The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Cold, wet and windy weather is causing problems for farmers needing to harvest.
The Bee Farmers' Association have set up an apprentice scheme to halt the decline in the profession.
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the great crested grebe. In Spring, great crested grebes perform a high ritualized mating display. This includes head shaking and a spectacular performance during which both male and female birds gather bunches of waterweed and as they swim towards each other, before rising vertically in the water, chest to chest, and paddling furiously to keep themselves upright.
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather, Thought for the Day.
EO Wilson has been described as the "world's most evolved biologist" and even as "the heir to Darwin". He's a passionate naturalist and an absolute world authority on ants. Over his long career he's described 450 new species of ants.
Known to many as the founding father of socio-biology, EO Wilson is a big hitter in the world of evolutionary theory. But, recently he's criticised what's popularly known as The Selfish Gene theory of evolution that he once worked so hard to promote (and that now underpins the mainstream view on evolution).
A twice Pulitzer prize winning author of more than 20 books, he's also an extremely active campaigner for the preservation of the planet's bio-diversity: he says, "destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal".
Adrian Chiles talks to Larissa Pelham, Head of Emergency Food Security and Livelihoods for Oxfam, about how charities seek to eradicate malnourishment in the Third World, by working with local food producers.
It's well known that TV and radio presenter Adrian Chiles loves football. What's less well known is his real passion: food, both eating and cooking it. Adrian believes in the power of food to change lives, to improve society and to bring people together.
At this year's Bristol Food Connections festival, he recorded two editions of One to One in front of an audience with guests who have extraordinary life changing food stories to tell.
Larissa Pelham has spent most of her career trying to ensure that all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, that's the definition of food security, but she explains the difficulties of doing this in areas of political unrest or natural disaster.
She also discusses with Adrian the effect her work has had on her own attitude to food and eating.
The poet Hannah Lowe reads from her memoir about her Jamaican father and her relationship with him during her childhood in Essex. Using a notebook found after his death and letters and interviews with family, she recreates his childhood and young adult years in the decades before he met her mother.
'Mum, am I half-caste ?' The author's parents were an unlikely combination - her mother a white, English teacher from Essex, and her father, twenty-three years older, an immigrant gambler from Jamaica.
Read by the author, Hannah Lowe, with recreated and imagined sections of Chick's life read by Colin Salmon.
Emma Barnett meets Professor Laurie Rubiner Chief of Staff to Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal. Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn outlines his proposals towards real gender equality and what he'll do for women if he's wins the Election. Why some parents only realise they may be autistic when they seek help for their children. Plus, Topshop decide to halt new orders of a tall and thin mannequin after a customer posted a complaint on social media saying - it was "ridiculously shaped". And could you be an MP as part of a job share?
Set in 1930's Calcutta and based on letters and diary entries this is the true story of Tanika Gupta's great uncle Dinesh Gupta and his resistance to British Colonial rule.
Unbeknown to his family Dinesh has decided to embark on a violent course of action.
Our collective imaginations go wild at the thought of lumbering, ferocious beasts that were so powerful they once ruled the earth. T Rex scares us witless and diplodocus was an astonishing creature of breath taking proportions. It is no wonder then that dinosaur books, especially for children, appeared in the early nineteenth century and are still flying of the shelves today.
Dinosaur exhibitions always draw throngs of people. From the Crystal Palace dinosaurs in London built in the mid 19th Century to the wonderful animatronic models in today's modern museums, these ancient beasts speak to us of a different planet earth, lost in deep time, gone for ever. Yet they have left us bones and teeth that are still revealing amazing facts. Recent science shows most dinosaurs were not cold bloodied reptiles but warm blooded, feathered and colourful. They lived for 160 million years, occupying a warm humid planet rich in vegetation.
When we use the world 'dinosaur' we mean it as a derogatory term for someone who can't adapt but nothing could be further from the truth. These were supreme rulers that were brought down by an Act of God that defies imagination. So huge was the impact of the meteorite that the earth went cold and dark. Dinosaurs though will never leave us, we will take them with us into the future, in our stories, films and science and we will learn from their old bones ever more details about life on earth, and how even the most successful creatures on earth are, in reality, so fragile.
Everyone has heard of the Great American Songbook. In this series Cerys Matthews explores the songbooks of other countries.
Today: Dublin, where Cerys discusses the musical heart of the nation, seeks recommendations from a panel of experts and pieces together her own Great Irish Songbook.
Featuring musician and broadcaster Fiachna Ó Braonáin, singer and song researcher Jerry O'Reilly, and cultural historian Gerry Smyth. Recorded live at Whelans in Dublin.
In 416BC the Greek playwright Aristophanes went to a drinking party. The guests included many famous Athenians, including Socrates, and all of them delivered a speech about love. Aristophanes' speech, says presenter Edith Hall, is 'quite simply the most charming account of why humans need a love partner, another half, in world literature.'
In the beginning, he says, humans had two bodies - four legs, four arms. These early humans wheeled around the planet doing cartwheels and were blissfully happy. Then they offended the gods who split them in two. This explains why we are always looking for our other half.
This speech appears in Plato's Symposium. Edith's programme also features matchmaker Mary Balfour who shares some of her own experience about the search for love; while Edith explains her belief that the absence of love begins with the primal separation of mother and child.
On Call You & Yours we're asking if you've noticed any difference in mental health services where you live. In recent months a series of reports have suggested a squeeze on what is being provided, with seriously ill patients being sent to hospitals miles from home because of a shortage of beds.
Now an eating disorder charity says that anorexics asking for help are having to lose even more weight before qualifying for treatment and a mental health charity says child and adolescent services have been cut by £35 million in the past year. All this is in spite of government commitment to put mental health on equal footing with physical services
If you or someone you love uses mental health services, have you noticed any difference in recent years? Perhaps things have improved with greater willingness to talk about such problems? Email youandyours@bbc.co.uk and leave a number please so we can contact you.
Tim Samuels explores the sharing economy. In this second programme, he looks at services.
If necessity does wonders for invention, then it makes sense that the sharing economy was born during the recession. As we tightened our belts, those possessions gathering dust - and skills going untapped - looked less like clutter, and more like a way of earning a few quid.
The spare room in a flat, the extra seat in the car, an idle hedge-trimmer gathering cobwebs could earn some extra cash.
From this seed, a whole sector has grown at a dizzying pace - propelled by some serious venture capital that smelt the potential to commercialise our natural, sociable instincts.
A gift economy has been around since food and resources were shared among families, neighbours, and friends. But technology has advanced it further and there's now an array of new companies with shiny logos and mantras to match. Tim Samuels asks who wins and who loses in this new economy.
The Government has set out their ambition for the UK to become a global hub for the sharing economy but, in doing so, will this sector merely morph into traditional big business in all but name?
Tim speaks to business owners and consumers as we ask whether we need to rethink governance in this shared future.
Set during the brutal dictatorship of the late 1970s in Argentina, a young woman's life is turned upside down when she is confronted with the shocking truth about her origins.
"If you were born between 1975 and 1980 and have doubts about your identity - if you think you might not be who they say you are, contact the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo."
In 1976, the dictatorship in Argentina tortured and killed up to 30,000 people. Pregnant women were kept alive until they gave birth and their babies given to childless military families to bring up as their own.
For the past four decades, the Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo in Argentina have campaigned for those responsible to be brought to justice and to find out the fate of their children and the whereabouts of five hundred children stolen from their families during the military regime. The Grandmothers' mission is to identify these now grown up children and reunite them with their biological families.
A Pact of Silence tells the story of Mariana, a young woman who has been identified by the Grandmothers as one of these kidnapped children, and the anguish she experiences as she comes to realise that her beloved adoptive father might have had a significant role to play in the disappearance of her birth parents.
Helen Castor is joined by Mike Heyworth of the Council for British Archaeology and Dan Hicks from the University of Oxford, discussing the impact of spending cuts on local archaeology services and how to overcome them.
Dr Ruth Young is just back from the Lebanon where a team from the University of Leicester have been working fruitfully in places that were once thought to have been wiped clean of archaeological significance by the civil war.
Tom Holland is on Dartmoor to look at the first stone circle to be discovered there for over a century and one that, we think, has been untouched for hundreds of years.
A series which encourages guests to "think with the heart and feel with the intellect." In this second programme, Murray Lachlan Young invites concert pianist James Rhodes to combine his favourite sounds and his most passionately held ideas in unexpected ways, by feeding them into an electronic device. Murray has not prepared an interview but, instead, he and James respond spontaneously to what the device returns to them in the form of short audio snippets. Neither of them knows which of the sounds, music and speech the device will select, nor how it will combine them. The idea is to throw up connections that might not otherwise have occurred to guests, and to encourage them to think and feel about their concerns and passions in a different way. The sounds on James' list include the hubbub of concert audiences arriving and chatting before a performance, a Zippo cigarette lighter, the flicking of light switches, and Chopin's Polonaise-Fantaisie. These, and James's other sounds, are knitted together with audio suggested by his passion for music education. The result is unpredictable but leads to surprising conversation and some unexpected improvisation on the grand piano at which James and Murray sit together in studio. The unpredictability increases as the device introduces some audio of its own, drawn from the BBC Radio archives, to create even more unusual associations between apparently disparate material, and to alter perspectives on familiar issues. Producer: Adam Fowler An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.
In the 1940s and 50s, as technology raced forwards and the Cold War intensified, many states came to rely on encryption machines to keep their secrets safe.
But what if the founder of a leading code-machine company gave the US National Security Agency secret access to their best machines - machines they were selling to states across the world?
Gordon Corera reveals new evidence of a secret 'gentlemen's agreement', and examines its implications at the height of the Cold War.
With Richard Aldrich, John Alexander, James Bamford, Stephen Budiansky, David Easter, Paul Reuvers, Scott Shane, David Sherman, Betsy Smoot
Harriett Gilbert is joined by actress Miriam Margolyes and writer Mark Haddon to discuss favourite books, including 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' by Truman Capote and 'To the Lighthouse' by Virginia Woolf. Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
. Lord Sewel - who was filmed allegedly taking cocaine with two prostitutes - has become the first peer to stand down since new rules on resignations were introduced. .
Which particular football match is Elis James obsessed with? What's Penny Smith's worst habit? What was the worst thing Russell Grant did as a child?
All these burning questions, and more, will be answered in the show hosted by Miles Jupp, where panellists are tested on how well they know their nearest and dearest.
In this case, comedian Elis James picks his radio show co-host, presenter Penny Smith picks her brother-in-law and astrologer Russell Grant picks his mum.
Rex is getting the pen up for the goslings, explaining to David that they'll bring them out tomorrow in the morning and then the goslings can spend the day in the pasture. Rex admits that Toby is much better on the marketing side. Rex asks after Ruth, who's away at Heather's. Rex offers to help out if David's short. David thanks him as he heads off to start the wheat harvest. Toby pulls up in his pickup, with horn blaring. Pip and Rex later debate grazing systems.
Brian takes advice from a solicitor - complaining about the bind that Debbie and Adam have put him in, and mentioning his natural son Ruairi. Brian wants to ensure the farm is a viable business, should Ruairi take an interest later on in life. The solicitor clocks that Brian wants to 'keep a firm hand on the tiller, whilst at the same time maintaining family harmony'. He advises a course of action which will ask Adam to put his money where his mouth is.
Eddie has had an accident so can't milk at Brookfield. Eddie also won't be able to help out next month when Pip starts her new job - as he has some big garden contracts coming up.
Pip plays it cool with Toby, who asks her along to the Game Fair. She doesn't want to be one of his conquests.
Joan Armatrading, Hot Pursuit, Michael Moorcock, Dealing with artistic controversy
Singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading has provided the soundtrack for generations of young Britons since she first came to prominence in the 1970s. Now on her last major world tour she looks back over 40 years of touring and the inspiration for her songs.
Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara star in Hot Pursuit, a road trip buddy-movie in which Witherspoon plays a police woman and Vergara a witness in her care. Comedian Meryl O'Rourke reviews.
In his first full novel for almost 10 years, science fiction writer Michael Moorcock returns to one of his recurring themes: London. Set in a post-Second World War Britain The Whispering Swarm mixes autobiographical elements of Moorcock's own life with fantasy. He explains why he has chosen to put himself centre stage.
Julia Farrington from Index on Censorship explains why it has produced new guidelines to help arts organisations understand the legal framework that underpins freedom of expression.
In the summer of 2014 HSBC dispatched a batch of identical letters to several prominent Muslims telling them that their accounts would be closed. The bank said that it no longer had the "risk appetite" to handle their money. But it failed to explain why or to offer a right of appeal. So what happened?
Pursuing this story led journalist Peter Oborne to resign his job as Chief Political commentator of the Daily Telegraph: the paper had refused to publish an article he had written which was critical of HSBC's decision.
Footloose and temporarily freelance, Oborne embarked on an intriguing journey to discover the cause of the bank's decision. Were the Muslims targeted by mistake or were they targeted because they are Muslims? Was Peter naive to think the accounts would be closed without good reason? And, given the fact that many of those cut off by the bank had links to the Muslim Brotherhood, could the HSBC's actions have anything to do with David Cameron's announcement of a government review of this Islamist network?
The BBC's Washington Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue, reports on the 75th anniversary convention of the National Federation of the Blind in the USA. The organisation is largest of its kind in the world and has long campaigned in many areas, particularly around employment and civil rights.
The Off-Patent Drugs Bill aims to prevent people missing out on life-saving treatments, but doctors can already prescribe drugs off-licence so why do we need a new law? Pre-diabetes - a new label that could apply to as many as 1 in 3 British adults, but is it a useful to know this? The importance of diagnosing sepsis early and how to recognise the key signs. Plus Dr Margaret McCartney and Dr Carl Heneghan explain the meaning of the phrase 'all cause mortality'. Presented by Dr Mark Porter.
Turkey bombs Kurdish rebel positions after soldiers attacked near country's frontier with Iraq.
NATO declaration of support for Turkey as it tackles instability along borders
Novelist Paul shadows his muse at the Bank of Torabundo, but Claude grows increasingly worried he's not interesting enough to star in a novel.
Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.
Life is going fantastically well and the world is full of promise, and then it takes a dramatically different turn one day when an accident changes things for ever. This happened to the three guests in this week's programme - David broke his neck diving into a shallow ocean pool in Australia, Sian was hit by a taxi on holiday and Kelly suffered severe burns and injuries to her leg following a car crash. Their injuries were life changing. They share their experiences of dealing with the after effects with each other and host Fi Glover
WEDNESDAY 29 JULY 2015
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0638bw9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b063n58m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0638bwc)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0638bwf)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0638bwh)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0638bwk)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b064dcq9)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Angela Graham.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b0639wcx)
Dairy Song, No Lamb Week, Salmon Netting Ban
Scottish farmers use the power of song to highlight the plight of the dairy industry.
Welsh farmers plan to withhold their lamb from the shops as prices hit rock bottom.
Concerns over the number of Atlantic salmon returning to UK rivers prompt the Scottish government to put a temporary ban on coastal netting.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x45bg)
Sand Martin
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the sand martin. The flickering shapes of sand martins over a lake or reservoir are a welcome sign of spring. After winging their way across the Sahara Desert, the first birds usually arrive in the UK in March. They're smaller than house martins or swallows, and they're brown above and white below with a brown band across their chest. Often you can hear their dry buzzing calls overhead before you see them.
WED 06:00 Today (b0639wwr)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather, Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 No Triumph, No Tragedy (b0639wwt)
It was February 2011 when Giles Duley, an independent 39-year-old British photographer, was blown up by a landmine in Afghanistan. He became a triple amputee, losing his left arm and both legs. His life is a miracle - most soldiers with similar injuries do not survive.
He was with the 1st Squadron of the 75th Cavalry Regiment of the US Army, a "small unit from the midwest", and studying the "huge impact" of war on soldiers. He was into his fourth week but not making much progress, when he turned to talk to an American soldier. All at once he felt "a click in my right leg" - the pressure plate that set off the landmine. "It is pretty instantaneous from click to explosion. And yet everything seemed to go into slow motion. I was tossed by the blast but there was not much noise - just bright, white, hot light. I remember seeing myself from outside my body. Not a religious experience but intense heat and fire and the strangely calm sense of flying through the air.".
WED 09:30 Witness (b0639www)
Eichmann in Argentina
In 1960 the Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann, was abducted in Argentina and smuggled to Israel to face trial. He had been living in Buenos Aires under an assumed name. During his time in Argentina, he had spent hours talking to Willem Sassen a Dutch journalist and Nazi sympathiser. His daughter, Saskia Sassen, remembers.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b063n7m3)
Long Time No See
Episode 3
The poet Hannah Lowe reads from her memoir about her Jamaican father and her relationship with him during her childhood in Essex. Using a notebook found after his death and letters and interviews with family, she recreates his childhood and young adult years in the decades before he met her mother.
Episode 3:
In Jamaica, a mother rejects her son. Years later, in Ilford, a daughter disavows her father. But the pull of home remains almost as strong as the lure of rice and peas or the throw of the dice.
Read by the author, Hannah Lowe, with recreated and imagined sections of Chick's life read by Colin Salmon.
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0639wwy)
Agatha Christie, Premature babies, Drugs at festivals, Women in prison
Why is Agatha Christie still hailed as the Queen of Crime, 125 years after her birth? A new study reveals the long term effects in later life of being born very prematurely. Criminologist Professor Fiona Measham on her work testing drugs at festivals. And a new lottery backed initiative to cut the numbers of women in prison.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b0639wx0)
Writing the Century - Letters from a Young Indian Revolutionary
Episode 3
Letters from a Young Indian Revolutionary by Tanika Gupta part of Writing the Century: a drama series exploring the 20th century through the diaries and correspondence of real people.
Set in 1930's Calcutta and based on letters and diary entries this is the true story of Tanika Gupta's great uncle Dinesh Gupta and his resistance to British Colonial rule.
Following the attack on the Writers' Building, Dinesh Gupta is incarcerated in a brutal prison regime awaiting trial.
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b0639wx2)
Duncan and Paul – The Band Plays On
Fi Glover with band members who have played together for decades in different bands. Even though they have still not known success, their commitment to music remains just as strong. 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 Heads Up! The First Head Transplant (b0639wx4)
Dr Sergio Canavero has a dream. He wants to perform the world's first human head transplant on severely disabled Valery Spiridonov by 2017. But he can't realise his dream to do this in the United States without a medical license.
Presenter James Peak follows Dr Canavero to Annapolis, Maryland as he pitches his complex medical procedure to a conference of neurosurgeons.
Is Dr Canavero a brilliant physician-visionary, years ahead of his time, or a rabid self-publicist? Is he an Einstein or a Frankenstein?
Produced by James Peak
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b03c3dx7)
Series 3
Episode 6
John Finnemore, the writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-upper in things like Miranda, presents a third series series of his hit sketch show.
The first series was described as "sparklingly clever" by The Daily Telegraph and "one of the most consistently funny sketch shows for quite some time" by The Guardian. The second series won Best Radio Comedy at both the Chortle and Comedy.co.uk awards, and was nominated for a Sony award.
This time around, John promises to stop doing silly sketches about nonsense like Winnie the Pooh's honey addiction or how goldfish invented computer programming, and concentrate instead on the the big, serious issues.
This final episode of the series looks at some pretty creative accounting; cross-examines an expert witness; and asks why it is that posh men's trousers are all the same colour.
Written by and starring John Finnemore, with Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan. Original music by Susannah Pearse.
Producer: Ed Morrish.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b0638bwn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 A History of Ideas (b0639wy3)
Theologian Giles Fraser on Altruism
Giles Fraser discusses gene theory versus altruism with playwright Tom Stoppard whose play The Hard Problem explores the extent to which our genes dictate human acts of love and kindness, and Armand Leroi, the evolutionary biologist who says we are merely programmed to carry out altruistic acts.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b0639wy5)
Street lights, Bottled water, Home swapping
We reveal the findings of new research into what happens when local authorities turn off street lights late at night to save money. Some have predicted that it will inevitably lead to a rise in crime and road accidents.
The high street stores investing millions in creating a new and "special" shopping experience so you'll visit the shop more often, stay for longer and spend more money.
Sales of bottled water in the UK have increased dramatically over the last thirty years. We now consume more than two billion litres of it every year. How has the industry managed to do that in a country where tap water is good quality and in some places tastes delicious?
Swapping homes with another family is one way to cut the cost of your holiday. What's it like letting someone else stay in your house while you're away? We bring together two families as they settle into each other's homes in Edinburgh and Tarragona in Spain.
Producer: Jonathan Hallewell
Presenter: Winifred Robinson.
WED 12:57 Weather (b0638bwq)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b0639wy7)
New figures show a surge in economic growth. We discuss if higher growth will mean a rise in interest rates.
NATO members hold an emergency summit after Turkey called for help to deal with so-called Islamic State. The country's ambassador says they're prepared to fight back after a recent IS bomb.
We look at calls for the Church of England to allow a second baptism, for those who've had gender reassignment.
WED 13:45 The New Economy: Does Sharing Mean Caring? (b063n7mb)
Episode 3
Tim Samuels explores the sharing economy. In this third programme, he looks at transport.
If necessity does wonders for invention, then it makes sense that the sharing economy was born during the recession. As we tightened our belts, those possessions gathering dust - and skills going untapped - looked less like clutter, and more like a way of earning a few quid.
The spare room in a flat, the extra seat in the car, an idle hedge-trimmer gathering cobwebs could earn some extra cash.
From this seed, a whole sector has grown at a dizzying pace - propelled by some serious venture capital that smelt the potential to commercialise our natural, sociable instincts.
A gift economy has been around since food and resources were shared among families, neighbours, and friends. But technology has advanced it further and there's now an array of new companies with shiny logos and mantras to match. Tim Samuels asks who wins and who loses in this new economy.
The Government has set out their ambition for the UK to become a global hub for the sharing economy but, in doing so, will this sector merely morph into traditional big business in all but name?
Tim speaks to business owners and consumers as we ask whether we need to rethink governance in this shared future.
Over five episodes Tim asks whether sharing means caring.
Producer: Barney Rowntree
A Tonic Media production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b0639w43)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b04d4nhf)
The Good Listener
This authentic drama takes us inside the intelligence agency GCHQ, where agents are tracking three young British Muslims as they head for Syria.
Henry Morcombe, an experienced GCHQ analyst, is tasked with establishing whether they intend to deliver humanitarian aid or join the armed conflict. He realises that there is more to this case than meets the eye when the team discovers the boys' true purpose in Syria.
How to protect the public while keeping within legal and ethical boundaries is far from straightforward, and tensions emerge as the team responds to unfolding events.
GCHQ (Government Communications Head Quarters) has come under closer scrutiny in recent years and yet little is known about the operations of this highly secretive, but strategically essential, spy agency. The production team gained access to GCHQ during the making of the drama. The story and the characters presented here are fictional.
Written by Fin Kennedy
Story consultant: Kris Hollington
Sound design: Alisdair McGregor
Produced and directed by Boz Temple-Morris
A Holy Mountain production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Money Box (b0631nq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b0639w4c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b0639xmq)
Prison gangs in US, Millionaire children
Prison gangs in the USA. Laurie Taylor talks to David Skarbek, Lecturer in the Department of Political Economy at King's College, London, about his research into the hidden world of convict culture, inmate hierarchy and jail politics. He finds sophisticated organisations, often with written constitutions, behind the popular image of chaotic violence. They're joined by Jane Wood, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Kent.
Also, what would children do with an unexpected windfall of a million pounds? Sally Power, Professor of Education at Cardiff University, asked this question in order to explore children's values and priorities. Would they spend, save or give it away?
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b0639xnw)
Nikkei buys Financial Times, ITV and Sky results, Al Jazeera journalists' retrial, Press regulation
The Japanese Nikkei group has bought the Financial Times from publisher Pearson for £844 million. Pearson has also confirmed it's now in talks to sell it's 50 per cent stake in the Economist. Steve Hewlett talks to Douglas McCabe from Enders Analysis about the sale and to David McNeill, the Independent's Japan correspondent and Economist writer about how east-meets-west cultural differences might impact on editorial standards.
ITV has reported strong half year profits, despite also reporting its lowest audience numbers for at least 15 years. The group, which is home to shows including Downton Abbey and The X Factor, said its share of Britain's television audience fell 4 per cent to 21 per cent. Despite this, profits rose by 25 per cent. Steve Hewlett asks media consultant Mathew Horsman how this has happened, and finds out more about Sky's results, which are also out today.
An Egyptian court is expected to issue a verdict tomorrow on the retrial of three Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste who were imprisoned for more than a year. They were originally sentenced for spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. Sue Turton was charged in absentia and sentenced to ten years. She talks to Steve about the retrial and why her sentence has forced her to give up her job as correspondent for Al Jazeera English
The Press Recognition Panel - the body which will look at applications from any press self-regulators who want to apply for recognition under the Royal Charter - has been asking for views on how it can put the Leveson criteria into practice. It's hoping to be able to take applications from September. Chair of the panel David Wolfe QC joins Steve to explain where they're at with the process.
WED 17:00 PM (b0639xny)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0638bws)
France sends 120 extra police officers to Calais. A Liverpudlian tried to buy enough poison to kill 1,400 people. Zimbabwe charges a man over the killing of Cecil, the lion.
WED 18:30 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b0639xp0)
Series 2
Sugar
Comedian Simon Evans' new series about the economics of some of the goods - or bads - to which we're addicted.
If you crave your daily coffee, can't get by without a cigarette, feel that mid-afternoon slump without your sugar-fix, or can't face an evening without a glass of wine, you are definitely not alone. But have you ever thought about the economics that has made your addiction possible? Who does it profit? And would you want to make some canny investments that take advantage of our human weaknesses?
In this series, Simon Evans looks at the economics, history and health issues behind these oh-so-addictive commodities.
This week it's sugar. Some people say sugar could be the new tobacco - exposed as a health risk that's been knowingly concealed for decades. And the trouble is sugar is in almost everything now - even things that 'look' savoury. What part does economics have to play in how we have got to this point? How do we make sense of what the food industry is doing with sugar? And if we want to invest in this addiction, how do we do it?
With the help of economics guru, More Or Less host Tim Harford and the Queen of investment know-how, Merryn Somerset Webb, plus author David Gillespie, Simon walks us around the economics of this very familiar commodity and pokes fun at our relationship with it.
Presented by Simon Evans, with regular guests Tim Harford and Merryn Somerset Webb.
Written by Simon Evans, Benjamin Partridge and Andy Wolton.
Produced by Claire Jones.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b0639xp2)
Jill and Carol look ahead to the Flower and Produce show. Ruth's coming home tomorrow as Heather has been moved into interim care where she has settled in well.
David sees to the cows before the harvest starts. He's not completely happy that Pip has gone to Hollowtree to walk the geese out with the Fairbrothers. Rex continues to debate with Pip, as they argue about grazing. Pip reminds them she's going to High Wycombe and then hopefully in a few months Brazil. Toby reminds Pip about the game fair on Friday - she hasn't decided whether she's coming yet.
With Eddie busy, Pip feels they should get on with employing a contract milker. David holds out some hope that Ruth will be home properly soon. And besides, he remembers the last 'outsider' they brought in (Sam). Pip thought he was great, but he left rather suddenly.
Jill tries to persuade Carol to join the W.I. They discuss the upcoming Centenary, with lots of regional events on 16th Sept. Carol gently stirs things with Pip, asking about the Game Fair and the Fairbrothers. Jill's concern about the Fairbrothers relates to their father, Robin - a lothario who once broke Elizabeth's heart.
Rex warns Toby not to break Pip's heart. But Toby just wants to show her a good time.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b0639xp4)
Man Booker Prize longlist, Death of a Gentleman, Game of Thrones aesthetics
Chair of judges Michael Wood discusses the books in the running for the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, whose longlist was announced today.
The novelist Kamila Shamsie, manager of the Authors Cricket Club, reviews new film Death of a Gentleman, in which two young cricket fans track down the most powerful men in the game as they uncover a scandal which threatens to bring down the entire sport.
Game of Thrones production designer Gemma Jackson and costume designer Michele Clapton discuss creating the aesthetics of the hit TV series.
Leslie Felperin offers her verdict on Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler and Bradley Cooper in the new TV comedy Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.
Presenter Kirsty Lang
Producer Jack Soper.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0639wx0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b0639xsr)
Hypocrisy
Of course it's a headline writer's dream. A peer of the realm and chairman of the Lords privileges and conduct committee, snorting cocaine with two prostitutes and all at the public expense. But none of the lurid headlines has bettered Francois de la Rochefoucauld's pithily memorable line that hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue. Although penned in the 17th century it's a phrase that has particular resonance today when it often seems almost any sin in public life can be forgiven except the sin of hypocrisy. But hypocrisy is more than just a handy stick with which to beat the rich and famous. It's a useful moral category, because it helps define virtue. When one is no longer a hypocrite, but merely unlucky to have been found out, the necessity of virtue itself disappears. But it's also a tricky concept because our own moral boundaries are themselves so often flexible. In our collective disapproval of sexual 'misbehaviour' we are often wildly out of sync with what people actually do in private. A million people in the UK are now wondering if their membership of the adultery website "Ashley Madison" (motto: "Life's short. Have an affair") will be exposed after it was hacked. Doesn't a brazen piece of hypocrisy feel refreshingly honest in an age of subjective individualism that can so cynically tolerate such moral inconsistency? Of course we're all hypocrites sometimes - does that matter? If we end up setting the moral bar so high that everyone will at some at point fail the hypocrisy test will the result be a kind of moral paralysis where it's safest not to espouse any moral ideals at all? Who dares to cast the first stone? The Moral Maze on hypocrisy.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b0639xst)
Passports for a Price
Katy Long argues that we should think differently about citizenship. She compares how citizenship and passports are bought and sold, and explores the ethical implications.
Producer: Katie Langton.
WED 21:00 Is Ignorance Bliss? (b0639xsw)
In an age where we are saturated with information are we ever better off just 'not knowing'? Could 'not knowing' improve our memory, enhance our learning and even making us happier?
As someone who is occupationally immersed in information, author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera sets out to discover if ignorance really is bliss.
Leading us gently through a journey of the 'unknown', Sathnam meets scientists and psychologists who are investigating the realms of ignorance.
James Carse, Professor Emeritus at NYU has identified three types of ignorance - ordinary, wilful and higher, and says that this is a subject area he just can't resist talking about. Carse's research takes us back to a small group of medieval monks who dedicated their life to 'not knowing'.
Jumping back into the 21st Century Sathnam will join Lisa Son of Columbia University. She has conducted recent studies into the virtues of ignorance and how the process of ignorance can actually enhance our memory and learning.
Talking about education, Professor of Biology Stuart Firestein runs a course on ignorance - it's one of his most popular classes and basically involves a group of very smart people talking about what they don't know.
Alongside the 'science of ignorance' will be a healthy dose of personal reflection from those who have chosen ignorance as a way of life, including musician Johnny Borrell who boycotted the news as he believes you can find out more truth by walking down the street with a guitar.
Produced in Bristol by Nicola Humphries.
WED 21:30 No Triumph, No Tragedy (b0639wwt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b0639ytz)
Afghan government says Taliban leader Mullah Omar 'died in 2013'
His death has also been confirmed by a source close to the militant group's leadership.
WED 22:45 Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void (b0639yv1)
Episode 3
Paul is struggling to make a book about banking interesting until he hits upon an idea, maybe Claude should fall in love?
Initially sceptical, Claude's heart begins to beat...
Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.
Read by Peter Serafinowicz.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Producer: Jenny Thompson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.
WED 23:00 Terry Alderton's All Crazy Now (b0639zzw)
The Buzzing of the Honey Bee
Terry Alderton sings every song and plays every character in this one man comedy and musical explosion.
Meet Mr Trenchcoat, Victor, Street Kid, Morgan the Free Man and many others and let Terry take you on a sonic journey through comedy and possible madness.
Prepare to be surprised, shocked and delighted. No monkeys were harmed in the making of this show and, of course, he didn't actually shoot a sparrow.
Written by and starring Terry Alderton.
Additional material from Johnny Spurling, Boothby Graffoe, Richard Melvin, Julia Sutherland and Owen Parker.
Sound designed by Sean Kerwin
Producer: Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2015..
WED 23:15 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b01s4r79)
Series 2
About Upset Mums
EPISODE ONE: ABOUT UPSET MUMS
In a mix of stand-up and re-enacted family life - Nathan Caton illustrates what can happen when you don't listen to your Mum.
NATHAN ..... NATHAN CATON
MUM ..... ADJOA ANDOH
DAD ..... CURTIS WALKER
GRANDMA ..... MONA HAMMOND
REVEREND WILLIAMS ..... DON GILÉT
Written by Nathan Caton and James Kettle
Additional Material by Maff Brown and Ola
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing - tells the story of young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who after becoming the first in his family to graduate from University, opted not to use his architecture degree but instead to try his hand at being a full-time stand-up comedian, much to his family's annoyance who desperately want him to get a 'proper job.'
Each episode illustrates the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his disapproving family as he tries to pursue his chosen career in comedy.
Janet a.k.a. Mum is probably the kindest and most lenient of the disappointed family members. At the end of the day she just wants the best for her son. However, she'd also love to brag and show her son off to her friends, but with Nathan only telling jokes for a living it's kind of hard to do. She loves Nathan, but she aint looking embarrassed for nobody!
Martin a.k.a. Dad works in the construction industry and was looking forward to his son getting a degree so the two of them could work together in the same field. But now Nathan has blown that dream out of the window. Martin is clumsy and hard-headed and leaves running the house to his wife (she wouldn't allow it to be any other way).
Shirley a.k.a. Grandma cannot believe Nathan turned down architecture for comedy. She can't believe she left the paradise in the West Indies and came to the freezing United Kingdom for a better life so that years later her grandson could 'tell jokes!' How can her grandson go on stage and use foul language and filthy material... it's not the good Christian way!
So with all this going on in the household what will Nathan do? Will he be able to persist and follow his dreams? Or will he give in to his family's interference?
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
WED 23:30 Shared Experience (b05xggjh)
Series 3
Bullying at School
"At nights I'd find myself praying to God to kill me" - 13 year old James shares his story of being bullied at school. He and two other teenagers George and Paris tell Fi Glover how they came through some very dark days of being physically and verbally attacked by fellow pupils for being different.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
THURSDAY 30 JULY 2015
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b0638bxn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b063n7m3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0638bxq)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0638bxs)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0638bxv)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0638bxx)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b064dcqc)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Angela Graham.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b063cxn0)
Grouse shooting, Nantwich Cheese Show, RABI retirement home
Should driven grouse shooting be banned? Two weeks before the 'Glorious 12th', Charlotte Smith hears both sides of the argument, from author Mark Avery and Andrew Gilruth of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. Mark's newly published book is called 'Inglorious - Conflict in the Uplands'.
This week saw the Nantwich International Cheese Show. How are falling milk prices affecting the prospects for UK cheese production?
And Anna Hill visits a retirement home for farmers. Manson House in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk is run by RABI, the agricultural charity.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x45jq)
Goldeneye
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the goldeneye. Although they’re a common winter visitor, you’ll need to travel to Speyside in the Scottish Highlands to see goldeneyes in their breeding season where, since 1970, a small population has bred there. Unlike dabbling ducks, such as mallard and teal, they don’t need muddy shorelines and lots of vegetation. Goldeneyes are diving ducks that feed mainly on shellfish and crustaceans.
THU 06:00 Today (b0648nnc)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather, Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 Inside the Ethics Committee (b063cxn2)
Series 11
Withdrawing Feeding in Children
Food and water are the very essence of life. But is there ever a time when food and water should be withheld in someone who is not otherwise dying? And what if that someone is a child?
Emma is born with a smooth brain; a life-limiting condition that means she will never develop skills beyond that of a 6 month old baby. Her condition also means she has difficulty swallowing and has to be fed artificially.
As she passes her tenth birthday things start to become more difficult; she increasingly seems to be in pain but the medical team are not sure why and Emma cannot tell them.
Her consultants eventually trace the source of her pain to her intestines and slowly they realise that they can no longer feed her artificially. They are all agreed that feeding must be withheld to ease her pain but they know that would ultimately lead to her death.
Although her prognosis has always been shortened, Emma is not otherwise dying - her heart is strong, her kidneys are functioning, and she breathes without difficulty. Withholding nutrition would bring her life to an end over the coming weeks; should the team be making those decisions in a child who is not already dying?
Joan Bakewell leads a panel of experts to discuss.
Producer: Lorna Stewart
Photo Credit: Joe Raedle /Getty Images.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b0638xbg)
Long Time No See
Episode 4
The poet Hannah Lowe reads from her memoir about her Jamaican father and her relationship with him during her childhood in Essex. Using a notebook found after his death and letters and interviews with family, she recreates his childhood and young adult years in the decades before he met her mother.
Episode 4
A family trip to Jamaica reveals more of a family than anticipated.
Read by the author, Hannah Lowe, with recreated and imagined sections of Chick's life read by Colin Salmon.
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b063cxn4)
Harriet Harman's acting leadership, Gender, River swimming
How is Harriet Harman performing as acting leader of the Labour party? We assess how she is handling the pressure of holding the party together in the face of tensions over the leadership elections. Gender and how we define it are discussed by a performer and a psychologist. Nothing to wear? How social media could be contributing to a throw-away fashion culture. The joys of swimming in the Thames.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Anne Peacock.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b063cxn6)
Writing the Century - Letters from a Young Indian Revolutionary
Episode 4
Tanika Gupta's Letters from a Young Indian Revolutionary set in 1930's Calcutta is part of Writing the Century: a drama series exploring the 20th century through the diaries and correspondence of real people.
Young Indian Revolutionary Dinesh Gupta awaits execution while his family hope for a chance to appeal. .
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b063cxn8)
A Mediterranean Rescue
In one of the largest operations of its kind, thousands of migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were pulled off cramped, unseaworthy boats in the Mediterranean in June. Gabriel Gatehouse has had rare access to the operation. He follows two young men as they try to find a new home in Europe, from the moment they board a privately-funded search and rescue ship, to their attempts to evade the Italian police.
THU 11:30 A Cold War Dance (b063cxnb)
Dancers and crew of the Martha Graham Dance Company bring to life their US State Department sponsored tour of Southeast Asia in 1974.
A 'soft power' dance during the Cold War, the tour was designed to refute the image of Americans as military and materialistic. It was the tail end of the war in Vietnam and after Watergate. The dancers were asked to dance and deport themselves as ambassadors for another kind of America. They left for Taiwan the month Nixon left the White House.
They danced with Imelda Marcos in Manila and curtseyed to the King of Thailand in Bangkok, saw off the Bolshoi ballet in Jakarta and bats and salamanders in Rangoon. They tell of how they were transformed by their experience, but were their audiences?
Saigon was the dancers' last stop - just six months before the US evacuation. Could Modern Dance really compensate for the USA's military presence in South Vietnam?
Produced and Presented by Frances Byrnes
A Rockethouse production for BBC Radio 4
Photo Credit: Sheila McSweeney.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b0638bxz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 A History of Ideas (b063d348)
Psychotherapist Mark Vernon on Freud
What is love? Psychotherapist Mark Vernon looks at Freud's ideas on the Greek god Eros, which he saw as a kind of life force running through us, shaping our desires and passions
Freud is often thought of as reducing everything to sex, but in his view, for humans even sex isn't even really about sex. Although he started off thinking that sex was about biological release of pressure - like a steam engine - he quickly realised, from working with patients, that it was more about fantasy and imagination.
Humans want far more from sex than just reproduction or physical stimulation. Freud used the Greek god Eros as a metaphor for the unconscious forces that motivate us. He thought of Eros as a something like a force field of love, going beyond the simple one-to-one sexual attraction to a broader desire to get more out of life. Eventually he saw Eros as a desire for unification with the whole of humanity that is built into the dynamic of life itself - the yearning that wants to pass life on in children, the passion for creativity and discovery,
Presenter: Mark Vernon
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b063d55p)
Charity Mailing Lists Investigation
You and Yours investigates how some charities share their donors' details with each other and how it can lead to older people being bombarded with letters. We ask the Fundraising Standards Board if the rules need to be changed.
The communications regulator Ofcom has fined Unicom for mis-selling phone and broadband contracts to small businesses.
The Green Deal - the coalition's flagship energy saving policy has been scrapped. The government has announced an independent review of energy schemes. Which of them are working for consumers and which are not? We speak to Peter Bonfield, who is leading the review. If you would like to contribute to his review by sharing your experience then email: energyefficiencyreview@decc.gsi.gov.uk
The student who was promised she would receive a loan to cover her tuition fees at university is told half way through her first year she won't be getting it. It leaves her £9000 in debt. How many other students are affected?
Producer: Lydia Thomas
Presenter: Winifred Robinson.
THU 12:57 Weather (b0638by1)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b063d34b)
People in Calais continue to try to reach Britain through the Channel Tunnel. We hear from some of them and speak to Labour's acting leader, Harriet Harman.
How close are we to knowing what happened to Flight MH370?
Ai Wei Wei says he's been refused a six month visa to enter Britain.
THU 13:45 The New Economy: Does Sharing Mean Caring? (b0639gy1)
Episode 4
Tim Samuels explores the sharing economy. In this fourth programme, he looks at energy services.
If necessity does wonders for invention, then it makes sense that the sharing economy was born during the recession. As we tightened our belts, those possessions gathering dust - and skills going untapped - looked less like clutter, and more like a way of earning a few quid.
The spare room in a flat, the extra seat in the car, an idle hedge-trimmer gathering cobwebs could earn some extra cash.
From this seed, a whole sector has grown at a dizzying pace - propelled by some serious venture capital that smelt the potential to commercialise our natural, sociable instincts.
A gift economy has been around since food and resources were shared among families, neighbours, and friends. But technology has advanced it further and there's now an array of new companies with shiny logos and mantras to match. Tim Samuels asks who wins and who loses in this new economy.
The Government has set out their ambition for the UK to become a global hub for the sharing economy but, in doing so, will this sector merely morph into traditional big business in all but name?
Tim speaks to business owners and consumers as we ask whether we need to rethink governance in this shared future.
Over five episodes Tim asks whether sharing means caring.
Producer: Barney Rowntree
A Tonic Media production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b0639xp2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b063d34d)
The Good Listener: Ghost in the Machine
A new episode of The Good Listener returns to GCHQ where agents are devising ways to gather data from millions of mobile phone users - from friends and foe alike. A major phone company of a European ally has become the target.
Documents released by whistleblower Ed Snowden refer to an 'Operation Socialist', suggesting that UK's spy agency GCHQ were behind a cyber attack on Belgacom, Belgium's largest phone company. The operation was intended to gather data from millions of mobile phone users around the world. The 'malware' that was subsequently found on the Belgian phone provider's systems is one of the most advanced spy tools ever seen.
Ghost in the Machine follows fictional characters inside GCHQ in a story inspired by this operation. The team need to devise ways to deal with a changing digital world but not everyone is happy with the agency's approach.
Written by Fin Kennedy
Sound design by Alisdair McGregor
Produced and Directed by Boz Temple-Morris
A Holy Mountain production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b063d34g)
Rathlin Island
Helen Mark visits Rathlin Island situated just off the North Coast of Antrim.
Despite having a population of just over a hundred people, Rathlin Island is a thriving community. Its rugged landscape is home to a population of farmers and fishers, and supports thousands of sea birds.
Each year around thirty thousand tourists flock to the island and Helen discovers what its like to live there during the busy summer months, and once the tourists have left and the island is quiet once more in the winter months.
Presenter: Helen Mark
Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b0638fyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b0638hpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b063d34j)
Sir Tom Courtenay
With Francine Stock.
Fifty years after winning his first award for his film work, Sir Tom Courtenay talks about his latest role, in 45 Years, for which he won the Silver Bear at this year's Berlin Film Festival. The actor talks about his relationship and rivalry with Albert Finney and how he persuaded Omar Sharif to become a life-long fan of Hull City FC.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b063d34l)
Over the last few years the Kepler space telescope has picked up many planets around distant stars, radically transforming our view of planets in the universe. The latest one is called Kepler 452-B, and it's made headlines because it's at a distance from its star roughly the same as the Earth is from the Sun, and according to NASA scientists "the closest thing that we have to another place that somebody else might call home". But how can we be really sure of the bold claims for "earth like" planets and hence the possibility of life in distant parts of our universe? Kepler mission scientist Dr. Jeffrey Coughlin from SETI discusses the criteria for calling a planet 'Earth-like' amidst the hype of this latest discovery.
Graphene is the thinnest solid ever known - a form of pure carbon just one atom thick which gives it unusual, interesting properties: it is a great conductor of electricity, has transistor-like qualities, and is nearly transparent to visible light. All of these have earned graphene the status of being a "wonder material". A paper this week in Nature introduces another, new, impressive graphene technique which is basically the art of origami at an atomic level. Adam spoke to the paper's co-author Professor Paul McEwan from Cornell in New York to examine if graphene is it going to live up to the expectations.
Robert Hooke, one of the founder members of the Royal Society, was the go-to guy for microscopy in 17th century London, and in 1665, he published Micrographia, a spectacular book about tiny things. It was a best seller, and marked the beginning of biology. To mark the book's 350th anniversary Adam pours over a 1st edition to discuss its legacy with Royal Society chief librarian, Keith Moore and hears from historian Felicity Henderson of Exeter University.
Maize is a crop that is on the rise. There's an increasing demand for animal feed, and farmers are being incentivised to diversify their crop growth. These developments come, not without resistance. Maize is a crop that causes much debate, so much so that fans of The Archers will have endured the great vengeance and furious anger between Adam Macy and Brian Aldridge in recent weeks. Jane Rickson, Professor of soil erosion and conservation at Cranfield University examines why maize causes so much ire for farmers and how new research is helping to mitigate the soil erosion that's so closely associated with the crop.
THU 17:00 PM (b063d34n)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0638by3)
French investigators are to examine a plane wing to see if it's from Flight MH370.
THU 18:30 Meet David Sedaris (b063d34q)
Series 5
The Understudy; Big Boy
Two stories from one of the world's best storytellers, David Sedaris, doing what he does best:
The Understudy sees some questionable childcare from the child's point of view.
Big Boy is about a problem many of us have faced when one flush just isn't enough.
Plus some extracts from David's unique diary.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2015.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b063d34s)
Shula's upset with Alistair, who has to cry off from visiting Dan at Lulworth tomorrow due to work. He has an interview to hopefully land a big contract and put his vet business back on an even keel.
Adam watches over the strawberry pickers before heading over to Brookfield to finish their wheat. Charlie pops by to pick Brian's brains. Adam's intrigued. Adam and Ian are looking forward to the cricket at Edgbaston.
Charlie confides in Brian that someone must have been fiddling the figures at Berrow (with the fertility data). He's not accusing Rob, but Rob is the guy who understands the software. Charlie's at a loss to know what to do.
Alistair attends to a trapped animal at Brookfield - caught up in rubbish. Alistair talks of the problems of his profession and his disappointment at letting Dan down. But Shula's happy that she can at least go in his place. However, it turns out that women aren't allowed. Shula was worried by Dan's unflustered reaction to the news.
Having taken advice, Brian presents Adam with his proposal - to set up a share farming agreement, with a 60/40 split, and treat it as an experiment. From now on, Adam won't be getting a salary from the farm. Adam's gobsmacked.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b063d34v)
Semyon Bychkov, Steve Reich, Richard Long, how to set up a museum
Tomorrow night Semyon Bychkov conducts Shostakovich's 7th Symphony, the Leningrad, at the BBC Proms. He talks about the significance of a piece that evokes the time of the Leningrad Siege - a period of history that affected Bychkov's own mother.
Steve Reich's 1972 Clapping Music is one of the most significant pieces of recent decades: a Minimalist classic. Now it's become an app, thanks to Andrew Burke, Chief Executive of the London Sinfonietta, to be launched at an event this Saturday at the South Bank in London. He and Steve Reich talk to John.
Richard Long: Time and Space is a new exhibition celebrating the work of the artist at the Arnolfini in Long's home town, Bristol. With new work alongside re-creations of older work, it illuminates his close relationship with place. The art critic Richard Cork reviews for Front Row.
A new museum proposed as a celebration of women in the East End of London has been revealed to have dramatically changed subject matter to the crimes of Jack the Ripper. As some seek to reverse the museum's approval, Front Row asks Alistair Brown, Policy Officer at the Museums Association, what it takes to set up a museum.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b063cxn6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b063d34x)
Radicals, Rights and Hunting - The Battle for the RSPCA
Peter Marshall uncovers the real story about the fight for control of the RSPCA.
This summer the charity elected its new ruling council. As members prepared to vote, stories in the national press warned that animal rights activists were fighting to gain control of the animal welfare charity and use it to pursue their radical agenda.
But are these stories true?
Peter talks to the men and women at the front line of this battle for influence at one of the best known, best funded and best loved charities in England and Wales. He meets the so-called radicals to discuss their views, and finds out why their enemies have left the RSPCA in protest. It's a tale of dirty tricks and sometimes vicious skirmishes.
As he delves deeper into the politics and history of the charity, Peter discovers an old feud at the heart of this story, one that has dominated life at the RSPCA for decades and confounds politicians to this day - the thorny issue of fox hunting.
Producer: Lucy Proctor.
THU 20:30 In Business (b063d34z)
Driverless Cars
As the race to develop driverless cars hots up around the world, the UK is determined not to be left in the slow lane. Government money is being invested to help test vehicles and 'pods' over the next three years.
It's not just the robotic technology which is being developed- building the trust of the public in vehicles which eventually won't need drivers behind the wheel is crucial
There's still a long way to go, and Peter Day talks to those involved in this brave new world of transport.
Producer: Caroline Bayley.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b063d34l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 Punt PI (b04bj7pk)
Series 7
The Case of the MP Who Vanished
Steve Punt turns private investigator and examines the curious case of the socialist MP Victor Grayson who vanished into thin air!
Firebrand politician, champion of the mill workers, scion of the establishment, fancy dresser, hard drinker, man about town. Victor Grayson was many things when he erupted onto the public stage in 1907 as the first and last independent socialist MP, aged 26. However this shooting star disappeared from sight in 1920, under mysterious circumstances, with no confirmed sightings after that.
Punt P.I. sets out on a trail through Yorkshire valleys, dusty archives and seedy Soho to pick up clues to Victor's disappearance.
Producer Neil McCarthy.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b063d43r)
Cameron criticised for his description of migrants as a "swarm".
So far this week more than 3000 people have attempted to get into Channel Tunnel.
THU 22:45 Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void (b063d43t)
Episode 4
Devastated after learning he was the mark in Paul and Igor's plan to rob the bank, Claude comes up with an idea to retain Paul's help in his pursuit of Ariadne...
Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.
Read by Peter Serafinowicz.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Producer: Jenny Thompson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.
THU 23:00 Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation (b04jlrxv)
Series 10
How to Be a Good Citizen
Stand by your radios! Jeremy Hardy returns to the airwaves with a broadcast of national comic import!
In this programme, Jeremy attempts to understand citizenship, to examine the State and to spell surveillance. Looking over his shoulder at the script will be Gordon Kennedy (Absolutely) and Carla Mendonça.
Jeremy Hardy engages in a free and frank exchange of his entrenched views. Passionate, polemical, erudite and unable to sing,
Few can forget where they were when they first heard "Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation". The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. The Light Entertainment department was besieged, questions were asked in the House and Jeremy Hardy himself became known as the man responsible for the funniest show on radio since Money Box Live with Paul Lewis.
Since that fateful first series, Jeremy went on to win Sony Awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry. He was a much-loved regular on both The News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Written by Jeremy Hardy.
Produced by David Tyler.
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2014.
THU 23:30 Shared Experience (b05xxjgj)
Series 3
Taken Hostage
Fortunately, most people will not have the experience shared by Fi Glover's guests this week. Peter spent six years working in Georgia. The day before he was due to fly home from the posting, he was kidnapped at gunpoint and held in squalid conditions for six months. Contrast that with another Peter who surfed and drank beer while his ship was held for three months during the blockade of the Suez Canal. Sarah meanwhile was setting out across Kenya to work in an orphanage in neighbouring Tanzania when the bus she was travelling in was held up by bandits and driven off-road into the bush. The interesting thing that emerges from their conversation is that two of them appear to have coped better with their experiences, while one man subsequently struggled.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
FRIDAY 31 JULY 2015
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b0638bzn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b0638xbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0638bzt)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0638bzw)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0638bzy)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0638c00)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b064db7l)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Angela Graham.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b063d59d)
Pig farm, Geothermal energy, Field sports
Plans are being considered for a 30,000-pig farm in Newtownabbey in Northern Ireland. If approved, the site would be significantly bigger than anything currently operating in the UK. The farmer says he has plans in place to mitigate the smell and waste from the plant, but some campaigners say such intensive pig farms have no place in the UK.
The idea of farmers producing energy is nothing new - biomass plants, anaerobic digestors, solar power and wind turbines are all now established on British farms. But another renewable source of heat is currently being investigated in Scotland. The government there has put money into five projects to see if underground energy can heat homes and businesses, and help to clean up disused mines.
The presenter is Charlotte Smith, the producer in Bristol is Sally Challoner.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x45lf)
Snow Goose
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the snow goose. Snow geese breed in the Canadian Arctic and fly south in autumn to feed. Their migrations are eagerly awaited and the arrival of thousands of these white geese with black-wingtips is one of the world’s great wildlife spectacles. Here, on the opposite side of the Atlantic, snow geese are seen every year, often with flocks of other species such as white-fronted geese. Snow geese are commonly kept in captivity in the UK, and escaped birds can and do breed in the wild. So, when a white shape turns up amongst a flock of wild grey geese, its origins are always under scrutiny.
FRI 06:00 Today (b063dcg2)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather, Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b0638gpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b063n285)
Long Time No See
Episode 5
The poet Hannah Lowe reads from her memoir about her Jamaican father and her relationship with him during her childhood in Essex. Using a notebook found after his death and letters and interviews with family, she recreates his childhood and young adult years in the decades before he met her mother.
Episode 5.
A young woman forges her own path. Chick dwindles before his family's eyes, but his daughter's gaze is focussed elsewhere.
Read by the author, Hannah Lowe, with recreated and imagined sections of Chick's life read by Colin Salmon.
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b063dcg4)
Iris Apfel, Risking it all for an affair, Living with early onset Alzheimers, Vocal fry
Ninety-three year old Iris Apfel is celebrated for her flamboyant style and her trademark giant glasses. She's the subject of a new documentary and she joins Jenni to discuss her impatience with banality, ageism in fashion and her love of accessories; why some people who "have it all" risk it all by being unfaithful, with journalist and novelist Rosie Millard and Susanna Abse from the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships. A year ago Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimers disease. Since then she's started a blog to "write all my thoughts before they're lost". She describes living with the disease. Vocal Fry, so called because it causes the voice to sound hoarse and dried out, is the latest trend in the speech patterns of young women. But is it undermining them and causing them to be taken less seriously? With author and journalist Naomi Wolf and Professor of World Literature at Oxford University Dr. Elleke Boehmer.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Caroline Donne.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b063dcg8)
Writing the Century - Letters from a Young Indian Revolutionary
Episode 5
Calcutta 1931. Dinesh Gupta is in Alipore Jail sentenced to execution by hanging following his attack on the British Colonial Office Writers' Building where he shot a British officer dead. His family and Gandhi have appealed but will they succeed?
Concluding episode of Tanika Gupta's Letters from a Young Indian Revolutionary part of Writing the Century our drama series exploring the 20th century through the diaries and correspondence of real people.
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
FRI 11:00 America's Fan Club (b06084k8)
You have to be a direct descendent of a veteran of the War of Independence to join The Daughters of the American Revolution. Set up 125 years ago when its brother organisation refused to accept women, it now far eclipses the Sons of the American Revolution. It was once the watchword for white, exclusive privilege and is famous for refusing to allow a black singer to perform, but now it's membership is growing and it proudly boasts women of all backgrounds and colour. Its aims have changed little in its history: patriotism, education and the preservation of historic buildings. Emma Barnett joins four thousand of its members at its annual Congress in Washington to find out why women are choosing to join, and how they are interpreting the organisation's aims in the 21st century.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
FRI 11:30 Clare in the Community (b063dcgb)
Series 10
Things That Go Bump in the Day
The Sparrowhawk team are forced to work together to overcome a little problem they discover in the office. Lead by Clare, they're thinking outside the box...
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/ Megan ...... Nina Conti
Ray ...... Richard Lumsden
Helen ...... Pippa Haywood
Simon ...... Andrew Wincott
Libby ...... Sarah Kendall
Joan/ Sarah Barker ...... Sarah Thom
Scarlett ...... Eleanor Curry
Stine Wetzel ...... Amelia Lowdell
Hunter ...... Neet Mohan
Dylan ...... Elliot Steel
Producer Alexandra Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b0638c02)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 A History of Ideas (b063dcgg)
Writer Lisa Appignanesi on the Love of Children
How should we love our children? Can we build on the feelings we experience when we see them for the first time, raise them by instinct and personal principles or should we consult the childcare gurus of the internet and the bookshelves?
Lisa Appignanesi, the novelist, biographer and author of 'All About Love' suggests that we should turn to the first childcare expert of them all, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The father of the Romantic movement was one of the first philosophers to consider the importance of the initial bond between mother and child, strongly opposing the fashionable habit of farming newborn babies out to wet nurses.
Rousseau failed to follow his own advice, abandoning his five children to the Paris orphanage, but his writing belatedly raised our children to a status worthy of philosophical debate.
Lisa is joined in her ruminations by psychoanalyst, Adam Phillips, Rousseau expert Christopher Brooke and her own son and grandson.
This is part of a week of progammes asking, 'What is love?'.
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b063dcgj)
Tribunals, Currency Exchange, Weight-loss Surgery
Government figures show that a third of people who are owed money from an employer following an employment tribunal, never receive it.
We hear from a listener who sent £60,000 to his daughter in the USA, but lost £2000 to exchange rates.
Plus, the weight loss specialist who has looked at failure rates, and thinks people may be opting for surgery too readily.
And supermarket checkouts are going to get a friendly voice. Radio 4 newsreaders try their hand at warning you about unexpected items in (the) bagging area.
Presenter: Louise Minchin
Producer: Natalie Donovan.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b0638c04)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b063dcgn)
As the crisis in Calais continues, we hear from a government minister and the French ambassador to London. Jack Straw answers the charge that Blairites are a "virus", and Clive Anderson tells us why he's playing King John. With Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 The New Economy: Does Sharing Mean Caring? (b063n287)
Episode 5
Tim Samuels explores the sharing economy. In this final programme, he looks at governance and the future.
If necessity does wonders for invention, then it makes sense that the sharing economy was born during the recession. As we tightened our belts, those possessions gathering dust - and skills going untapped - looked less like clutter, and more like a way of earning a few quid.
The spare room in a flat, the extra seat in the car, an idle hedge-trimmer gathering cobwebs could earn some extra cash.
From this seed, a whole sector has grown at a dizzying pace - propelled by some serious venture capital that smelt the potential to commercialise our natural, sociable instincts.
A gift economy has been around since food and resources were shared among families, neighbours, and friends. But technology has advanced it further and there's now an array of new companies with shiny logos and mantras to match. Tim Samuels asks who wins and who loses in this new economy.
The Government has set out their ambition for the UK to become a global hub for the sharing economy but, in doing so, will this sector merely morph into traditional big business in all but name?
Tim speaks to business owners and consumers as we ask whether we need to rethink governance in this shared future.
Over five episodes Tim asks whether sharing means caring.
Producer: Barney Rowntree
A Tonic Media production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b063d34s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b0375byr)
Nick Warburton - Irongate
James Fleet and Emma Fielding star in Nick Warburton's two-hander play about love and loss. A woman walks once a year along the Thames, from Kew to Tower Bridge. Why?
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b063dcgw)
Summer Garden Party
Peter Gibbs hosts the GQT Summer Garden Party from the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 The Computer Speaks (b063dcgy)
Tom
An original short story for radio by A.L. Kennedy.
Our relationship with computers is an intimate one. What would they say about us if they could speak? The last of three stories about computers finding their voice.
A.L.Kennedy was born in Dundee in 1965. She is the author of 16 books: 6 novels, 7 short story collections and 3 works of non-fiction. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She was twice included in the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list.
She has won awards including the 2007 Costa Book Award and the Austrian State Prize for International Literature. She is also a dramatist for the stage, radio, TV and film. She is an essayist and regularly reads her work on BBC radio. She occasionally writes and performs one-person shows. She writes for a number of UK and overseas publications and for The Guardian Online.
Producer: Mair Bosworth
Readers: Neve McIntosh and John MacKay.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b063dch0)
Nova Pilbeam, Reverend Owen Chadwick, Jon Vickers, Yoichiro Nambu, Nick Ryman
Matthew Bannister on
The Reverend Owen Chadwick, the distinguished ecclesiastical historian who was vice Chancellor of Cambridge University during student protests in the 1970s and chaired an influential commission on Church and State.
Also Jon Vickers the operatic tenor best known for playing muscular roles like Samson, Otello and Peter Grimes.
Yoichiro Nambu, the theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize for his ground-breaking work on sub atomic particles.
Nova Pilbeam, the leading lady in early Hitchcock films who later turned her back on stage and screen.
And Nick Ryman who made his fortune by building up the family stationery firm and then moved to France to become a successful wine maker.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b063dch2)
Roger Bolton explores religious broadcasting on radio. As the UK becomes more spiritually diverse and increasingly secular, how should the BBC approach religious news and worship?
Since its birth in the 1920s, the Corporation has always produced religious content, with programmes focussed primarily on Christian worship during the early days. Ninety years later, the religious makeup of the country is far more diverse and complex, so is the BBC keeping up with the times when it comes to spiritual matters? We ask listeners whether they think religion still has a place on the BBC, and how a national broadcaster should reflect faith and worship across different religions.
For some Feedback listeners, religious output is extremely important - for others, it is outdated and inappropriate. Roger discusses these views with Religious Affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt, Editor for Religion and Ethics in BBC Regions, Ashley Peatfield, and Head of Radio for BBC Religion and Ethics, Christine Morgan.
The subject of Religion is not just confined to specialist programming. Outside of people's personal worship, religion plays a significant role in social and political affairs both on the international and domestic stage. So how well does the BBC tackle religion when it comes to news and current affairs?
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the UK, but while coverage and debate around the Islamic faith is fairly common on Radio 4, Muslim worship is rarely heard. So how well does wider BBC Radio serve its Muslim listeners? Feedback visits BBC Radio Sheffield, which runs Ramadan programmes during the Holy month.
Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b063dch4)
Malcolm and Ann – Married to the Farm
Fi Glover with a conversation between a farmer and his town-bred wife, about the total commitment to the livestock and the farm that is essential in a farming marriage. 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 (b063dch6)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0638c06)
Cameron warns migrants crisis will last all summer - and a new ebola vaccine is hailed
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b063dch8)
Series 46
Episode 5
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b063dchb)
Ruth's home from Prudhoe - she has missed everything so much. With Pip going away, David hopes Ruth will be able to take things on, but Ruth says there's loads to do for Heather - including selling her house. In that case, says David, they need to get a contract milker in. Ruth's a bit thrown. To make Ruth feel better about the idea, David suggests that she does the interviews. Ruth and Pip work together on the job spec. Pip's also going to skip the Game Fair so that she can spend some quality time with Ruth.
Jennifer wishes Brian would take a leaf out of retired Tony's book. Tony feels it was the best decision he ever made. Tony's very supportive of Adam's plans for the Home Farm soil. Jennifer mentions Brian's share farming idea - she wouldn't blame Adam if he upped sticks and walked away. It's Johnny's seventeenth birthday tomorrow and Tony teases Jennifer about what she was like at that age.
Helen and Rob return from holiday - Pat notices how radiant Helen looks. Helen and Rob surprise Henry by telling him that they got married when they were on holiday - so Rob is now officially his daddy. Henry's delighted.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b063dchd)
The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Kathy Reichs, Stage business, Amazon Prime
Briony Hanson reviews coming of age drama The Diary of a Teenage Girl, starring Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgard.
Kathy Reichs discusses her latest novel and reflects on being both a bestselling crime writer and a practising forensic anthropologist.
Front Row investigates the art of stage business as productions like The Red Lion and High Society lead actors to cook, clean and iron on stage.
As Jeremy Clarkson signs for a new programme with Amazon Prime, Peter White of Broadcast Magazine considers whether moving to a streaming service will give the show more creative freedom.
Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Ellie Bury.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b063dcg8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b063dgs7)
James Delingpole, Graham James, Nikki King, David Orr
Shaun Ley presents political debate and discussion from Attleborough in Norfolk with author and columnist James Delingpole, the Bishop of Norwich Rt Rev Graham James, Honorary Chairman of Isuzu Trucks Nikki King, and Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation David Orr.
Producer: Emma Campbell.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b063dgs9)
Adam Gopnik: Role Reversal
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.
FRI 21:00 A History of Ideas (b063dgsc)
Omnibus
What Is Love?
A new history of ideas presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices. An opportunity to hear all this week's programmes in this Omnibus edition.
Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking 'What is Love?'
Helping him answer it are the theologian Giles Fraser, writer Lisa Appignanesi, classicist Edith Hall and psychotherapist Mark Vernon.
Across the week Giles, Lisa, Edith and Mark took us further into the history of ideas about love, with programmes of their own. Between them they examined Freud's ideas on erotic love, Jesus and altruism, the first guidance on how to be a loving parent, by Rousseau and Aristophanes' speech which explains how love was born.
This omnibus edition has all five programmes together.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b0638c0f)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b063dgsf)
Ebola vaccine results are deemed 'remarkable'.
Everyone receiving it after coming into contact with ebola patient developed immunity.
FRI 22:45 Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void (b063dgsh)
Episode 5
Claude has asked Paul to help him write his romance with Ariadne, while his imminent report on Royal Irish Bank is revealing all kinds of financial chicanery.
Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.
Read by Peter Serafinowicz.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Producer: Jenny Thompson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b0639w3x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:27 A Century of Hope (b04kzz5t)
Born in Eltham in South London, Bob Hope emigrated with his family to the USA at the age of five, and became unique among the great entertainers of the last century. He was at some point number one in radio, in film, and in television.
For over half a century, Bob Hope was perhaps the most famous comedian on the planet. He worked with teams of writers round the clock to feed his famously quick-fire joke-filled act. He was a tireless entertainer of the troops in wartime, a phenomenally successful businessman and had naval ships, airports, theatres and highways named after him.
American comedian Greg Proops is a very different performer to Hope. Greg is a one-man-band whose comedy is improvised with a hard, often radical edge. In spite of their huge differences in style and the political gulf between them, Greg admires Hope's timing as well as the skill and bravado with which he worked an audience.
But what kind of a man was Bob Hope and what is his reputation and legacy today?
Greg sets out to answer these questions with the help of those who knew him best including his daughter Linda and Bill Faith - his publicist for many years. We hear from some of the writers who were on his team in the 70s and 80s. Greg also talks to critic and biographer John Lahr to get his insight and reminiscences of the man of whom writer John Steinbeck said, 'It is impossible to see how he can do so much, can cover so much ground, can work so hard, and can be so effective. He works month after month at a pace that would kill most people.'
Produced by Barney Rowntree
A Hidden Flack production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b063dh1s)
Vera and Betty - We Don't Do Age
Fi Glover with a conversation between friends who retired to Hay on Wye to relax, and ended up running the North Weir Trust. 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 (b0638xbl)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b0638xbl)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b0639msr)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b0639msr)
15 Minute Drama
10:41 WED (b0639wx0)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b0639wx0)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b063cxn6)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b063cxn6)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b063dcg8)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b063dcg8)
A Century of Hope
23:27 FRI (b04kzz5t)
A Cold War Dance
11:30 THU (b063cxnb)
A Good Read
16:30 TUE (b0639w3x)
A Good Read
23:00 FRI (b0639w3x)
A History of Ideas
12:04 MON (b0639gxv)
A History of Ideas
12:04 TUE (b0639msw)
A History of Ideas
12:04 WED (b0639wy3)
A History of Ideas
12:04 THU (b063d348)
A History of Ideas
12:04 FRI (b063dcgg)
A History of Ideas
21:00 FRI (b063dgsc)
A Pocketful of Rye
19:45 SUN (b0638p8n)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (b062n4nv)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (b063dgs9)
America's Fan Club
11:00 FRI (b06084k8)
Analysis
21:30 SUN (b0630p11)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (b0631r4w)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (b062n4ns)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b063dgs7)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b06386cs)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (b063d34l)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (b063d34l)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b0638cy6)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b0638cy6)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (b062n4n4)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (b063n3sw)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (b063n3sw)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (b063n58m)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (b063n58m)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (b063n7m3)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (b063n7m3)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (b0638xbg)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (b0638xbg)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (b063n285)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b0638gpc)
Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing
23:15 WED (b01s4r79)
Clare in the Community
11:30 FRI (b063dcgb)
Counterpoint
23:00 SAT (b062jy90)
Counterpoint
15:00 MON (b0639jp4)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (b062mxfj)
Crossing Continents
11:00 THU (b063cxn8)
Desert Island Discs
11:15 SUN (b0638gpq)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (b0638gpq)
Document
16:00 TUE (b0639w3v)
Drama
14:30 SAT (b0631r4y)
Drama
21:00 SAT (b062htlc)
Drama
15:00 SUN (b0638hpl)
Drama
14:15 MON (b0383lf2)
Drama
14:15 TUE (b0639vpq)
Drama
14:15 WED (b04d4nhf)
Drama
14:15 THU (b063d34d)
Drama
14:15 FRI (b0375byr)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b0631n32)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b0638ryd)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b0639kh0)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b0639wcx)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b063cxn0)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b063d59d)
Feedback
20:00 SUN (b062ndjt)
Feedback
16:30 FRI (b063dch2)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (b0639xst)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b062hbn1)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b0639jpj)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b0639w45)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b0639xp4)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b063d34v)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b063dchd)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b062n4nj)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b063dcgw)
HSBC, Muslims and Me
20:00 TUE (b0639w47)
Heads Up! The First Head Transplant
11:00 WED (b0639wx4)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
12:04 SUN (b062jy98)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
18:30 MON (b0639jpd)
In Business
20:30 THU (b063d34z)
In Search of the Black Mozart
13:30 SUN (b05wy63w)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b0639w49)
Inside Health
21:00 TUE (b0639w4c)
Inside Health
15:30 WED (b0639w4c)
Inside the Ethics Committee
22:15 SAT (b062mhnl)
Inside the Ethics Committee
09:00 THU (b063cxn2)
Is Ignorance Bliss?
21:00 WED (b0639xsw)
It's Not What You Know
18:30 TUE (b0639w41)
Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation
23:00 THU (b04jlrxv)
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme
11:30 WED (b03c3dx7)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b062ndjr)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b063dch0)
Living World
06:35 SUN (b0638fys)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b06385hw)
Made in Bristol
00:30 SUN (b01g65h5)
Making History
15:00 TUE (b0639vps)
Meet David Sedaris
18:30 THU (b063d34q)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b062hbmj)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b0638bpc)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b0638bs0)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b0638btp)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b0638bw9)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b0638bxn)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b0638bzn)
Mind Changers
11:00 MON (b0639gxq)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (b0631nq3)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b0631nq3)
Money Box
15:00 WED (b0631nq3)
Moral Maze
20:00 WED (b0639xsr)
Natural Histories
21:00 MON (b05w9b5t)
Natural Histories
11:00 TUE (b05w9b6j)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b062hbms)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b0638bpm)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b0638bsd)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b0638bty)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b0638bwk)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b0638bxx)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b0638c00)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b0638bpp)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (b062hbn3)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (b0638bq0)
News Summary
12:00 MON (b0638bsj)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (b0638bv0)
News Summary
12:00 WED (b0638bwn)
News Summary
12:00 THU (b0638bxz)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (b0638c02)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b062hbmv)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b0638bpt)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b0638bpy)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b062hbnh)
News
13:00 SAT (b062hbn7)
No Triumph, No Tragedy
09:00 WED (b0639wwt)
No Triumph, No Tragedy
21:30 WED (b0639wwt)
One to One
09:30 TUE (b0639kzx)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (b0638hpn)
Open Book
15:30 THU (b0638hpn)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (b062n1f5)
Open Country
15:00 THU (b063d34g)
PM
17:00 SAT (b0631r52)
PM
17:00 MON (b0639jpb)
PM
17:00 TUE (b0639w3z)
PM
17:00 WED (b0639xny)
PM
17:00 THU (b063d34n)
PM
17:00 FRI (b063dch6)
Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void
22:45 MON (b0639k87)
Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void
22:45 TUE (b0639w9l)
Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void
22:45 WED (b0639yv1)
Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void
22:45 THU (b063d43t)
Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void
22:45 FRI (b063dgsh)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b0638kgk)
Poetry in the Remaking
23:30 SAT (b062j06m)
Poetry in the Remaking
16:30 SUN (b0638j4n)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b062n51g)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b0638ryb)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b0639kgy)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b064dcq9)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b064dcqc)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b064db7l)
Profile
19:00 SAT (b06385hy)
Profile
05:45 SUN (b06385hy)
Profile
17:40 SUN (b06385hy)
Punt PI
21:30 THU (b04bj7pk)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:54 SUN (b0638fyz)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b0638fyz)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b0638fyz)
Random Radio
15:30 TUE (b0639vpv)
Reflections with Peter Hennessy
09:00 MON (b0638xbd)
Reflections with Peter Hennessy
21:30 MON (b0638xbd)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b0631npx)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b06386cq)
Secrets and Lattes
11:30 MON (b0639gxs)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b062hbmn)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b0638bph)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b0638bs6)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b0638btt)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b0638bwf)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b0638bxs)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b0638bzw)
Shared Experience
23:30 MON (b05vy5nv)
Shared Experience
23:30 TUE (b05wy646)
Shared Experience
23:30 WED (b05xggjh)
Shared Experience
23:30 THU (b05xxjgj)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b062hbml)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b062hbmq)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b062hbn9)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b0638bpf)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b0638bpk)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b0638bq4)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b0638bs4)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b0638bs9)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b0638btr)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b0638btw)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b0638bwc)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b0638bwh)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b0638bxq)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b0638bxv)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b0638bzt)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b0638bzy)
Short Cuts
23:00 MON (b05qgch3)
Should Extremism Be a Crime?
17:00 SUN (b062khlh)
Simon Evans Goes to Market
18:30 WED (b0639xp0)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b062hbnf)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b0638bq8)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b0638bsn)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b0638bv4)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b0638bws)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b0638by3)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b0638c06)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b0638fyq)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b0638fyq)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b0638fz1)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b0638fyv)
Terry Alderton's All Crazy Now
23:00 WED (b0639zzw)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b0638gpj)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b0638kgm)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b0638kgm)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b0639jpg)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b0639jpg)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b0639w43)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b0639w43)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b0639xp2)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b0639xp2)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b063d34s)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b063d34s)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b063dchb)
The Bottom Line
17:30 SAT (b062n1fk)
The Computer Speaks
15:45 FRI (b063dcgy)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b062n1f7)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b063d34j)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b0638gpx)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b0638gpx)
The Great Songbook
11:30 TUE (b0639mst)
The Infinite Monkey Cage
16:30 MON (b0639jp8)
The Infinite Monkey Cage
23:00 TUE (b0639jp8)
The Life Scientific
09:00 TUE (b0639kzv)
The Life Scientific
21:30 TUE (b0639kzv)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b0649cm7)
The Listening Project
10:55 WED (b0639wx2)
The Listening Project
16:55 FRI (b063dch4)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (b063dh1s)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b0639xnw)
The New Economy: Does Sharing Mean Caring?
13:45 MON (b063n3sy)
The New Economy: Does Sharing Mean Caring?
13:45 TUE (b063n58p)
The New Economy: Does Sharing Mean Caring?
13:45 WED (b063n7mb)
The New Economy: Does Sharing Mean Caring?
13:45 THU (b0639gy1)
The New Economy: Does Sharing Mean Caring?
13:45 FRI (b063n287)
The Night Shift
20:00 MON (b0639jpl)
The Now Show
12:30 SAT (b062n4nq)
The Now Show
18:30 FRI (b063dch8)
The Report
20:00 THU (b063d34x)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (b0631nq1)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b0638h03)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b0639jsg)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b0639w4f)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b0639ytz)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b063d43r)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b063dgsf)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b062kx4g)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b0639xmq)
Today
07:00 SAT (b0631n34)
Today
06:00 MON (b0638xbb)
Today
06:00 TUE (b0639kzs)
Today
06:00 WED (b0639wwr)
Today
06:00 THU (b0648nnc)
Today
06:00 FRI (b063dcg2)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b03thwdy)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b03x457w)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b03x458y)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b03x45bg)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b03x45jq)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b03x45lf)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b062hbmx)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b062hbmz)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b062hbn5)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b062hbnc)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b0638bpr)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b0638bpw)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b0638bq2)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b0638bq6)
Weather
05:56 MON (b0638bsg)
Weather
12:57 MON (b0638bsl)
Weather
21:58 MON (b0638bsq)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b0638bv2)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b0638bv6)
Weather
12:57 WED (b0638bwq)
Weather
12:57 THU (b0638by1)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b0638c04)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b0638c0f)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (b0638png)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b0638pnj)
Will Gompertz Gets Creative
10:30 SAT (b0631npz)
With Great Pleasure
16:00 MON (b0639jp6)
Witness
09:30 WED (b0639www)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b0631r50)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b0638xbj)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b0639kzz)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b0639wwy)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b063cxn4)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b063dcg4)
Wordaholics
19:15 SUN (b01c7lk6)
World at One
13:00 MON (b0639gxz)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b0639vpn)
World at One
13:00 WED (b0639wy7)
World at One
13:00 THU (b063d34b)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b063dcgn)
You and Yours
12:15 MON (b0639gxx)
You and Yours
12:15 TUE (b0639v9d)
You and Yours
12:15 WED (b0639wy5)
You and Yours
12:15 THU (b063d55p)
You and Yours
12:15 FRI (b063dcgj)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b062n51j)