemble piece Men, Women And Children. And reveals his 70 year old mother's texting habits.
FX maestro Ben Burtt reveals the identity of the language that the Ewoks speak in the Star Wars saga.
Neil Brand shows us the part that music played in dramatising the final showdown between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in Return Of The Jedi.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b04tchvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 08 DECEMBER 2014
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b04tcg6m)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b04svk2y)
Port Cities; Middle Class Alcohol Use
Port cities in the global age; from Marseilles to Liverpool and New Orleans. Laurie Taylor talks to Alice Mah, a sociologist at the University of Warwick, about her study of transformation along city waterfronts. What happens when world harbours are relegated to minor seaports? Can they ever return to their former greatness? Also, middle class alcohol use often exceeds safe levels but little research explains why. Lyn Brierley-Jones, a Research Fellow at the University of Sunderland, explores the meaning of drinking amongst professional workers.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b04tchvs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04tcg6p)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04tcg6r)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04tcg6t)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b04tcg6w)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04v1vdv)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Dr Calvin Samuel.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b04tgrjd)
Coastal Path; Rental Christmas Trees; Brassicas
Five million pounds has been committed by the government to complete the coastal path around England, ten years ahead of time. It's been welcomed by Ramblers, but the National Farmers Union says it'll cause problems for coastal farmers, and the money would be better spent upgrading existing paths.
Ruth Sanderson has been to a nursery in Gloucestershire which rents out living Christmas trees as an alternative to cutting trees which then end up being thrown out.
And all this week we're looking at brassicas - the family of veg that includes broccoli, cabbage, and of course, Brussels sprouts.
The presenter is Anna Hill.
MON 05:56 Weather (b04tcg6y)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04sylr1)
Red-crowned Crane
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the red-crowned crane from Japan and Asia. Backlit by a Japanese winter sun, huge black and white birds dance for an audience. Their plumage mirrors the dazzling snow and dark tree-trunks. The only spots of colour are crimson - the caps of these Red-crowned Cranes. Red-crowned Cranes breed only in far-eastern Russia. Tall, majestic and very vocal, red-crowned cranes gather in groups to reinforce pair-bonds, by leaping into the air and fluttering their 2.5 metre wings, sometimes holding sticks or twigs in their long bills. During winter months, the cranes are fed with grain, and receive a stream of captivated visitors. In front of a wall of clicking camera shutters, the cranes perform their elaborate dance, to delight their captivated audience.
MON 06:00 Today (b04tgrjg)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (b04th9f4)
Arabian Nights
Anne McElvoy's joined by Egyptian novelist Alaa Al Aswany, author of The Yacoubian Building, to discuss writing in the contemporary Arabic world and the continuing influence of stories from 1000 years ago. Joining him are Rose Issa, a Lebanese/Iranian curator of Arabic art and film and two British experts on The Arabian Nights: Robert Irwin, who introduces a new, English translation of a medieval fantasy collection and Marina Warner, whose interests stretch from Scheherazade to a new collection of Scottish fantasies.
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b04th9f6)
Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography
Episode 1
During the glittering 1920s and 30s, Elsa Schiaparelli was the undisputed Queen of Fashion. Everyone who was anyone, from Vivien Leigh to the Duchess of Windsor, entered her doors on the Place Vendôme and obediently wore whatever she instructed.
Her clothes were beautifully made, but they were also designed in a manner no one had seen before - buttons that looked like butterflies, mermaids or carrots, trompe l'oeil pockets that looked like lips, gloves with red nails appliquéd on them. She was unique.
Born into a prominent Italian family, she moved to London and married a supposed Polish count who, it transpired, was really a French con-man. His deportation during the First World War saw them move to New York, where he abandoned Schiaparelli and their baby daughter. Undaunted, she picked herself up, moved to Paris and launched her meteoric career, surviving the Second World War despite being under suspicion of spying from both sides.
Her story is one of pluck and determination, talent and great imagination. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at the time. And her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Alberto Giacometti, elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art.
Reader: Abigail Thaw
Written by Meryle Secrest
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2014.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04th9f8)
Kiesza; Domestic Violence; Technology Advice
Kiesza's debut single Hideaway went straight to number one and she's just released the album Sound Of A Woman. The Canadian singer-songwriter joins Jane.
In February 2013 a listener heard June Venters QC on Woman's Hour discussing the issue of parental contact after separation or divorce when there has been domestic violence in a relationship. She contacted June and together they are in the studio to explain what happened next.
Tech expert LJ Rich talks technology and social media for the young and old.
Neeta Patel, CEO of the New Entrepreneurs Foundation and a trustee of the Young Women's Trust talks about the work both charities do in supporting young people in the business world.
Ginette Leach's life changed when she joined the peace camps at Greenham Common. Now her diaries have been dramatized for our Writing the Century series. Ginette joins Jane in the studio.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b04th9fb)
Writing the Century: My Greenham
Episode 1
Writing the Century - My Greenham
By Fiona Evans
The series which explores the 20th century through the diaries and correspondence of real people. Using the diaries of Ginette Leach this is a funny and moving coming of age story of a 50-year-old suburban housewife.
Deal, Kent 1982. Ginette, a middle-class housewife, visits Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp and for the first time in her life feels at home. What she doesn't realise is that this impromptu daytrip will change her life forever.
With her only son having flown the nest, Ginette has come to accept that her marriage is fake. To the outside world things are perfect. The couple are regulars at golf and sailing club, but behind the public façade John is having an affair with a work colleague and Ginette has been has been sleeping with a friend of hers - another married woman - for over 16 years.
Over the next two years Ginette visits Greenham and comes of age at 50: 'what the hell am I doing with my life, I need to do something for me.' Watching her mother die of cancer makes life and time seem all the more precious. So, inspired by the women of Greenham Ginette goes to university, comes out as a lesbian and is imprisoned for what she believes in.
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.
MON 11:00 Lives in a Landscape (b04th9fd)
Series 18
Jam, Jerusalem and an Awful Lot of Glitter
Jam, Jerusalem and an Awful Lot of Glitter
When Jeannie joined her local branch of the Women's Institute in Liverpool, she hoped for a bit of distraction from an ongoing, long term illness. But what she found there was a whole lot more than jam and Jerusalem. Before you could say Victoria sponge cake, she was sashaying down a catwalk dressed as a space alien, complete with ray gun, 8 inch heels and 3 inch red eyelashes, in front of a screaming audience.
Welcome to the Vogue Ball - Liverpool's 21st century version of a phenomenon that swept the streets, and then the underground clubs of New York back in the 1980's.
You might remember the Madonna song "Vogue" which spread the word - but this dance movement originated in the world of excluded black, gay street kids. Vogueing was an escape from a world which was set up to exclude them. It was all about fantasy, taking on a role for one night only of your dream persona; a Wall Street Banker; a glamorous diva; a film star, or even a creature from another galaxy.
In "Lives In A Landscape", Julie Gatenby follows two teams competing in the Vogue Ball - the House of Lisbon, represented by Stephen the bartender, and The House of Twisted Stiches - made up of the entrire committee of the the Iron Maidens WI, while compere of the ball, Rikki Beadle-Blair fills in the history.
Producer
Sara Jane Hall.
MON 11:30 Start/Stop (b04th9fg)
Series 2
Glastonbury
Hit comedy about three marriages in various states of disrepair.
This week the three couples have tickets for Glastonbury. But the festival dates clash with Cathy's dad's birthday. Barney fears he will be marooned in a care home while his friends have the time of their lives at the music festival.
At the festival Alice tries to lose David, Evan tries to get David to loosen his tie, and Fiona tries to get Alice to lose her inhibitions and talk about Barney.
Meanwhile in the care home Barney is losing the will to live while being made to sing 'If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands'.
Barney ...... Jack Docherty
Cathy ...... Kerry Godliman
Evan ...... John Thomson
Fiona ...... Fiona Allen
David ...... Charlie Higson
Alice ...... Sally Bretton
Producer ..... Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.
MON 12:00 News Summary (b04tcg70)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 Home Front (b04th9fj)
8 December 1914 - Ralph Winwood
A newcomer spells trouble for the inhabitants of St. Jude's...
Written by: Sarah Daniels
Directed and produced by: Lucy Collingwood
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
MON 12:15 You and Yours (b04th9fl)
Battle for the Countryside; Green Deal; School Publishing
In England and Wales, the government's making more money available to help towards the cost of home improvements that save energy. Energy Minister Ed Davey explains how his department is learning from the failures of past schemes.
An anthology of school verse that has left some parents angry - does the Young Writers scheme need to be more upfront about what they do?
And as a new report with support from all political parties analyses food poverty in the UK, we'll be asking if better management of food waste really is the answer.
MON 12:57 Weather (b04tcg72)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b04th9fq)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
MON 13:45 Manchester: Alchemical City (b04tmlhh)
Beginnings
Jeanette Winterson presents her personal exploration of the city of Manchester, from its Celtic roots to the present day and beyond. She takes to the streets of the city to tell the stories of the disparate groups and events which formed this combative and insubordinate urban centre.
Jeanette was born and works in Manchester and regards the city as always influencing, always transforming - an alchemical place.
The sounds of Manchester, past and present, are woven between her words and thoughts.
Episode 1: Beginnings
From the Brigantes, the native inhabitants of the Pennines, and Queen Cartimandua and her arrangements with the Roman occupiers, to the birth of 38 Manchesters around the World. Underground Manchester, wild Manchester, watery Manchester. Damp, good for cotton, an underground rich with coal. Early education, the alchemy of John Dee and Puritanism.
Written and Presented by Jeanette Winterson
Produced by Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b04td785)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b04th9fv)
Quicksands
A young married couple, Tessa and James, hire a caravan for a week's holiday on the wind-swept Northern Irish coast with their two young children. It's make-or-break for their relationship: James is in love with someone else and wants a separation. Clambering over the sand dunes on the beach Tessa and the children get into difficulties and find themselves trapped in quicksand. When James realises what is happening to his family he turns and leaves them, running away. James insists he was running for help, but Tessa believes, has always believed, that James turned his back on his family and intended to leave them for dead. But just who is telling the truth?
A drama about the slippery and shifting notions of truth and memory from acclaimed dramatist Lucy Caldwell. Lucy's previous dramas for Radio 4 include the Imison Award-winning 'Girl From Mars', 'Avenues of Eternal Peace', and 'Notes to Future Self.'.
MON 15:00 Counterpoint (b04thfrp)
Series 28
Semi-Final 3, 2014
Which jazz musician's work is celebrated in the stage musical Five Guys Named Moe? And who was the architect of the grand opera house in Paris completed in 1875, which is sometimes known by his name?
Paul Gambaccini asks the questions in the eclectic music quiz. The one remaining place in the grand Final will be decided between semi-finalists from Staffordshire, London and West Yorkshire. All three scored impressive victories in the series heats, and the competition will be intense.
As well as answering general knowledge music questions, the competitors have to choose a special musical subject on which to answer their own questions - the choice of topics, as always, coming as a complete surprise.
The winner returns in the 28th annual Counterpoint Final next week.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b04tckjh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Frinton Forever (b04thhpd)
Frinton Summer Theatre has been staging weekly rep during the Summer season for 75 years. Every year, seven plays are performed back to back from mid July to the end of August.
This Summer, to celebrate the anniversary, Richard Wilson agreed to go to Frinton for two weeks to rehearse and perform in a new play by Jon Canter - The Dog.
We follow his progress from first day of rehearsal through to the last night - from rehearsing in the local scout hut and line runs in a beach hut, to the Friends of Frinton Summer garden party and the ever popular performance raffle.
We hear from some of the key people who make Frinton's rep season happen every year, as well as from Sir Antony Sher who owes his Equity card and first ever professional job to Frinton.
With many thanks to The Friends of Frinton Theatre.
The radio version of The Dog can be heard on 9th December 2014 at
2.15pm on BBC Radio 4.
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b04tj37t)
Spiritualism
The sale of Ouija Boards has soared recently due to a new horror film Ouija. The desire to make or maintain contact with the dead has been a feature of societies down the ages, but for one modern religion, Spiritualism, it continues to play a central role. Spiritualism is on the rise in Britain, increasing by 17 per cent between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. Ernie Rea discusses the appeal of Spiritualism with David Bruton, President of the Spiritualists' National Union, the Rev Dr Steve Jeffrey, and Dr Nadia Bartolini from the Open University.
Producer: Rosie Dawson.
MON 17:00 PM (b04tj37w)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04tcg74)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b04tj37y)
Series 62
Episode 4
The antidote to panel games pays a return visit to the Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent. Regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Omid Djalili with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell attempts piano accompaniment.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b04tj380)
David is surprised to learn from Alan that Jill has been feeling under the weather. She only agreed to read one of the lessons on Christmas Eve when Alan pressed the point that it was their last Christmas in Ambridge
Lynda does an interview for the Borchester Echo, to be published on Thursday. She hopes this will boost ticket sales for Blithe Spirit. Meanwhile, she misses a call from Caroline, who's pulled out of the play.
Lynda's still working on the SAVE campaign. Susan reckons it's a dead duck now. Lynda points out they may have lost the battle but the war's not over. The SAVE committee are determined to redouble their efforts, even without David. Susan is surprised to learn that Brian has resigned from the Borchester Land board because nobody told him about Justin Elliott's offer for Brookfield.
Lynda confronts David and Ruth about selling Brookfield to Justin. She is surprised that David still wishes to be part of the SAVE committee. David and Ruth hope others won't be as judgemental but they've already had a beef order cancelled - thanks to Susan spreading word of the sale.
Lynda encourages Helen in her role as Ruth in Blithe Spirit but Alice is critical of Lynda's portrayal of Mme Arcati and can't accept Lynda's dark interpretation of this light comedy.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b04tj382)
Sarah Waters; Racial Diversity in the Arts; Mike Scott of the Waterboys; Museums on Film
Author Sarah Waters has followed her gothic novel The Little Stranger with her first play which is also a ghost story that aims to spook audiences. She discusses working with experimental theatre-maker Christopher Green to devise a play in which all is not as it seems.
Mike Scott of The Waterboys discusses the band's new album Modern Blues, and explains why it was important for the band to record it in Nashville.
Dawn Walton, Director of Eclipse Theatre Company and Tom Morris, Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic, give their response to today's speech by Peter Bazalgette, Chair of Arts Council England, in which he urges racial diversity and inclusion across the board in arts institutions.
Two new documentaries lift the lid on the action behind the scenes at two of the world's most well-known art museums - the National Gallery in London and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Sarah Crompton asks whether museums and galleries make good subjects for films.
Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Olivia Skinner.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b04th9fb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 Afghan Women: Speaking Out, Losing Lives (b04tj384)
Afghan Women: Speaking Out, Losing Lives paints a vivid portrait of the everyday lives of girls and women at a turning point in Afghan history.
Lyse Doucet visits Kabul to see how the lives of Afghan girls and women have changed since the fall of the Taliban 13 years ago, and to hear concerns that these hard-won gains are already being threatened as the troops depart.
From female illiteracy to maternal mortality and sexual violence, Afghanistan is still one of the worst places on earth for women's rights.
Considerable advances have been made since the fall of the Taliban, as Lyse hears.
She speaks with Rula Ghani, whose very public profile as the new First Lady - the first First Lady in a generation - gives a sense of how women's opportunities are improving, at least in cities such as Kabul.
She visits the Rabia Balkhi Women's Hospital and the Zarghuna High School for Girls - the largest girls' school in the country. As doctors, midwives, new mothers, teachers, schoolgirls and one of the country's very few female rappers share their personal stories, she hears optimism about life in cities.
But these women also share their grave concerns.
Lyse hears shocking accounts of domestic violence and rape; the rapper, Paradise, shares the heart-breaking true story behind one of her songs; and Lyse chances upon an all too common instance of still-birth.
Additionally, the testimonies of three women who had shared their stories for a play specially commissioned by Amnesty International, and whom Lyse had hoped to meet, are read by the actor Olivia Colman, giving voice to the women who fear even today to speak out.
A timely portrait of Afghanistan from Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent
Producer : Beaty Rubens.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b04sxv2h)
Yemen's Swap Marriages
'I'll marry your sister if you marry mine. And if you divorce my sister, I'll divorce yours.' That is Yemen's 'Shegar', or swap marriage, an agreement between two men to marry each other's sisters, thereby removing the need for expensive dowry payments. But the agreement also states that if one marriage fails, the other couple must separate, too, even if they are happy.
BBC Arabic's Mai Noman returns to her native Yemen and hears the stories of two women who have loved and lost because of Shegar.
Nadia lives in the village of Sawan on the outskirts of the capital Sana'a with her family. She was married off at the age of twenty two and has three children. But because of her family's decision to marry her in the Shegar tradition she was forced to divorce when the other couple's marriage failed. Now she and her mother have to live with the stigma attached to divorce, and she only has limited access to her children, who remain with her ex-husband's family.
Nora and her brother Waleed had little say in marrying their cousins through Shegar. But when one marriage failed, hard choices had to be made by everyone. Mai asks why an old tradition that forces you to love only to force you to part, is still practised in Yemen.
Producer: Arlene Gregorius.
MON 21:00 Shared Planet (b04sv2gx)
Wildlife and Drought in East Africa
As East Africa gets hotter and drier livestock are increasingly being grazed inside wildlife reserves. Inevitably this leads to predation by big cats. What does the future hold for the pastoralists, wildlife and the way of life of the Samburu? Monty Don explores this increasingly difficult issue with a field report from Samburu where a severe drought is taking its toll. Climate change predictions show that conditions will get worse and wildlife experts discuss the challenges ahead for nature and people.
MON 21:30 Start the Week (b04th9f4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b04tcg76)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b04tj386)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
With Ritula Shah
The Dewani court case, food poverty in the UK, the growth of a small business culture and the Australian attitude to cycling helmets.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04tj8ny)
Mary Costello - Academy Street
Episode 1
A finely wrought and lyrical novel that recounts the life-span of a quiet and shy woman, Tess Lohan; from her childhood in 1940s rural Ireland, her emigration to New York in the early 1960s, becoming a single mother and raising her son in the 1970s and 1980s, right through to the present day.
Short-listed on publication for the Irish Book Awards, this beautifully evoked novel opens with Tess aged seven, trying to understand and come to terms with her mother's death.
Mary Costello grew up in County Galway. Her collection of short stories, The China Factory, was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award. Academy Street is her debut novel, about which J M Coetzee wrote: "With extraordinary devotion, Costello brings to life a woman who would otherwise have faded into oblivion."
Read by Niamh Cusack.
Written by Mary Costello.
Abridged by Kirsteen Cameron.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
MON 23:00 Mastertapes (b04tj8nt)
Series 4
Noel Gallagher (the A-Side)
John Wilson continues with the latest series of Mastertapes, in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 9, A-side. 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' with Noel Gallagher
In 2009 Noel Gallagher left Oasis - one of the seminal bands of the Britpop era with seven multi-platinum albums including: 'Definitely Maybe', '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' and 'Be Here Now' - which became the fastest selling album in UK chart history. Two years later Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds also went to Number 1 in the UK with tracks like "Everybody's On the Run", "AKA... What A Life!" and "The Death of You and Me". Praised for its psychedelic tinges and eternal themes of love, loss and hope, it's been described as the best collection of songs "since his Morning Glory days".
With tracks inspired by New Orleans ragtime rhythms and Ennio Morricone-like strings, it put paid to rumours that its creator entered into a state of inertia after the end of Oasis. Noel Gallagher said of the album: "I won't criticize anything about Oasis because I loved being in that band and I was in charge of it, but there was always the feeling: how will this go down in Wembley, with 70,000 people braying for good times? This time I didn't have to think about that. I've got a guy playing wine glasses on one song, a saw on another. This is not Oasis."
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04tj8p0)
Sean Curran hears ministers respond to accusations that the poor are being left to go hungry. MPs accuse PriceWaterhouseCoopers of selling tax avoidance schemes on 'an industrial scale'. And more fears about fracking.
Editor: Peter Mulligan.
TUESDAY 09 DECEMBER 2014
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b04tcg87)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b04th9f6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04tcg89)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04tcg8c)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04tcg8f)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b04tcg8h)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04v1vs7)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Dr Calvin Samuel.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b04tjdld)
Milk in biodigesters, Healthy broccoli, Eblex videos, Scottish food
With the price farmers get for milk still falling, a farm accountant asks whether there could be a market for milk as a product to go into anaerobic digesters. Anna Hill hears from him, and puts the question to an expert from a company which builds digesters which generate energy from liquid bio-waste produced in brewing, food and dairy processing. Is it financial viable to use milk to produce energy? And would it even be ethical?
There's a new source of help for farmers wanting practical advice about caring for livestock: an online TV channel which was set up earlier this year by the English Beef and Lamb Executive, the levy board for the beef and lamb industry. It operates via YouTube, and over the last six months it's doubled its viewers.
A new centre which aims to help food producers in Scotland benefit from academic research will open in Edinburgh later today. The Scottish Centre for Food Development & Innovation will be launched at Queen Margaret University.
As Farming Today continues its week-long look at brassicas, we hear about the research which shows that eating broccoli could help protect against heart disease and some forms of cancer.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Emma Campbell.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04sym21)
Black Chinned Hummingbird
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the North American black chinned hummingbird. What seems to be a large green beetle is flying erratically across a Los Angeles garden: suddenly, it hovers in mid-air to probe a flower bloom; this is a black-chinned hummingbird. Although often thought of as exclusively tropical, a few species of hummingbirds occur widely in North America and in the west; the Black-chinned hummingbird is the most widespread of all. Both sexes are glittering emerald above: the male's black throat is bordered with a flash of metallic purple, which catches the sun. Black-chinned "hummers" are minute, weighing in at just over 3 grams. But they are pugnacious featherweights seeing off rival males during intimidation flights with shrill squeals, whilst remarkably beating their wings around 80 times a second. They'll also readily come to artificial sugar-feeders put out by householders to attract these flying jewels to their gardens.
TUE 06:00 Today (b04tjdlg)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Reith Lectures (b04tjdlj)
Dr Atul Gawande: The Future of Medicine
The Problem of Hubris
Surgeon and writer Atul Gawande calls for a new approach to the two great unfixable problems in life and healthcare - ageing and death. He tells the story of how his daughter's piano teacher faced up to terminal cancer and the crucial choices she made about how to spend her final days. He says the teacher was only able to do this because of an essential honesty from her physicians and the people around her. Dr. Gawande argues that the common reluctance of society and medical institutions to recognise the limits of what professionals can do can end up increasing the suffering of patients towards the end of life. He proposes that both doctors and individuals ask a series of simple but penetrating questions to decide what kind of treatment is appropriate - or whether treatment is appropriate at all. And he praises the values of the hospice movement, in putting quality of life before prolonging life.
The programme was recorded at The Royal Society in Edinburgh in front of an audience.
The Reith Lectures are introduced and chaired by Sue Lawley and produced by Jim Frank.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b04ttzpx)
Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography
Episode 2
During the glittering 1920s and 30s, Elsa Schiaparelli was the undisputed Queen of Fashion. Everyone who was anyone, from Vivien Leigh to the Duchess of Windsor, entered her doors on the Place Vendôme and obediently wore whatever she instructed.
Her clothes were beautifully made, but they were also designed in a manner no one had seen before - buttons that looked like butterflies, mermaids or carrots, trompe l'oeil pockets that looked like lips, gloves with red nails appliquéd on them. She was unique.
Born into a prominent Italian family, she moved to London and married a supposed Polish count who, it transpired, was really a French con-man. His deportation during the First World War saw them move to New York, where he abandoned Schiaparelli and their baby daughter. Undaunted, she picked herself up, moved to Paris and launched her meteoric career, surviving the Second World War despite being under suspicion of spying from both sides.
Her story is one of pluck and determination, talent and great imagination. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at the time. And her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Alberto Giacometti, elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art.
Reader: Abigail Thaw
Written by Meryle Secrest
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04tjdll)
What's wrong with being 'girly'?; The reality of part-time work on low pay; Zoe Williams on modern parenting
What are the realities of part-time working at low pay? Can you still get promoted when you're part time? Jane Garvey is joined by Senior Equality Policy Officer with the TUC, Sally Brett and the Executive Director of Adnams, Karen Hester to find out what is it really like on flexible hours. Dame Judi Dench turns 80 today; we celebrate with a Woman's Hour Archive interview from 1967. Chef Margarita Arronte cooks the perfect enchiladas. Zoe William's discusses her new book "The Madness of Modern Parenting", which explores why today's parents make such an almighty fuss about everything from breastfeeding to education, and we ask what's wrong with our daughters wanting to be 'girly'?
Producer: Laura Northedge.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b04tjdln)
Writing the Century: My Greenham
Episode 2
Writing the Century - My Greenham
By Fiona Evans
The series which explores the 20th century through the diaries and correspondence of real people. Using the 1980's Greenham Common diaries of Ginette Leach this is a funny and moving coming of age story of a 50-year-old suburban housewife. Ginette discovers her husband John is having an affair, and she begins one herself, with a woman at Greenham Common. She also experiences cutting the perimeter fence at Greenham for the first time: An exhilarating and terrifying experience.
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.
TUE 11:00 Shared Planet (b04tjdlq)
Orangutans and Drones
Orang-utans live in the peat rainforests of Malaysia and Indonesia. It can be tough terrain to travel through on foot so studying and surveying wild orang-utans is difficult and dangerous. Can drones help to answer questions about the number and distribution of the 'people of the forest' and monitor illegal logging of this endangered ape's habitat? This week Shared Planet explores the potential of drones to help us share the planet with orang-utans - but also explores the possible pitfalls of using this controversial technology.
TUE 11:30 Soul Music (b04tjdls)
Series 19
La Boheme
"La Boheme is a work of genius, for me it's the perfect opera. There's not a bar or a word or anything you'd want to alter. It just gets to you" - Opera Director John Copley CBE.
For the final programme in this series of Soul Music, we venture back into the Parisian winter of Puccini's beloved 'La Boheme' where legendary Opera Director John Copley CBE reflects on his 40 years of bringing this tale of friendship, love and loss to the stage of the Royal Opera House. Alongside his memories of sharing pasta with a young Pavarotti we hear the stories from those whose lives have been touched by - and often reflect - the essence of this most popular of operas.
From the romantic gesture of a probationary constable serenading his soon to be bus conductress wife in 1950's Torquay to the moment that a devoted husband passed away - La Boheme has touched the lives of opera lovers around the world.
Featuring interviews with author Mavis Cheek and opera devotees Ray Tabb and Nancy Rossi.
Produced by Nicola Humphries.
TUE 12:00 News Summary (b04tcg8k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 Home Front (b04tjdlv)
9 December 1914 - Ivy Layton
The Pleasure Gardens Theatre in Folkestone prepares for its variety show...
Written by: Sarah Daniels
Directed and produced by: Lucy Collingwood
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b04tjdlx)
Call You and Yours: Are you struggling with the cost of living?
Wages have been growing below the rate of inflation since 2008, according to the Office of National Statistics.
So what has it meant for you?
Are you cutting back and changing your habits? Has it meant real hardship if you're not able to work?
The ONS gives the average national salary as £27,200 per year, but is that average way beyond the reality for you, despite working every hour you can?
Or perhaps you're prepared to admit that the cost of living hasn't really affected you - whether it's through luck, hard work or budgeting?
Tell us your experience - email youandyours@bbc.co.uk
Phone lines open at
11am on Tuesday - 03700 100 444
Presenter: Louise Minchin
Producer: Joel Moors.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b04tcg8m)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b04tjdlz)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
TUE 13:45 Manchester: Alchemical City (b04tlzh4)
The Golden Sewer
Jeanette Winterson presents her personal exploration of the city of Manchester, from its Celtic roots to the present day and beyond. She takes to the streets of the city to tell the stories of the disparate groups and events which formed this combative and insubordinate urban centre.
Jeanette grew up in Accrington in Lancashire and regards the city of Manchester as always influencing, always transforming - an alchemical place.
The sounds of Manchester, past and present, are woven between her words and thoughts.
Episode 2: The Golden Sewer.
From the site of the world's first passenger railway station, we journey by rail and canal into the land of Cottonopolis.
Written and Presented by Jeanette Winterson
Produced by Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b04tj380)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Jon Canter - The Dog (b04tjdxx)
Richard Wilson stars as Fraser McDonald, a counsellor trying to save a marriage on its last legs.
Jon Canter's hilarious comedy features Charlie and Apples – two people who started off as boss and secretary and have ended up as adversaries on the cusp of murder. With over thirty years of experience, has Fraser finally come up against the one couple in a million who couldn't be helped?
When he's not trying to help people, Fraser likes to spend time with the love of his life - Grace, a golden retriever. Their relationship is as simple as it is loving, with a deep understanding that seems to evade most humans. Fraser would be lost without her.
The theatre version was first performed at Frinton Summer Theatre 2014.
Cast:
Fraser.........Richard Wilson
Apples........Jasmine Hyde
Charlie........Patrick Marlowe
Directed by Edward Max
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:00 The Design Dimension (b04tjdxz)
Series 2
For Better or Worse
Tom Dyckhoff considers the digital future of design. He examines Daan Roosegaarde's "Smart Highway" initiative- building interactive and sustainable roads- looks at an android phone-based diagnostic eye examination for use in remote locations, and talks to Dominic Wilcox about the integration of craft and computer technology in his driverless car.
Produced by Alan Hall and Hana Walker-Brown
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Mastertapes (b04tjf5g)
Series 4
Noel Gallagher (the B-Side)
John Wilson continues with his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 10, the B-side. Having discussed the making of 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds', his first studio album since leaving Oasis (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 8th December and available online), Noel Gallagher responds to questions from the audience, performs acoustic live versions of some of the tracks from the album and looks forward to his next musical project "Chasing Yesterday" due out in 2015.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
TUE 16:00 Trauma Medicine (b04tjfsy)
Trauma at War
In the second of two programmes exploring the evolution of trauma medicine, Dr Kevin Fong travels to Afghanistan to meet the medical teams in Camp Bastion and discovers how the hospital there has become the most successful trauma centre in the world - saving the lives of servicemen and women who, in the past, would never have survived their horrific injuries.
They call them "The Unexpected Survivors". The casualties from the war in Afghanistan whose injuries were so severe that they weren't expected to survive, but who survived nevertheless. And since 2009, the number of those survivors has increased to such a level that the standard tools for measuring or scoring trauma injuries as a means of predicting survival, no longer apply. This is part of the medical legacy of ten years in Afghanistan. But how did that come about? And what lessons can be passed on to help casualties in civilian hospitals in the UK and around the world?
Kevin Fong begins at RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, where, with unique access, he joins medical teams on a week-long training course for MERT - the Medical Emergency Response Team service that operates from a Chinook helicopter in Camp Bastion. More than just an air ambulance, the MERT is a mobile resuscitation unit, flying nurses, paramedics and for the first time in modern warfare, doctors right into the heart of battle to rescue and treat casualties soon after injury.
One of those is doctors is Surgeon Commander Dr Kate Prior who first trained to go ou to Afghanistan in 2009 when the fighting was at its fiercest: "it was busy, we knew it was busy and the MERT was going out several times a day. We we were seeing an awful lot of amputations, patients who'd lost one leg, two legs, sometimes two legs and an arm. And so I knew what to expect. But nothing prepares you for the first real casualty that you see".
MERT is impressive but it is only one link in the chain of care so to discover how the system operates as a whole, earlier this year Kevin travelled to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan with one of the last medical teams to deploy out there on Operation Herrick 19. Now as military medics return to the UK, can success on the front line translate to the emergency departments on the home front?
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b04tjft0)
Series 35
Arthur Smith on Emil Zátopek
Matthew Parris – himself current holder of the House of Commons marathon record time – meets comedian Arthur Smith, who also turns out to have been a runner when he was younger, and whose choice for a Great Life is an athlete whom he has admired since his childhood.
Emil Zátopek emerged onto the international stage in 1948 when he became a sensation at the Olympics in London, but it was his performance in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics which put him in the record books. Already an established distance runner, he bagged gold in the 5000 and 10000 metres and then, having previously given no hint that he would be a champion marathon runner, he also won that race.
The expert witness is Pat Butcher, writer and ex-runner, who is working on a biography of Zátopek, and he argues that no-one is likely ever to equal Zátopek's achievement in winning gold in three different distance events.
Zátopek retired from competitive running in 1957 and later fell heavily out of favour with the post- Dubcek regime in Czechoslovakia but was rehabilitated after 1989 and remains a much-cherished hero in Czech Republic and among the running community.
Producer Christine Hall.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
TUE 17:00 PM (b04tjft2)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04tcg8p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b04tjft4)
Series 2
Earning Your Corn
Tom's mum is not best pleased with Tom's dad.
He pressgangs her into helping out at a celebration he's planning to mark 168 years since the repeal of the Corn Laws ("Well, it'd be tempting fate to hold on for the bicentennary") and they've chosen the Toby Carvery as a suitable dining venue.
Meanwhile, Tom has decided to buy a flat in London, much to his gran's chagrin.
With Kate Anthony, Paul Copley and Judy Parfitt.
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle. With Miles Jupp.
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b04tjftl)
It's time to start plucking the turkeys. Clarrie can't wait for the time she doesn't have to do this job. Will turns up to help, and Ed thanks him for letting him and Emma rent 1, The Green. Will reminds him it's only temporary, and it's mainly for George. Will says an awkward 'good luck' to Ed and Emma for their marriage.
Will learns that Justin has invited all the local farmers to a shoot, and Ed will be going. Will's not looking forward to it.
Susan tells Will there's a proper actor playing the lead in Blithe Spirit - Douglas Herrington - so it should be good. Neil learns that the sale of Willow Cottage has fallen through, and it's back on the market.
Neil's been at Bridge Farm. There's no change in Tony. Tom seems to be keeping his head down and getting on with work. Susan wonders whether things could be awkward now Tom's back. Neil reminds her that Tony promised him a permanent job. He's manager of the pig unit.
Susan and Neil suggest Ed and Emma stay at Ambridge View until after Christmas but Emma can't wait. They move into 1, The Green, delighted to have their own front door, and their own place.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b04tjftn)
Christopher Jefferies Drama, Golden Age of Panto, Burrell Collection, Ghostwriting
With Kirsty Lang.
Roger Michell talks about his new ITV drama, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, about the retired teacher attacked by the press after being falsely suspected of killing Joanna Yeates in 2010.
As teenage 'vlogging' sensation, Zoella, becomes embroiled in a row over hiring a ghostwriter for her best-selling debut novel, Girl Online, we look at the rise of the scribes for hire.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall reviews new documentary film The Green Prince which won the Global Audience award at the Sundance Festival. It's the extraordinary story of the son of a founding leader in the Palestinian organization, Hamas, who becomes a spy for the Israelis.
Jeffery Richards talks about the Golden Age of Pantomime in Victorian England and explains how some of our finest panto traditions came about and have lasted.
Plus in the week that part of the Burrell Collection moves from Glasgow to London and then overseas, we find out about William Burrell - the man behind the extraordinary amassing of pieces like rare lace, carpets, Tudor furniture, as well as sculpture by Rodin and paintings by Manet, Cezanne and Degas.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b04tjdln)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 23 Amazing Reasons This Radio Programme Will Change Your Life (b04tjfvy)
A new wave of digital upstarts is transforming the business of journalism in weird and unusual ways. Maybe you've seen headlines like '19 Things You Didn't Know Cats Could Do' and 'Which Fictional Company Should You Actually Work At?' on top of highly sharable stories, often in the form of lists, designed to be shared on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.
Of all the news start-ups in recent years BuzzFeed has arguably received the most, well, buzz - but it's a crowded field with competitors including Vice, Mashable, Taboola and others.
As these outlets mature, grabby 'listacles' such as '32 Pictures You Need To See Before The World Ends' are increasingly being joined by hard news from the world's war zones and in-depth investigations and political features.
The trend towards sharing isn't just the domain of a few high-tech start-ups - as newspapers and the BBC get to grips with the digital era, they're increasingly looking at ways to get their stories to people through social media.
Mukul Devichand, presenter of BBC Trending, has been talking to some of the top names in the new news business, to find out what makes a story spread online, whether pictures of cats will always triumph over hard news, and what this all means for the future of journalism - established players and upstarts alike.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b04tjfx9)
Verity Smith; Blind Cookery Course
Verity Smith is a horsewoman, singer-songwriter and author and she joins Peter to talk about her life and her ambition to be in the Paralympic Dressage Team in Rio in 2016.
Tom Walker goes to Billingsgate and joins a cookery course for blind and partially-sighed people who try their hand at preparing a seafood meal.
Photograph: Verity Smith
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b04tjfxc)
Hoarding Disorder; Unfitness to Plead; Mood Phone Apps
Stockpiling possessions and collecting obsessively can tip into Hoarding Disorder, a condition recently recognised as a diagnosable mental health condition. Martin tells Claudia Hammond how his growing collection of cars, trucks and bikes awaiting "renovation" was growing out of control, and how a self help group for hoarders helped him to come to face up to his problem. NHS Clinical Psychologist Sophie Holmes describes the need for services to provide help and support for this often hidden group of people and tells Claudia about the success of the self help group set up with the Mary Francis Trust in Surrey in supporting those struggling with hoarding problems.
The test for whether somebody is fit to plead and face a criminal Crown Court trial in England and Wales dates back almost 200 years, and it's universally accepted that these ancient rules are hopelessly out of date and need urgent reform. Many are concerned that people with serious mental illness and intellectual disabilities are finding themselves in the dock, when they're not fit to stand trial, creating a real risk of miscarriages of justice. The Law Commissioner is putting the finishing touches to a new Report and Draft Bill that will go before parliament next year and Ronnie Mackay, Professor of Criminal Policy and Mental Health at Leicester's De Montfort Law School in Leicester tells Claudia why the current law isn't fit for use in the 21st Century.
Apps for smart phones and tablets that track our mood and our emotions is a growth area, but how many of the latest offerings are based on sound psychological principles, and could some do more harm than good? Clinical psychologist Lucy Maddox reviews a selection of these apps for All in the Mind (Headspace; Mindfulness in Schools; Mindshift; Dream:ON; Moodtracker; Thought Diary Pro; Mood Kit).
Producer: Fiona Hill.
TUE 21:30 Document (b04d1mrm)
The Hague Warning
When Rodney Dennys, a counter-intelligence officer working in the feverish atmosphere of The Hague in July 1939 received a phone call from a German agent working for the British and warning that Germany would invade Poland in just over seven weeks time, he insured the message was cyphered back to Britain immediately. In the event the warning was accurate to within days, in spite of a sustained belief that Hitler might still be placated.
Historian Heather Jones explores the document in which Rodney Dennys recalls his intelligence coup and the subsequent inaction of the British authorities. She asks why it was that the Foreign office and leading figures in the Joint Intelligence Committee failed to act on such a detailed warning and she finds out about the German agent, Wolfgang Zu Putlitz who gave it. It was the last in a long series of accurate intelligence reports he'd supplied by way of his link on the British side, a certain Klop Ustinov, father of the famous actor and playwright, Peter.
The programme examines the state of the British intelligence community at the time, the split between appeasers and those who distrusted every German move and why this Document and the later Venlo incident in which two British intelligence officers walked into a trap laid by the Germans, was a Secret Intelligence Crisis.
TUE 21:58 Weather (b04tcg8r)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b04tjg2l)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04tjg2n)
Mary Costello - Academy Street
Episode 2
Mary Costello's finely wrought debut novel tracing the arc of a quiet and sensitive woman's life - from Tess Lohan's childhood in 1940s rural Ireland through to her emigration to America and a career as a nurse in New York.
"The house is too quiet now." Seven-year-old Tess flounders in the aftermath of her mother's death.
Read by Niamh Cusack
Written by Mary Costello
Abridged by Kirsteen Cameron
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron
TUE 23:00 Yes, Nina Conti Really Is on the Radio (b01sm78h)
Not since Educating Archie, more than 50 years ago, has a ventriloquist had a show on the radio. Nina Conti is Britain's leading vent and has been all round the world with her puppet Monkey, Gran, Dog and others. Not only is Nina an expert at her craft, she demonstrates that she can think on her feet, chatting to the audience and her two guests: physicist Jim Al-Khalili and Wagner from X Factor. She also invites her audience to bring puppets of their own, which she brings magically to life. This is a celebration of the ancient craft, and a chance to hear one of Britain's funniest women at the top of her game.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04tjg6z)
The Lib Dem Treasury minister, Danny Alexander, criticised Conservative economic policy from the despatch box during Treasury questions. MPs begin a detailed look at government plans for counter-terrorism. And in the Lords, peers ask when Pacer trains are to be replaced. Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.
WEDNESDAY 10 DECEMBER 2014
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b04tcg9r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b04ttzpx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04tcg9t)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04tcg9w)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04tcg9z)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b04tcgb1)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04v1w0w)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Dr Calvin Samuel.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b04tlfrm)
Badger Cull, Countrywide, Sprouts
Why support from vets for the Government's controversial badger cull is faltering. We hear from John Backwell, President of the British Veterinary Association. He says that the BVA still supports "targeted humane culling of wildlife reservoirs" as part of controlling Bovine Tuberculosis, but leaked minutes from its Ethics and Welfare Committee showed that some members felt the "fragile consensus" supporting badger culling no longer exists.
One of the UK's leading suppliers of products and services to the rural community has announced it's no longer going to be selling seed or livestock feed in bulk, and it's cutting its staff by 10 percent. Countrywide Farmers is selling off its dairy, nutrition and agronomy divisions to its competitors. Their Chief Executive John Hardman tells Anna Hill why the growth in the size of farms meant they wanted to buy in bulk, and they Countrywide weren't able to compete.
The sprout industry in the UK is estimated to be worth more than £50M a year - most of which is made in just a few weeks around Christmas, when normal production has to increase ten-fold. All this week, we're exploring the world of brassicas, and the Brussels sprout has a special place, because it is specifically grown for our Christmas dinners. I've been to meet John Mason at one of the country's largest growers, Lincolnshire Field Products, which has about 7 thousand acres of brassicas.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Mark Smalley.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04symph)
Northern Jacana
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the northern jacana at home in Central American wetlands. A cross between a coot and a plover, northern Jacanas are found in swamps in Central America and Mexico. They're long legged birds with a black head and neck, and a chestnut body with yellow highlights. And, northern jacanas are polyandrous; the females have more than one partner. Males build platforms of floating vegetation and attract females by calling or posturing. If a female mates with a male, he may use his platform as a nest for her eggs. The female doesn't care for the eggs, but goes in search of up to three other mates. The result is that a single female may have several males raising different clutches of eggs for her and each clutch may contain the eggs of more than one male!
WED 06:00 Today (b04tlfrq)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b04tlfrs)
Ian McMillan; Victoria Tennant; Mike Vass; Linda Marlowe
Libby Purves meets poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan; actors Linda Marlowe and Victoria Tennant and musician Mike Vass.
Ian McMillan is a poet and broadcaster. He is poet-in-residence for The Academy of Urbanism and Barnsley FC and presents The Verb on BBC Radio 3. He has been commissioned to write a new poem based on the Christmas Truce International Tournament for young footballers to honour the football games that took place on the Western Front in 1914. His poem The Game: Christmas Day 1914 was inspired by the ideas and images that young players suggested after visiting the battlefields in Belgium.
Victoria Tennant is an actor. She has written a biography of her mother Irina Baronova, prima ballerina for the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo in the 1930s and 1940s. The book charts Irina's escape from Petrograd after the Russian Revolution and her recruitment to the Ballets Russes by the legendary choreographer George Balanchine. She danced her first Swan Lake at 14 and performed the leads in all the company's classics. Irina Baronova and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo is published by the University of Chicago Press.
Mike Vass is a Scottish musician and composer who was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2013 and became seriously ill. During his recovery Mike read Off in a Boat by Scottish writer Neil Gunn about his sailing trip around the west coast of Scotland in 1937. Mike recreated Neil Gunn's journey in May 2014 and In the Wake of Neil Gunn, the album inspired by his voyage, is released on Unroofed Records.
Linda Marlowe is an actor and director who is starring in Miss Havisham's Expectations as the jilted bride from the Dickens novel. In the play Miss Havisham invites the audience to hear her side of the story with all its twists and turns. Linda worked with actor and director Steven Berkoff for over 25 years, appearing in many of his productions including Decadence, The Trial and Metamorphosis. Miss Havisham's Expectations is at Trafalgar Studios.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b04tv039)
Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography
Episode 3
During the glittering 1920s and 30s, Elsa Schiaparelli was the undisputed Queen of Fashion. Everyone who was anyone, from Vivien Leigh to the Duchess of Windsor, entered her doors on the Place Vendôme and obediently wore whatever she instructed.
Her clothes were beautifully made, but they were also designed in a manner no one had seen before - buttons that looked like butterflies, mermaids or carrots, trompe l'oeil pockets that looked like lips, gloves with red nails appliquéd on them. She was unique.
Born into a prominent Italian family, she moved to London and married a supposed Polish count who, it transpired, was really a French con-man. His deportation during the First World War saw them move to New York, where he abandoned Schiaparelli and their baby daughter. Undaunted, she picked herself up, moved to Paris and launched her meteoric career, surviving the Second World War despite being under suspicion of spying from both sides.
Her story is one of pluck and determination, talent and great imagination. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at the time. And her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Alberto Giacometti, elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art.
Reader: Abigail Thaw
Written by Meryle Secrest
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04tlfrv)
Harriet Harman; New Generation Fashion Dolls, Malala Yousafzai; MC Beaton
Harriet Harman on Labour's plans to attract women voters. Will new designs for more realistic fashion dolls appeal to children? Belinda Parmar, CEO of Lady Geek, and psychologist Amanda Gummer discuss. Crime writer M C Beaton on her journey from Glasgow bookseller, through Fleet Street journo, to one of UK's most borrowed authors with her detective heroine Agatha Raisen. Malala Yousafzai today collects her the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 in Oslo, a joint winner with Kailash Satyarthi "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education". She talked to Jane about her campaigning and her new life in Birmingham.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b04tlfrx)
Writing the Century: My Greenham
Episode 3
Writing the Century - My Greenham
By Fiona Evans
The series which explores the 20th century through the diaries and correspondence of real people. Using the 1980's Greenham Common diaries of Ginette Leach this is a funny and moving coming of age story of a 50-year-old suburban housewife. Change is afoot: Ginette comes out to her son, helps to pull down whole swathes of fencing at Greenham Common, and applies to university.
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b04tlfrz)
Carly - Talking to My Stillborn Son
Fi Glover introduces a mother who gave birth a year ago, knowing that her child had died, and who now talks to him about how much he continues to be present in her life.
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 How To Hire A Master (b04tlfs1)
Jolyon Jenkins looks into the mysterious world of the head-hunter.
Head-hunters deal in high-value, high-profile appointments, charging an equally high fee. But few companies or individuals like to openly acknowledge their work.
Why would a company need outside consultants to search its own backyard, as some do? These companies are often accused of such exclusivity that they neglect talented potential candidates - many of whom lie outside the so called inner circle, who may be female or from non-traditional backgrounds. What do they really do for the money aside from calling round a small group of the usual suspects?
Headhunting is often seen as expensive, manipulative and secretive 'an unscrupulous business of networks and address books, lunches and cajolery'. This, in part, because the hunting has to be imperceptible except to the hunted.
But this is not the whole picture. Are there wider benefits to be gained from a head-hunter's research?
Jolyon Jenkins follows academic head-hunter Helen Yallop as she searches for a Master for an Oxbridge college, and gains a a fascinating insight into a hidden world.
Presenter...Jolyon Jenkins
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
WED 11:30 Hobby Bobbies (b04tlfs3)
Series 2
Blackmail
A little bit of murky police history comes back to haunt the Haling squad. Will the stench of corruption overpower the whiff of lager at the inter-force darts tournament?
Sitcom where Britain's longest serving PCSO -and Britain's laziest - make quite a pairing.
Written by Dave Lamb (the voice of Come Dine With Me) and starring Richie Webb (Horrible Histories), Nick Walker, Chris Emmett and Noddy Holder.
Geoff...............Richie Webb
Nigel...............Nick Walker
The Guv..........Sinead Keenan
Nina................Pooja Shah
Bernie.............Chris Emmett
Geoff's Dad.....Noddy Holder
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2014.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b04tcgb3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Home Front (b04tlfs5)
10 December 1914 - Victor Lumley
The Graham family welcome a charming visitor.
Written by: Sarah Daniels
Directed and produced by: Lucy Collingwood
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b04tlfs7)
Oculus Rift; Heating Oil; Bailiff Trouble
For around 40 years computer games have been played roughly the same way. You plug a console into a screen. But the technology giant Facebook has spent $2bn on what it thinks may be the next frontier - Oculus Rift - a virtual reality headset which places you inside the action. The big bad villain of this game though is motion sickness...
In April there are big changes coming to pensions, with new freedoms to take out money. We hear from the pensions head who warned a Westminster select committee that fraudsters trying to exploit the change have already come up with a host of new tactics.
And it's gone a bit chilly hasn't it? But in rural communities not being connected to the National Grid is a major source of fuel poverty. We talk to a man who wants to know why global oil prices may be dropping - but you don't see the difference if you use oil to heat your home.
Also, in February the regulator Ofgem revealed domestic energy firms that they were hanging on to customers' money to the tune of £400m, because our former providers store it when we switch or move house. Ofgem gave them a warning to get to work on giving it back. We find out how they plan to do it.
WED 12:57 Weather (b04tcgb5)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b04tlfs9)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
WED 13:45 Manchester: Alchemical City (b04tlz05)
Politics
Jeanette Winterson presents her personal exploration of the city of Manchester, from its Celtic roots to the present day and beyond. She takes to the streets of the city to tell the stories of the disparate groups and events which formed this combative and insubordinate urban centre.
Jeanette grew up in Accrington in Lancashire and regards the city of Manchester as always influencing, always transforming - an alchemical place.
The sounds of Manchester, past and present, are woven between her words and thoughts.
Episode 3. Politics
Anti-slavery protests, Peterloo, the Manchester Guardian, and mill workers 'pulling the plug out'. An exploration of radical Manchester - the city where Marx and Engels sat together and where Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney challenged with questions on Votes for Women.
Written and Presented by Jeanette Winterson
Produced by Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b04tjftl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b04tlfsf)
The Sound of Roses
by Adrian Penketh.
A dark thriller set in France, written in French and English.
Alice teaches business English near Grenoble. When Serge asks her for a late night English lesson, there's no way she could have guessed what he was planning...
A tense, fast-moving story about two people who've come adrift from their lives in a sea of globalisation.
Directed by Abigail le Fleming
The Writer
Adrian Penketh is an actor turned writer. His debut play for radio, The Waterbucks, was nominated for the Richard Imison Award. His other plays include: Onysos the Wild; The Road to Calvary; A Man Cut in Slices; A Special Kind of Dark; The Mouse House, an adaptation of Maupassant's Une Vie and a modern adaptation of Balzac's The Wild Ass's Skin, which was runner-up for the Prix Italia in 2011. He lives in France.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b04tlfsh)
Tracing Lost Assets
Have you lost track of an old pension fund, insurance policy, current or savings account? Call 03700 100 444 between
1pm and
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now.
Around £20bn worth of unclaimed assets are held by UK financial institutions, including millions of pounds in forgotten bank and building society accounts, unpaid insurance policies, lost pensions and premium bonds.
So how do you find out if any of this money is yours?
Who do you approach and what happens if the company which looked after your money no longer exists?
Are there time limits for making a claim and how long will it take to get a result?
Will you have to pay or can you search free of charge?
Perhaps you've tried to trace a lost account without success and need some help to solve the problem?
Whatever your question or experience let us know. Paul Lewis and guests will be here on Wednesday to help reunite you with your lost assets.
Joining Paul will be:
James Jones, Unclaimed Assets Register.
Fiona McEvoy, My Lost Accounts.
Michelle Cracknell, The Pensions Advisory Service.
Call 03700 100 444 between
1pm and
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Standard geographic charges apply. Calls from mobiles may be higher.
WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b04tjfxc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b04tlfsk)
After Redundancy - Global Payday Lending
Global payday loans: Laurie Taylor talks to Carl Packman, a researcher and writer, who has analysed the growth of a worldwide industry. Today there are more payday lender shops in the US than McDonald's restaurants. They cater mainly to those without access to mainstream credit and with no other option. But how did they evolve and proliferate? And what is their impact on the most financially vulnerable consumers? He's joined by Johnna Montogomery, an economist from Goldsmiths, London.
Also, redundancy at a Welsh aluminium plant. Tony Dobbins, Reader in Employment Studies at Bangor Business School, asks why re-training has failed to provide jobless workers with a fresh future.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b04tlfsm)
BBC3 plan; Press recognition panel
The BBC's plans to close BBC Three as a broadcast channel and re-invent it as online service in Autumn 2015 have been submitted to the BBC Trust. The proposals will generate savings of £50 million. Eighty percent of the new budget will be spent on long form programmes like 'Murdered by My Boyfriend' and twenty percent will go on non traditional content such as micro videos and listicles. Traditional genres like dramas and comedy will be replaced by the strands 'Make Me Think' and 'Make Me Laugh'. Alongside this, the BBC Executive also proposes launching a BBC One+1 channel, extending the hours for CBBC and enhancing BBC iPlayer. Danny Cohen, BBC Director of Television, explains the thinking behind BBC 3's new incarnation and Lis Howell, Director of Broadcasting at City University, gives her verdict on the proposals.
The Press Recognition Panel, created by the Royal Charter on self-regulation of the Press, came in to being last month. As recommended by the Leveson report, the recognition panel will decide whether or not any new system of press regulation measures up to the Royal Charter. However, the regulator IPSO,(the Independent Press Standards Organisation) to which the majority of newspaper and magazine publishers have signed up, has decided not to seek recognition. Following the Panel's first board meeting, where does it go from here? The panel's chair, barrister David Wolfe QC, joins Steve.
Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of The Guardian, has announced he will stand down from his current role at Guardian Media Group in the summer. Steve hears from the former editor of the Guardian Peter Preston.
Producer: Dianne McGregor.
WED 17:00 PM (b04tlfsp)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04tcgb7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Paul Sinha's History Revision (b04tlfsr)
Series 1
Music
Paul Sinha looks through all of human history and examines how we came to be where we are.
In this edition, he takes as his starting point Dolly Parton's standout performance at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival.
How did 120,000 people in a Somerset field, plus many millions more at home, come to be watching a 68-year-old woman from Tennessee on a Sunday afternoon?
The story inevitably takes in a Haitian rebellion, Slovenian hunting, Scottish whisky, Italian electronics and the American son of a Russian farmer who didn't like music. Because nothing and no-one exists in a vacuum.
Written and performed by Paul Sinha.
Producer: Ed Morrish.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b04tlfst)
Brian's surprised to get an invitation to the Estate Christmas party. Justin Elliot has also invited them, and other local farmers, to a day's shooting. Brian thinks it could be fun but Adam is cynical. He'll think about it.
Jennifer and Brian are off to Prague on Thursday. Jennifer is preparing meals for Ruairi, whom Alice and Christopher will be looking after.
Jim gives David his two-penn'orth about the sale of Brookfield. He's disappointed in David, whom he thought was a man of principle. David tries to reason with him.
At the SAVE meeting, David again fights his corner. Jim's been invited to a drinks party being held by the Borchester Local Enterprise Partnership. Justin doesn't know Jim, so it's an opportunity to mingle quietly, with a guest, and find out about the wider plans.
Brian discusses the future, now the plan to buy Brookfield has fallen through. The farm is currently supporting four households, five including Debbie, and it's not viable in the current climate. He thinks they need to sack Andy and Jeff and contract out their arable. Angry that Brian seems to be giving up on farming, Adam storms out. Brian can tell Justin Elliott to stuff his Christmas party and his shoot.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b04tlfsw)
Marco Polo; Behind the scenes at Nutcracker; Manakamana; The Christmas Truce in art
Historian Tom Holland delivers his verdict on a new TV drama series charting the life of adventurer Marco Polo.
As English National Ballet prepares to stage its Christmas stalwart, Nutcracker at the London Coliseum, Samira Ahmed visits the company's warehouse in Kent to meet the team behind the scenes.
With the approach of the centenary of the WWI Christmas truce on the Western Front, playwright Phil Porter, whose new play at the RSC dramatises the truce, and historian Emily Mayhew discuss how the remarkable events of the day have been represented in culture.
And Ryan Gilbey reviews a new documentary film Manakamana, shot entirely in a cable-car high above Nepal.
Producer Craig Smith.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b04tlfrx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b04tlfsy)
Reality TV
Michael Buerk is back from the jungle for the last in this series of the Moral Maze and so there can be only one subject - the morality of reality TV. Since appearing on our screens in the 1990's, most notably with Big Brother, "reality TV" has evolved into a global phenomenon with such a huge variety of programmes. Shows like the X-Factor and Strictly regularly top the ratings, but are they good for us? A key element for many is the deliberate humiliation and degradation of those taking part, with us the audience getting the opportunity to help dish out the pain via the phone vote. Terrific fun of course and people like Michael Buerk know what they're letting themselves in for and are well paid for taking part. But critics argue its contrived and even semi-scripted format glorifies and rewards the worst aspects of human nature that coarsens and brutalises our culture. They also claim its all-pervading presence has spawned a self-perpetuating cult of celebrity that has no relationship to talent or achievement. But do these criticisms really add up to anything more than patrician sneering at popular culture? Reality TV is a very mixed bag and its critics always conveniently ignore programmes like Jamie's Kitchen and Jamie's School Dinners - genuinely transformative and campaigning programmes that offered jobless youngsters the chance to train and lead a nationwide campaign to improve the quality of school meals. Studies also show that reality TV fans are very conscious of the extent to which they are watching performances; audiences enjoy debating the merits of participants and often uphold social values and punish poor behaviour. Does the seemingly unstoppable tide of reality TV reinforce or dilute society's moral fibre? The Moral Maze.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b04tlft0)
Series 4
Black in America
Professor Christina Greer asks what it means to be black in America today.
Speaking at McNally Jackson Books in New York City, Professor Greer describes herself as a 'JB' - 'just black' - a black American without a hyphenation. She argues that many new black immigrants into the United States are increasingly keen to avoid that designation, choosing instead to retain their accents, their citizenship or their separate identity.
She argues that this is caused by the poor status of black people in the United States, and asks whether it presages an historic change in what American immigration has meant: a nation where new immigrants do all they can to integrate, not to remain separate.
The presenter is Amanda Stern.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 Frontiers (b04tlft2)
Animal Personality
Professor Adam Hart explores the newest area in the science of animal behaviour - the study of personality variation within species as diverse as chimpanzees, wandering albatrosses, sharks and sea anemones. What can this fresh field of zoology tells us about the variety of personality among humans?
We are all familiar with the variety of temperament and character in the dog, Canis lupus familiaris, but this is the product of selective breeding by humans over generations.
A more surprising revelation is that up and down the animal kingdom, Nature favours a mix of personality types within a species. Oxford ornithologists working in nearby Wytham Woods have discovered that in a small bird species such as the Great tit, both bold and shy individuals prosper in different ways. The same applies to hermit crabs and sea anemones in the rock pools along the South Devon coast. In these creatures, scientists see a stripped down equivalent of the Extraversion-Introversion dimension of human personality. In sharks, researchers have discovered that there are sociable individuals and others who prefer their own company.
Human personality is generally tested with questionnaires. Animals have to be assessed by more indirect, arguably more objective methods. Techniques range from squirting rock pool creatures with syringes of water to pushing a blue spacehopper with a stick towards a nesting Wandering Albatross.
The commonest personality trait identified so far in non-human animals is Extraversion-Introversion. In primates, personality variation is more multidimensional. Psychologists have agreed on five fundamental dimensions of human personality - Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. Among different monkey and ape species, primatologists have documented variation in 3 or more of these traits. In fact, in chimpanzees, they have discovered the Big Five plus an additional personality dimension which we humans lack, fortunately.
Adam Hart asks if how relevant the recent discoveries in animal personality research are to understanding the nature of personality in people, and whether this is an aspect of human nature which is still undergoing evolution.
Adam Hart is an evolutionary ecologist and Professor of science communication at the University of Gloucestershire.
Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker.
Image credit: Nicole Milligan
WED 21:30 Midweek (b04tlfrs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b04tcgbg)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b04tlft4)
Should former Bush administration and CIA officials be prosecuted for torture ? We hear from the UN special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez.
The theory that the water on earth came from comets has been dealt a blow by results from the Rosetta mission. Heather Couper joins us live
One new resident of Detroit tells us of her hopes for the future as the city emerges - finally - from bankruptcy.
plus - the climate change conference in Lima
sexual health in Pakistan.
and the different ways celebrities try to avoid being recognised when they check into hotels.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective. With Ritula Shah.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04tlft6)
Mary Costello - Academy Street
Episode 3
Mary Costello's acclaimed debut novel - nominated for the Irish Book Awards - traces the arc of a quiet woman's life: from Tess Lohan's childhood in 1940s rural Ireland through to her emigration to America and a career as a nurse in New York.
Life continues for the Lohan family, baby Oliver returns home and Tess is sent away to boarding school. Years pass and then Tess's beloved sister Claire is invited to go out to America and it seems that things will never be the same again.
Read by Niamh Cusack
Written by Mary Costello
Abridged by Kirsteen Cameron
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron
WED 23:00 The Lach Chronicles (b04tlft8)
Series 2
Drinking Beers With Mom
Lach was the King of Manhattan's East Village and host of the longest running open mic night in New York. He now lives in Scotland and finds himself back at square one, playing in a dive bar on the wrong side of Edinburgh.
His notorious night, held in various venues around New York, was called the Antihoot. Never quite fitting in and lost somewhere lonely between folk and punk music, Lach started the Antifolk movement. He played host to Suzanne Vega, Jeff Buckley and many others. He discovered and nurtured lots of talent including Beck, Regina Spektor and the Moldy Peaches - but nobody discovered him.
The road to success has many distractions, particularly on the journey through rock and roll. As an outsider, Lach didn't know what he was missing until a fateful night on the New Jersey border opened his eyes to the possibilities of the universe, the appeal of the Dark Side of the Moon and the high school house party.
Producer: Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2014.
WED 23:15 Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme (b01dtxh1)
Series 1
Work
In the last of the series, Tim's laid on a final episode treat: A professional musician will accompany him as he tackles the thorny issue of 'work'. Tom Basden is also present.
Written and presented by Tim Key
With Tom Basden & Isy Suttie
Producer: James Robinson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2012.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04tlftb)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster.
THURSDAY 11 DECEMBER 2014
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b04tcgcm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b04tv039)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04tcgcp)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04tcgcr)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04tcgct)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b04tcgcw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04v1xk7)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Dr Calvin Samuel.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b04tlggt)
Women Farmers, Brassicas, Quinoa Beer
A third of women living and working in the countryside in Europe are suffering violence and intimidation. The statistic was revealed at a conference of the women's committee of Copa Cogeca - an organisation which brings together 60 EU farming organisations. Sybil Ruscoe also hears about calls for brewers to use less water. One idea discussed at a UN climate change event was to use alternative crops like quinoa instead of barley, because it needs less water.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04symwf)
Marabou Stork
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the gaunt undertaker looking marabou stork in Africa. It is not very scientific to describe a bird as ugly, but the marabou stork would not win any prizes for beauty or elegance. This bulky stork, with a funereal air, has a fleshy inflatable sac under its throat which conspicuously wobbles as it probes African rubbish dumps for carrion. Seemingly more at home amongst the melee of vultures and jackals squabbling over a carcass, it is known in some areas as the undertaker bird. But, in the air the marabou stork is an elegant sight. It has one of the largest wingspans of any bird, up to 3 metres across. Soaring effortlessly on these broad wings the storks scan the sub-Saharan landscape for food. Marabou storks are doing well, thanks to our throwaway society and they've learned to connect people with rubbish – a salutary association one might say.
Producer : Andrew Dawes
THU 06:00 Today (b04tljjy)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b04tljk0)
Behavioural Ecology
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Behavioural Ecology, the scientific study of animal behaviour.
What factors influence where and what an animal chooses to eat? Why do some animals mate for life whilst others are promiscuous? Behavioural ecologists approach questions like these using Darwin's theory of natural selection, along with ideas drawn from game theory and the economics of consumer choice.
Scientists had always been interested in why animals behave as they do, but before behavioural ecology this area of zoology never got much beyond a collection of interesting anecdotes. Behavioural ecology gave researchers techniques for constructing rigorous mathematical models of how animals act under different circumstances, and for predicting how they will react if circumstances change. Behavioural ecology emerged as a branch of zoology in the second half of the 20th century and proponents say it revolutionized our understanding of animals in their environments.
GUESTS
Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College London
Rebecca Kilner, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Cambridge
John Krebs, Principal of Jesus College at the University of Oxford
Producer: Luke Mulhall.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b04tv04x)
Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography
Episode 4
During the glittering 1920s and 30s, Elsa Schiaparelli was the undisputed Queen of Fashion. Everyone who was anyone, from Vivien Leigh to the Duchess of Windsor, entered her doors on the Place Vendôme and obediently wore whatever she instructed.
Her clothes were beautifully made, but they were also designed in a manner no one had seen before - buttons that looked like butterflies, mermaids or carrots, trompe l'oeil pockets that looked like lips, gloves with red nails appliquéd on them. She was unique.
Born into a prominent Italian family, she moved to London and married a supposed Polish count who, it transpired, was really a French con-man. His deportation during the First World War saw them move to New York, where he abandoned Schiaparelli and their baby daughter. Undaunted, she picked herself up, moved to Paris and launched her meteoric career, surviving the Second World War despite being under suspicion of spying from both sides.
Her story is one of pluck and determination, talent and great imagination. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at the time. And her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Alberto Giacometti, elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art.
Reader: Abigail Thaw
Written by Meryle Secrest
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04tljk2)
Cook the Perfect Christmas Dinner with Allegra McEvedy, Yotam Ottolenghi and Trine Hahnemann
Cook the Perfect Christmas Dinner with Allegra McEvedy, Yotam Ottolenghi and Trine Hahnemann. On the menu, roast goose with marmalade glaze, with golden breadcrumb and herb stuffing. Root mash with wine braised shallots and brussels sprouts with caramelised garlic and lemon peel and Scandinavian style rice pudding with hot cherry sauce.
Laura Bates is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, and features on our 2014 Powlerlist - Gamechangers. She'll be talking about the impact of the Project and how it's changed her outlook on life.
What's it like for the modern day keepers of stately homes - charged with keeping them pristine without a flotilla of maids at their disposal. We meet housekeeping supervisor, Karen Fryer from Leeds castle in Kent which dates back to the 13th century and is now open to the public.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b04tljk4)
Writing the Century: My Greenham
Episode 4
Writing the Century - My Greenham
By Fiona Evans
The series which explores the 20th century through the diaries and correspondence of real people. Using the 1980's Greenham Common diaries of Ginette Leach this is a funny and moving coming of age story of a 50-year-old suburban housewife. Ginette's sister Gina arrives from Canada because their mother has Cancer. She's appalled at Ginette's studenty dress and overall behaviour and insists on coming to Greenham to see what it's like for herself. Later, Ginette is arrested.
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b04tljk6)
Washington Redskins
Fans of the Washington Redskins, one of the most popular American football teams in the country, are fiercely proud of their dark crimson Indian head logo. They say it is a sign of respect and that the name 'Redskins' goes back 80 years. But to many Native Americans, the indigenous people who lived in the United States before the arrival of European settlers, the word Redskins is hateful. For them it's a painful reminder of how their people have been oppressed and neglected even to this very day.
Mike Wendling travels from North Dakota, to Minneapolis to Washington DC to explore the controversy which, thanks to social media and a growing number of Native American campaigners, has now become a burning national issue.
On the Turtle Mountain reservation, Mike meets Jordan Brien, a young hip-hop artist with a troubled past who is determined to get the name of the team changed. He says his people shouldn't be reduced to mascots, and he urges young Native Americans to take a stand against racism. His cause has got the support of some in the US Congress and even President Obama has said that if the name is offensive to a sizeable group of people, the owners should "think about changing it". But for diehard fans like Chap Petersen, who has been going to Redskins games for four decades, such a change is unthinkable. And the club's owner Daniel Snyder has vowed never to discard the name whatever the press, pollsters and politicians say.
THU 11:30 Blood, Sage and Grace (b04tljk8)
Lorna Sage's classic memoir, Bad Blood, is a story about how books can be passports out of the 'hell' of childhood. When Grace Dent first read it, it made a huge impact on her, forcing her to question her own childhood and her relationship with writing.
Exiled in a remote parish on the Welsh borders, Bad Blood tells the tale of a strange upbringing in a haunted postwar Britain. 'I've never read anything which explores, with such biting humour and energy, the way rage and frustrated desire are passed down the family line. I've always felt I have a great memoir in me but I'd have to wait for a lot of people to die before I could write it,' says Grace.
She visits the Shropshire vicarage where Bad Blood is set and talks to Lorna's daughter Sharon and to close friends and colleagues - including the writers Marina Warner and Ali Smith who describe what it was like to live with Lorna. Grace also meets Lorna's ex-husband Victor Sage, who describes how Lorna read constantly, 'She ate and read at the same time, without looking up, I had to get used to that when I married her.'
In the 1960s, Lorna became a Professor of English Literature at the University of East Anglia and established an international reputation as a critic, scholar and teacher with a dedication to women's writing. But she also inspired generations of students who came to UEA to listen to hear her voice.
Lorna was revered as a teacher - but her life story made her famous. Bad Blood won the Whitbread prize for biography in 2001, a triumph cruelly clouded by her death from emphysema a week later, aged 57.
Produced by Sarah Cuddon
A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b04tcgcy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Home Front (b04tljkb)
11 December 1914 - Isabel Graham
Despite the best of intentions, things don't go to plan for Reverend Winwood...
Written by: Sarah Daniels
Directed and produced by: Lucy Collingwood
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b04tljkd)
'Christmas' payday lenders; live music venues; unwanted charity freebies
PayDay Loan firms say new regulations facing the industry have led to a sudden proliferation of 'Christmas Pay Day Loan Companies' advertising online. The Consumer Finance Association says many of these companies are unregulated, and is warning people who are short of money this Christmas not to use them. The Money Advice Service says around 1.4 million people will turn to high-cost short-term loans this festive period.
Live music venues threatened with closure because of complaints about noise say the responsibility for sound proofing should rest with the new neighbours. The English folk-punk singer Frank Turner started out playing in so-called "toilet venues", and says their survival is vital for new musicians starting out.
Plus the unwanted freebie presents sent out by charities. Six years ago the rules were tightened to restrict how many gifts charities can send donors - so why do the pens, cards and coasters still keep coming? Winifred Robinson finds out.
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Natalie Donovan.
THU 12:57 Weather (b04tcgd0)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b04tlyx3)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
THU 13:45 Manchester: Alchemical City (b04tlyx5)
Music
Jeanette Winterson presents her personal exploration of the city of Manchester, from its Celtic roots to the present day and beyond. She takes to the streets of the city to tell the stories of the disparate groups and events which formed this combative and insubordinate urban centre.
Jeanette grew up in Accrington in Lancashire and regards the city of Manchester as always influencing, always transforming - an alchemical place.
The sounds of Manchester, past and present, are woven between her words and thoughts.
Episode 4: Music
The cotton had gone, the ship canal had gone, the money had gone. Then music arrived. From Herman's Hermits to Joy Division and The Smiths, making music that moved beyond the stereotype of the northern practical man.
Written and Presented by Jeanette Winterson
Produced by Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b04tlfst)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b01p9l1s)
Rumpole
Episode 1
By John Mortimer.
Adapted for radio by Richard Stoneman.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Timothy West star as the younger and elder Rumpole in this new story.
In 1964, Rumpole returns to Oxford, where he studied law, to defend a young gardener, Peter Vernon, accused of blackmailing the Master of St Joseph's College, Sir Michael Tuffnell.
Peter and Sir Michael had enjoyed a friendship that provoked rumours of homosexuality - still illegal in those days. Sir Michael has gone to the police alleging Peter was about to accuse him publicly of sodomy. Peter denies the charge and, indeed, is engaged to be married to his solicitor - a young woman by the name of Sue Galton. Rumpole sees through a plot to depose the Master and, sensing Peter's underlying honesty, he defends his client. But, in doing so, he's forced to re-assess the choices he's made in his career and his marriage to She Who Must Be Obeyed.
Director: Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b04tljkj)
Nature Reserves in Cumbria
Caz Graham visits two Nature Reserves in Cumbria to find out what happens on wildlife reserves in winter and meets the people working away to maintain these conservation areas.
It's cold outside: many birds have flown south for the winter and the smaller mammals have gone into hibernation, but there is still life to be found on nature reserves, if only in the form of teams of conservationists maintaining the area for next year's visitors.
Caz heads first to Foulshaw Moss, an expanse of peat bog that has been restored over the past decades to ensure the peat continues to grow and squelches her way around the wet habitat.
She then heads to Roudsea Nature Reserve to find a team at work preparing the woodland for the tiny, hibernating dormice that make the area their home.
Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b04tchw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Bookclub (b04tcxm4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b04tljkl)
Best Films of the Year, Danny Elfman on Tim Burton, ET, Nick Hornby, The Curse of the British Museum
With Francine Stock
Composer Danny Elfman talks about his long collaboration with director Tim Burton that's included Batman and Alice In Wonderland.
Nick Hornby recites all of the lyrics to the ABC's Minors Song, the theme tune to a kids club that showed cartoons and the work of the Children's Film Foundation.
Sound designer Ben Burtt reveals just how many elements went into the making of E.T.'s voice, including a few animals, a professor, and his wife snoring in bed.
Three Film Programme experts buy each other the perfect Christmas present - a DVD of what they consider the best film of the year: Under The Skin, The Grand Budapest Hotel and 20,000 Days On Earth
The Night At The Museum trilogy, about an Egyptian curse that brings relics to life, concludes in the British museum. It's an appropriate location, because the British Museum is itself the subject of an ancient Egyptian curse, as Professor Roger Luckhurst explains.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b04tlk96)
Water on Comets; DNA in Space; Sounds of the Ocean; Science in Fashion
Where does the Earth's water come from? It's thought that it arrived from space, carried by comets. But recent research suggests otherwise. Professor Katrin Altwegg is principal investigator in charge of Rosina - the tool on the recent Rosetta mission that is charged with answering this mystery.
DNA can survive a trip into space, according to a recent experiment. Dr Lewis Dartnell, an astrobiologist from Leicester University, explains the implications.
What sounds do the oceans make? Anand Jagatia reports. Dr Julius Piercy from the University of Essex listens to coral reefs. And his recent work could help us harness sounds to help restore damaged and dying coral reefs.
This week, the new Nobel laureates head to Stockholm to pick up their medals. Among them is Norwegian neuroscientist Professor May-Britt Moser. The question on nobody's lips; what was she wearing? Which is a shame because she wore a Matthew Hubble dress featuring Grid Cells - our brain's positioning system. Discovering these grid cells won May Britt her Nobel prize. Polymer scientist Professor Tony Ryan from University of Sheffield talks fashion and science with Adam Rutherford.
Producer: Beth Eastwood.
THU 17:00 PM (b04tlk9b)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04tcgd2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 My Teenage Diary (b04tlk9h)
Series 6
Oona King
Rufus Hound is joined by the Labour politician, Baroness Oona King. Through her diaries we discover her growing up from a roller-skating 11-year-old who wants a new hamster to a 19-year-old politics student who wants to be prime minister.
Produced by Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b04tlk9p)
Lynda's interview about Blithe Spirit is published in the Echo. Alice admits to Kenton that although she and Lynda are not seeing eye to eye on the production she's not going to give up.
Although Kenton jokes with David about him being the most unpopular man in the village, he does support David's decision. He believes people are just jealous. David admits he really agonised over whether to sell Brookfield. But now feels be hardly dare show his face any more.
After disagreeing with Brian over his farming styles and decisions, Adam confides in David that he is tempted to take a leaf out of David's book: jack it all in and make a fresh start somewhere else.
Jennifer checks on Pat before she and Brian head off to Prague. Later Jennifer tells Carol that Pat looks exhausted and isn't sleeping.
Jennifer enlists Carol to attend Justin's media Christmas drinks party with Jim. The aim is to do some undercover sleuthing on Justin and co, and see what information they can glean about potential developments.
Carol pops round to see Pat with a herbal sleeping draft of her own making. Pat confides that she's scared of losing Tony and can't face life without him.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b04tlk9s)
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn on Cats; Churchill's paintings; Jeff Kinney; Dolls' houses
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn discuss bringing their musical Cats back to London's West End.
Jessie Burton, award-winning author of The Miniaturist, and curator Alice Sage discuss the appeal of dolls' houses as a new exhibition Small Stories: At Home in a Dolls' House opens at The Museum of Childhood.
As the late Mary Soames' collection of personal objects is auctioned, Giles Waterfield reviews rarely-seen paintings by her father Winston Churchill.
Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, discusses painting a realistic portrait of childhood and why his protagonist never ages.
Producer: Ellie Bury
Presenter: Samira Ahmed.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b04tljk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b04tlk9v)
Private schools and public benefit
Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt has caused controversy by arguing that private schools that don't have partnerships with their state counterparts should lose their business rates relief. But how easy is it to discover what partnerships are happening? And do they do any good? Simon Cox investigates.
THU 20:30 In Business (b04tlk9z)
Cabin Fever
Cabin Fever
Finding your comfort zone can be difficult at 35,000 feet. As cash strapped carriers try to put more passengers on each plane, flyers are feeling the squeeze. But there are innovations and advancements being made in aircraft design and London is leading the way with a cluster of firms in this specialist market. Peter Day asks about the width and breadth of these changes and when they will start to make some difference to air travellers everywhere.
Producer: Sandra Kanthal.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b04tlk96)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b04tljk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b04tcgd4)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b04tlkb1)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04tlkp0)
Mary Costello - Academy Street
Episode 4
In this fine debut, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, Mary Costello recounts the life of Irish farmer's daughter, Tess, in a series of spare vignettes that are punctuated by beautifully evoked epiphanies.
In tonight's episode, set in 1962, Tess leaves Ireland behind to make a new life for herself in America, joining her beloved sister Claire in New York.
Read by Niamh Cusack
Written by Mary Costello
Abridged by Kirsteen Cameron
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron
THU 23:00 Another Case of Milton Jones (b0138xmh)
Series 5
Lorry Driver
Milton Jones is the king of the world of refrigerated haulage with his very own fleet of iced lorries. But his 1000th lorry contains a secret more deadly than one of his mum's famous all-day breakfasts..
He's joined in his endeavours by his co-stars Tom Goodman-Hill ("Camelot"), Dave Lamb ("Come Dine With Me") and Lucy Montgomery ("Down The Line").
Milton Jones returns to BBC Radio Four for an amazing 9th series - which means he's been running for longer than Gardeners' Question Time and answered more questions on gardening as well.
Britain's funniest Milton and the king of the one-liner returns with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes for a series of daffy comedy adventures
Each week, Milton is a complete and utter expert at something - brilliant Mathematician, World-Class Cyclist, Aviator, Championship Jockey...
... and each week, with absolutely no ability or competence, he plunges into a big adventure with utterly funny results...
"Milton Jones is one of Britain's best gagsmiths with a flair for creating daft yet perfect one-liners" - The Guardian.
"King of the surreal one-liners" - The Times
"If you haven't caught up with Jones yet - do so!" - The Daily Mail
Written by Milton with James Cary ("Think The Unthinkable", "Miranda"), the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton," returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.
The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill ( "Spamalot"), Lucy Montgomery ("Down The Line"), Dave Lamb ("Come Dine With Me") and Ben Willbond ("Horrible Histories")
David Tyler's radio credits include Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, Cabin Pressure, Bigipedia, Another Case Of Milton Jones, Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, The 99p Challenge, The Castle, The 3rd Degree and even, going back a bit, Radio Active. His TV credits include Paul Merton - The Series, Spitting Image, Absolutely, The Paul & Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan's Run, The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon and exec producing Victoria Wood's dinnerladies.
Produced & directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04tll4w)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.
FRIDAY 12 DECEMBER 2014
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b04tcgf2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b04tv04x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04tcgf4)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04tcgf6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04tcgf8)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b04tcgfb)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04v1y64)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Dr Calvin Samuel.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b04tlqzp)
Brassica research, Night-hawking, Oil prices, Holiday cottages
A research project at the University of Warwick aims to help plant breeders produce new strains of brassicas, which would be better able to survive without high inputs of pesticide and herbicide. Charlotte Smith talks to one of the research team about what the Defra-funded scheme hopes to achieve.
Oil prices are falling. The price of Brent crude has dropped forty per cent since the summer, standing now at just below $60 a barrel compared to $115 a barrel in the summer. What does this mean for farmers, with their reliance on the petrochemicals used in fertilisers, and the need for diesel for farm machinery?
The Christmas holidays bring opportunities for farmers to rent out cottages and barns over the festive break. At the Farm and Business Innovation Show in London's Olympia, Charlotte talks to two people who are involved in farm diversification in an area that has become big business.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Emma Campbell.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04syy3w)
Morepork
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the morepork or Ru-Ru, New Zealand's only surviving native owl. Strange double notes in the forests of New Zealand were once thought to be cries from the Underworld. But these calls are most likely to be that of a morepork calling. Its familiar call earned it the alternative Maori name of "ruru". Largely nocturnal, it has brown, streaky feathers and large bright yellow eyes which are well adapted for almost silent night hunting forays for large insects, spiders, small birds and mammals. In Maori mythology, moreporks, or "ruru" are spiritual birds, and can represent the ancestral spirit of a family, taking the form of a woman known as "Hine-Ruru" or "owl woman" who acts as a guardian, protecting and advising the family members.
FRI 06:00 Today (b04tlx6w)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b04tckjf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b04tv0pj)
Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography
Episode 5
During the glittering 1920s and 30s, Elsa Schiaparelli was the undisputed Queen of Fashion. Everyone who was anyone, from Vivien Leigh to the Duchess of Windsor, entered her doors on the Place Vendôme and obediently wore whatever she instructed.
Her clothes were beautifully made, but they were also designed in a manner no one had seen before - buttons that looked like butterflies, mermaids or carrots, trompe l'oeil pockets that looked like lips, gloves with red nails appliquéd on them. She was unique.
Born into a prominent Italian family, she moved to London and married a supposed Polish count who, it transpired, was really a French con-man. His deportation during the First World War saw them move to New York, where he abandoned Schiaparelli and their baby daughter. Undaunted, she picked herself up, moved to Paris and launched her meteoric career, surviving the Second World War despite being under suspicion of spying from both sides.
Her story is one of pluck and determination, talent and great imagination. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at the time. And her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Alberto Giacometti, elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art.
Reader: Abigail Thaw
Written by Meryle Secrest
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04tlxk5)
Nylons; Loneliness; Legal Aid for Victims of Domestic Violence; Call for Buffer Zones around Abortion Clinics
The history of nylon stockings. New research into loneliness and older people. A call for buffer zones at abortion clinics. The women shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The impact that legal aid cuts are having on women affected by domestic violence.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b04tlqzr)
Writing the Century: My Greenham
Episode 5
Writing the Century - My Greenham
By Fiona Evans
The series which explores the 20th century through the diaries and correspondence of real people. Using the 1980's Greenham Common diaries of Ginette Leach this is a funny and moving coming of age story of a 50-year-old suburban housewife. For her action at Greenham, Ginette's serving a short sentence in Holloway Prison.
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.
FRI 11:00 Becoming Myself: Gender Identity (b04tlqzt)
Trans Men
A revealing series which goes inside the Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic in Hammersmith, London - the largest and oldest in the world - to explore the condition of gender dysphoria - a sense of distress caused by a disjunction between biological sex and gender identity.
With growing mainstream discussion prompted by high-profile transgender people like boxing promoter Frank Maloney, WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning and model Andrej Pejic, gender dysphoria is fast becoming more visible. Indeed there has been a steady rise in the numbers of referrals to Gender Identity Clinics across the country and patient numbers at Charing Cross have doubled in the last five years.
This series follows a group of transgender patients pursuing treatment for gender dysphoria in order to 'become themselves'. In the first programme we meet Freddie, Mitchell and Blade, who were raised female and are seeking treatment as trans men. The second programme centres on trans women Bethany, Emma and Tanya, who are making the opposite journey.
We also hear from the psychiatrists, endocrinologists and surgeons as they meet and assess the patients on a day-to-day basis. Their treatment decisions have the potential to transform the lives of their patients, but these irrevocable changes are not made lightly.
Narrator: Adjoa Andoh
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 Just William - Live! (b03ymzcl)
Series 4
The Outlaws and the Triplets
As a highlight of last year's Cheltenham Festival of Literature, Martin Jarvis performed the first of two Richmal Crompton comic classics, live on-stage.
In 'The Outlaws and The Triplets', Henry's mother demands he takes his baby sister out in her pram. The Outlaws loyally join him on this 'walk of shame'. The problem is that they end up with three babies and three prams. Which one is theirs?
A packed house rocks with laughter as Jarvis, genius of the spoken word, dazzles his audience with Just William as a 'stand-up' classic.
Performed by Martin Jarvis
Director: Rosalind Ayres.
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b04tcgfd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Home Front (b04tlqzw)
12 December 1914 - Norman Harris
Epic drama series set in Britain during the First World War.
Written by: Sarah Daniels
Directed and produced by: Lucy Collingwood
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b04tlyrr)
Green Deal, Empty Shops, Loneliness
We ask how a £24 million Green Deal offer was snapped up in a little over 24 hours
We are on a high street where empty shops have been standing unwanted for 3 years or more.
Why does a new Eurostar route to the South of France take an extra HOUR at least to get back to London?
How a plan to change big businesses over their VAT bills could force small firms over the edge.
We ask why the UK is the loneliness capital of Europe.
Why people with hearing problems are at a loss to explain a decision to limit them to ONE hearing aid.
And what music would you choose to play in the background of your operation?
PRESENTER PETER WHITE
PRODUCER PETE WILSON.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b04tcgfg)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b04tlyrt)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 Manchester: Alchemical City (b04tlyrx)
Vision of the Future
Jeanette Winterson presents her personal exploration of the city of Manchester, from its Celtic roots to the present day and beyond. She takes to the streets of the city to tell the stories of the disparate groups and events which formed this combative and insubordinate urban centre.
Jeanette grew up in Accrington in Lancashire and regards the city of Manchester as always influencing, always transforming - an alchemical place.
The sounds of Manchester, past and present, are woven between her words and thoughts.
Episode 5: Vision of the Future.
A computer called BABY, Alan Turing, 25 Nobel prize winners and the wonders of graphene. An ice age boulder connects Manchester with its own long history back through time.
Written and Presented by Jeanette Winterson
Produced by Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b04tlk9p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b01pfx04)
Rumpole
Rumpole and the Expert Witness
Written by by John Mortimer. Adapted for radio by Richard Stoneman.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Timothy West star in this new Rumpole story.
It's 1964. Rumpole is asked to defend a GP, Dr Ned Dacre, who is accused of murdering his wife, Sally. Dr Ned Dacre's father is also a GP, Dr Henry Dacre, and it is he who asks Rumpole to take on the case.
Dr Henry met Rumpole during the Penge Bungalow Murder trial and believes Rumpole's the man to get his son off this trumped-up charge. The plot thickens when the local pathologist, Pamela Gall, turns out to be an old flame of Dr Ned's. It seems that Pamela never forgave Dr Ned for dumping her and marrying Sally instead.
Director: Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b04tlr02)
Glasgow
CLARIFICATION: In this programme, the team mentions the red Brussels sprout variety Rubine which they say is "taking the supermarkets by storm" but, when cooked, tends to lose its colour. However, although Rubine does tend to lose its colour when cooked, the variety Redarling, which is also widely available, does retain its colour after cooking.
Eric Robson chairs the horticultural panel programme from Glasgow. Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and Matthew Wilson join him to answer audience questions.
Produced by Howard Shannon
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
This week's questions and answers:
Q. I want to prune back my six-foot (1.8 meters) Arbutus Menziesii (Madrone) to form a small multi-stem tree to show off its red bark. Could the panel advise when would be the best time to do this and how?
A. This is a beautiful tree with red bark and distinctive ericaceous bell shaped flowers. In the wild it naturally sheds its lower branches. It's sometimes known as a 'Strawberry Tree'. It does take pruning well when it's a young plant. Prune it over the course of a few years. Work your way up from the bottom.
Q. Many years ago I planted some seed that turned into a beautiful Thistle like plants with silvery leaves. I'd like to grow them again, could you tell me what I might have been growing?
A. It sounds like Eryngium Giganteum or an Onopordum.
Q. I'll be taking some cuttings from a Holly bush for Christmas, can I propagate from these?
A. No, you need to take cuttings in the spring; seeds from the berries are a better bet. Put the berries in a bucket, give it a good slosh about and the seeds will sink while the pulp rises to the top. Take the seeds and sow them in trays with vermiculite over the top and put them outside.
Q. What would the panel suggest I start growing in my greenhouse over the winter?
A. Put Garlic sets in pots and grow winter salad plants such as Pac Choi, Mustards, Spring Onions, Radishes and leaf salads such as Claytonia that you can sow thickly and cut them when they are a couple of inches (five centimetres) tall. You could also use the greenhouse to over winter tender plants such as Pelargoniums or tomatoes.
Q. We are always being offered car tyres to grow edibles in, should we be worried about the chemicals leaching into the plants?
A. Bob says that he's been doing it for years and he's fine but you should cut out the middle of the tyre (so that it makes a cylinder shape) and line with polythene to prevent any possible leaching. Alternatively try growing in builder's bags.
Q. All our allotment neighbours grow amazing Brassicas but all of ours develop club root and die. Any suggestions?
A. Liming could rid the soil of Club root. Try planting them out in clean compost in containers or raised beds and lime well. Try disease resistant varieties such as the 'Kilaton' Cabbage.
Q. My Clematis Montana has run riot up a slender tree and I'm afraid it might cause some damage. Should I trim the ends, or try something more drastic?
A. You could cut it off at the ground. These are so resilient they will recover.
Q. On our allotments, there is great debate about whether to winter dig or spring dig. What do the panel reckon?
A. The panel say don't dig unless it's clay that has been trampled. If you want to put organic matter into the soil, lay it on the top and let the worms bring it down. Digging can harm the worms and micro-organisms in the soil.
Q. Can the panel recommend some colourful, low maintenance plants to be planted in railway stations?
A. Bob recommends a bed full of Mints, a bed full of Thymes, Rosemary, Lavender and Sages. Label them all and invite people to touch and smell the herbs. Bunny recommends putting edibles in there like the Ida Red Apples or fruit vines. Matt suggests Lambs Ear, Pennisetum 'Tall Tales' or Hair Grass for tactile planting. He also recommends lots of blubs as they're cheap and don't require looking after. Narcissus, Tulips and Alliums would all work.
FRI 15:45 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b04tcytb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Sunday]
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b04tlyrz)
Queen Fabiola, Stella Young, Bernard Stonehouse, Kent Haruf, Ralph Baer
Matthew Bannister on
The Australian disability campaigner and comedian Stella Young. She spoke out against what she called "inspiration porn."
Queen Fabiola of Belgium - the Spanish aristocrat who was picked out as a suitable bride for the King by an Irish nun.
Bernard Stonehouse, the polar scientist who spent three consecutive winters in the Antarctic and studied king penguins on South Georgia.
Kent Haruf whose novels of American life are all set in the fictional town of Holt, Colorado.
And Ralph Baer, the electronic engineer who pioneered computer games played through a console plugged into TVs.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b04tlys1)
Roger Bolton talks to investigative journalist Tom Mangold about The Silent Conspiracy, a programme he first began working on 35 years ago. The programme concerned Jeremy Thorpe, the charismatic leader of the Liberal Party between 1967 and 1976. Thorpe's political career was overshadowed by scandal when he was accused of conspiring to murder Norman Scott - a man who claimed to have been his lover at a time when homosexuality was illegal. He was acquitted of conspiracy to murder but soon withdrew from public life.
The day after he died last week, Radio 4 broadcast The Silent Conspiracy, in which veteran BBC journalist Tom Mangold uncovered an alleged establishment conspiracy to protect Jeremy Thorpe's career and reputation. Many listeners questioned the tone and timing of the programme. Roger talks to Tom about the making of the programme and why he felt it was in the public interest.
Michael Buerk has survived life in the Australian outback and returned as chair of Radio 4's Moral Maze. To welcome him back, his programme team chose reality TV as the subject for the last episode in the series. Not letting him escape the spotlight, Buerk was declared a star witness. But after frequent updates of his jungle antics on the PM programme - was this an in-joke too far?
What does it take to find "extraordinary stories and remarkable guests"? Roger goes behind-the-scenes at Saturday Live to discover how they blend celebrity interviews and inheritance tracks with tales straight from listeners' mouths.
And more musical archives are restored following last week's revival of Radio 4's Singing Together.
Produced by Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b04tlr04)
Kate and Rachel - Not a Bad Thing, to Ask for Help
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a fell runner who had a taste of what disability is like when she broke her ankle, and her disabled friend who had polio as a child.
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 (b04tlys3)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04tcgfj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b04tlr06)
Series 85
Episode 8
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, who is joined by Camilla Long, Romesh Ranganathan and John Robins, alongside regular panellist Jeremy Hardy.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b04tlr08)
Usha has advised Jim that the SAVE committee need to keep pushing the Council to release the minutes of their meeting with the Local Enterprise Partnership. Jim and Lynda plot ways to cause a fuss in the media and lobby MPs. They need to build up a storm of protest that cannot be ignored.
Lynda's excitement over the Blithe Spirit set going up is dampened with the news that Helen is pulling out of the role of Ruth. Lynda frets that the whole play is becoming a nightmare. She still needs a replacement Mrs Bradman as well. Jim suggests Carol. She's game for anything.
Jill suggests having Christmas dinner at Lower Loxley. Elizabeth pleads for it to be at Brookfield - their last one in her childhood home altogether.
Jill and Carol reminisce about Christmases past. Lynda interrupts and manages to persuade Carol to play Mrs Bradman in Blithe Spirit. Jill teases that she did want to get involved in village life.
Although it tasted disgusting, the sleeping draft Carol prepared worked. Pat slept like a log. Helen gives Tony a card made by Henry. Pat reminds Helen that today is her and Tony's fortieth wedding anniversary. A while ago she bought an expensive bottle of champagne to celebrate. She tells Tony they will open it when he is home and drink it together. Tony can't speak, but squeezes her hand.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b04tlr0b)
Paul McCartney, The Merchant of Venice, Frames at the National Gallery
Sir Paul McCartney tells John Wilson about creating a song for the video game Destiny and missing the days of vinyl.
Peter Schade, Head of Framing at the National Gallery, talks about the gallery's first ever campaign to raise money to buy a frame. It's one he's found for Titian's An Allegory of Prudence.
Ian McDiarmid stars as Shylock in the Almeida Theatre's new production of The Merchant of Venice. He and director Rupert Goold talk about setting the play in the bright lights of Las Vegas.
And amid the controversy over the singing of Delilah as a rugby anthem John talks to Barry Mason, the man who wrote the song.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b04tlqzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b04tlr0d)
Jeremy Browne MP, Ken Livingstone, Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, Polly Toynbee
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Gordano School in Portishead near Bristol with former Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne MP, Former Mayor of London and now Labour NEC member Ken Livingstone, Conservative back bench MP Jacob Rees-Mogg and Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee.
Producer Lisa Jenkinson.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b04tlr0g)
Kitsch
Philosopher Roger Scruton looks at kitsch in the second of his three talks on art.
Kitsch, he says, creates the fantasy of an emotion without the real cost of feeling it. He argues that in the twentieth century artists became preoccupied by what they perceived as the need to avoid kitsch and sentimentality.
But it's not so easy. Some try being outrageously avant-garde, which can lead to a different kind of fake: cliche. So a new genre emerged: pre-emptive kitsch. Artists embraced kitsch and produce it deliberately to present it as a sophisticated parody. But is it art?
Producer: Arlene Gregorius.
FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b04tlr0j)
8-12 December 1914
This week, newcomers spell trouble for St Jude's and the police are unprepared for a crime wave...
Story-led by: Katie Hims
Written by: Sarah Daniels
Consultant Historian: Professor Maggie Andrews
Music: Matthew Strachan
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Directed and produced by: Lucy Collingwood
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b04tcgfl)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b04tlys5)
Travel chaos for thousands of passengers as London's airspace is restricted temporarily. Is the system fit for purpose ?
We're live in Lima as politicians battle to save climate change talks which look like ending in failure.
Paul Moss reports from Glasgow, as Labour prepares to unveil it's new Scottish leader. What's gone wrong for the party north of the border and how can they fix it ?
We'll debate if there needs to be a full judicial inquiry into the UK's involvement in CIA torture.
and Fergal Keane on the crucial battle for Mariupol in eastern Ukraine.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective. With Shaun Ley.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04tlr0l)
Mary Costello - Academy Street
Episode 5
Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, Mary Costello's debut is a tender portrayal of a quiet woman's life.
It's 1962, and Tess has left Ireland to make a new life for herself in America, working as a nurse in New York. Shy and reticent, she has been introduced to her flatmate's cousin, David, and he has left a deep impression upon her.
Read by Niamh Cusack
Written by Mary Costello
Abridged by Kirsteen Cameron
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b04tjft0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04tlr6k)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b04tlr6m)
Tom and Sandra – Life Goes On
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a couple who are beginning to acknowledge the ageing process and that it means their future is finite.
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
First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2014.
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 (b04th9fb)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b04th9fb)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b04tjdln)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b04tjdln)
15 Minute Drama
10:41 WED (b04tlfrx)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b04tlfrx)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b04tljk4)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b04tljk4)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b04tlqzr)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b04tlqzr)
23 Amazing Reasons This Radio Programme Will Change Your Life
20:00 TUE (b04tjfvy)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (b04sy4tv)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (b04tlr0g)
Afghan Women: Speaking Out, Losing Lives
20:00 MON (b04tj384)
All in the Mind
21:00 TUE (b04tjfxc)
All in the Mind
15:30 WED (b04tjfxc)
Another Case of Milton Jones
23:00 THU (b0138xmh)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (b04stf8l)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (b04sy4ts)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b04tlr0d)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b04tcbd2)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (b04tlk96)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (b04tlk96)
Becoming Myself: Gender Identity
11:00 FRI (b04tlqzt)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b04tchvs)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b04tchvs)
Beyond Belief
16:30 MON (b04tj37t)
Blood, Sage and Grace
11:30 THU (b04tljk8)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 MON (b04tj8ny)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 TUE (b04tjg2n)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 WED (b04tlft6)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 THU (b04tlkp0)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 FRI (b04tlr0l)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (b04t6yln)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (b04th9f6)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (b04th9f6)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (b04ttzpx)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (b04ttzpx)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (b04tv039)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (b04tv039)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (b04tv04x)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (b04tv04x)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (b04tv0pj)
Bookclub
16:00 SUN (b04tcxm4)
Bookclub
15:30 THU (b04tcxm4)
Border Crossings
00:30 SUN (b03vh0cl)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b04tckj9)
Counterpoint
23:00 SAT (b04sty1v)
Counterpoint
15:00 MON (b04thfrp)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (b04sxv2h)
Crossing Continents
11:00 THU (b04tljk6)
Desert Island Discs
11:15 SUN (b04tckjf)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (b04tckjf)
Document
21:30 TUE (b04d1mrm)
Drama
14:15 MON (b04th9fv)
Drama
14:15 WED (b04tlfsf)
Drama
14:15 THU (b01p9l1s)
Drama
14:15 FRI (b01pfx04)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b04t9j5z)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b04tgrjd)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b04tjdld)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b04tlfrm)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b04tlggt)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b04tlqzp)
Feedback
20:00 SUN (b04t6t62)
Feedback
16:30 FRI (b04tlys1)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (b04tlft0)
Frinton Forever
16:00 MON (b04thhpd)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b04stf8b)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b04tj382)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b04tjftn)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b04tlfsw)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b04tlk9s)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b04tlr0b)
Frontiers
21:00 WED (b04tlft2)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b04sy3qw)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b04tlr02)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (b04tjft0)
Great Lives
23:00 FRI (b04tjft0)
Hal
19:15 SUN (b04tdqwq)
Hobby Bobbies
11:30 WED (b04tlfs3)
Home Front - Omnibus
21:00 FRI (b04tlr0j)
Home Front
12:04 MON (b04th9fj)
Home Front
12:04 TUE (b04tjdlv)
Home Front
12:04 WED (b04tlfs5)
Home Front
12:04 THU (b04tljkb)
Home Front
12:04 FRI (b04tlqzw)
How To Hire A Master
11:00 WED (b04tlfs1)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
12:04 SUN (b04stzf5)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
18:30 MON (b04tj37y)
In Business
21:30 SUN (b04sy0hw)
In Business
20:30 THU (b04tlk9z)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (b04tljk0)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (b04tljk0)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b04tjfx9)
Jeremy Thorpe: The Silent Conspiracy
17:00 SUN (b04wz633)
Jon Canter - The Dog
14:15 TUE (b04tjdxx)
Just William - Live!
11:30 FRI (b03ymzcl)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b04t6t60)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b04tlyrz)
Lives in a Landscape
11:00 MON (b04th9fd)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b04tcbcy)
Manchester: Alchemical City
13:45 MON (b04tmlhh)
Manchester: Alchemical City
13:45 TUE (b04tlzh4)
Manchester: Alchemical City
13:45 WED (b04tlz05)
Manchester: Alchemical City
13:45 THU (b04tlyx5)
Manchester: Alchemical City
13:45 FRI (b04tlyrx)
Mastertapes
23:00 MON (b04tj8nt)
Mastertapes
15:30 TUE (b04tjf5g)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b04stf7t)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b04tcg4g)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b04tcg6m)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b04tcg87)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b04tcg9r)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b04tcgcm)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b04tcgf2)
Midweek
09:00 WED (b04tlfrs)
Midweek
21:30 WED (b04tlfrs)
Money Box Live
15:00 WED (b04tlfsh)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (b04tc9n9)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b04tc9n9)
Moral Maze
20:00 WED (b04tlfsy)
My Teenage Diary
18:30 THU (b04tlk9h)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b04stf82)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b04tcg4q)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b04tcg6w)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b04tcg8h)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b04tcgb1)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b04tcgcw)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b04tcgfb)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b04tcg4s)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (b04stf8d)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (b04tcg53)
News Summary
12:00 MON (b04tcg70)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (b04tcg8k)
News Summary
12:00 WED (b04tcgb3)
News Summary
12:00 THU (b04tcgcy)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (b04tcgfd)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b04stf84)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b04tcg4x)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b04tcg51)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b04stf94)
News
13:00 SAT (b04stf8j)
Olive Wars
13:30 SUN (b04tcl5w)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (b04tchvx)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (b04sxzqn)
Open Country
15:00 THU (b04tljkj)
PM
17:00 SAT (b04stf8q)
PM
17:00 MON (b04tj37w)
PM
17:00 TUE (b04tjft2)
PM
17:00 WED (b04tlfsp)
PM
17:00 THU (b04tlk9b)
PM
17:00 FRI (b04tlys3)
Paul Sinha's History Revision
18:30 WED (b04tlfsr)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b04td783)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b04sy7kg)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b04v1vdv)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b04v1vs7)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b04v1w0w)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b04v1xk7)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b04v1y64)
Profile
19:00 SAT (b04tcbd0)
Profile
05:45 SUN (b04tcbd0)
Radio 4 Christmas Appeal
07:55 SUN (b04tchw1)
Radio 4 Christmas Appeal
09:45 SUN (b04tcytb)
Radio 4 Christmas Appeal
17:40 SUN (b04tcytb)
Radio 4 Christmas Appeal
21:26 SUN (b04tchw1)
Radio 4 Christmas Appeal
15:27 THU (b04tchw1)
Radio 4 Christmas Appeal
15:45 FRI (b04tcytb)
Saturday Drama
14:30 SAT (b04tc9nc)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b04t9j63)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b04stf92)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b04stf7y)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b04tcg4l)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b04tcg6r)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b04tcg8c)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b04tcg9w)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b04tcgcr)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b04tcgf6)
Shared Planet
21:00 MON (b04sv2gx)
Shared Planet
11:00 TUE (b04tjdlq)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b04stf7w)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b04stf80)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b04stf8t)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b04tcg4j)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b04tcg4n)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b04tcg57)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b04tcg6p)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b04tcg6t)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b04tcg89)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b04tcg8f)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b04tcg9t)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b04tcg9z)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b04tcgcp)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b04tcgct)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b04tcgf4)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b04tcgf8)
Shorts
19:45 SUN (b04tdqws)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b04stf90)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b04tcg5c)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b04tcg74)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b04tcg8p)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b04tcgb7)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b04tcgd2)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b04tcgfj)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b04tchvv)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b04tchvv)
Soul Music
15:30 SAT (b04sv2gz)
Soul Music
11:30 TUE (b04tjdls)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (b04th9f4)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (b04th9f4)
Start/Stop
11:30 MON (b04th9fg)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b04tchw3)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b04tchvz)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b04tckjc)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b04td785)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b04td785)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b04tj380)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b04tj380)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b04tjftl)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b04tjftl)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b04tlfst)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b04tlfst)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b04tlk9p)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b04tlk9p)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b04tlr08)
The Design Dimension
15:00 TUE (b04tjdxz)
The Echo Chamber
23:30 SAT (b04stlcn)
The Echo Chamber
16:30 SUN (b04tcxm6)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b04sxzqq)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b04tljkl)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b04tckjh)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b04tckjh)
The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy
10:30 SAT (b04t9j65)
The Lach Chronicles
23:00 WED (b04tlft8)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b04tcldm)
The Listening Project
10:55 WED (b04tlfrz)
The Listening Project
16:55 FRI (b04tlr04)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (b04tlr6m)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b04tlfsm)
The News Quiz
12:30 SAT (b04sy3r2)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (b04tlr06)
The Once and Future King
21:00 SAT (b04stlcj)
The Once and Future King
15:00 SUN (b04tclg7)
The Reith Lectures
22:15 SAT (b04sv1s5)
The Reith Lectures
09:00 TUE (b04tjdlj)
The Report
20:00 THU (b04tlk9v)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (b04t9jdj)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b04tckjk)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b04tj386)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b04tjg2l)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b04tlft4)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b04tlkb1)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b04tlys5)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b04svk2y)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b04tlfsk)
Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme
23:15 WED (b01dtxh1)
Today in Parliament
23:30 MON (b04tj8p0)
Today in Parliament
23:30 TUE (b04tjg6z)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (b04tlftb)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (b04tll4w)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (b04tlr6k)
Today
07:00 SAT (b04t9j61)
Today
06:00 MON (b04tgrjg)
Today
06:00 TUE (b04tjdlg)
Today
06:00 WED (b04tlfrq)
Today
06:00 THU (b04tljjy)
Today
06:00 FRI (b04tlx6w)
Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups
18:30 TUE (b04tjft4)
Trauma Medicine
16:00 TUE (b04tjfsy)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b04svjxg)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b04sylr1)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b04sym21)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b04symph)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b04symwf)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b04syy3w)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b04stf86)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b04stf88)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b04stf8g)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b04stf8x)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b04tcg4v)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b04tcg4z)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b04tcg55)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b04tcg59)
Weather
05:56 MON (b04tcg6y)
Weather
12:57 MON (b04tcg72)
Weather
21:58 MON (b04tcg76)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b04tcg8m)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b04tcg8r)
Weather
12:57 WED (b04tcgb5)
Weather
21:58 WED (b04tcgbg)
Weather
12:57 THU (b04tcgd0)
Weather
21:58 THU (b04tcgd4)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b04tcgfg)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b04tcgfl)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (b04tcg5f)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b04tds7y)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b04tcbcw)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b04th9f8)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b04tjdll)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b04tlfrv)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b04tljk2)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b04tlxk5)
World at One
13:00 MON (b04th9fq)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b04tjdlz)
World at One
13:00 WED (b04tlfs9)
World at One
13:00 THU (b04tlyx3)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b04tlyrt)
Yes, Nina Conti Really Is on the Radio
23:00 TUE (b01sm78h)
You and Yours
12:15 MON (b04th9fl)
You and Yours
12:15 TUE (b04tjdlx)
You and Yours
12:15 WED (b04tlfs7)
You and Yours
12:15 THU (b04tljkd)
You and Yours
12:15 FRI (b04tlyrr)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b04t9j5x)
iPM
17:30 SAT (b04t9j5x)