The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
4. Different Voices
Being invisible is no joke, particularly when it's your birthday and everyone's more interested in your clever older brother. The only person who seems to be interested is Grandpa John, the war hero who's now batty and goes shopping in his pyjamas, and what help is he going to be?
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
John McCarthy considers the way that we can accommodate ambiguity and complexity.
The title of the programme comes from Louis MacNeice's poem "Entirely" which explores the way in which it is never possible to be "entirely" sure, or to have fully grasped a meaning, or to fully be in a moment.
Take a walk in an urban woodland: you can seek and find a sense of solitude whilst always being aware of the busy-ness around you and be aware, simultaneously, of the beauty of birdsong and the trundle of road traffic beyond the gates.
We hear from poets and writers who have explored not getting things "entirely" and found a kind of pleasure and peace in that acceptance. There are readings from Louise MacNeice, Kathleen Jamie and Michael Longley, and an interview with Tom Bolton who writes about London's secret rivers and lost neighbourhoods. The music is by You Are Wolf (Kerry Andrew), Toru Takemitsu, Kraftwerk and Elton John.
Sybil Ruscoe reports from the UK's first Farm Hack, held at Ruskin Mill Farm in Gloucestershire.
"Farm Hack" is an initiative from North America, which aims to help farmers and growers from smaller-scale farms to acquire, modify and make appropriate tools for their work. The meetings (there have been nearly 20 in the USA already) network farmers with each other, and with people who have other skills, from computers to blacksmithing to designing. There is also a website which follows open source principles (meaning all information is freely and publicly available) where tools and information are shared, commented on, and improved.
Sybil meets Severine von Tscharner Fleming, who co-founded Farm Hack - who has come to Gloucestershire from the USA to be at this event. Severine is the director and founder of Greenhorns, a US organisation that supports a new generation of ecologically-minded farmers with everything from skills to practical information to social gatherings.
Sybil also talks to Ed Hamer, a farmer from Devon who organised the day along with The Landworkers' Alliance, tries her hand at welding - and catches up with a group of French farmers who have come along to get involved.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
On Sunday Pope Francis will canonize two native-born Palestinian nuns at a ceremony at the Vatican. Fr. David Neuhaus, from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, talks to Edward Stourton from a prayer vigil at the shrine of Mother Alphonsine.
Astrophysicist and theologian David Wilkinson grapples with the question, how does God answer prayers?
The Government has set out a list of new proposals to tackle radicalisation. Kevin Bocquet reports gauges reaction on the latest suggestions.
The number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has grown to nearly a quarter of the adult population according to a report by the Pew Research Center. One of its authors Jessica Martinez explains the trends and how they affect the religious landscape of the United States.
A thanksgiving Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday will mark exactly 175 years since the first publication on the Catholic weekly magazine The Tablet. Trevor Barnes has been looking in the archives.
What do people want from a religious leader? How influential are they? Linda Woodhead, Professor of Sociology and Religion at Lancaster University, and Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe Emeritus Professor of Leadership studies at Leeds University discuss.
The descendants of a Jewish community exiled from Spain more than 500 years ago will be granted legal rights to apply for Spanish citizenship. Alasdair Fotheringham talks to Edward about their history and how many will come home?
Fr. David Neuhaus
Paul O'Grady presents The Radio 4 Appeal for David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope 'David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation'.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
from St Andrew's & St George's West Church, Edinburgh, led by the Revd Ian Gilmour on the opening weekend of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, with former Moderators the Very Revs Finlay Macdonald and Sheilagh Kesting.
Choir directed by Brigitte Harris; Organist: Michael Harris.
David Cannadine says when Barack Obama's critics accuse him of acting like a king they're forgetting the origins of the office of President.
"From the outset, the American presidency was vested with what might be termed monarchical authority, which meant that it really was a form of elective kingship."
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs. David Attenborough presents the European Storm Petrel. The storm petrels as a group are the smallest seabirds in the world and called "Jesus Christ birds" because they give the appearance they can walk on water as they flutter over the sea surface dangling their legs whilst looking for food.
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.
Kirsty Young's castaway is the farmer, and Chief Executive of the Soil Association, Helen Browning.
Born and brought up on the farm in Wiltshire she runs today, she told her father she wanted to be a 'proper farmer' aged just 9. By the time she was 24 her father had passed the reins on to her and not long after, she made it entirely organic.
Inspired by five of her great aunts who, after the First World War, began farming themselves, today she continues to run the family farm, her own meat business and the local pub. Awarded the OBE in 1998 for services to farming, she is chair of the Food Ethics Council, has served on the Curry Commission into the Future of Farming and Food and was appointed Chief Executive of the Soil Association in 2010.
Sue Perkins poses more big moral and ethical questions to a mixed panel to see if she can wreck their moral rectitude.
With comedian Dave Gorman, actor and writer Jessica Hynes, poet and playwright Ian McMillan, and musician, writer and stand-up (and Dilemma devisor) Danielle Ward.
As well as defending something utterly indefensible. The panel also face moral problems related to fasting children and West End musicals.
This is more than a story about chicken tikka masala. The UK's palette is changing with a demand for far more spice and pizzazz in our menus and larders. The UK currently imports almost double what it did in the year 2000. Much of that demand has been attributed to the UK's changing and diverse population - not only in home cooking but introducing recipes and dishes to a wider market. Travellers exploring exotic countries have also returned with a taste for spice blends. However spice is more than a simple ingredient - it can also be part of a story about identity, health, family and life.
Cyrus Todiwala travels to Easton in Bristol for the Spice Festival to meet those for whom spice is part of their lives. For him spices have been used for health as well as to bring flavour to his dishes while cooking in India and opening restaurants in the UK. He meets the man whose family fled Uganda while under the rule of Idi Amin, losing everything but their love and knowledge of spices led his father to source and share ingredients, eventually serving food and is now an 'Aladdin's cave' of exotic spices and ingredients for individuals and restaurants across the South West. He meets the chai wallahs who now sell on street corners of Bristol as well as Bombay and hears about the backpacker whose craving for the Indian snacks he tasted led him to set up his own business with over 300 products and blends.
Get some fire in your belly and hear how spice plays a role in commuity, culture and culinary delights.
The Shipping Forecast has long provided essential, potentially life-saving, information for those at sea around the British Isles. But the forecast also has a history of sparking the imagination and creativity of those firmly on land - music, poetry and artworks of all kinds have been inspired by it.
Award-winning folk artist Lisa Knapp, who has herself written a song inspired by the daily forecast, takes a musical and poetic voyage through the watery regions of the Shipping Forecast and examines the appeal it holds for land-bound musicians, poets and writers.
From the poetry of Seamus Heaney and Carol Ann Duffy to the music of Radiohead, Blur and Jethro Tull, the forecast has ingrained itself into Britain's creative arts. Many have employed the Shipping Forecast's natural rhythm and multitude of connotations to conjure up feelings of familiarity and strangeness, of community and alienation, of safety and danger.
Lisa reflects on her own fondness for a forecast for which, in reality, she has no need, but which has ignited her imagination and taken her off to distant mythical lands. She hears from fellow musicians and writers who have been influenced by the Shipping Forecast and finds out how this regular informational broadcast captured their imaginations.
Poet Sean Street, songwriter Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and composer Cecilia McDowall are among those to share their thoughts on the forecast's appeal.
Eric Robson hosts the programme from Garden Show Ireland at Antrim Castle Gardens. Matthew Biggs, Bob Flowerdew and James Wong answer audience questions.
Also this week, we go behind the scenes at Matthew Wilson's Chelsea Flower Show garden to uncover some of the secrets behind perfect planting.
Fi Glover hears about martial arts, men's apparent difficulty with monitoring their own health, and growing up with parents who serve overseas, from Wales, Birmingham and Devon, in the Omnibus edition of the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
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
While K continues to seek a meeting with the elusive official Klamm, his relationship with Frieda is under strain. He suspects her of maintaining a secret tryst with Klamm, and she of a dalliance with Barnabas' two sisters.
Conclusion of Franz Kafka's mind-warping novel, set in a bureaucratic wonderland,
K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DOMINIC ROWAN
Frieda. . . . . . . . . . . .SAMMY T DOBSON
Jeremias. . . . . . . . . .MARK BENTON
Artur . . . . . . . . . . . .DANIEL WEYMAN
Teacher . . . . . . . . . .STEPHEN GREIF
Amalia. . . . . . . . . . . RACHEL BAVIDGE
Olga . . . . . . . . . . . . VICTORIA ELLIOTT
Barnabas . . . . . . . . . NEIL GRAINGER
Papa and Burgel . . . . JONATHAN CULLEN
Hans . . . . . . . . . . . . DOMINIC DEAKIN
In his new book Keeping An Eye Open: Essays on Art, the hugely acclaimed novelist Julian Barnes brings together articles he's written on some of his favourite painters. They range from Gericault to Manet to Bonnard to Lucian Freud. He talks to Mariella about his approach to writing on art and trying to be a companion to the reader, about how his novels influence the essays and whether knowing any artists' life story can help us understand their work.
Mariella talks to Alex Johnson about the incredible and varied libraries from around the world captured in his book Improbable Libraries, Ramona Koval reports from Australia where authors have developed a surprising habit of giving away prize money and crime writer Attica Locke reveals the Book She'd Never Lend.
Poetry Please at the finals of the Poetry by Heart competition. Students recite poetry from memory in a bid to be crowned winner in the 2015 contest. Roger Mc Gough presents, and poetry comes from Craig Raine, Rupert Brooke, Carol Ann Duffy and Thomas Hardy. Producer Sally Heaven.
Emma Caldwell was a young woman from a good home who developed an addiction to heroin after the death of her sister and then descended into street prostitution. When her body was found dumped in a ditch in Lanarkshire in May 2005, the police launched an unprecedented murder hunt. But ten years on, after an investigation costing millions of pounds, no one has ever been convicted of her killing. Eamon O Connor investigates what went wrong.
On Pick of the Week this week the comedian John Moloney's cat is in for a bit of a shock during a visit to the vet. There's the science behind Choking - what makes people mess up when they are under pressure in public. It's to do with Brains Behaving Badly.
Mark Kermode choose his favourite film music, and a man tells 5Live how some DIY went horribly wrong. It could be amongst the most compelling radio you hear this week.
The Ambridge cricket team is playing Paxley today. Emma's happy to be joining Nic and the kids for a picnic, as Will plays cricket. Emma's also looking forward to shopping for a dress for Clarrie with kind Caroline.
Tom's really into his cricket. Ed approves of getting some new young blood into the team, but Joe worries about the number of older hands possibly being dropped.
As she and David investigate the flood, Jennifer reports that she's had a call from a nervous Berrow Farm worker called Stefan. Stefan seems to have something important to tell them. They agree to meet him.
Will tells exasperated Nic that she can't change his mind about being Ed's best man. He is however looking forward to the Great Bird Race - although Robert seems rather obsessed.
Emma's excited about her wedding - this time next week she and Ed will be married. Ed doubts that Will will make it along to his stag do. Ed feels Emma is trying too hard to get Will and Ed to be best mates at the wedding. Joe's sad they can't put their differences behind them.
Comedy as James Boswell, Dr Johnson's celebrated biographer, pursues other legends to immortalise. Today he attempts to write a biography of another famous Johnson - Boris - when he is Mayor of London , but finds him a fiendish opponent especially on the whiff-whaff table.
An orchestra cellist sets off to play at an outdoor concert with something less than enthusiasm.
Karen Anstee originally trained as a violinist at the Royal Academy of Music and in Boston, USA. Her experiences in the music industry have been the inspiration for a series of short stories. Karen graduated from the London Film School in 2012.
The news headlines this week suggested there has been an increase in the number of strokes among working age men and women. But is this true? We speak to Tony Rudd, National Clinical Director for Stroke NHS England. He says the headlines were not justified and there is actually evidence the incidence of strokes has gone down.
Are 40 percent of teachers leaving their jobs after their first year in post? Based on figures put out by a teaching union, newspapers reported the dire state of teacher retention. But we show how these figures include graduates who did not start jobs in teaching.
Big numbers do not just confuse most people - many computers struggle to process them too. Tim Harford talks to Chris Baraniuk who explains how a simple software bug afflicts computers controlling planes, spacecraft and has led to explosions, missing space probes and more.
In the aftermath of the general election, many people are calling for an overhaul of the electoral system to make it more representative of the number of votes that each party received. We take a look at how a different system may have affected the outcome. Plus - what questions might improve the quality of opinion polls asking for voter intentions?
B.B. King whose blues guitar took him from the cotton fields of Mississippi to international stardom.
Kenan Evran the Turkish general who took power in a military coup in 1980 and was later sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sir Maurice Flanagan who took Emirates Airlines from a two plane cargo operation to a multi billion dollar business.
And the glider pilot Wally Kahn who campaigned to make Lasham - an ex RAF base in Hampshire - into a world beating gliding club.
Kevin Ashton is a businessman who has just written his first book, about innovation and creativity, with the intriguing title 'How to Fly a Horse'.
Charles Handy is an experienced and acclaimed management guru, who has just published a new book, called The Second Curve. Its focus is the big life changes business and individuals need to make to find fulfilment at work.
Dennis Sewell of The Spectator analyses how the newspapers are covering the biggest stories.
As Mad Max hits the road again, Kim Newman trawls through his favourite post-apocalyptic cliches.
Director Olivier Assayas discusses his drama Clouds Of Sils Maria, which he wrote for his friend Juliette Binoche, and reveals why he also cast Twilight star Kristen Stewart.
Critic Tim Robey and film buyer Clare Binns look forward to this year's Cannes festival.
MONDAY 18 MAY 2015
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b05v6g64)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b05tlvb8)
The Gym: A Social History; Tattoos at Work
The gym: Laurie Taylor explores the social history of the gymnasium with the writer and sociologist, Eric Chaline. Although this 'temple of perfection' appears primarily as a site for producing the 'body beautiful', this study finds it has also been a battleground in political, sexual and cultural wars. They're joined by Louise Mansfield, Sociologist of Sport at Brunel University
Also, tattoos at work: Andrew Timming, Reader in Management at the University of St Andrews, talks about prejudices towards body art in the service sector. Does possession of a tattoo impact on job prospects?
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b05v6ghr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b05v6g66)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b05v6g68)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b05v6g6b)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b05v6g6d)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b05vt8qk)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Sister Gemma Simmonds of the Congregation of Jesus.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b05v7tb8)
EU Referendum, Innovation, Ash Dieback
Farmers at the Balmoral show in County Antrim give their views to BBC Northern Ireland's Conor Macauley as to whether or not farmers could survive if Britain left the EU. Julie Girling is the Conservative MEP for the South West and Gibraltar, and sits on the parliament's agriculture committee. She says the halls of power in Brussels are buzzing with talk of a British withdrawal and thinks that there are both pros and cons in leaving the EU, but ultimately thinks we are better protected if we stay in.
Ash Dieback is a disease which has been devastating woodlands across the UK for over three years. BBC Look North's Environment Correspondent Paul Murphy visits one of the nurseries involved in a scheme to source seeds and grow replacement trees as an alternative to Ash.
All this week the programme is looking at innovation, and how farmers can harness and use new ideas and techniques in their business. Katrin Prager from the James Hutton Institute in Scotland is a social scientist who has spent three years investigating collaborations between UK farmers. She tells Sybil Ruscoe that the crucial part of innovation is farmers acting on new information.
Presenter Sybil Ruscoe. Producer Ruth Sanderson.
MON 05:56 Weather (b05v6g6g)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk6p)
Great Shearwater
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Brett Westwood presents the Great Shearwater; a wanderer of the open ocean. They breed on remote islands in the South Atlantic and then disperse widely and many follow fish and squid shoals northwards, appearing around UK coasts in late summer and early autumn. The south-west of Britain and Ireland is the best area to look for them.
MON 06:00 Today (b05v7tbp)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (b05v7tbr)
Joseph Stiglitz and Steve Hilton on Inequality
On Start the Week Andrew Marr finds out if it's possible to create a world less impersonal and more equal. David Cameron's former senior adviser, Steve Hilton, believes our governments and institutions are too big, and he argues for a more human-focused society. The US economist Joseph Stiglitz tackles rising inequality in the West and blames the unjust and misguided priorities of neoliberalism. The Russian writer Masha Gessen looks at the struggle between assimilation and alienation as she asks why two brothers turned terrorist, bombing the Boston Marathon.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
MON 09:45 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05v7tbt)
Episode 1
Author Steve Boggan arrives at a town called Happy Camp and, having purchased everything he’ll need for camping and prospecting, heads for the hills in search of gold.
Read by Paul Ritter and Sara Markland.
Gold - for centuries people have been entranced by the riches it promises, thousands have gone wild in their search for it, and since the Financial Crisis the price of gold has reached peaks never seen in history.
All over the world, particularly in the US, people with no experience of prospecting began shopping for shovels, pickaxes, gold pans, tents, generators, and all manner of equipment they had no idea how to use. And off they went mining.
Steve Boggan decided to follow in their footsteps. In 2013 he packed his bags and flew to San Francisco to join the 21st century’s gold rush (the ‘New 49ers’) in a quest to understand the allure of the metal – and maybe find a bit for himself too.
He meets a selection of colourful characters - those who left desk jobs and family life behind to work by the river in scorching heat and fresh mountain air, in the hope of striking it rich. Most of them only make enough money to scrape a living, but Steve is surprised how happy they seem to be. From them, he gets a crash course in small-scale prospecting.
He also takes us back in time to the original gold rush, two centuries ago, tracing the path of the first intrepid 49ers (in particular, a woman called Sarah Royce and her family) who abandoned their roots and trekked thousands of miles across perilous terrain, risking death for the chance of riches.
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b05v7tbw)
Clementine Churchill, Honeytrap, Women in One
A new film Honeytrap tells the story of Layla, a 15 year old girl who lures the boy who is in love with her to his death. The writer and director gives a girls perspective on gang culture in a story inspired by a true events.
'Women in One' is a new collection of one minute (or thereabouts) interviews with strangers that reporter Abigail Horlick bumps in to cities across the UK. This week the women of Leeds open up about about their love life, childhood, regrets and dreams.
The original First Lady of Politics - Clementine Churchill. Sonia Purnell on the unusual dynamics of her partnership with Winston, who by his own admission, said the the Second World War would have been 'impossible without her',
Plus are clogs the shoes of the season?
Presented by Jane Garvey.
Producer Beverley Purcell.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b05v7tby)
A Small Town Murder
Episode 1
The seventh series of our crime drama starring Meera Syal as family liaison officer Jackie Hartwell.
Jackie Hartwell is tasked to break the news to Connie Hudson - a Birmingham based singing star from the 1960's - that her troubled daughter Abi has been found murdered.
Written by Scott Cherry
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 11:00 Olympic Run (b05v7tcg)
Rumours swept the Olympic village when the seven Cameroon athletes vanished during the Olympics. Despite finding none of their personal possessions, officials from Cameroon suggested that they might have gone sightseeing. In this documentary Peter White tracks what really happened, having been alongside the group as they struggle to make new lives in this country.
His recordings start early in the disappearance, with the entire boxing team seeking support in South London as they planned their next move. They had criticised team managers, alleging that promised payments for equipment and competition expenses had not been made and they worried about the repercussions of their protest if they returned home as planned.
Now they are building lives in Sheffield and Sunderland and Peter follows their progress. Serge Ambomo was in a homeless hostel when Peter first meets him - the 26 year old had just had his first application for leave to remain in Britain turned down and his benefits suspended. He was living on handouts from an evangelical church and relying on the goodwill of a local boxing club run by Glyn Rhodes, who lets him train and tries to sort out his many problems.
Now Serge has been given a five year reprieve by the immigration services and a flat by Rotherham Council Not that he needs it: he spends most of his time with his girlfriend, Sharon, who is already a grandmother but who hopes to settle down with Serge. He is currently banned from boxing after his antics during a fight in which Jerome Wilson, was seriously injured - he kissed Wilson's head as his rival lay unconscious. He now plans to get his boxing career back on track by joining forces with an Olympic team mate training in the North East.
Peter speaks to the athletes and those who have been alongside them since 2012. He wonders about the price they have paid to stay here and how they have coped away from their families in Cameroon. The French speaking country is one of the poorest in the world, with the national economic output just over seven hundred pounds per person according to the International Monetary Fund. Peter finds the boxers resting their hopes for economic success on their performance in the ring and looks at how they have fared since the Games.
Serge tells him that life has been far more difficult here than he ever anticipated: "All I want is to fight, that is all I know how to do and yet there have been so many obstacles. I lost so much by staying here and it is hard to know what is going to happen to me now.".
MON 11:30 On the Rocks (b05v7tcj)
Series 2
Adventure
Ben tries to prove to Morwenna-May that he's a man of action.
1930s comedy set on the Isles of Scilly by Christopher William Hill.
Frank Gunwallow ..... Joseph Kloska
Tommy Trenear ..... Stuart Fox
Ben Trenear ..... Alex Palmer
Morwenna-May ..... Alex Tregear
Pender ..... Christopher William Hill
Even on the remote island of St Martin's war seems inevitable, but the islanders have their own battles to contend with, stuck on a rock flung 27 miles out into the Atlantic with only their natural grit and gallows humour to see them through.
Director ..... Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
MON 12:00 News Summary (b05v6g6k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 Welcome to the Quiet Zone (b05v7td5)
Into the Valley
Imagine a place without mobile phones. Quiet isn't it? People still look at each other when they are talking. It's not a dream. It really exists.
Take Highway 250 in West Virginia into the Allegheny Mountains and the car radio fades to static. Glance illegally at your mobile phone and the signal disappears. You're in The National Radio Quiet Zone - 13,000 square miles of radio silence, just a few hundred miles from Washington DC. No Wi-Fi; no cell phones; no radio signals.
Designated a radio wave free area in the 1950s, the area is home to two giant listening stations. One listens to deep space, as far back as milliseconds after the Big Bang - the Green Bank National Observatory; the other is Naval Communications, the NSA listening ear.
Taller than the Statue of Liberty, the Green Bank Telescope is the world's largest moving land object. It has the sensitivity, says Mike Holstine, "equivalent to a billionth of a billionth of a millionth of a watt... the energy given off by a single snow flake hitting the ground. Anything man-made would overwhelm that signal." Hence the legal requirement, for a radio frequency free zone.
Photographer Emile Holba, long fascinated with the edges of society, takes a trip into the Quiet Zone where the ability to listen in to moments after the creation of the universe, means the local population have sacrificed their connection to the outside world.
It's not a world without conflict as pressure grows to move into the technological future on the one hand, whilst on the other, a growing band of electro-sensitive immigrants are moving into cabins in the woods. Meanwhile the government are considering the viability of a continued large investment in searching space.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall.
MON 12:15 You and Yours (b05v7tgy)
Green Deal Grants
We look at the death of a woman with learning disabilities, who lost a 5th of her body weight in less than 3 weeks. The family of 26 year old Nicki Rawlinson have received the findings of a report by the Health Service Ombudsman who investigated a complaint about the care she received at Barnet Hospital in London. Our disability reporter, Carolyn Atkinson speaks to Nicki's family.
The numbers of women beer drinkers has doubled in the UK in recent years. This week the multinational brewing company, SABMiller, said it was time to move away from advertising campaigns that are dismissive or insulting to women - they say that not only women might be offended by overtly misogynistic marketing - the brewing companies risk alienating a significant number of male customers too.
Citizens Advice has told You and Yours that it's had more than two thousand complaints in the last 12 months about companies offering work as part of the Green Deal. The Green Deal was the last administration's big policy initiative to improve homes and cut energy bills.
The way it works is that accredited companies assess a property and identify works that would pay for themselves over time through energy savings. Loans are available to cover the cost of the works, paid by through electricity bills. It isn't simple and take up was disappointing. The scheme has been amended, and now offers to pay the majority of the costs of certain energy saving measures, payable after the work has been done. We speak to one of our listeners about his experience.
More and more people sleeping rough are climbing into industrial bins. Bin crews are now expected to check bins before they empty them to make sure no one is inside. Last month a body was found at a recycling plant in Birmingham and waste firms say there are hundreds of near misses every year as bin men discover rough sleepers just as they're about to tip bin contents into the crusher lorries. One of the biggest companies, Biffa, is so worried it's trialling cameras on lorries to encourage crews to be vigilant. Melanie Abbott reports.
We hear from the listener who took Expedia to court in 2010 for a refund they didn't pay in 2004.
Producer: Maire Devine
Editor: Chas Watkin.
MON 12:57 Weather (b05v6g6m)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b05v7th0)
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Shaun Ley.
MON 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05v7th2)
Charaka: On Not Violating Good Judgement
Professor Sunil Khilnani visits a modern-day clinic which follows the practices set out by Charaka, a medical pioneer whose handbook is still widely used in India today. His text, known as the Charaka Samhita or 'Compendium of Charaka', is an encyclopaedic work covering different aspects of health and how to live a good life. Ayurveda is the best known of the Indian subcontinent's three indigenous medical traditions and continues to be an important adjunct to India's national health system. Today, it is part of government policy and a ministry funds Ayurvedic training and care. Charaka believed that health depended on the balance of basic humours - wind, bile, phlegm - and that "if these elements are disturbed from their proper bodily locations, illness follows. Such disturbance often occurs through our own thoughtlessness, what Charaka calls 'violations of good judgement'."
Produced by Mark Savage
With incidental music by the composer Talvin Singh.
Listeners can catch up with the series and see the list of remarkable Indians featured on the Radio 4 website.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b05v6gn9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Tommies (b05v7tjm)
18 May 1915
by Michael Chaplin. Series created by Jonathan Ruffle.
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
We are now in 1915 and continuing to follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
Indira Varma, Pippa Nixon and Parth Thakerar star in this story, set on the Eastern Front where the Russian army has been routed at Gorlice. The Russians are retreating, but the renegade Prince Balashov is determined to wrench some kind of victory from defeat. British surgeon Celestine de Tullio has found enough new purpose in War, to play a part in this plan.
Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: Nandita Ghose.
MON 15:00 The 3rd Degree (b05v7tjp)
Series 5
De Montfort University
A quiz show hosted by Steve Punt where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.
Coming this week from De Montfort University, The 3rd Degree is a funny, lively and dynamic quiz show aimed at cultivating the next generation of Radio 4 listeners while delighting the current ones.
The Specialist Subjects in this episode are Film, Forensic Science and Contour Fashion. So there are questions on X-rated films, the analysis of blood spatter patterns and the history of lingerie. And also Gogglebox.
The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz. Being a Radio 4 programme, it of course meets the most stringent standards of academic rigour - but with lots of facts and jokes thrown in for good measure.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quick-fire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow & Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction.
The host, Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show also delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. He has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, including The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen, as well as a half-hour comedy for Radio 4's Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called The Genuine Particle.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b05v6gls)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 The Invisible College (b05v7tjr)
Series 1
Episode 3
Dr Cathy FitzGerald presents a series of lessons in creative writing with help from a ghostly array of great novelists, poets and playwrights.
Episode Three features mini-lectures on routine, concentration and time off. Ian Fleming goes on holiday, W.B. Yeats invites everyone to the pub, and Gertrude Stein draws inspiration from cows.
Original music by Joe Acheson.
Producer: Cathy FitzGerald
A White Stiletto production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 16:30 The Digital Human (b05v7tjt)
Series 7
Silt
Aleks Krotoski explores if we have all become digital hoarders. When our digital junk drawers are bigger than we can comprehend, do we lose the sense of what is worth keeping?
MON 17:00 PM (b05v7tl0)
News interviews, context and analysis.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b05v6g6r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b05v7tl2)
Series 72
Episode 1
Nicholas Parsons returns to host a new series of the popular panel game, recorded at the Shaw Theatre in London. He is joined by panellists Paul Merton, Tim Rice, Liza Tarbuck and Graham Norton who will attempt to talk without deviation, hesitation or repetition on such diverse topics as English Sparkling Wine and Crows Feet.
Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Comedy Production.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b05v7tl6)
Pip spots Rex at the temporary village shop at Bridge Farm and shares an idea about some farm land for he and Toby to rent. It's out towards Penny Hassett. Pip invites Rex to the Young Farmers' event and fishes to know about his and Toby's girlfriends. Rex points out that Toby may have more than one.
Joe tries to persuade Will to be Ed's best man, but Will says he just can't. Joe's upset and talks about it with Emma.
Jim and Robert's birding rivalry hots up during the great bird race, for which Lynda's keeping score. Roberts's suspicious and keen to know what Jim's secret weapon is. This turns out to be a woman called Molly, who gives Jim a heads up on a possible red kite spotting.
Vying for the same bird as Jim, and speculating on what exotic bird they might see, Robert leads Will to a sewage works where they also spot Jim. After much build up, the men are disappointed to watch a mere pheasant fly away.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b05v7tm3)
Bradley Cooper, The Art of Forgery, Cannes report, Folio Prize news
Bradley Cooper, the Oscar-nominated actor who starred in American Sniper, American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook, takes to the stage in London this week as The Elephant Man. Bradley Cooper discusses his approach in portraying the Victorian Joseph Merrick and the physical challenges he faced, but without prosthetics or make-up.
Art forgers, from the Dutch painter Han Van Meegeren to British artists John Myatt and Shaun Greenhalgh, have fascinated the public with their skill and audacity in hood-winking the art establishment. Noah Charney discusses his new book The Art of Forgery, which explores some of history's most scandalous forgeries and asks what drives talented artists to deceive.
A busy weekend at the Cannes Film Festival has seen people focusing on the new Amy Winehouse documentary, Matthew McConaughey's controversial new film, and Pixar's latest animation which was unveiled today. Jason Solomons reports.
Andrew Kidd, co-founder of The Folio Prize for literature, describes a new challenge the prize faces.
Presenter John Wilson
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b05v7tby)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 Can Pay Won't Pay (b05v7tm6)
'Defeating the French was critical' - taxes were often levied to fight wars against the French but this didn't mean that people always paid them.
All through history people have wanted to get one over on the tax man. Whether it was the peasants of the 14th century who hid their fellow villagers to avoid the Poll Tax, homeowners in the 18th century who promised their votes to those tax collectors who would turn a blind eye to the window tax or the rich money men of the 1970s who would pay clever accountants to construct shell companies to avoid income tax. It has created a headache for governments throughout the ages. Paul Lewis looks at what can history tell us about what is a fair rate of tax, what will bring in the most revenue and asks when did paying your taxes become a moral issue.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b05tly3m)
Peru's Wildlife for Sale
The global trade in wildlife is worth an estimated US$20 billion a year. Peru is one of the most biodiverse nations on the planet. But its government estimates 400 species of fauna and flora are in danger of extinction - illicit trafficking is one of the biggest threats. The illegal wildlife trade supplies live birds and animals - macaws, parrots, monkeys, turtles - for both the local market and overseas collectors. It also commercialises body parts - the rare Andean bear, and the feathers of condors. So how is Peru attempting to protect its precious resources? For Crossing Continents, Linda Pressly goes on operations with the wildlife police.
Produced by John Murphy.
MON 21:00 What the Songbird Said (b05tz9jr)
Could birdsong tell us something about the evolution of human language? Language is arguably the single thing that most defines what it is to be human and unique as a species. But its origins - and its apparent sudden emergence around a hundred thousand years ago - remains mysterious and perplexing to researchers. But could something called vocal learning provide a vital clue as to how language might have evolved? The ability to learn and imitate sounds - vocal learning - is something that humans share with only a few other species, most notably, songbirds. Charles Darwin noticed this similarity as far back as 1871 in the Descent of Man and in the last couple of decades, research has uncovered a whole host of similarities in the way humans and songbirds perceive and process speech and song. But just how useful are animal models of vocal communication in understanding how human language might have evolved? Why is it that there seem to be parallels with songbirds but little evidence that our closest primate relatives, chimps and bonobos, share at least some of our linguistic abilities?
In this programme, Angela Saini meets biologists and linguists investigating what research on songbirds and other species might have to say about the question of how language, with all its beauty and richness, may have evolved.
Producer: Rami Tzabar.
MON 21:30 Start the Week (b05v7tbr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b05v6g6v)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b05v7tm8)
EU agrees plans for naval force to combat people-smugglers operating from Libya.
Libyan ambassador to the United Nations tells us he isn't convinced by the plans.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b05v7tmb)
Sarah Hall - The Wolf Border
Episode 1
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about personal and political borders - about power, land, family and love.
At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, untouchable, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria and her fiery mother and lost brother. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she is wary of humanity, happy in the untamed wilderness.
Set against the dramatic and artfully drawn backdrops of the Lakeland fells and the towering ranges of Idaho, The Wolf Border explores issues of ownership and vested power, of re-wilding and of family as Rachel reaches a turning point in her life and learns that choice and change are possible.
In this opening episode: The offer of a job from an eccentric Earl, whose plan is to reintroduce the Grey Wolf to England coincides with the chance to see her dying mother but is that enough to lure Rachel home?
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Abridged in ten parts by Sally Marmion.
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b05tl3jm)
Young Women as Linguistic Innovators
How has Kim Kardashian influenced the way you speak? More than you'd imagine! Michael Rosen and Laura Wright discuss the role of young women in language innovation across cultures, with the help of Dr Enam Al-Wer of Essex University.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
MON 23:30 Blind Man Roams the Globe (b03bps1p)
1. San Francisco
Peter White's job as a BBC broadcaster has already taken him to many places. At first he thought that he was missing out on not being able to see the standard tourist monuments, but when he travels now he has an arsenal of strategies to get to know a place. He listens to local radio, he takes in the sounds of restaurants, travel systems and the voices of the locals. He also meets other blind people and uses their experiences of an area to understand it better and to appreciate the aural clues which help guide them.
Peter realised sightseeing was not for him when, as a twelve year, he trailed round the ruins of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire: "The fact is, sightseeing and I were never going to see eye to eye. The plain fact is, though, that however good the intentions, touch is not sight - and once you've run your hands over one piece of ancient stone, one stuccoed wall, one marble floor, well, you've touched them all."
It was a wish to try to explain and share what it was that could make travelling come alive for a totally blind person, unable to see from birth, that gave rise to the series. In these programmes Peter hopes to build on its growing reputation and its unique take on the world's cities He begins by visiting San Francisco, where he uses aural clues to sample typical West Coast life - including trips to an Oakland baseball game, the Golden Gate park and the beach.
As Peter says: 'the fact is, sightseeing and I were never going to see eye to eye. The tragedy is that over the years, people have tried so hard to make it work. Specially recorded tapes for blind people, rails to follow so that you can go round unaided, a huge revolution in what you're allowed to touch.
'The plain fact is, though, that however good the intentions, touch is not sight - and once you've run your hands over one piece of ancient stone, one stuccoed wall, one marble floor, well, you've touched them all.
The problem with touch really is that the hand is too small. You can only touch one little bit at a time.
'There's too much missing; a sense of size, colour, perspective, visual contrast. With the best will in the world, you are playing at being able to see, and for me, that kind of self-deception has never cut any ice.
This, nevertheless, does not mean that travelling, visiting and poking about in other people's cultures cannot be enormous fun for a blind person. It's just that I think you have to be honest about what is fun, and what isn't.'
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2013.
TUESDAY 19 MAY 2015
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b05v6g7v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05v7tbt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b05v6g7x)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b05v6g7z)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b05v6g81)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b05v6g83)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b05vt8rv)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Sister Gemma Simmonds of the Congregation of Jesus.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b05v7tmp)
Qualifications, Technology Potatoes, China and Ireland
The Department of Education is overhauling the way that Btec qualifications are taught. Agricultural and land based courses are due to be reviewed in 2017, but until then they wont count towards a school's league tables , which discourages them from being taught. Vicky Davis is the vice principle of Brymore Academy in Somerset, which offers lots of agri and land based courses, as well as having a 45 hectare school farm. She told Sybil Ruscoe, that it puts school like Brymore at risk.
All this week Farming Today is taking a look at Innovation in Farming. Anna Hill visits a Norfolk potato farmers who is working with the John Innes centre to try and find a way to stop potatoes sprouting when they are being stored. They found that the answer is much less high tech than imagined.
Ireland have increased their trading relationship with China, which is good news for Irish Farmers. Darragh McCullough from the Irish Independent newspaper explains why Ireland has cracked the Chinese market while other countries, like the UK, are still trying to make inroads.
Presented by Anna Hill. Produced by Ruth Sanderson.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk6z)
Hobby
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Brett Westwood presents the Hobby. Sickle winged, red-trousered and black-moustached, the hobby is a strikingly beautiful falcon. Hobbies arrive in the UK in late April or May from their wintering grounds in Africa. They are now flourishing in the UK where there are now around 2000 pairs, breeding mainly on farmland and heaths in England and Wales.
TUE 06:00 Today (b05v7tnb)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 Soul Music (b03kqf04)
Series 17
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Few songs can claim to be - quite literally - as far reaching as the 1967 classic 'Can't Take My Eyes off You'. In this edition of Radio 4's 'Soul Music', we hear from former astronaut Christopher Ferguson who heard this song as an early morning wake-up call aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. And from mum of two Michelle Noakes who sang this classic piece to the baby she was told she may never be able to carry. We also hear from the honeymoon couple whose marriage proposal began with a hundred strong 'flash mob' performance of this track and from Frankie Valli himself, who reflects on one of the most moving performances he ever gave when he sang 'Can't Take My Eyes off You' to a crowd of recently returned Vietnam Veterans. DJ Mark Radcliff recalls the many artists since Valli that have covered this song (not least his mum as she sang along to the Andy Williams version) and composer Bob Gaudio tells us how this now universally famous piece of music began life in a room over looking Central Park with a melody originally penned for a children's nursery rhyme.
Producer: Nicola Humphries.
TUE 09:30 Witness (b05vh4hr)
The Murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero
The outspoken Archbishop of El Salvador was killed by gunmen whilst preaching in church in March 1980. Hear from a Salvadoran journalist who was in the church at the time; and from the former US Ambassador to El Salvador, who knew him. Archbishop Romero will be beatified by the Catholic Church later this week - a step on the road to sainthood.
TUE 09:45 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05vhwp2)
Episode 2
Steve Boggan meets a legendary character called Dave Mack who agrees to let him tag along to see some ‘extreme’ prospecting.
Read by Paul Ritter and Sara Markland.
Gold - for centuries people have been entranced by the riches it promises, thousands have gone wild in their search for it, and since the Financial Crisis the price of gold has reached peaks never seen in history.
All over the world, particularly in the US, people with no experience of prospecting began shopping for shovels, pickaxes, gold pans, tents, generators, and all manner of equipment they had no idea how to use. And off they went mining.
Steve Boggan decided to follow in their footsteps. In 2013 he packed his bags and flew to San Francisco to join the 21st century's gold rush (the 'New 49ers') in a quest to understand the allure of the metal – and maybe find a bit for himself too.
He meets a selection of colourful characters - those who left desk jobs and family life behind to work by the river in scorching heat and fresh mountain air, in the hope of striking it rich. Most of them only make enough money to scrape a living, but Steve is surprised how happy they seem to be. From them, he gets a crash course in small-scale prospecting.
He also takes us back in time to the original gold rush, two centuries ago, tracing the path of the first intrepid 49ers (in particular, a woman called Sarah Royce and her family) who abandoned their roots and trekked thousands of miles across perilous terrain, risking death for the chance of riches.
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b05v7tnf)
Yvette Cooper, Harassment in Clubs, Women in One
Yvette Cooper on why she thinks she's the right person to lead the Labour Party. Sexual harassment in nightclubs. Emma Sky on her memoir, The Unravelling. Beverley Bryant on an exciting career in tech and her work updating the NHS. Women in One: a series of short interviews with women in Leeds.
Presented by Jane Garvey
Produced by Jane Thurlow.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b05v7tnp)
A Small Town Murder
Episode 2
The seventh series of our crime drama starring Meera Syal as family liaison officer Jackie Hartwell.
Jackie Hartwell is tasked to break the news to Connie Hudson - a Birmingham based singing star from the 1960's - that her troubled daughter Abi has been found murdered.
Written by Scott Cherry
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 11:00 The Origins of War (b05v7tnr)
Is our desire to wage war something uniquely human or can its origins be traced much further back in our evolutionary past?
To suggest that warfare is a regular feature of human civilization would be to state the obvious. But just how deeply rooted is our desire to kill others of our species? Is lethal aggression a fixed part of our genetic code, something that has evolved from a common ancestor - and something therefore that has adaptive value? Or is warfare - and more generally, a predilection for lethal violence something that has emerged much more recently in human history? No longer the preserve of historians and philosophers, the question, as Geoff Watts discovers, is now argued over fiercely by anthropologists and biologists.
Producer: Rami Tzabar.
(Photo: Chimpanzee. Credit: Getty Images)
TUE 11:30 Hip Hop in the Middle East: Rhymes, Revolution and Resistance (b05v7tnt)
In 2011 many people in the Middle East took to the streets to demand change. Revolution was in the air and, like many revolutions, there was a soundtrack.
Hip Hop, since its inception has been seen by many as the musical voice of modern revolutions. In the Middle East, Arab Hip Hop became a voice of protest as young Arabic people took to the mic and used this vocal art form as a way of expressing their discontent with incumbent governments.
Four years since the start of the revolution, which became known in the West as the Arab Spring, music journalist Jackson Allers talks to MC Amin from Egypt, Malikah from Lebanon and Al Sayyed Darwish from Syria. They are all rappers who dared to speak up in a region where freedom of expression can come at a heavy price.
Jackson also discusses the political tensions which have divided a once united hip hop movement
Producer Liam Bird
A Folder Media production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:00 News Summary (b05v6g86)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 Welcome to the Quiet Zone (b05v7tp2)
Keeper of the Quiet
'The Keeper of the Quiet' - Chuck Niday takes Emile Holba out in his radio wave detector van, as he continues his exploration of 13,000 square miles designated 'the National Quiet Zone' - protecting the Robert C Byrd Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia. Listening to deep space, using a giant telescope - the largest moveable technological object on land - 2.3 acres in size.
Imagine a place without mobile phones. Quiet isn't it. People still look at each other when they are talking. It's not a dream. It really exists.
Designated a radio wave free area in the 1950s, the area is home to two giant listening stations. One listens to deep space, as far back as milliseconds after the Big Bang - the Green Bank National Observatory; the other is Naval Communications, the NSA listening ear.
Hence the requirement, by law, for a radio frequency free zone since 1954.
Photographer Emile Holba, long fascinated with the edges of society, takes a trip into the Quiet Zone where the ability to listen in to moments after the creation of the universe, means the local population have sacrificed their connection to the outside world.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall.
TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b05v7tp4)
Call You and Yours: Is the BBC licence fee worth it to you?
It's an annual fee of one hundred and forty five pounds fifty. That pays for everything from EastEnders to Radio 3 to The Great British Bake Off not to mention You & Yours. New research suggests many thousands are refusing to pay the fee as they're watching on catch up which is currently exempt.
So, should the licence fee be replaced by a subscription system? Or would cutting the licence fee damage the BBC? What do you think - has the licence fee been worth it to you? Was there a moment you realised that you just couldn't do without it? Or do you think it's time to make the BBC compete for its funding?
You can email us now - YouandYours@bbc.co.uk and join Winifred Robinson at 1215.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b05v6g88)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b05v7tp6)
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
TUE 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05v7tqh)
Aryabhata: The Boat of Intellect
Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute in London, explores the life and legacy of Aryabhata, the legendary Indian mathematician and astronomer. Unknown in the West until a few decades ago, he is said by some to rank with Euclid and the great Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Ptolemy. But unlike Euclid, Aryabhata left no proofs, explaining how to recreate his findings. "His ideas, translated into Arabic, influenced Islamic astronomers and mathematicians. But he wasn't working in the idiom of his Western counterparts, so his ideas didn't feed into the global stream of scientific discovery, and eventually Indians forgot Aryabhata too. It was only when science and technology began to flourish in modern India that his reputation got a relaunch," says Professor Khilnani.
Producer: Mark Savage
Researcher: Manu Pillai
Listeners can catch up with the series and see the list of remarkable Indians featured on the Radio 4 website.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b05v7tl6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b01l0glw)
The Odd Job
William Ash and Andrew Knott's dark comedy about an aspiring documentary maker who meets a retired couple with a startling secret.
Sheila and Barry are desperately trying to raise funds for a sick child; this selfless pursuit has reinvigorated their empty lives with purpose. Sensing a career-defining story, Clive becomes involved in their money making scheme and is soon entrenched in their increasingly perilous world.
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (b05v6cyj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b05v7tqq)
Electric Island
The little Scottish island of Eigg is teaching the world how remote communities can power themselves with clean, green energy. Tom Heap meets the locals who've built the pioneering system and the international visitors who are eager to learn their secrets.
Producer: Alasdair Cross.
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b05v7tr3)
Food Connections Festival
Michael Rosen and guests perform songs, poems and stories about food. With Writer Tania Hershman, singer Simon Panrucker and Cook Barny Haughton. All in front of a family audience at the Food Connections Festival in Bristol.
Have you ever wondered what the words raspberry, syllabub or toffee have in common? Did you know that pickle is a Dutch word but tomato, chocolate and chilli come from the Aztecs?
Join broadcaster and children's writer Michael Rosen on an adventure into language and food as he discovers how our favourite (and least favourite) dishes got their names in Radio 4's Word of Mouth programme. He'll be joined onstage by writers and singers to entertain us with poems, songs and stories and he'll be working with local schools to find out what makes the children of Bristol go 'yum' and 'yuk'.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b05v7tr5)
Series 36
US Ambassador Matthew Barzun on JG Winant
Matthew Parris meets the American Ambassador Matthew Barzun whose choice of great life is his wartime predecessor, John Gil Winant - the man widely held to have helped seal the special relationship between Britain and America and to have brought the US into the war effort.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
TUE 17:00 PM (b05vcxk9)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b05v6g8b)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b05vcxkc)
Series 6
Fleetwood
"Welcome to Fleetwood - Where Breastfeeding Is Always Welcome"
Mark Steel returns with a sixth series of the award winning show that travels around the country, researching the history, heritage and culture of six towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness, and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.
In the first programme, Mark visits the Lancashire Seaside Town of Fleetwood, the first planned town of the Victorian era. Home of Fisherman's Friend lozenges, the first female professional boxer Jane Couch, and trams. Originally built as a port to be the main stop off point between London and Scotland before railway engineers spoilt all that by building a line through the lake district. Mark discovers a proud town full of optimistic people, that is, until you mention Blackpool.
Written and performed by ... Mark Steel
Additional material by ... Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator ... Hayley Stirling
Producer ... Carl Cooper
A BBC Radio Comedy Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b05vcxq0)
David and Jennifer interview Stefan, a worker at Berrow Farm who wants to stay anonymous. Stefan says he saw who he thinks was Rob blocking up one of the big concrete drains. Rob must have wanted to stop the water getting through to the drainage ditch, avoiding flooding the cattle shed. David decides to talk to Charlie.
The Fairbrothers like the look of Pear Tree Farm as a location for their business. Pip feels it's a pity she may not be around long enough to get to know them.
Jolene shares with Pip the events from yesterday - Jim abandoned his driver Kenton when his car ran out of petrol. Pip has got a second interview for the job she's keen on. She asks Jolene and Kenton to run the bar at the next Young Farmers' social. Jolene appreciates the genuine offer, but later falls out a bit with Ruth when they discuss David and Kenton.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b05vcyvg)
We Are Many, American author Cynthia Bond, Joan of Arc music
With Kirsty Lang.
On 15 February 2003, 15 million people marched through the streets of 800 cities around the world against the impending war on Iraq. We Are Many is the story of the biggest protest in history. Kirsty speaks to director Amir Amirani about making the documentary film over 9 years.
Sun Trap is a new crime comedy series on BBC One from the director of The Inbetweeners the Movie. Starring Bradley Walsh and Kayvan Novak as an undercover reporter and his former mentor who solve mysteries on a fictional Spanish island. Boyd Hilton reviews.
Cynthia Bond is the latest author to be championed by Oprah Winfrey, for her debut novel Ruby. Drawing comparisons to Toni Morrison, the novel explores the sexual and racial brutality of 1950s East Texas.
The 1928 silent film classic La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc was originally made without an accompanying musical score. Donald Greig of the Orlando Consort has now written one with pure voices singing music of the time of Joan of Arc herself. He and the celebrated silent film pianist Neil Brand, who has accompanied the film many times, talk to Kirsty about creating a score that works.
Presenter : Kirsty Lang
Producer : Dymphna Flynn.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b05v7tnp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b05vcyvk)
Minding the Gap: Mental Healthcare
Mental health services are facing a period of unprecedented change. The Department of Health has committed itself to reducing the disparity between spending on physical and mental illness, and a new payment system means services will be funded differently in the future. In the meantime there are concerns that vulnerable patients are dying because of pressures to release them from hospital too quickly, and a failure to provide adequate support in the community.
Can a new focus on what has traditionally been dubbed a 'Cinderella service' reverse the impact of years of cuts?
Reporter: Adrian Goldberg
Producer: Gail Champion.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b05vcyvm)
Secret ballots, Making friends
Peter White hears how casting a secret ballot in the election was made impossible for some blind voters. We listen in on a secret recording from inside a polling station.
And, loneliness amongst people with disabilities is rife, according to a recent report by Sense. Deafblind people in particular can find it very difficult to make and maintain friendships - we hear why and about what might help.
Producer: Paul Waters.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b05vcyvp)
Claudia Hammond with the latest in psychology, neuroscience and mental health. What happens in the brain when someone goes on a drinking binge? Twins Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken took up the challenge to drink 21 units a week for a month for Horizon on BBC 2.
Chris drank 3 drinks a day and Xand 21 units in one day. For the experiment their livers and immune systems were monitored, but All in the Mind wondered how alcohol impacted on the neurotransmitters in the brain. Addiction expert Sally Marlow explains.
Children who fidget in the classroom are often in trouble for not sitting still but new research by Mark Rapport at the University of Central Florida suggests that children with ADHD need to wriggle to help them learn.
"held" is the title of an exhibition opening soon at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind and artist Jane Fradgley explores some of the issues around restraint through photographs of strong dresses which patients were sometimes forced to wear.
It has been known for a long time that music in different keys is associated with different emotions but much of the research focuses on Western music. Now Dr Bhishma Chakrabati from Reading University has been studying the effects of classical Indian ragas on mood.
TUE 21:30 Soul Music (b03kqf04)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b05v6g8f)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b05vcyvr)
Iraq's says it's confident government forces will overturn IS capture of Ramadi.
Thousands of civilians fleeing the city - as militants try to consolidate their hold
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b05vy88z)
Sarah Hall - The Wolf Border
Episode 2
Back in Idaho, Rachel faces a new and life-changing dilemma, which a message from home might help to resolve.
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about personal and political borders, about power, land, family and love. At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, untouchable, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria and her fiery mother and lost brother. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she is wary of humanity and happiest in the untamed wilderness.
Set against the dramatic and artfully drawn backdrops of the Lakeland fells and the towering ranges of Idaho, The Wolf Border explores issues of ownership and vested power, of re-wilding and of family as Rachel discovers that choice and change are possible.
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Abridged by Sally Marmion.
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
TUE 23:00 The John Moloney Show (b05vcyvv)
Series 1
Chomsky, Marks and Brustwarts
A joke about a German baby, a tale about his old life as a teacher and a run in with a hen night.
John Moloney has been headlining comedy clubs all over the world. We've captured him at his very best performing in front of an appreciative audience at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh.
Written and performed by John Moloney
Producer: Alan Lorraine
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015.
TUE 23:15 Richard Marsh (b01rlnj6)
Love and Sweets
The Perfect Match
Winner of Best Scripted Comedy in the BBC Audio Awards 2014, poet and playwright Richard Marsh fuses poetry and prose to tell a witty and honest story about moving in with his girlfriend Siobhan, planning the perfect proposal, and the build-up to his wedding day. What could be easier?
Richard's exhilarating relationship with Siobhan is going from strength to strength, and they are swept up in the heady rush of friends meeting friends and moving in together. Sharing a flat is a whirlwind of excitement, but also throws up problems for the couple - especially when Siobhan's mum comes to stay and doesn't pull her punches when it comes to what she thinks of Richard.
But Richard's got bigger things to worry about. He's secretly planning the perfect proposal, and even though when it comes to the big moment things don't go exactly as planned, soon Richard and Siobhan find themselves preparing for the wedding of their dreams. But if planning the perfect proposal was fraught with complications, it's nothing compared to planning the perfect wedding. Richard's just not sure why the joining of two hearts needs to involve Microsoft Excel...
Contains some explicit language.
Written and performed by Richard Marsh
Producer: Ben Worsfield
A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:30 Blind Man Roams the Globe (b03c240x)
2. Budapest
Peter's job as a broadcaster has already taken him to many places. At first he thought that he was missing out on not being able to see the standard tourist monuments, but when he travels now he has an arsenal of strategies to get to know a place. He listens to local radio, he takes in the sounds of restaurants, travel systems and the voices of the locals. He also meets other blind people and uses their experiences of an area to understand it better and to appreciate the aural clues which help guide them.
Peter realised sightseeing was not for him when, as a twelve year, he trailed round the ruins of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire: "The fact is, sightseeing and I were never going to see eye to eye. The plain fact is, though, that however good the intentions, touch is not sight - and once you've run your hands over one piece of ancient stone, one stuccoed wall, one marble floor, well, you've touched them all."
It was a wish to try to explain and share what it was that could make travelling come alive for a totally blind person, unable to see from birth, that gave rise to the series. In these programmes Peter hopes to build on its growing reputation and its unique take on the world's cities.
As Peter says: 'the fact is, sightseeing and I were never going to see eye to eye. The tragedy is that over the years, people have tried so hard to make it work. Specially recorded tapes for blind people, rails to follow so that you can go round unaided, a huge revolution in what you're allowed to touch.
'The plain fact is, though, that however good the intentions, touch is not sight - and once you've run your hands over one piece of ancient stone, one stuccoed wall, one marble floor, well, you've touched them all.
The problem with touch really is that the hand is too small. You can only touch one little bit at a time.
'There's too much missing; a sense of size, colour, perspective, visual contrast. With the best will in the world, you are playing at being able to see, and for me, that kind of self-deception has never cut any ice.
This, nevertheless, does not mean that travelling, visiting and poking about in other people's cultures cannot be enormous fun for a blind person. It's just that I think you have to be honest about what is fun, and what isn't.'
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2013.
WEDNESDAY 20 MAY 2015
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b05v6g98)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05vhwp2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b05v6g9b)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b05v6g9d)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b05v6g9g)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b05v6g9j)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b05vt8sk)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Sister Gemma Simmonds of the Congregation of Jesus.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b05vcqzs)
Hen Harrier Row, Farming Inventions, British Lamb's Lettuce
Gamekeepers and conservationists are at war over the endangered Hen Harrier. The RSPB suspect foul play as three male birds have disappeared. Former cricket England captain Sir Ian Botham is now supporting a campaign backed by the grouse shooting industry, is critical of the RSPB for not saving the abandoned eggs.
The invention that's helped change fencing techniques forever.
One British farm is producing lamb's lettuce all year round.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk7c)
Turnstone
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Brett Westwood presents the turnstone. A turnstone is a stout little wading bird which you'll often see probing under seaweed on rocky shores or flipping pebbles over with the stout bills...hence their name....Turnstone. In summer they are intricately patterned and strikingly coloured like a tortoiseshell cat but at other times of year they look brownish and can be hard to see against the seaweed covered rocks among which they love to feed.
WED 06:00 Today (b05vcr49)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b05vcsdc)
Chi-chi Nwanoku; Ingrid von Oelhafen and Tim Tate; Tristan Gooley and Colin Rosie
Libby Purves meets Ingrid von Oelhafen who was taken from her family in Yugoslavia as a baby and brought up as an Aryan child in the Nazi Party's notorious Lebensborn programme; photographer turned top hat seller Colin Rosie; musician Chi-chi Nwanoku and Tristan Gooley, writer and expedition leader.
Colin Rosie is a photographer turned top hat seller. In 2013 he found himself homeless after the collapse of his business. He spent months sleeping rough until financial help from a charity enabled him to start a new business selling top hats. He buys and restores vintage and modern hats from top hats to fedoras and trilbies which he sells on the Last Stop for the Curious stall at London's Spitalfields Market.
At nine-months-old Ingrid von Oelhafen was removed from her parents in Yugoslavia by the Nazis and adopted into a German family as part of the Lebensborn programme. Founded by Heinrich Himmler, the Lebensborn programme was established to increase Germany's Aryan population and create a master race. In her book, Hitler's Forgotten Children, Ingrid tells how she finally discovered the truth about her background. Hitler's Forgotten Children by Ingrid Von Oelhafen and Tim Tate is published by Elliott And Thompson.
Chi-chi Nwanoku MBE is principal double bass and a founder member of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. She presents a two-part documentary for Radio 4 - In Search of the Black Mozart - in which she tracks down some of the great black composers and performers of the 18th century. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment's 30th birthday season begins at the Southbank Centre this autumn.
Tristan Gooley is a writer and expedition leader. His speciality is natural navigation - the art of finding your way using nature including the sun, moon, stars, weather, land, sea, plants and animals. His book, The Walker's Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs, is published by Sceptre.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05vhxqp)
Episode 3
Steve meets a character called Duane who freely admits to having ‘gold fever’. And on a prospecting trip with Tom, the author finds himself in very deep water.
Read by Paul Ritter and Sara Markland.
Gold - for centuries people have been entranced by the riches it promises, thousands have gone wild in their search for it, and since the Financial Crisis the price of gold has reached peaks never seen in history.
All over the world, particularly in the US, people with no experience of prospecting began shopping for shovels, pickaxes, gold pans, tents, generators, and all manner of equipment they had no idea how to use. And off they went mining.
Steve Boggan decided to follow in their footsteps. In 2013 he packed his bags and flew to San Francisco to join the 21st century's gold rush (the 'New 49ers') in a quest to understand the allure of the metal – and maybe find a bit for himself too.
He meets a selection of colourful characters - those who left desk jobs and family life behind to work by the river in scorching heat and fresh mountain air, in the hope of striking it rich. Most of them only make enough money to scrape a living, but Steve is surprised how happy they seem to be. From them, he gets a crash course in small-scale prospecting.
He also takes us back in time to the original gold rush, two centuries ago, tracing the path of the first intrepid 49ers (in particular, a woman called Sarah Royce and her family) who abandoned their roots and trekked thousands of miles across perilous terrain, risking death for the chance of riches.
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b05vcsdg)
Kate Fleetwood, Hot Feminism, Stereotypes, Asian Women of Achievement
Kate Fleetwood stars in the new musical production of High Society at the Old Vic in London - how does she follow in the footsteps of Grace Kelly and Katharine Hepburn as the socialite Tracy Lord? Grazia columnist and Times feature writer, Polly Vernon, describes herself as a Hot Feminist. She tells Jenni why she's given up on what she calls the rules on 'good' feminism and now follows the principles of 'hot feminism' - for those who care about how they look, as well as the gender pay gap; Simone Bresi-Ando is the founder of I'mPossible, a social enterprise to empower young women of colour - she'll be discussing the stereotypes which can prevent young, black women from fulfilling their potential with fitness blogger,Tashi Skervin; and Annie Zaidi says she may look like your average British Asian Muslim woman in a headscarf - but she's also a football coach. She's been nominated in the Sport Category of this year's Asian Women of Achievement Awards and discusses the challenges and triumphs of her life in football.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b05vcsdj)
A Small Town Murder
Episode 3
The seventh series of our crime drama starring Meera Syal as family liaison officer Jackie Hartwell.
Jackie Hartwell is tasked to break the news to Connie Hudson - a Birmingham based singing star from the 1960's - that her troubled daughter Abi has been found murdered.
Written by Scott Cherry
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:56 The Listening Project (b05vcsdl)
Dayle and Lorraine - Teach Our Children
Fi Glover with a conversation between parents of children on the autism spectrum who feel that their children deserve more specialist help. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
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 A Short History of Ukrainians in Britain (b05vcsdn)
Few people in Britain knew much about Ukraine until its recent revolution and war with Russian-backed rebels filled the news headlines. But, for decades, towns and cities across the UK have been home to Ukrainian communities created by refugees from a previous attempt to break free of Moscow's control.
Award-winning author and journalist Oliver Bullough travels from Lockerbie and Edinburgh to Manchester and London to hear the stories of Britain's Ukrainians. He hears of the prisoners of war arriving after the Second World War - Ukrainians who fought with the German army against the Soviet Union, and then won asylum in the UK - and how they mingled with compatriots already here.
Determined to preserve their culture in exile, they established churches and community centres, passing on their language, music and folklore to their British-born children. They dreamed of one day returning to a free homeland but, post-1991, when they could finally do so, it was a disappointment - corrupt, blighted and poor. More Ukrainians came from Ukraine to Britain, than left Britain for Ukraine.
This is a story told in several voices - a musician who teaches the bandura (a traditional Ukrainian stringed instrument) to children in Manchester, the caretaker of a Ukrainian prisoner of war chapel in Lockerbie, a Scottish-Ukrainian SNP politician, a choreographer and a London GP. Set between these voices are the sounds of music-making, dancing, church services and protests on the streets of London.
We hear how the revolution and war in Ukraine have galvanised Britain's Ukrainians to raise money and awareness for the future of their homeland.
Producer: Cicely Fell
An Above the Title production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b05vcsdq)
Series 10
One Man, Two Charlies
Ed Reardon leads us through the ups and down of his week, complete with his trusty companion, Elgar, and the curmudgeonly attitude to life that he's mastered over years of failure.
Ed finally finds himself homeless. However, all is not lost as an unexpected bonus of the recent financial apocalypse is that there are many premises in need of temporary caretakers. So it is that Ed finds himself residing in a furniture warehouse in Berkhamsted, complete with 'dream kitchen' fake fruit and a massage chair. He also somehow finds himself an author with a two book cookbook deal and a three figure advance.
With Stephanie Cole and Celia Imrie.
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas.
Produced by Dawn Ellis.
Ed Reardon's Week is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b05v6g9l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Welcome to the Quiet Zone (b05vcsl4)
We Are Technological Lepers
Pocohontas County has strict rules about the emission of radio signals, so that the Green Bank Telescope can conduct observations without interference.
This can cause some irritation to locals, who might want to use mobile phones but can't, but the National Quiet Zone is a legally controlled are of radio quiet, so the area has remained Wi-Fi free, as the rest of the world get increasingly addicted to their smart phones.
Now a new group of people have started to make their way into the area - living in cabins, or 'faraday cages', they are the people who believe themselves to be electromagnetically hyper sensitive. Mobile phone towers can give them headaches; smart metres stop them sleeping. Emile Holba heads into the woods to meet the Wi-Fi runaways, and self-describing 'technological lepers'.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b05vct0m)
M&S profits, End-of-life care, Village vending
High street giant Marks and Spencer has reported its first rise in annual profits for four years. A dedicated M&S shopper gives her verdict on how the shop has changed over the years.
A woman whose husband died in a hospital toilet tells Winifred Robinson how he was failed by the organisation that was supposed to be looking after him. The Health Ombudsman has criticised the hospital responsible, and said hundreds of thousands of patients in England are being let down by poor end-of-life care.
Plus sales at vending machines are up. We visit the rural village of Clifton in Derbyshire, where an industrial sized vending machine is providing 24 hour convenience.
Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Natalie Donovan.
WED 12:57 Weather (b05v6g9n)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b05vct0p)
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
WED 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05vct0r)
Shankaracharya: A God Without Qualities
Is that a snake or a coiled rope? Intriguingly, that is the question which starts Professor Sunil Khilnani's look at the life and legacy of Adi Shankaracharya, the philosopher and theologian who set Hinduism - the third largest religion in the world - on a new course. Shankaracharya's ambition was to provide a unified, coherent, single reading of the Hindu scriptures. His teachings were not universally embraced but they were revived by Indian nationalists looking for a muscular response to the monotheistic religions of Christianity and Islam. His efforts to capture the oneness of the universe produced beautiful, sometimes enigmatic sentences - as elusive as the man himself. "I am neither earth nor water nor fire nor air nor sense-organ nor the aggregate of all these," wrote Shankaracharya, "for all these are transient, variable by nature."
Produced by Mark Savage
Listeners can catch up with the series and see the list of remarkable Indians featured on the Radio 4 website.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b05vcxq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b01p0fpl)
Beryl: A Love Story on Two Wheels
As an ill child, Beryl Burton was told never to exercise. And then she met a young cyclist called Charlie: "The first year I pushed her, the second year I rode with her, and the third year she was at the head of the bunch".
Maxine Peake writes and stars in this true love story of Beryl Burton, a working class mum from Morley in Leeds who, with no financial backing or training, combined farm work with global domination in all areas of cycling competition from the 1950s to 1970s.
Drama is intertwined with contributions from Charlie Burton, now in his 80s, and their cycling champion daughter, Denise Burton Cole. Their perspective provides an intimate, funny and moving portrayal of Beryl, recorded on bikes in various locations around Saddleworth and in Harrogate.
Cast includes residents of Saddleworth as cyclists and Morley Club supporters
Contributors:
Charlie Burton
Denise Burton Cole
Sound Engineer Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore
Assistant Producer: Cath Ames
Production Assistant: Claire Ennion
Executive Producer: Melanie Harris
Directed and produced by Justine Potter
A Savvy production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Money Box (b05vct4g)
Money Box Live: Student Money
What do you need to know about student money? Whether you're concerned about fees or in need of loans, grants and bursaries, Ruth Alexander and guests will be ready to help. Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday with questions or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now.
If you're hoping to start university in the autumn you'll need to apply for financial support now if you want your money to arrive at the start of term. So what can you claim, how are you assessed and what information will you need to provide?
How much will you have to pay for tuition fees, accommodation and basic living costs? The National Union of Students estimate that the difference between potential student income and expenditure can be up to £8,000 per year, so it's important to look at all sources of financial help.
What's the position if you're a parent or a mature student?
Perhaps you're considering a postgraduate course? A new postgraduate loan system is being consulted on at the moment.
What happens if your financial circumstances change while you are studying?
Whether you're a new or returning student, or perhaps a supporting family member, our team can explain how it works. Waiting to answer your questions will be:
David Malcolm, National Union of Students.
Phil Davis, National Association of Student Money Advisers.
Lorna Caldwell, Student Awards Agency for Scotland.
Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Standard geographic call charges apply.
WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b05vcyvp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b05vct5z)
Poverty in Britain; Unemployment As a Choice
Poverty in Britain: Laurie Taylor talks to Joanna Mack, Learning and Teaching producer at the Open University, about the largest ever survey of UK levels of economic and social deprivation. Her co-authored book, 'Breadline Britain..' claims that poverty is at an all time high.
Also, claimants who reject work. Andrew Dunn, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at Lincoln University, has conducted research which suggests that some unemployed people turn down 'undesirable' work, thus choosing to remain in financial hardship.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b05vd03v)
Facebook Instant Articles, Eurovision evolution, UKTV success
As Facebook's latest innovation - Instant Articles - gets underway, we discuss the pros and cons for Facebook, news organisations and the public. Could this innovation be a plan to take over the news business or a way for publishers and broadcasters to reach a larger potential audience more quickly?
Question: When is Australia part of Europe?
Answer: When it comes to Eurovision.
This year there'll be an Australian entry in the competition. Ingrid Deltenre, Director General of the European Broadcasting Union tell us why - and which other non-European country she'd like to have on next year.
And why UKTV's family of channels is so profitable - could it be all these Top Gear repeats?
Presenter: Steve Hewlett.
Producer: Paul Waters.
WED 17:00 PM (b05vd03x)
News interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b05v6g9q)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Clare in the Community (b03s754k)
Series 9
Driven to Extremes
Clare is facing a disciplinary tribunal after a seemingly straightforward job goes awry. Can she convince the panel of her professionalism? At home, Brian tries to cheer up a despondent Nali.
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
Clare continually struggles to control both her professional and private life
In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden.
Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ...... Alex Lowe
Nali ...... Nina Conti
Mr Byrne ...... Richard Lumsden
Ms Mellor ...... Liza Tarbuck
Mr Plummer ...... Andrew Wincott
Joan ...... Sarah Thom
Hannah ...... Alex Tregear
Dermott ...... Arthur Hughes
Producer: Alexandra Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b05vd03z)
Emma has one last thing to sort out for the wedding. She talks to Will, and asks him to think about being Ed's best man. Emma wants to focus on the present and future - the wedding's just one day, and it would mean so much to the whole family.
David, in his capacity as flood warden, talks to Charlie. Charlie's keen to offer his help with the investigation, as David explains the evidence and statistics he's been gathering. David mentions the blocked culvert. Charlie's shocked at the idea of a Berrow Farm worker being involved and promises to get to the bottom of it. Charlie speaks to Rob and plans to interview the staff, saying it's best for Rob to stay out of the process.
Rob reports back to Helen - he's had a bad day. From David, there's a rumour about someone at Berrow blocking up the culvert that Charlie nearly drowned in. Perhaps an employee has it in for Rob. Helen's appalled - what kind of person would take such a stupid risk.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b05vd041)
Jim Dale, Will Young, Man Booker International Prize
Jim Dale, best known for starring in the Carry On films, is returning to the stage in a one man show, Just Jim Dale, which explores his sixty years in show business. Back in his home town of Corby, Jim Dale discusses the legacy of the Carry On films, his gift for impersonation and why he hated being a famous pop star.
Singer songwriter Will Young came to prominence after winning the first series of Pop Idol in 2002. As he releases a new album, 85% Proof, Will Young discuses confronting his past and how the trauma of being bullied by a teacher at school inspired a song on the album.
The Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai has won the International Man Booker Prize 2015. The judges praised him for his 'sentences of incredible length that go to incredible lengths'. He talks to Samira about his demanding novels which explore dystopian and melancholic themes.
And, as music streaming site Spotify announces it is moving into video, the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones discusses what the changes might mean for musicians, labels and Spotify's users.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b05vcsdj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b05vds5s)
Human Rights on the Battlefield
Clive Anderson and guests discuss the controversial suggestion that the UK should withdraw from human rights legislation and re-instate 'combat immunity' to protect the British Army from legal action.
The British Army may have stepped away from the battlefield, but it is still increasingly under major fire in the courts, where the Ministry of Defence has suffered a series of defeats. Since the landmark case of Smith v MOD in 2013, soldiers injured in battle or the families of those killed in action may sue the Government for negligence under domestic law and for breach of the "Right to Life" under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Arguing the case for combat immunity is Dr Jonathan Morgan, co-author of the think tank Policy Exchange's report Clearing the Fog of War which contends that the judiciary is the wrong body to hold the army to account. It says the extension of the common law of negligence to military action has already had damaging effects on the forces. The result will be an excessive degree of caution which is antithetical to the war-fighting ethos that is vital for success on the battlefield.
Arguing against Dr Morgan are barrister Jessica Simor QC, who acted for the appellants in Smith v Ministry of Defence, and retired Supreme Court judge Lord Hope, who presided in the case.
Also taking part is former Army Legal Service officer Andrew Buckham who now represents soldiers suing the military and the government.
Have court decisions which extend the reach of human rights law beyond the UK undermined the effectiveness of the military - and should it be parliament, not the judiciary, that holds the army to account?
Produced by Brian King
An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b05vds5x)
Huda Jawad
Huda Jawad describes reconciling her deeply-held Islamic faith with her feminism, arguing that the Qur'an does not sanction the oppression of women.
"I was enraged to hear that Islam was used in the most perverse ways," she says, "to maintain women's vulnerability and persecution and enable the perpetrators, who are usually men, to coerce and control them."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b05v7tqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Midweek (b05vcsdc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b05vds61)
Record fines for banks over currency market fix.
5 major banks fined more than £3.6 bn for colluding to manipulate foreign currency
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b05vy89l)
Sarah Hall - The Wolf Border
Episode 3
Now employed on the Earl of Annerdale's estate, it's time for Rachel to meet the staff, make up her team and reconnect with her brother.
And she needs to make a fateful decision...
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about political and personal borders - about power, land, family and love. At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, untouchable, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria and her fiery mother and lost brother. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she is wary of humanity, happy in the wilderness.
Set against the dramatic and perfectly evoked backdrop of the Lakeland fells, The Wolf Border explores issues of ownership and vested power, of re-wilding and of family as Rachel finds her way home.
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
WED 23:00 John Kearns (b05vhf6x)
Episode 1 - The Ticket
A glimpse into the oddball mind of John Kearns as he returns home from work...
The first of four 14 minute vignettes from the Winner of the Main Prize at 2014's Edinburgh Comedy Festival, as well as 2013 Best Newcomer.
Producer: Arnab Chanda
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015
WED 23:15 Before They Were Famous (b05vdtgg)
Series 3
Episode 1
Ian Leslie presents the show which brings to light the often surprising first literary attempts of the world's best known writers.
In this episode, we're first treated to graphic novelist Alan Moore's early drafts for the popular Fred Bassett cartoon strip.
We then turn to crime writer Patricia Cornwell and her perhaps excessively gory descriptions of fast food menu items, written as an early commission by a high street restaurateur when work was scarce.
Finally we hear from great poet Byron as he first plied his trade for a quick paycheque, penning headstone verses for beloved deceased pets.
To end the show, the first of our disturbingly unseasonal Christmas cracker jokes by Henrik Ibsen.
Producer: Claire Broughton
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015..
WED 23:30 Piano Pilgrimage (b03nrlyg)
Episode 1
Jazz pianist Jamie Cullum explores the piano's place in modern life. With recent stories about the decline of the piano, Jamie delves behind the myths to find out about the history of the instrument he is most passionate about and looks at how the piano industry is still thriving in the UK.
In the first episode, Jamie begins by focusing on the piano itself and traces the story of an old abandoned piano that he rescued from a street corner. His journey leads him to the London Borough of Camden where piano historian Dr. Alastair Laurence takes him on a tour around the area that, only a century ago, was the world centre of the piano making industry.
After exploring some of the remaining piano retailers in the neighbourhood and playing London's most out of tune piano, Jamie travels to the Yorkshire Dales to visit one of the few places left in the country where pianos are still being made from scratch.
At Newark College, Jamie talks to the course leader and students at the last piano tuning course in the country and learns some surprising facts about the physics of piano tuning.
Finally, Jamie visits the Brontë's old family home to play on the sisters' own piano that has been carefully restored.
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft.
A Folded Wing production for BBC Radio 4
THURSDAY 21 MAY 2015
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b05v6gbk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05vhxqp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b05v6gbm)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b05v6gbp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b05v6gbr)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b05v6gbt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b05vt8sr)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Sister Gemma Simmonds of the Congregation of Jesus.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b05vfdf1)
Farm innovation, Lave net fishing, RPA deadlines
How easy is it for farmers to discover new ways of working, and can they find the right help and advice when they need it? What's the relationship between farmers and researchers, be they working within university departments or commercial companies? All this week Farming Today is looking at innovation in farming. Mark Smalley reports from a conference about farm innovation at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire.
'Lave net' fishing dates back hundreds of years on the Severn estuary, and involves spreading a net across a Y-shaped wooden frame, which is wedged in the mud and held by a fisherman up to his or her waist in the water. The Environment Agency has reduced the fishermen's annual catch from five fish each, to just one - blaming declining numbers of salmon in the Estuary. Steve Knibbs meets 84 year old Jock Riggs, who's been fishing on the Severn since 1946. Do the new rules threaten an ancient way of life?
And Farming Minister George Eustice gives an update on deadlines for farmers claiming farm subsidy through the Rural Payments Agency.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Emma Campbell.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk8r)
Thrush Nightingale
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Brett Westwood presents the thrush nightingale. Even though there's no sign of the whistling crescendos that are a hallmark of its close relative, the Nightingale, the song of the thrush nightingale is an accomplished performance. They are summer visitors to Europe and prefer dense damp thickets from which they often sing.
THU 06:00 Today (b05vfdzj)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b05vfdzl)
Josephus
It is said that, in Britain from the 18th Century, copies of Josephus' works were as widespread and as well read as The Bible. Christians valued "The Antiquities of the Jews" in particular, for the retelling of parts of the Old Testament and apparently corroborating the historical existence of Jesus. Born Joseph son of Matthias, in Jerusalem, in 37AD, he fought the Romans in Galilee in the First Jewish-Roman War. He was captured by Vespasian's troops and became a Roman citizen, later describing the siege and fall of Jerusalem. His actions and writings made him a controversial figure, from his lifetime to the present day.
With
Tessa Rajak
Professor Emeritus of Ancient History, University of Reading
Philip Alexander
Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies, University of Manchester
And
Martin Goodman
Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Oxford and President of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
THU 09:45 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05vj09h)
Episode 4
Having learnt the basics from a host of helpful characters, Steve heads off along the North Yuba River to try his hand at gold prospecting alone.
Read by Paul Ritter and Sara Markland.
Gold - for centuries people have been entranced by the riches it promises, thousands have gone wild in their search for it, and since the Financial Crisis the price of gold has reached peaks never seen in history. All over the world, particularly in the US, people with no experience of prospecting began shopping for shovels, pickaxes, gold pans, tents, generators, and all manner of equipment they had no idea how to use. And off they went mining.
Steve Boggan decided to follow in their footsteps. In 2013 he packed his bags and flew to San Francisco to join the 21st century's gold rush (the 'New 49ers') in a quest to understand the allure of the metal – and maybe find a bit for himself too.
He meets a selection of colourful characters - those who left desk jobs and family life behind to work by the river in scorching heat and fresh mountain air, in the hope of striking it rich. Most of them only make enough money to scrape a living, but Steve is surprised how happy they seem to be. From them, he gets a crash course in small-scale prospecting.
He also takes us back in time to the original gold rush, two centuries ago, tracing the path of the first intrepid 49ers (in particular, a woman called Sarah Royce and her family) who abandoned their roots and trekked thousands of miles across perilous terrain, risking death for the chance of riches.
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b05vfdzp)
Re-inventing the Magna Carta through the eyes of artist Cornelia Parker. As the conflict in Syria slips down the news agenda, we've an update on the country's continuing humanitarian crisis. The Bank of England wants the public to suggest the name of a visual artist they'd like to see on a new £20 note, we discuss the female artists who would be eligible. We've more in our series of audio snapshots in which women answer personal questions about their lives. And how should women in the clergy dress for work?
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Anne Peacock.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b05vfdzr)
A Small Town Murder
Episode 4
The seventh series of our crime drama starring Meera Syal as family liaison officer Jackie Hartwell.
Jackie Hartwell is tasked to break the news to Connie Hudson - a Birmingham based singing star from the 1960's - that her troubled daughter Abi has been found murdered.
Written by Scott Cherry
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b05vfdzt)
A Coup Crumbles
The programme that takes you places. In this edition to two countries, Burundi and Macedonia, where people have taken to the streets demanding change. In both, the outcome remains uncertain, the mood volatile, the conditions dangerous. Another correspondent looks on as thousands of troops from the US and its allies take part in a military exercise in Jordan - the top brass, meanwhile, are considering how best to tackle the advance of the fighters of Islamic State across the border in Iraq. Spaniards, after years of economic woe, are deserting their traditional political parties and we're in Barcelona, hearing why the radical left could soon seize control of the city hall. And 20-years after a spectacular volcanic eruption in the largest of the islands which make up Papua New Guinea we visit East New Britain and find people there upset that the tourists continue to give their home a wide berth.
THU 11:30 The Folk of the Pennines (b05vfdzw)
Greenhead to Kirk Yetholm
In 1965, after 30 years of campaigning led by the rambler Tom Stephenson, the Pennine Way was officially opened on Malham Moor in the Yorkshire Dales. Stretching from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish borders, the 268 mile route has attracted tens of thousands of walkers over the intervening years.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary this year, Mark Radcliffe travels the route and meets up with poets, folk musicians, historians and local people along the way.
In the final programme, Mark travels from Greenhead near Hadrian's Wall to the village of Kirk Yetholm.
He visits the Roman ruins of Vindolanda and in Bellingham discovers his ancestors may have been amongst the Border Reivers. He reaches the end point of the Pennine Way and meets up with Scottish folk singer Emily Smith who performs the Border Ballad 'The Dowie Dens o'Yarrow'.
Producer: Elizabeth Foster/Presenter: Mark Radcliffe.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b05v6gbw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Welcome to the Quiet Zone (b05vffp2)
Hunter and the Hunted
Homer Hunter takes Emile down by the creek in Stoney Bottom star gazing. Homer remembers before the telescope was built and when the Quiet Zone was just a quiet place - apart from the moonshine, and the blue grass, and the bear hunting, and the preaching.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b05vffp4)
Disability hate crime, Middle-aged renters, Dreamland
Justice system fails disability hate crime.
Leaner pickings for loyalty card owners.
The middle-aged professionals falling off the property ladder
The town pinning its hopes on the fun fair that is rising for the ashes.
Holiday makers booked in hotel where facilities are 'in the pipeline.'.
THU 12:57 Weather (b05v6gby)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b05vffp6)
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
THU 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05vffp8)
Rajaraja Chola: Cults of the Imagination
Rajaraja was not the first of the Chola dynasty but he took their empire to its zenith - from a relatively small kingdom to the dominant empire in India. Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute in London, visits Tamil Nadu where he finds modern day connections with the ruler whose name means 'king of kings'. Professor Khilnani visits the temple at Thanjavur which Rajaraja built a thousand years ago and named after himself, utilising the profits of trade. "For Raja Raja had pulled off something that no Indian ruler before him seems to have done," says Professor Khilnani. "He'd commandeered trading boats, timber sailed craft and launched maritime expeditions, bringing far flung wealth back home." The king was lavish with his gifts and used his wealth to capture the imaginations of those he ruled. His most important gift to art history came at the temple's consecration: 60 portable icons of Lord Shiva, the Hindu deity.
Producer: Mark Savage
Researcher: Manu Pillai
With incidental music by the composer Talvin Singh
Listeners can catch up with the series and see the list of remarkable Indians featured on the Radio 4 website.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b05vd03z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Stone (b05vfgc8)
Series 5
A Cut Above
Third drama in crime series Stone created by Danny Brocklehurst.
In A Cut Above by Marcia Layne, when DCI Stone and team investigate a suspected case of female genital mutilation, they find that no-one is willing to talk to them.
Sound design by Steve Brooke
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b05vfgcb)
Series 30
Royal Greenwich Park
In the first of a new series of Ramblings, Clare Balding meets a group of parents who regularly share uplifting walks in Royal Greenwich Park. The walkers each have children with special needs and find that rambling in one of London's most beautiful parks is both joyful and supportive.
Producer: Karen Gregor.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b05v6gjj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b05v6gn3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b05vfjtf)
Tomorrowland, Iranian Vampire Spaghetti Western, Abderrahmane Sissako, Cannes
With Francine Stock.
Director Brad Bird discusses Tomorrowland, in which George Clooney searches for a mythical city of the future created by the finest minds of their generation.
Director Ana Lily Amirpour discusses her Iranian vampire spaghetti western, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.
Abderrahmane Sissako talks about the political context of his drama Timbuktu, in which an African town is taken over by a jihadist group.
Tim Robey and Clare Binns report from the Cannes Film Festival.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b05vfjth)
El Nino, Echolocation, Seasons, Snakes
El Nino is a weather event that happens every 5 years. It leaves Europe largely unscathed but causes havoc around the southern hemisphere. El Nino causes droughts, floods and has even been linked to an increased incidence of war. And yet it is surprisingly hard to predict. Adam speaks to Professor Adam Scaife, from the Met Office, about unpicking the science from weather chaos.
Echolocation is the ability to sense objects using reflected sound. A handful of animal species do this - most bats, some whales and even a few humans. Some blind people use echolocation to navigate the world they can't see. Some make a clicking sound as they walk. Others use the sound of their footfall. In fact, all humans, sighted and unsighted, do it. Adam meets BBC's Damon Rose, who is blind, and they compare skills.
Marnie Chesterton travels to Southampton University's Institute of Sound and Vibration Research to meet Daniel Rowan. His team have recently isolated some of the factors necessary to echolocate. The work involved an anechoic chamber - the quietest place on earth and the sound equivalent of nothing.
Last week Adam gave the incorrect reason for why we have seasons. Dr Laura Rogers, a physics teacher, puts him right.
Dr Rhys Jones, star of BBC TV's Wildlife Patrol talks to Adam about the origin of snakes. A recent paper from a team in Yale hypothesises a common ancestor with tiny hind legs and nocturnal habits. Adam questions why 3400 species of snake have evolved to not have legs, when millions of other animals find them so useful.
THU 17:00 PM (b05vfjtk)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b05v6gc0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Best Behaviour (b05vfjtm)
Episode 3
Holly Walsh presents the comedy panel show that lays down the law of modern manners.
The guest panellists are comedians Richard Herring, Helen Zaltzman and Lloyd Langford, who are all pitching their ideas for new best behaviour rules to tackle modern life.
In this edition, the etiquette of travel is under comic scrutiny - including how to solve the phenomenon of 'man-spreading' on public transport, the need to ban emoticons from text messages, and the modern menace of cycling on pavements.
The panel also tackles the tricky etiquette problem of a member of the studio audience - 'how do I get out of nodding to the stranger I walk past every day when walking to work?'
Producer: Aled Evans
A Zeppotron production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b05vfjxp)
Emma's delighted with the dress Clarrie and Susan have made for her. Fallon presents Clarrie's beautiful dress, bought by Caroline. Susan points out to Emma how beautiful she looks. She may have said it before (before Emma's first wedding), but it really shows now that Emma's truly happy.
Emma would like to do a sewing bee for her hen night. Fallon's in charge of the wedding tea but is annoyed at herself for forgetting to replace the stolen bunting. Helen and Emma help by making new bunting. Helen talks happily about the idea of getting married herself. Emma gleefully mentions Susan's short engagement - she was pregnant with Emma at the time.
Will is going to be Ed's best man after all and vows to do a good job. He justifies missing Ed's stag as he has to write his speech - and hasn't a clue what to put. Nic implores Will to genuinely want to be Ed's best man - for himself not just obligation to the family. Then Will can truly put the past behind him.
Susan has a heart to heart with Emma - she's so proud. Ed's a great guy and she knows Emma's doing the right thing this time.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b05vfjxr)
Danny Boyle at Home, Simon Stephens, Lee Miller and Picasso
HOME is the new venue for film, theatre and the visual arts in Manchester. It brings together two former Manchester institutions - the Cornerhouse, so named because of its distinctive shape, and the Library Theatre which used to have its home in Manchester's Central library basement. Danny Boyle, filmmaker, theatre director, and now patron of Home, and Home's chief executive, Dave Moutrey, assess what this new £25 million arts centre brings to Manchester's cultural landscape.
Playwright Simon Stephens, best known for his adaption of Mark Haddon's novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, discusses his commission to write the inaugural play, The Funfair, for Manchester's newest dramatic stage - the main theatre at Home.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is a genre-defying mishmash of cinematic and popular culture references. This black and white Iranian vampire movie is also the debut of Iranian-American filmmaker, Ana Lily Amirpour. A big hit at last year's Sundance festival, it's just about to open in the UK. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews.
'Lee Miller and Picasso' is a new exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, drawing on the thirty year friendship between the photographer and artist. The collection includes personal photographs and items from the Miller Archive. Antony Penrose - Miller's son - reflects on the compelling relationship between the two revealed by his mother's photography.
Presenter - John Wilson
Producer - Ekene Akalawu.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b05vfdzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b05vfjxx)
Aid to Nepal
Aid is pouring in to Nepal in the wake of the earthquake. But in a country where corruption is endemic, will the money go where it is meant to? Simon Cox investigates.
Producer: Ben Crighton
Researcher: Aurelia Allen.
THU 20:30 In Business (b05vfk87)
Medellin Miracle
Less than 25 years ago Medellin was the most dangerous city on earth; with a reputation for kidnapping and murder, as well as a thriving drugs trade. Now Colombia's second city has become a top global tourist destination. Peter Day reports on a remarkable transformation.
Producer: Keith Moore.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b05vfjth)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b05vfdzl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b05vfkbw)
Net migration to Britain last year reached its highest level for a decade.
The number of people settling in the UK estimated to be 318,000 higher than those leaving. That's the biggest number since 2005.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b05vy8bv)
Sarah Hall - The Wolf Border
Episode 4
As the project gets underway, word reaches the local community and unleashes a backlash. Meanwhile Rachel has a life changing first encounter.
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about power, land, family and love. At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, untouchable, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria and her fiery mother and lost brother. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she is wary of humanity and happiest in the untamed wilderness.
Set against the dramatic and perfectly evoked backdrop of the Lakeland fells, The Wolf Border explores issues of ownership and vested power, of re-wilding and of family as Rachel realises she can choose, and change.
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
THU 23:00 Two Episodes of Mash (b01mqqht)
Series 2
Episode 3
Diane, Joe and David break loose from BBC Security and go on the run around Radio 4.
Hear them crash into programmes like Book At Bedtime and The Archers, before making their getaway with Aled Jones...
An animation of their Fishing Sketch by Tom Rourke can been seen on BBC Radio 4 Extra's website.
A mix of silly, surreal sketches and banter starring Diane Morgan, and Joe Wilkinson.
With:
David O'Doherty
Paul Harry Allen
Bobbie Pryor
Gary Newman
Aled Jones.
Producer: Clair Wordsworth
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2012.
THU 23:30 Piano Pilgrimage (b03pd2mv)
Episode 2
In the second part of his pilgrimage, jazz pianist Jamie Cullum uncovers the central role pianos have played in our communities in the past, and demonstrates the instrument's continued importance in many people's lives today.
Beginning at the family home of the Brontë sisters in West Yorkshire, he learns what the instrument meant for women in terms of courtship and their potential for marriage in the 1800s.
Jamie then heads to a school in Northern Ireland where the piano still plays a key part in the girls' education and wider social lives. After hearing a talented young pianist play, he performs an impromptu piece with the school choir around their grand piano.
Once a film student himself, Jamie looks at the position of the piano in silent cinema and learns about the resurgence of the phenomenon today at an open-air event in south London.
The pilgrimage eventually takes Jamie and his rescued old piano to a London pub to meet Chas and Dave. The three of them discuss the instrument's contribution to pub culture, before Jamie joins the Rockney duo for a crowd-pleasing sing-a-long around the piano.
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft.
A Folded Wing production for BBC Radio 4.
FRIDAY 22 MAY 2015
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b05v6gcz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05vj09h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b05v6gd1)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b05v6gd3)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b05v6gd5)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b05v6gd7)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b05vt8vw)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Sister Gemma Simmonds of the Congregation of Jesus.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b05vhq7t)
Dairy Cooperative
The UK's first Dairy Producer Organisation has been launched. It will act like a farmers' cooperative, and will be able to legally negotiate on behalf of its members. It'll be called Dairy Crest Direct, and will represent the 1,000 farmers who supply Dairy Crest.
As part of our look at innovation on farms, we hear from farmers at Grassland UK - an exhibition of some of the biggest and best new machines on the market. And Sophie Anton hears about a new system for growing plants - vertically, using no soil!
And did you know that 90% of the flowers we buy are imported? We hear from a campaigner who'd like to see British flowers promoted in the same way as British produce.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced in Bristol by Sally Challoner.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk90)
Jay
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Brett Westwood presents the jay. This bird is a colourful member of the crow family. In September and October you'll often see jays flying around woodland with their bills and throats crammed with acorns. Many of these they bury as winter stores but not all are retrieved by Jays and many germinate and grow into young oaks, making the jay a tree-planter on a national scale.
FRI 06:00 Today (b05vhh3z)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b05v6glq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:16 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05vj0r4)
Episode 5
Steve witnesses the darker side of ‘gold fever’ and finally tracks down ‘the guy’ he’s heard so much about.
Concluded by Paul Ritter and Sara Markland.
Gold - for centuries people have been entranced by the riches it promises, thousands have gone wild in their search for it, and since the Financial Crisis the price of gold has reached peaks never seen in history.
All over the world, particularly in the US, people with no experience of prospecting began shopping for shovels, pickaxes, gold pans, tents, generators, and all manner of equipment they had no idea how to use. And off they went mining.
Steve Boggan decided to follow in their footsteps. In 2013 he packed his bags and flew to San Francisco to join the 21st century's gold rush (the 'New 49ers') in a quest to understand the allure of the metal – and maybe find a bit for himself too.
He meets a selection of colourful characters - those who left desk jobs and family life behind to work by the river in scorching heat and fresh mountain air, in the hope of striking it rich. Most of them only make enough money to scrape a living, but Steve is surprised how happy they seem to be. From them, he gets a crash course in small-scale prospecting.
He also takes us back in time to the original gold rush, two centuries ago, tracing the path of the first intrepid 49ers (in particular, a woman called Sarah Royce and her family) who abandoned their roots and trekked thousands of miles across perilous terrain, risking death for the chance of riches.
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b05vhh42)
George Clooney, Power List 2015: Influencers in fashion
George Clooney on his new film Tomorrowland and what it's like to grow old in Hollywood.
The first Women's Court in the former Yugoslavia addressing the crimes committed against them during the wars. Barrister Kirsten Campbell talks about the importance of a 'feminist approach to justice.' Women in One - a collection of short interviews with strangers in Leeds.
Rachel Treweek, the first woman to run a diocese and the current Archdeacon of Hackney who will become the new Bishop of Gloucester. Woman's Hour's 2015 Power List: Influencers - Claudia Croft and Frances Card on who influences women's fashion.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Rebecca Myatt.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b05vhh44)
A Small Town Murder
Episode 5
The seventh series of our crime drama starring Meera Syal as family liaison officer Jackie Hartwell.
Jackie Hartwell is tasked to break the news to Connie Hudson - a Birmingham based singing star from the 1960's - that her troubled daughter Abi has been found murdered.
Written by Scott Cherry
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:00 Can Pay Won't Pay (b05v7tm6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
FRI 11:30 Paul Temple (b039q5dx)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair
Presenting Mr Gregory
The tenth and final part of a new production of a vintage serial from 1946.
From 1938 to 1968, Francis Durbridge's incomparably suave amateur detective Paul Temple and his glamorous wife Steve solved case after baffling case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. Sadly, only half of Temple's adventures survive in the archives.
In 2006 BBC Radio 4 brought one of the lost serials back to life with Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson as Paul and Steve. Using the original scripts and incidental music, and recorded using vintage microphones and sound effects, the production of Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery aimed to sound as much as possible like the 1947 original might have done if its recording had survived. The serial proved so popular that it was soon followed by three more revivals, Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery, Paul Temple and Steve, and A Case for Paul Temple.
Now, from 1946, it's the turn of Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair, in which Paul and Steve go on the trail of the mysterious and murderous Mr Gregory.
Episode 10: Presenting Mr Gregory
Paul sends out invitations to a very special party at the Madrid club.
Producer Patrick Rayner
Francis Durbridge, the creator of Paul Temple, was born in Hull in 1912 and died in 1998. He was one of the most successful novelists, playwrights and scriptwriters of his day.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b05v6gd9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Welcome to the Quiet Zone (b05vhh46)
Change Must Come
Rumours of closure at the Robert C Byrd Telescope at the National Radio Astronomy facility in Green Bank, West Virginia, abound.
Emile Holba hears from Karen O'Neill what extraordinary things the telescope can hear, and asks if the Quiet Zone is no longer needed how will that change the lives of those who live in this valley?
The telescope is trying to understand the creation of the universe, but there are universal issues pushing against the Quiet Zone.
The lives of those in the valley are in the hands of outsiders. The real MIB.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall.
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b05vhh48)
DBS delays, Npower, Challenger Banks, Breakout Rooms, Train Overcrowding
Consumer affairs programme.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b05v6gdc)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b05vhh4b)
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05vhh4d)
Basavana: A Voice in the Air
A portrait of Basavana, the radical poet and religious guru from the 12th century, whose words have inspired many other Indian poets, writers and dramatists. Professor Sunil Khilnani tells the story of a man whose deceptively simple verses protest against the immorality of the caste system and proclaim the intrinsic value of people who happen to be born poor. "His verses ... are what best explain him. They have a directness that reveals to us a free thinker, social reformer and religious evangelist who sometimes struggled to resist worldly temptations," says Professor Khilnani. Basavana was an inspiration to his followers yet his life came to a bitter end. His teachings are kept alive by a substantial religious community called the Lingayats who are concentrated in Northern Karnataka.
Produced by Mark Savage
Researcher: Manu Pillai
Readings by Sagar Arya
Listeners can catch up with the series and see the list of remarkable Indians featured on the Radio 4 website.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b05vfjxp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b05vhkbn)
Lizzy Barry's Lesson
Lizzy Barry was without doubt the most celebrated and best loved actress of the Restoration. But though Mrs Barry would disagree, it may have been her liaison with the infamous libertine The Earl of Rochester which provided the key to her extraordinary success.
Snatched or indeed kidnapped from a theatre where she was playing an unimportant supporting role, Robin Glendinning imagines a period of enforced and brutal tutelage during which Lizzy's exposure to The Earl of Rochester's poetry, stage craft and lovemaking, takes a head-strong but unpolished performer and turns her into the theatrical force which brought to an end the melodramas of Mrs Betterton and blazed a trail for a new generation of actresses who would go on to dominate the London stage as Desdemona, Portia, Rosalind and Lady Macbeth.
Robin Glendinning has written around 20 radio plays for BBC including 'Condemning Violence' nominated for a Sony award and 'The Words are Strange' a Giles Cooper Award winner and 'Playing for Time - 3 Days in May 1940' part of the Churchill Season on Radio 4, Jan 2005. His stage credits include: Stuffing It. Gate Dublin, Tricycle London. Culture Vultures Lyric Belfast, Minerva Chichester. Mumbo Jumbo Royal Exchange Manchester, Lyric Hammersmith, Lyric Belfast. Donny Boy Royal Exchange Manchester, Tour with Tinderbox Theatre Belfast, Exeter Theatre, Royal Theatre Oslo. Summerhouse Druid Galway, Arts Theatre Belfast.
Writer ..... Robin Glendinning
Director ..... Eoin O'Callaghan.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b05vhkbq)
Chelsea Fringe
Eric Robson chairs the horticultural panel programme from the Chelsea Fringe Festival. Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood and Anne Swithinbank answer questions at the Tea House Theatre.
Matt Biggs takes a grand tour of the Chelsea Fringe festivities and Peter Gibbs visits Matthew Wilson as he puts the finishing touches to his Chelsea show garden.
Produced by Howard Shannon
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Wish You Weren't Here... (b05vhkbt)
Small Print
A young couple buy a house, but there's a strange clause in the small print and a mysterious guest in their front room.
Patrick FitzSymons reads Clare Dwyer Hogg's unsettling tale.
Wish You Weren’t Here is a series of three original short stories by award-winning writers about that awkward person you’d rather not meet…
Director ..... Jenny Thompson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b05vhkby)
Oscar Holderer, David Sharp, the Dowager Marchioness of Reading, Alexandre Lamfalussy and Guy Carawan
Matthew Bannister on
Oscar Holderer, the last known survivor of the group of German rocket scientists who moved to America after the second world war. He helped to develop the Saturn Five rocket that took men to the moon.
Also rambler David Sharp - who created the Thames Path.
The Dowager Marchioness of Reading who was a pioneering pilot, a stock car racer and noted for her outspoken political views.
The economist and banker Alexandre Lamfalussy who laid the foundations for the European single currency.
And the American musician Guy Carawan who helped to turn the church song "We Shall Overcome" into an international campaigning anthem.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (b05vhkc0)
Women Drink Driving
Tim Harford asks whether there really is a problem with women drink driving as suggested by the Police Federation. He looks at the Rotterdam Effect and asks whether goods going to Europe's largest port skew the UK's export figures. He looks at the number of people on death row in the US who are eventually exonerated. He finds that the number of species of owl is a more difficult number to come by than you might expect and he asks if the Campaign for Real Ale are right to say that 29 pubs a week are closing in the UK.
FRI 16:56 The Listening Project (b05vhkv4)
Alan and Angela - Having a Voice
Fi Glover introduces a husband and wife considering how his stutter has featured in their relationship and wondering what will happen now he's found a way of dealing with it. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
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 (b05vhkv6)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b05v6gdf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b05vhkv8)
Series 87
Episode 2
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, with regular panellist Jeremy Hardy and guests Hugo Rifkind, Mark Steel and Holly Walsh.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
A BBC Radio Comedy Production.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b05vhlc6)
Ed & Emma's Wedding
Three weeks of themed programmes from the last two decades reliving key moments from the characters’ lives and the events that make Ambridge unforgettable. This episode forms part of the first week looking at how four different couples tied the knot and how one much loved character left the series.
Emma may once have been married to Will Grundy but she’s walking down the aisle with his brother Ed and Will is to be best man; the bitter feud between the two brothers it seems is finally over.
This programme was originally broadcast on Friday 22nd May 2015
Ed Grundy ..... Barry Farrimond
Neil Carter ..... Brian Hewlett
Joe Grundy ..... Edward Kelsey
Emma Grundy ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Clarrie Grundy ..... Heather Bell
Will Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Eddie Grundy ..... Trevor Harrison
Tom Archer ..... William Troughton
Writer, Mary Cutler
Director, Sean O'Connor
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b05vhlc8)
Maclise Waterloo cartoon, Harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, News from Cannes, Mark Billingham
One of the most important - and largest - drawings ever made in Britain, Daniel Maclise's 'The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo', goes on show today at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. It hasn't been displayed for 40 years and has been painstakingly conserved. Front Row observed that process.
Mahan Esfahani is a virtuoso harpsichordist having something of a moment: his new album exploring the relationship between Minimalist and Baroque music, Time Present and Time Past, has won warm reviews, and earlier this year he was named Newcomer of the Year in the BBC Music Magazine Awards. He talks to Kirsty about the status of the instrument and how Baroque can speak to Minimalism.
Jason Solomons joins Kirsty for a final report from the Cannes Film Festival and looks ahead to which films are in the running for the big prizes being awarded this weekend.
Crime-writer Mark Billingham and British country duo My Darling Clementine discuss The Other Half, a CD and stage show they've created, set in a down-at-heel bar in Memphis. Billingham has written and narrates a short story of love, loss and hope, accompanied by MDC's songs of heartbreak and pain.
Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Ellie Bury.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b05vhh44)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b05vhlcb)
Douglas Carswell MP, Mary Creagh MP, Lord Patten, Mark Serwotka
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from the Alexander Centre in Faversham, Kent, with UKIP MP Douglas Carswell, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Mary Creagh MP, former Conservative Party Chairman and former chairman of the BBC Trust Lord Patten and Mark Serwotka who is the Director General of the Public and Commercial Services Union.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b05vhlcd)
Politics of Hope
AL Kennedy says the election results in Scotland reflect a surge in political engagement in which people continue to feel they have the power to make a difference.
"A significant percentage of Scotland's voters on both sides of the independence question currently seem intent on reverse-engineering a democracy by beginning with hope."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Archive on 4 (b02xyl43)
Writers and Radio
This is the last era of radio-age writers. Authors born in the Forties and the early Fifties grew up with radio not TV; the BBC for them was a thing of sounds and voices, rather than of pictures. Susannah Clapp, of that generation, asks them what they heard and presents an archive essay talking to writers and listening, via the archive, to what they listened to and exploring the effect it had on their work.
With Richard Holmes, Andrew Motion, Alan Hollingshurst, Posy Simmonds and others. Producer: Tim Dee.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b05v6gdj)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b05vhlcg)
Overspending by NHS trusts in England has massively worsened over the past year.
Could the increased use of agency nurses be part of the problem?
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b05vy8cc)
Sarah Hall - The Wolf Border
Episode 5
With the wolves bonding, the time is approaching for their release into the estate where they must mate to guarantee the success of the project.
And Rachel has a new surprise...
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about personal and political borders, about power, land, family and love. At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, untouchable, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria and her fiery mother and lost brother. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she is wary of human connections, happy in the untamed wilderness.
Set against the dramatic and artfully drawn backdrops of the Lakeland fells, The Wolf Border explores issues of ownership and vested power, of re-wilding and of family bonds as Rachel discovers that she can choose, and change.
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b05v7tr5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:27 Piano Pilgrimage (b03q4mlx)
Episode 3
In the final part of his pilgrimage, Jamie finds out what the piano means to its biggest fans. Starting outside York Minster, he comes across two fellow jazz pianists whose passion keeps them coming out on to the streets to busk on a specially modified upright.
Next, Jamie heads to a retirement village in Sheffield where he performs with musicians from a charity, Lost Chord, that uses the piano to help people living with dementia.
Jamie hears from Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger about the piano playing challenge he set himself, before learning about left hand alone repertoire from one-handed pianist Nicholas McCarthy.
In Northern Ireland, Jamie meets the talented young piano players being mentored by Adele's piano player, Neil Cowley. Over a pint at Bennigan's Bar, Jamie finds out from the pub's legendary landlord Joe, how a piano turned the place into the heart of Derry's music scene. Jamie then tests the ivories for a moving final performance together with Joe and local musician Põl.
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft.
A Folded Wing production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b05vhlck)
Mel and Gary - Being You Being Me
Fi Glover introduces a conversation which reveals how Gary's dyslexia can put Mel in a role she's uncomfortable with, pretending to be him in business emails... Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 MON (b05v7tby)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b05v7tby)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b05v7tnp)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b05v7tnp)
15 Minute Drama
10:41 WED (b05vcsdj)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b05vcsdj)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b05vfdzr)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b05vfdzr)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b05vhh44)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b05vhh44)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (b05tq1s3)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (b05vhlcd)
A Short History of Ukrainians in Britain
11:00 WED (b05vcsdn)
All in the Mind
21:00 TUE (b05vcyvp)
All in the Mind
15:30 WED (b05vcyvp)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (b05v6cyz)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (b05tq1s1)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b05vhlcb)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b05v6d35)
Archive on 4
21:00 FRI (b02xyl43)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (b05vfjth)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (b05vfjth)
Before They Were Famous
23:15 WED (b05vdtgg)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b05v6ghr)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b05v6ghr)
Best Behaviour
18:30 THU (b05vfjtm)
Blind Man Roams the Globe
23:30 MON (b03bps1p)
Blind Man Roams the Globe
23:30 TUE (b03c240x)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 MON (b05v7tmb)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 TUE (b05vy88z)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 WED (b05vy89l)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 THU (b05vy8bv)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 FRI (b05vy8cc)
Boswell's Lives
19:15 SUN (b05vh1p4)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b05v6gks)
Can Pay Won't Pay
20:00 MON (b05v7tm6)
Can Pay Won't Pay
11:00 FRI (b05v7tm6)
Clare in the Community
18:30 WED (b03s754k)
Costing the Earth
15:30 TUE (b05v7tqq)
Costing the Earth
21:00 WED (b05v7tqq)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (b05tly3m)
Desert Island Discs
11:16 SUN (b05v6glq)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (b05v6glq)
Dilemma
12:04 SUN (b05tkvkn)
Drama
21:00 SAT (b05tbw1m)
Drama
15:00 SUN (b05v6gn1)
Drama
14:15 TUE (b01l0glw)
Drama
14:15 WED (b01p0fpl)
Drama
14:15 FRI (b05vhkbn)
Ed Reardon's Week
11:30 WED (b05vcsdq)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b05v6cyb)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b05v7tb8)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b05v7tmp)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b05vcqzs)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b05vfdf1)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b05vhq7t)
File on 4
17:00 SUN (b05tl3k0)
File on 4
20:00 TUE (b05vcyvk)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (b05vds5x)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b05tbnhl)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:00 THU (b05vfdzt)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b05v7tm3)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b05vcyvg)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b05vd041)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b05vfjxr)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b05vhlc8)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b05tpy84)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b05vhkbq)
Go West
00:30 SUN (b01rfy5y)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (b05v7tr5)
Great Lives
23:00 FRI (b05v7tr5)
Hip Hop in the Middle East: Rhymes, Revolution and Resistance
11:30 TUE (b05v7tnt)
In Business
21:30 SUN (b05v6gr4)
In Business
20:30 THU (b05vfk87)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (b05vfdzl)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (b05vfdzl)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b05vcyvm)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 MON (b05v7th2)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 TUE (b05v7tqh)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 WED (b05vct0r)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 THU (b05vffp8)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 FRI (b05vhh4d)
John Kearns
23:00 WED (b05vhf6x)
Just a Minute
18:30 MON (b05v7tl2)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b05tpz76)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b05vhkby)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b05v6czy)
Mark Steel's in Town
18:30 TUE (b05vcxkc)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b05tbngy)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b05v6g44)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b05v6g64)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b05v6g7v)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b05v6g98)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b05v6gbk)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b05v6gcz)
Midweek
09:00 WED (b05vcsdc)
Midweek
21:30 WED (b05vcsdc)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (b05v6cyx)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b05v6cyx)
Money Box
15:00 WED (b05vct4g)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (b05tpz78)
More or Less
16:30 FRI (b05vhkc0)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b05tbnh6)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b05v6g4d)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b05v6g6d)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b05v6g83)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b05v6g9j)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b05v6gbt)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b05v6gd7)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b05v6g4g)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (b05tbnhn)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (b05v6g4s)
News Summary
12:00 MON (b05v6g6k)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (b05v6g86)
News Summary
12:00 WED (b05v6g9l)
News Summary
12:00 THU (b05v6gbw)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (b05v6gd9)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b05tbnhd)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b05v6g4l)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b05v6g4q)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b05tbnj4)
News
13:00 SAT (b05tbnht)
Olympic Run
11:00 MON (b05v7tcg)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (b05v6gjd)
On the Rocks
11:30 MON (b05v7tcj)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (b05v6gn3)
Open Book
15:30 THU (b05v6gn3)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (b05tm4dl)
PM
17:00 SAT (b05v6czw)
PM
17:00 MON (b05v7tl0)
PM
17:00 TUE (b05vcxk9)
PM
17:00 WED (b05vd03x)
PM
17:00 THU (b05vfjtk)
PM
17:00 FRI (b05vhkv6)
Paul Temple
11:30 FRI (b039q5dx)
Peter Moore - The Weather Experiment
00:30 SAT (b05tq3y6)
Piano Pilgrimage
23:30 WED (b03nrlyg)
Piano Pilgrimage
23:30 THU (b03pd2mv)
Piano Pilgrimage
23:27 FRI (b03q4mlx)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b05v6gn7)
Poetry Please
23:30 SAT (b05tbxk2)
Poetry Please
16:30 SUN (b05v6gn5)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b05tq43y)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b05vt8qk)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b05vt8rv)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b05vt8sk)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b05vt8sr)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b05vt8vw)
Profile
19:00 SAT (b05v6d08)
Profile
05:45 SUN (b05v6d08)
Profile
17:40 SUN (b05v6d08)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:54 SUN (b05v6gjj)
Radio 4 Appeal
09:57 SUN (b05v6gjj)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b05v6gjj)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b05v6gjj)
Ramblings
15:00 THU (b05vfgcb)
Richard Marsh
23:15 TUE (b01rlnj6)
Saturday Drama
14:30 SAT (b042cq8f)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b05v6cyg)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b05v6d0b)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b05tbnh2)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b05v6g48)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b05v6g68)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b05v6g7z)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b05v6g9d)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b05v6gbp)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b05v6gd3)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b05tbnh0)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b05tbnh4)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b05tbnhy)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b05v6g46)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b05v6g4b)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b05v6g4y)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b05v6g66)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b05v6g6b)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b05v6g7x)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b05v6g81)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b05v6g9b)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b05v6g9g)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b05v6gbm)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b05v6gbr)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b05v6gd1)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b05v6gd5)
Shipping Songs
13:30 SUN (b05r401h)
Shorts
19:45 SUN (b05v6gpb)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b05tbnj2)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b05v6g52)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b05v6g6r)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b05v6g8b)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b05v6g9q)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b05v6gc0)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b05v6gdf)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b05v6ght)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b05v6ght)
Soul Music
09:00 TUE (b03kqf04)
Soul Music
21:30 TUE (b03kqf04)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (b05v7tbr)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (b05v7tbr)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
09:45 MON (b05v7tbt)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
00:30 TUE (b05v7tbt)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
09:45 TUE (b05vhwp2)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
00:30 WED (b05vhwp2)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
09:45 WED (b05vhxqp)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
00:30 THU (b05vhxqp)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
09:45 THU (b05vj09h)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
00:30 FRI (b05vj09h)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
09:45 FRI (b05vj0r4)
Stone
14:15 THU (b05vfgc8)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b05v6gjl)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b05v6gjg)
The 3rd Degree
23:00 SAT (b05tkvkd)
The 3rd Degree
15:00 MON (b05v7tjp)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b05v6gkv)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b05v6gn9)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b05v6gn9)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b05v7tl6)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b05v7tl6)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b05vcxq0)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b05vcxq0)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b05vd03z)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b05vd03z)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b05vfjxp)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b05vfjxp)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b05vhlc6)
The Digital Human
16:30 MON (b05v7tjt)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b05tm4dn)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b05vfjtf)
The Folk of the Pennines
11:30 THU (b05vfdzw)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b05v6gls)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b05v6gls)
The Invisible College
16:00 MON (b05v7tjr)
The John Moloney Show
23:00 TUE (b05vcyvv)
The Kitchen Cabinet
10:30 SAT (b05v6cyj)
The Kitchen Cabinet
15:00 TUE (b05v6cyj)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b05v6gmz)
The Listening Project
10:56 WED (b05vcsdl)
The Listening Project
16:56 FRI (b05vhkv4)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (b05vhlck)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b05vd03v)
The News Quiz
12:30 SAT (b05tq1kh)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (b05vhkv8)
The Origins of War
11:00 TUE (b05v7tnr)
The Report
20:00 THU (b05vfjxx)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (b05v6cyn)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b05v6glv)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b05v7tm8)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b05vcyvr)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b05vds61)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b05vfkbw)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b05vhlcg)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b05tlvb8)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b05vct5z)
Today
07:00 SAT (b05v6cyd)
Today
06:00 MON (b05v7tbp)
Today
06:00 TUE (b05v7tnb)
Today
06:00 WED (b05vcr49)
Today
06:00 THU (b05vfdzj)
Today
06:00 FRI (b05vhh3z)
Tommies
14:15 MON (b05v7tjm)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b01sbz0y)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b038qk6p)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b038qk6z)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b038qk7c)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b038qk8r)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b038qk90)
Two Episodes of Mash
23:00 THU (b01mqqht)
Unreliable Evidence
22:15 SAT (b05tlvbv)
Unreliable Evidence
20:00 WED (b05vds5s)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b05tbnhg)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b05tbnhj)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b05tbnhr)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b05tbnj0)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b05v6g4j)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b05v6g4n)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b05v6g4v)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b05v6g50)
Weather
05:56 MON (b05v6g6g)
Weather
12:57 MON (b05v6g6m)
Weather
21:58 MON (b05v6g6v)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b05v6g88)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b05v6g8f)
Weather
12:57 WED (b05v6g9n)
Weather
12:57 THU (b05v6gby)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b05v6gdc)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b05v6gdj)
Welcome to the Quiet Zone
12:04 MON (b05v7td5)
Welcome to the Quiet Zone
12:04 TUE (b05v7tp2)
Welcome to the Quiet Zone
12:04 WED (b05vcsl4)
Welcome to the Quiet Zone
12:04 THU (b05vffp2)
Welcome to the Quiet Zone
12:04 FRI (b05vhh46)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (b05v6gpz)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b05v6gq1)
What the Songbird Said
21:00 MON (b05tz9jr)
Wish You Weren't Here...
15:45 FRI (b05vhkbt)
Witness
09:30 TUE (b05vh4hr)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b05v6czt)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b05v7tbw)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b05v7tnf)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b05vcsdg)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b05vfdzp)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b05vhh42)
Word of Mouth
23:00 MON (b05tl3jm)
Word of Mouth
16:00 TUE (b05v7tr3)
World at One
13:00 MON (b05v7th0)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b05v7tp6)
World at One
13:00 WED (b05vct0p)
World at One
13:00 THU (b05vffp6)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b05vhh4b)
You and Yours
12:15 MON (b05v7tgy)
You and Yours
12:15 TUE (b05v7tp4)
You and Yours
12:15 WED (b05vct0m)
You and Yours
12:15 THU (b05vffp4)
You and Yours
12:15 FRI (b05vhh48)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b05tq440)
iPM
17:30 SAT (b05tq440)