The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
A series of stories by novelist Chris Paling, in which the music plays as important a role as the words.
Episode 1: The Piano Player Does Not Do Requests.
Snow falls on the village pub. A stranger walks in and orders a whisky. Slowly, hesitantly, he tells his strange story to the landlord - a tale of a fortune being made and the woman he made it for.
Occasionally he breaks off to listen to the piano being played in the room next door. But will he ever know how important the music is to the story of his life?
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
With concerns about increasing social inequality, some might argue that there is ever more fertile ground for Schadenfreude – a nineteenth century German expression coined to describe the joy we sometimes take in the failure or misfortune of others. It has been described as the worst human trait. However, some psychologists argue that it is an intrinsic part of our survival instinct.
In conversation with Dr Caroline Bowman, a leading researcher in this field, Mark Tully explores the pleasure we take in the discomfiture of both peers and rivals.
Readings and music range from Clive James and Robert Fulford to Spike Jones and Verdi.
Caz Graham looks for wild horses in Lancashire and finds one of the UK's last - and largest - herds of semi-feral Fell Ponies at Andrew and Michelle Thorpe's farm on the moors north of Rochdale.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
It's alleged there was a 'backroom deal' between the CPS, the police and Church of England to avoid a damaging trial of a senior Bishop for indecent assault and gross indecency in the 1990's. This week Bishop Peter Ball plead guilty to a series of historic sex offences against 18 young men between the 1970s and 90s. William Crawley asks why the original charges were dropped and where it leaves the Church today.
Migrants from Syria continue to arrive at the Hungarian border. William speaks to the Catholic Bishop Laszlo Kiss-Rigo who believes the vast numbers of people entering Europe pose a serious threat to the continent's 'Christian universal values.'
Dr Sara Silvestri and Professor Emeritus Grace Davie discuss the reality of the 'threat' to Europe's Christian values and the continents long running debate about Christianity being a core part of its identity.
The MP and former Synod member Frank Field looks at the new Labour leader from a 'faith' perspective and reflects on what their election means for the moral and ethical direction of the party.
Later this month new targets for sustainable development goals will be set. Faith leaders gathered in Bristol to debate how they could contribute to the ambitious goals. Kevin Bocquet reports.
"She kissed a girl and she liked it and then on a steaming hot day in down town LA she saw the home of her dreams". What would Raymond Chandler make of Katy Perry wanting to buy a convent in Los Angeles? Reporter David Willis pens the saga.
Dozens of churches in Lagos have been shut down because they are too noisy. They will only be allowed to reopen once they have paid a fine. Will Ross reports.
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope 'Sound Seekers'.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
To mark the forthcoming Rugby World Cup, Chaplains, staff and students at Rugby School lead worship from the school's chapel, remembering The Rev'd William Webb Ellis who, as a schoolboy, and 'with a fine disregard for the rules' of football, ran with the ball and founded the game of rugby. Rugby School's Assistant Chaplain, Lisa Greatwood introduces music from the school's choir, organ, and jazz group, directed by Richard Tanner. The Chaplain, Richard Horner, is the preacher and tells us that Jesus is our example for when to make, bend, and even break the rules!
P J O'Rourke sizes up the candidates aspiring to be the President of the United States.
"Who are all these jacklegs, high-binders, wire-pullers, mountebanks, swellheads, buncombe spigots, boodle artists, four-flushers and animated spittoons offering themselves as worthy of our nation's highest office?"
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the wetland loving African Jacana. Being rich chestnut coloured above, with black heads, white throats, each has a patch of blue skin above the bill, known as a shield, Jacanas are waders with very long slender toes which allow them to walk on floating plants giving them the name lily-trotters. Widespread in wet places south of the Sahara desert they may become nomadic moving between wetlands as seasonal water levels change. They have an unusual mating system. Females mate with several males, but leave their partners to build the nest, incubate the eggs and bring up the chicks. With up to 3 or 4 mates rearing her different broods, her strategy is to produce the maximum number of young lily-trotters each year.
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Kevin Connolly.
The release of the Birmingham Six in 1991 was a landmark in British legal history. The six men had been convicted of bombing two Birmingham pubs in November 1974, killing 21 people in what was then the worst IRA attack on British soil.
But the Six always protested their innocence and their supporters spent 16 years campaigning for their release before the evidence against them was shown to be unreliable and their convictions quashed.
It had been a long hard struggle. In the early years the men and their families wrote to everyone they could think of, appealing for help: politicians, trades unions, church leaders and human rights organisations. Breda Power, whose father Billy was one of the men convicted, tells Sue MacGregor that at first no-one wanted to listen. For many years, they had the door continually shut in their face. Ann Farrell, daughter of Richard McIlkenny, another of the Six, says: "When you know that someone you love is in prison for something they haven't done, you never give up, no matter how hard it is".
Paddy Hill was one of the most vocal of the Birmingham Six in protesting his innocence, and eventually one of his letters was published in the left wing journal, Tribune. Chris Mullin, then a journalist, and later an MP, tells Sue MacGregor why he published the letter, and how he went on to investigate the case.
Also joining Sue is Brian Hambleton whose sister Maxine was killed in the Birmingham bombs and who is still campaigning to bring the real bombers to justice.
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Lloyd Langford, Henning Wehn, Sara Pascoe and Miles Jupp are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as zoos, theft, phones and hands.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Jam Tomorrow... Today
Jam. Think sticky apricot and saccharine strawberry? Think again. Our British love affair with jam goes back to the sweet-toothed 17th century. But now our interest seems to be waning. Shop sales of jam are down amid concerns over the amount of sugar we consume. And anyway, who has time for preserving pans and pretty pots?
But there is another way. In fact there are many. In this programme, 'queen of preserving' and author of 'Salt Sugar Smoke, how to preserve fruit, vegetables and fish' Diana Henry, meets the people thinking differently about jam.
She finds out how to use some of this year's gluts of fruit with Mary Longford, the woman behind Absolute Preserves in Somerset, discovers a beloved but forgotten fruit with gardener and food writer Mark Diacono; And speaks to Fraser Doherty, the man whose healthier jams have made him an international icon with an MBE to boot.
With advice from American preserves blogger for 'Food in Jars' Marisa McClellan, Diana hosts a canning (or jamming) party and explores culinary traditions of jam making from Scandinavia, Ukraine and beyond with food writers Olia Hercules and Camilla Plum. Recipes from around Europe which won't require shiny new kit.
It is 40 years since the first barrel of oil was drawn out of the North Sea, overflowing with slippery promise. That first barrel ushered in an era in which the UK dared to dream of global influence, wealth beyond measure, and an infinitely brighter future. The Prime Minister in 1977, James Callaghan, described North Sea oil as a God-given opportunity. But has Britain made the most of that opportunity?
This 3-part series, presented by James Naughtie, hears from those who were there at the beginning of Britain's 'black gold' rush, those who have wrangled over managing the industry over the last 4 decades, and those who seek now to make the best of a dwindling supply. It is the story of how our political, economic, and cultural institutions planned for and dealt with the unexpected windfall and challenge of North Sea oil.
Programme 1, Black Spring, tells the story of a technical and engineering miracle that took place against the odds, in stormy seas hundreds of feet deep, in the 1970s. We'll hear how achievement in the North Sea boosted both tax revenues and national confidence, at a time when both were in dangerously short supply.
Eric Robson chairs the horticultural panel programme from Ayr Town Hall. Matthew Wilson, Anne Swithinbank and Bunny Guinness answer local gardeners' questions.
Eric Robson and the panel discover the benefits of horticultural therapy at Gardening Leave in Ayr, a charity that specialises in the rehabilitation of armed forces veterans through gardening.
Fi Glover with conversations about moving up to secondary school, walking on and caving beneath limestone, and volunteering on the Talyllyn railway, from Devon, Cumbria and Wales in the Omnibus edition of the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Hilary Mantel's epic account of the French Revolution as seen through the eyes of its principal characters. Pressure is growing on the revolutionaries to depose the king and create a republic.
John Banville joins Mariella Frostrup to talk about his writing life, about the search for perfection and the recurrence of themes in his art, not least in his new novel, The Blue Guitar.
Set in a re-imagined Ireland, it explores the frailty of the human heart through Oliver Orme, a painter who has abandoned his art.
And we discuss children's fiction from around the world with Adam Freudenheim, publisher of Dutch classic, Tonke Dragt's The Secrets of the Wild Woods and Joy Fowler of the Carnegie Medal. We get a top tip from an industry insider on a re-discovered collection of short stories and there's an update on the changing literary landscape in China, from a leading Chinese crime writer.
Roger McGough has poetry to take you into altered states, reveries and waking dreams... including Tennyson's strange and magical Lotus-Eaters and Coleridge's Kubla Khan. The readers are Tim Pigott-Smith and Indira Varma.
In the first of a new series of File on 4, Jane Deith reports from Assam on the plight of workers on tea plantations which help supply some of Britain's best known brands.
India is one of the largest tea producers in the world with an industry worth billions of pounds - but critics say pickers often have to endure long working hours and insanitary conditions, leading to poor health and high levels of maternal and infant mortality.
Brace yourself for an 80 fingered robotic piano player trying out a Steinway grand; Noel Coward wrapping the mob around his little finger in 50s Las Vegas; Jarvis Cocker performs a Prom from his bed; and Jim Naughtie hears how north sea oil meant Aberdonians had to learn to 'talk proper'.
We're also in Lesbos with Jonny Dymmond who gave one of the week's most moving accounts of the migrant crisis, we'll hear how music soothed troubled souls in the Shadow of Ground Zero, and enjoy the poetic pleasures of Jam.
David's sad to have lost a calf, and Jill remembers what Phil had to go through as they discuss calving. David feels guilty for causing Kenton's financial situation - Jill shouldn't be stumping up to help pay towards the loan for Kenton and Jolene. But Jill's happy, as Carol has been paying her rent for Glebe Cottage.
Jill clearly doesn't want to leave Brookfield and David and Pip worry about what they'll do without her - Ruth should be free to focus on farming when Heather comes to live there, and not become cook and housekeeper. David thinks of Bert to redecorate Pip's room for Heather.
To Bert, Jill plays down her unhappiness at moving to Lower Loxley, talking about her nice room. Bert's looking forward to the Flower and Produce show. Jill wistfully remembers her own rose as Bert suggests Carol enters hers. Bert's not happy about the idea of the village hall being rebuilt and rebranded the Justin Elliot Hall.
Jolene and Kenton are feeling optimistic about making the Bull a success again.
Cast members of Channel 4's hugely popular TV sketch show Absolutely reunite to revisit much-loved sketch characters, with some newcomers.
Starring Pete Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and John Sparkes.
The Stoneybridge Town Council attempt to cover up a possible bribery scandal, Denzil and Gwynned discuss son Codfyl's starring role in a nativity play, the Little Girl's very personal take on having her Tonsils out and Calum Gilhooley tries to get an appointment with a doctor for something "quite urgent".
Mr Muzak sings about the joys of being alone with your computer and the Commissionaire very nearly undergoes an appendectomy. There's more from Talking Facebook and the People's War, with stories from those who were nearly there.
A woman takes her son for a day out before the start of school in an exquisite tale set between childhood and independence.
Janice previously found success with her ‘anti-memoirs’ THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME and ALL MADE UP.
During the election for the leadership of the Labour Party in the UK Jeremy Corbyn has whipped up unprecedented support among grass roots activists pushing him into a surprising lead. Bernie Sanders the left-wing Democratic candidate has done the same energised grass roots support in the United States in a similar way. Their supporters believe in both cases they can shake up the political mainstream and convince non-voters to turn out at the ballot box. But is this a wise strategy?
Reports suggested 11,000 are dying in hospital after being admitted at the weekend but what does the report actually say?
Is the UK already more densely populated than other places in Europe and is this a good argument against taking more refugees.
We're told that we need to build 200,000+ houses a year to meet housing need in this country. We talk to Kate Barker the woman who first came up with this number about where it comes from and what it means.
There's a belief among some people that too many bananas will kill you. Eat too many and you will overdose on potassium and die. But how many bananas would you need to eat?
Sir Adrian Cadbury, Rico Rodriguez, Ieng Thirith, Margaret Harrison, Judy Carne
Sir Adrian Cadbury - who was chairman of the family confectionery firm, led its merger with Schweppes and wrote an influential report on corporate governance. He was also an Olympic rower - and Sir Steve Redgrave pays tribute.
Rico Rodriguez the trombonist who helped create ska and reggae and played with the Specials and Jools Holland, who shares his memories.
Ieng Thirith - health minister of the Khmer Rouge and sister in law of Pol Pot. She was indicted for crimes against humanity.
Margaret Harrison who founded the Home Start charity which sends volunteers to help parents who are struggling to cope.
For more than 150 years, Steinway and Sons have been building handmade pianos to please the ear of the most discerning musicians. Their sound fills concert halls around the world. Why? Is it simply because they're the best; the best marketed or is there another reason?
Peter Day visits one of Steinway's two factories, in Astoria New York, to find out what gives this instrument its prized status in the concert world and ask if this once family owned firm can keep its place on the world stage.
Oly Duff of the I Paper analyses how the newspapers are covering the biggest stories.
Controversial director Abel Ferrara takes on the life and death of controversial director Pier Paolo Pasolini, who was murdered 40 years ago, sparking rumours of political assassination.
Jerry Rothwell discusses his documentary about the early years of Greenpeace featuring never before seen footage of early confrontations with whaling boats.
Neil Brand explains how film music for robots has evolved from avant-garde electronica to show tunes from Hello Dolly.
Set decorator Liz Griffiths explains how she found the tools to kill zombies in Shaun Of The Dead in her dad's shed.
MONDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2015
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b069gs68)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Writing a New South Africa (b0542zv2)
Cape Town: Place and Contested Space
Johannesburg-based poet Thabiso Mohare travels to Cape Town to meet a new generation of writers, poets and playwrights and look at the theme of place and contested space in their work and the history of the city. In a city dominated by the huge Table Mountain which still ensures a certain amount of segregation, he talks to Lauren Beukes, whose sci-fi visions of South African cities are internationally successful, playwright and novelist Nadia Davids about the undealt-with legacy of slavery in the city, and Thando Mgqolozana whose novels deal with a range of social issues. Thabiso explores the status of Afrikaans in the region among the younger generation now, with poet Toni Stuart and short story writer SJ Naude, uncovering the roots of a language that was appropriated as a tool of oppression but is still felt to be a language of struggle and resistance among the communities where it originated. And there is uncompromising work from Nathan Trantraal and Ronelda Kamfer.
In a three part series, poet Thabiso Mohare ('Afurakan'), looks at South Africa through the themes the post-apartheid generation of writers are choosing to engage with in their work. These authors, poets and playwrights are exploring the past and present, from apartheid's legacy to political corruption, and the chaos of the inner city; some are exorcising ghosts, and some tackling current issues, or looking to an imagined future. There is plenty to write about after the end of the struggle. Other outlets for storytelling too - poetry and spoken word events, plugging into older traditions - are supporting the flowering of a diversity of voices as hoped for when the political landscape changed so radically in 1994, with writers of all ethnicities pitching in to the fray. Radio 4 explores the range of voices now being heard, some of the challenges they face, and the picture they present.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b069gtk1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b069gs6d)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b069gs6g)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b069gs6j)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b069gs6l)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b069jcz6)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with George Craig.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b069jcz8)
Devolution concern
There is turmoil in the Northern Irish government. If devolution collapses, how will it affect agriculture? BBC Northern Ireland's Conor Macauley tells Charlotte Smith that NI farmers are really worried.
According to Guy Gagen, crop advisor at the NFU, it's been a terrible summer for harvests, and it won't be profitable for anyone this year.
Sarah Falkingham meets the WI as it turns 100, to find out about the importance of the organisation to the countryside.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Ruth Sanderson.
MON 05:56 Weather (b069gs6n)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04dvtbk)
Florida Scrub Jay
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Sir David Attenborough presents the Florida scrub jay. Less than 6,000 Florida scrub jays exist in the wild, yet these are some of the most intelligent creatures in the world. Long term research has revealed an extraordinary intelligence. If other jays are around, a bird will only hide its food when the other bird is out of sight. It will even choose a quieter medium, and rather than pebbles for example, to further avoid revealing its hidden larder to sharp-eared competitors.
MON 06:00 Today (b069jd2m)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 The Listening Project (b069jd2p)
The Listening Project Live from Cumbria
On the shores of Derwent Water in Keswick Fi Glover explores conversations that occur in the course of mountain rescue and the effects of recording a Listening Project conversation with guests in the mobile Booth.
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.
MON 09:30 Soundstage (b05n1hws)
Dawn Chorus
As a wildlife sound recordist, Chris Watson has been lucky enough to travel around the world listening to bird song, and is convinced that the very best dawn chorus in the world is here in Britain. From late March until mid-June, between
3am and
6am, there is a tremendous outpouring of song in woodlands between latitudes 50 to 55 degrees north. Resident birds are joined by migrant birds from Africa and Eastern Europe whose voices coalesce into an international chorus which fills our woodlands well before sunrise. Chris decided to try and capture a dawn chorus in a landscape he knew well as he would have to set up microphones in the dark, so he chose Suffolk. It was early May when he set out one evening down the old railway path which links Aldeburgh with Thorpeness. He arranged his microphones by a likely looking area of birch and alder trees, although the first sounds he heard were not birds but the bells of Aldeburgh parish church nearly two miles to the south. The bells faded under the sounds rooks, jackdaws and pheasants returning to their roost. There then followed the sounds of the night; owls, deer and foxes. At
2.30am Chris heard the first bird song, when a nightingale began to sing. This was a beautiful solo voice in the darkness. Soon other birds joined the Nightingale; Robin, Song thrush, Blackbird and Wren, until at
4am the chorus had developed to the extent that it was difficult to pick out any individual. With the first rays of daylight, the chorus began to subside and the pattern of song was changed by the late arrivals. As Chris returned back along the footpath, he was accompanied by the cries of curlew rising off the marshes and heading inland – a perfect end to a wonderful dawn chorus. Producer Sarah Blunt.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b069jf1z)
Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio
Episode 1
His name was Antonio, but they would call him Nem meaning 'babe' as he was the youngest in his family. From the infamous favela of Rocinha in Rio, surrounded by the comfortable middle-class neighbourhoods of Brazil's party city, he was a hardworking young father forced to make a life-changing decision. If the only person who will lend you money in a crisis is a drug baron, then the only way you can repay him is by going to work for the gang.
Nemesis is the story of an ordinary man who became the 'don' of the largest slum in Rio. It is a story of fate and retribution, of the inevitable consequences of moral collapse and the blurred boundaries of the law. Brazil's most wanted criminal, Antonio (or 'Nem') tried to bring welfare and a crude kind of justice to a favela of over 100,000 citizens; a world governed by violence and destitution, existing beyond the rule of an equally corrupt state. But his period of ascendancy coincided with the nation's attempts to earn international respect first of all through hosting the football World Cup and then winning the right to stage the 2016 Olympics.
This is the story of how change came to Brazil. It begins with Misha Glenny meeting the eponymous Nem at a high security prison in 2012 , the account that follows is of a country's journey into the global spotlight, and the battle for the beautiful but damned city of Rio as it struggles to break free from a tangled web of corruption, violence, drugs and poverty.
Episode 1
It's 2012 and Misha Glenny travels to Brazil's top security jail to meet Antonio, known as Nem, who became one of the most feared yet respected crime lords in Rio.
Read by the author, Misha Glenny
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b069jf21)
Takeover Week: Kim Cattrall
Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall is the first of five remarkable women taking the editor's chair each day this week. In a programme based entirely on her personal agenda, Kim talks frankly about ageing, not having children, and being single in your fifties. Joining Jane Garvey to explore how women deal with life beyond fifty are journalist and writer Joan Smith, novelist Kathy Lette, clinical health psychologist Professor Myra Hunter of King's College London, and thirty-something columnist Rosamund Urwin.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b069jf23)
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Episode 1
by A L Kennedy
Directed by Sally Avens
Maggie and John had a passionate affair in their younger days but it didn't last. Now in their late sixties a surprise encounter gives them another chance to take up where they left off. Will they manage to find the best in each other and finally get together, or will old wounds and an awareness of their ageing bodies deter them ? Will the treadmill created by the high-cost, high pressure 21st century, their endless other commitments and interruptions large and small overwhelm them, or will they take the final risk ?
MON 11:00 The Letters of Ada Lovelace (b069jjmg)
The Poetry of Mathematics
Georgina Ferry presents part one of the correspondence of Ada Lovelace, dramatised by an all-star cast; and reveals the intense inner world of a young Victorian lady who anticipated our digital age.
Ada Lovelace (Sally Hawkins) was the abandoned daughter of the romantic poet Lord Byron. Concerned that Ada might inherit her father's feckless and 'dangerous' poetic tendencies, her single mother Lady Byron (Olivia Williams) made sure she was tutored thoroughly in mathematics, and regularly prescribed 'more maths' to improve her mental health. When she came out in London society, Ada met the man who would change her life, but not in the way most debutantes would have imagined. The distinguished mathematician, Charles Babbage (Anthony Head) became her life-long friend and mentor: Ada was fascinated by his steam-powered calculating machines. Supported by her husband William (George Watkins), she defied society's expectations, studying mathematics with extraordinary passion and determination when she was married with three small children; and later suggesting boldly to Babbage that he might like to work with her on his innovative thinking machines.
MON 11:30 All Those Women (b069jjml)
Series 1
Episode 1
As relationships wobble, members of the family descend upon Maggie to provide support, plumbing advice and tea. Rent-free, naturally.
Katherine Jakeways' comedy about four generations of women living under one roof. An exploration of familial relationships, ageing, marriages - it's about life and love and things not turning out quite the way that you'd expected them to.
Hetty, Maggie, Jen and Emily struggle to resolve their own problems, and support one another.
Hetty ...... Sheila Hancock
Maggie ...... Lesley Manville
Jen ...... Sinead Matthews
Emily ...... Lucy Hutchinson
David ...... Denis Lill
Customer ...... Rebecca Hamilton
Announcement ...... George Watkins
Producer: Alexandra Smith
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2015.
MON 12:00 News Summary (b069gs6t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 Home Front (b06492hv)
14 September 1915 - Sylvia Graham
In the Graham household, new science and technology offers some practical comfort.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
MON 12:15 You and Yours (b069r3rp)
Johnnie and Tiggy Walker, BT Openreach, Rugby World Cup Tickets
You & Yours often discusses care, and the quality of care you can buy. More often though care is given for free. In this programme, Radio 2 presenter Johnnie Walker and his wife, Tiggy, talk about how caring for each other through cancer changed their relationship.
BT Openreach responds to complaints by home builders who say a large number of new homes are waiting months to be connected.
Plus how new born babies will require tickets to attend this year's Rugby World Cup.
Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Natalie Donovan.
MON 12:57 Weather (b069gs6w)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b069r3rr)
The new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has finished appointing the rest of his shadow cabinet. We hear from the GMB union and from the new shadow Health Secretary Heidi Alexander. Austria and Slovakia have followed Germany by boosting security at their borders. Our reporter in Munich hears from refugees there. Meanwhile, David Cameron is in Lebanon visiting camps being partially funded by the UK. And we hear a warning that a robot revolution is underway - and millions of jobs are under threat. Researchers at Oxford University are predicting that 35% of jobs could be destroyed by automation over the next two decades.
MON 13:45 Computing Britain (b069r3rt)
Electronic Brains
From the mobile phone to the office computer, mathematician Hannah Fry looks back at 70 years of computing history, to reveal the UK's lead role in developing the technology we use today.
In the first episode, she travels back to the 1940s, to hear the incredible story of the creation, in Britain, of the computer memory.
Three teams from across the country - in Teddington, Manchester and Cambridge - were tasked with designing automatic calculating engines for university research. But which team would be first to crack the tricky problem of machine memory?
Meanwhile, tabloid headlines proclaimed that engineers were building 'electronic brains' that could match, and maybe surpass, the human brain, starting a debate about automation and artificial intelligence that still resonates today.
Featuring archive from the Science Museum and the BBC Library, plus an interview with technology historian Dr James Sumner from Manchester University.
Presented by Hannah Fry
Produced by Michelle Martin
Photo: Maurice Wilkes and Bill Renwick with EDSAC
Credit: Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b069h77k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b039q24p)
Carnival
By Rachel De-lahay.
In his neighbourhood, with his boys, Michael is a king. He's hosting the MC competition at the annual summer carnival. It's the highlight of the social calendar. Everyone will be there to see it; including those Michael would rather distance himself from. Secrets, lies and torn loyalties are exposed in this gritty urban drama exploring prejudice and peer pressure in young black communities.
Directed by Helen Perry
Rachel De-lahay is an exciting new writer who won the 2010 Alfred Fagon Award and the 2012 Writers Guild Award for her Royal Court debut play, 'The Westbridge'. She has been named one of Screen International's 2013 UK Stars of Tomorrow. Rachel is currently under commission with The National Theatre Studio, Film Four, and Birmingham Rep and is part of the BBC Writersroom 10. Her second Royal Court play 'Routes' is on in September 2013. 'Carnival' is her first radio drama.
MON 15:00 Quote... Unquote (b06bhw9q)
Quote ... Unquote, the popular quotations quiz, returns for its 51st series.
In almost forty years, Nigel Rees has been joined by writers, actors, musicians, scientists and various comedy types. Kenneth Williams, Judi Dench, PD James, Larry Adler, Ian KcKellen, Peter Cook, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ustinov... have all graced the Quote Unquote stage.
Join Nigel as he quizzes a host of celebrity guests on the origins of sayings and well-known quotes, and gets the famous panel to share their favourite anecdotes.
Episode 2
Oscar winning lyricist Don Black
Actress and writer Shobu Kapoor
TV Presenter Fern Britton
Novelist and Screenwriter Anthony Horowitz
Presenter ... Nigel Rees
Producer ... Carl Cooper.
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b069gvl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 I Was... (b069r80x)
Series 2
George Orwell's Pupil
Andrew McGibbon presents the series that analyses great artists at a significant time in their careers - but from the perspective of someone who worked for them, inspired them, employed them, was taught by them or even did their job for them while no one was looking.
In 1932, George Orwell was still known as Eric Blair and supporting himself by teaching in a private middle school run by tradesmen in semi rural Hayes, West London.
Geoffrey Stevens was one of his pupils during the year that saw him publish his first book - Down and Out in Paris and London - and also change his name from Eric Blair to George Orwell.
Geoffrey, now 96, remembers Orwell teaching him French - badly, Orwell's harsh classroom style and reliance on corporal punishment, his avuncular after school country walks to look for puss moth larva and collect marsh gas, and Orwell directing the school play which he wrote himself.
He recalls how Orwell was driven mad by the school owner's wife playing Baptist hymns on the piano late into the night, the curious role of the school parrot during mealtimes and Orwell coming round for tea with Geoffrey's mum and dad and giving him more homework as a result.
It's a fragment of time that reveals fascinating and mundane insights to George Orwell, a powerful sense of early thirties suburban London during the depression and the story of an underperforming pupil who went on to run two businesses and, at nearly 100, still walks 30 miles a week.
Written and presented by Andrew McGibbon
Reader: Gunnar Cauthery
Produced by Nick Romero and Andrew McGibbon
A Curtains For Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b069r80z)
Betrayal
What do Muhammad Ali, Helen Shapiro and John Travolta have in common? They all changed their religion. They abandoned the traditions in which they had been brought up in favour of something different. In some cases, it produced a great sense of betrayal. Some religious groups will cut off friends and family who renounce their religion. Life for the so-called betrayer can be very difficult indeed. The idea of betrayal runs very deep in many religions. Why? And what does it actually signify?
Ernie Rea is joined by Prakash Shah, Director of the Centre for Culture and Law at Queen Mary, University of London; Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawar, Chief Executive of the Spiritual Capital Foundation Think Tank; and Douglas Davies, Professor in the Study of Religion at Durham University.
Produced by Nija Dalal-Small.
MON 17:00 PM (b069r811)
News interviews, context and analysis.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b069gs7c)
The veteran left-winger, John McDonnell, is made Shadow Chancellor.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b069r813)
Series 15
Episode 4
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Sarah Millican, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Holly Walsh and Katherine Ryan are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as princesses, diets, sauce and paper.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b069r815)
Pip seems to have the magic touch with the cows, getting them ready for the market as David goes to transfer the loan money to Kenton. There's a calving problem, so Pip calls Ed to help and his muscle comes in really handy. David missed it, and congratulates and thanks Pip and Ed - any debt that Pip felt she owed the farm (remembering Matthew the milker) is now well and truly cleared!
Oliver's putting things into storage for when he and Caroline are away in Tuscany - they head off at the weekend. Ed reminds Oliver it's Joe's birthday on Friday - they'll be at the Bull for the rugby World Cup - and for Thursday Kenton's organising a themed quiz night .
There seem to be negative comments on the village website about Justin Elliot, but Neil feels it's unfair given how generous Justin's prepared to be. However, he's unsure whether or not to accept Justin's money to restore and rebrand the hall. Oliver wonders if it would be seen as tainted money, given Justin's involvement with the new road scheme. But Kenton says Neil should just accept - pointedly remarking that if Justin's foolish enough to part with his dosh, you should take it - and you don't have to like him.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b069r81c)
Ai Weiwei, Everest, Leona Lewis
Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei discusses his major new solo exhibition about to open at the Royal Academy of Arts, in London.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays expedition leader Scott Fischer in the new film Everest, which follows events of the doomed summit attempt of 1996 which led to the deaths of a number of the climbers. Mark Eccleston reviews.
Former X Factor winner Leona Lewis on why she broke away from Simon Cowell's record label to create her new album, I am.
Presenter John Wilson
Producer Ella-mai Robey.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b069jf23)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 Oil: A Crude History of Britain (b069r81h)
Episode 2
In Norway, and in Shetland, funds drawing a tax on North Sea oil wealth have built up massive reserves of public money. Calls for such an Oil Fund for the UK have been ignored down the years, dismissed as impractical or undesirable.
Instead, North Sea oil, once held up as a transformational force in British politics, came to be used in the day-to-day expenditure of government. Critics argued that what could have been used to upgrade Britain's infrastructure was paying benefits cheques to Thatcher's 3-million unemployed.
Elsewhere, the SNPs "It's Scotland's Oil" campaign had brought the party to the brink of a political breakthrough. In episode 2 of Oil: A Crude History of Britain, James Naughtie explores all these strands with those who were there at the time, including former Chancellor and Energy Secretary Nigel, now Lord, Lawson.
Jim also recalls the tragic loss of 167 lives on Piper Alpha in July 1988. He hears from one of Red Adair's globe-trotting specialist firefighters, who spent weeks tackling what is still the deadliest ever oil industry disaster.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b068xnm4)
Paraguay's Schoolgirl Mothers
In April, the case of a 10 year old girl who became pregnant after her step-father raped her became front-page news in Paraguay, and across Latin America. Abortion is legal in this small South American nation only if the mother's life is deemed to be in danger. In this case, the authorities ruled there was no threat to the girl, and the pregnancy continued. But this isn't a one-off example of children getting pregnant: more than 700 girls aged 14 and under gave birth in 2014. That's more or less two a day.
The 10 year old's pregnancy spawned a series of demonstrations and huge debate: about abortion, sex education, and the failure of the criminal justice system to prosecute the perpetrators of the abuse of children.
For Crossing Continents, Linda Pressly meets some of the schoolgirl mothers, and explores the reasons why Paraguayan girls are especially vulnerable to abuse. Why are families, the state and the law failing to protect them?
MON 21:00 Natural Histories (b05w9dq2)
Bears
Bears (of the family Ursidae) and people go back a long way, they are disconcertingly human-like, captured in the most popular of tales, Goldilocks, Snow White and Rose Red and Winnie the Pooh. Many cultures from northern Europe to North America to China have traditionally worshiped bears, regarding them as the spirit of ancestors. In the Palaeolithic bear bones were carefully buried in unnatural poses and their skulls in a circle. In Christianity saints have tamed bears as a sign of holiness though bears were persecuted to deter pagan cults. In medieval times the cruel and gruesome sport of bear-baiting was a common pastime, enjoyed by royalty and peasant alike. Seeing a bear tormented by dogs may have been pleasurable, but it was also a physical representation of suffering and struggle at a time when bears were still part of a greater mythology. The mystical qualities of bears is reflected in our seeing them in the stars, the Great and Little Bear track their way across the heavens. The constancy of the Great Bear constellation was used by slaves in the American Civil War to guide them to safety, away from conflict; their song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" tells how to follow the lights of the constellation - the gourd being code for The Great Bear. Today the white polar bear is a potent symbol of climate change, reliant on ice covered land it is in danger of losing its habitat. As we become more removed from nature the style of the much-loved teddy bear has changed. Originally they looked like real bears, today they are pink and fluffy and short-limbed. Our relationship with bears has always been complex and still is today.
MON 21:30 The Listening Project (b069jd2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b069gs7p)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b069r9vy)
Jeremy Corbyn unveils a new 'unifying' team.
Is a more relaxed type of politics the right way to run a party ?
MON 22:45 Tessa Hadley - The Past (b069rfk8)
Episode 6
Today it is 1968 and Jill, mother to Harriet, Roland and Alice, is arrives unexpectedly at her parents home, children in tow.
Sian Thomas reads Tessa Hadley's powerful and haunting new novel, a beautifully observed portrait of a family and the change wrought by time across the generations.
Three middle-aged sisters and a brother meet up in their grandparents' old house for three long, hot summer weeks. Under the idyllic surface, there are immediate tensions. Secrets, misunderstandings and passion play out as the characters shift and reappraise and a way of life - bourgeois, literate, ritualised - winds down to its inevitable end.
While the siblings circle each other, and the adolescents approach each other, the children watch and come to their own conclusions.
Tessa Hadley is one of Britain's finest writers, an acute observer of character, time and place and the most published short story writer in the New Yorker in recent years.
The reader is Sian Thomas
The abridger is Sally Marmion
The producer is Di Speirs
MON 23:00 And the Academy Award Goes To... (b05329jq)
Series 5
Chariots of Fire
Paul Gambaccini explores Oscar-winning films.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b069rfkd)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster on the first outing for Jeremy Corbyn's team.
TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2015
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b069gs96)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b069jf1z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b069gs98)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b069gs9b)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b069gs9d)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b069gs9l)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b069rph5)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with George Craig.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b069rph7)
Bumblebees, Exporting grain, Spinach harvest, Gamekeeping
New research shows how bumblebees are stealing pollen and nectar from each other's nests.
A group of farmers are now growing wheat specifically for export to North Africa.
It's spinach harvest time of year and one farmer is using his crop to produce fruit and vegetable juices.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04dvyfs)
White-Bearded Manakin
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Sir David Attenborough presents the White-Bearded manakin of tropical South America. The sound of party-poppers exploding in a forest clearing tells you that white-bearded manakins are displaying at a lek. At a carefully chosen spot each male clears the forest floor of leaves and other debris before his performance begins. The commonest display is the snap-jump. As he jumps forward he strikes the back of his wings together creating a loud snapping sound followed by an excited "pee-you" call. Snap-jumps are often followed by grunt jumps or a manoeuvre known as "slide-down-the-pole". These displays continue throughout the day, but intensify when females visit.
TUE 06:00 Today (b069rpxf)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Long View (b069rpxh)
The Long View of Popularising Exploration
Jonathan Freedland and guests use a story from the past to throw light on and inform debate about an event currently in the news.
TUE 09:30 The Town Is the Menu (b047zn5n)
Merthyr Tydfil
A fiery history of rebellion and working class spirit from the town that fuelled the industrial revolution provide inspiring ingredients for food innovator Simon Preston and award winning chef Stephen Terry as they create a brand new signature dish for Merthyr Tydfil. A cast of colour local characters gather at Theatr Soar to share some of the more surprising stories from Merthyr's past - from Mario Basini we hear of the town's Italian community; retired nurse Margaret Lloyd reflects on over 80 years in the town while history enthusiast Chris Parry recalls some of the fights which characterise the town's fiery past. The challenge for Stephen and Simon is to bring all those elements together in a single dish which captures the essence of this intriguing town.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b06b3rf5)
Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio
Episode 2
His name was Antonio, but they would call him Nem meaning 'babe' as he was the youngest in his family. From the infamous favela of Rocinha in Rio, surrounded by the comfortable middle-class neighbourhoods of Brazil's party city, he was a hardworking young father forced to make a life-changing decision. If the only person who will lend you money in a crisis is a drug baron, then the only way you can repay him is by going to work for the gang.
Nemesis is the story of an ordinary man who became the 'don' of the largest slum in Rio. It is a story of fate and retribution, of the inevitable consequences of moral collapse and the blurred boundaries of the law. Brazil's most wanted criminal, Antonio (or 'Nem') tried to bring welfare and a crude kind of justice to a favela of over 100,000 citizens; a world governed by violence and destitution, existing beyond the rule of an equally corrupt state. But his period of ascendancy coincided with the nation's attempts to earn international respect through hosting the football World Cup and winning the right to stage the 2016 Olympics.
This is the story of how change came to Brazil. It begins with Misha Glenny meeting the eponymous Nem at a high security prison in 2012 , the account that follows is of a country's journey into the global spotlight, and the battle for the beautiful but damned city of Rio, as it struggles to break free from a tangled web of corruption, violence, drugs and poverty.
Episode 2:
Antonio and Vanessa are delighted with the arrival of their baby daughter, Eduarda. But when Duda is diagnosed with a rare illness the cost of the hospital bills is beyond their means.
Read by the author, Misha Glenny
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b069rv9r)
Takeover Week: Nimko Ali
The outspoken anti - FGM and women's rights activist Nimko Ali is the second of five remarkable women taking the editors chair each day this week. In a programme where Nimko is setting the agenda we'll consider topics including female-only spaces, myths about fertility, and the way the UK talks about refugees. We also hear from the Egyptian human rights lawyer Azza Soliman, about the treatment of women in Egypt and the cost of speaking out.
Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b06bhdlt)
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Episode 2
by A L Kennedy
Directed by Sally Avens
Maggie and John had a disastrous affair in their younger days but now in their late sixties they are attempting to give it another go, but John's work schedule and Maggie's fear of getting hurt once again are not making this easy.
TUE 11:00 Natural Histories (b069rv9t)
Brambles
Brambles are a common reminder that nature is not just about us. The tangled confusion of spikes and tough stems tear flesh and cloth alike - the long, sinuous creepers creeping along tracks can trip those whose eyes stray from the ground. Tales from Brambly Hedge tempt children to the underworld of the bramble where homely mice families create a secure glow of domestic bliss safe from the dangers outside. Picking blackberries remains very popular and a wistful childhood memory, captured by Seamus Heaney's poem Blackberry Picking. This also echoes the dual nature of the bramble as both tormentor and giver of soft treats. Another dark side to this very common plant is the clues it gives to forensic botanists who use the bramble as an indicator of changed ground, noting if its growing pattern shows signs of disturbance, they can even detect the time the plant was dug up and recovered.The bramble is the commoner of the woodland, but says Richard Mabey, it performs an essential job in protecting young trees. Today BlackBerry is a smart phone, called after the fruit because the inventors knew that any name related to the term "email" made people's blood pressure rise, so they went for a natural, playful, happy-memory inducing name. It has now been twisted into urban slang - "going blackberry picking" now means to go out and steal phones. The humble blackberry, and there are over 650 different species, has many hidden depths.
TUE 11:30 Birth of an Orchestra (b069rv9w)
Alan Bennett, former members of the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra (1947-55) and students of the new Yorkshire Young Sinfonia discuss Yorkshire orchestras past, present and future.
Last year on BBC Radio 4, Alan Bennett recalled his boyhood visits to the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra. In Death of an Orchestra, he was joined by supporters and former members in telling the YSO's history, from 1947 to its sad demise in 1955.
As he listened to that programme, David Taylor was coincidentally in the process of creating a new youth orchestra - the Yorkshire Young Sinfonia - and Alan Bennett's story of the YSO gave his project a new sense of purpose: "To create the musicians of tomorrow, providing a springboard to a career in the arts, and stimulate the arts in Yorkshire".
Birth of an Orchestra follows the students of the YYS as they prepare for their inaugural concert - just 60 years on from the YSO's last performance. The young players talk about their musical backgrounds and ambitions, and hear advice from three former members of the YSO with long and distinguished orchestral careers - violinist Stan Smith, harpist Mair Roberts and cellist Betty Wood, a founder member of the YSO at the age of 19.
The programme explores Yorkshire's musical heritage. Alan Bennett remembers an embarrassing visit to the Leeds Triennial Festival, Leeds City Organist Simon Lindley outlines the origins of music-making in the county and Bernard Atha - former Lord Mayor of Leeds - recalls hearing John McCormack sing there in the 1930s.
Producer: Susan Kenyon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:00 News Summary (b069gs9v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 Home Front (b06492kp)
15 September 1915 - Alice Macknade
Alice and Roy try to evade the inevitable in the hope Roy can escape transfer to France, or even court martial.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b069rv9y)
Call You and Yours: How well was your child prepared for the move from primary to secondary school?
Call You & Yours: As the new term gets underway, we are asking - how well were your children prepared for the move from primary to secondary school?
For any child it is a major step. New school, new teachers, new subjects, and the pressure to make new friends. What is it that makes the move to secondary school so difficult for many children? What can parents and schools do to help them settle more quickly?
The head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has suggested that too many children are being let down in the early stages of secondary school, with the transition from primary school often poorly managed.
We are keen to hear your experience. How is your child doing? How did you go about preparing them? If you are a teacher, how do you work to prepare pupils for the move? What examples have you seen of good and bad practice?
Email us on youandyours@bbc.co.uk and leave a contact number so we can call you back. Join Winifred Robinson at quarter past 12.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b069gsb5)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b069rvb0)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
TUE 13:45 Computing Britain (b069rvb4)
LEO the Electronic Office
Hannah Fry hears the incredible story of how a chain of British teashops produced the first office computer in the world.
J Lyons and Company was the UK's largest catering company, with 250 teashops across the country. They also owned their own bakeries, a tea plantation and haulage firm, as Dr Tilly Blyth from the Science Museum describes.
By the 1950s, this vast business was drowning in paperwork. Lyons embarked on an ambitious new project to build a machine called LEO - the Lyons Electronic Office.
Their office computer was based on the giant calculating machines being built inside UK universities to solve mathematical equations
Sure, these machines could manage maths, but could they handle catering?
Featuring archive from the British Library, the Science Museum and the LEO Society.
Presented by Hannah Fry
Produced by Michelle Martin
Photo: LEO 1 - The Lyons Electronic Office
Credit: LEO Computers Society.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b069r815)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 British New Wave (b039c5df)
John Osborne - The Author of Himself
By Stephen Wakelam. One afternoon in 1955 Theatre Manager George Devine sets out in a rickety rowing boat to inspect an actor, John Osborne, living on a Thames barge who has written a play. Look Back in Anger has been returned by many theatres but Devine has seen something in it. The meeting is a pivotal moment in the course of theatrical history.
Director: David Hunter
Look Back in Anger was premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre on 8th May 1956 by the English Stage Company directed by Tony Richardson with the following cast - Kenneth Haigh, Alan Bates, Mary Ure, Helena Hughes and John Welsh. The press release referred to John Osborne as "an angry young man" - a phrase that came to represent a new movement in British Theatre.
TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (b069c13z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b069rvb8)
Britain Rules the Waves
Britain still owns islands large and small across the globe, from Pitcairn to South Georgia and Bermuda to Ascension. Could we use the waters around these territories to protect vast swathes of the oceans from overfishing and development? Tom Heap meets the islanders and the conservationists eager to see if Britain really can lead the way.
He takes to the water to see how Gibraltar is using its spawning grounds to restore the health of the Mediterranean and finds out what the enormous new no-fishing zone around Pitcairn could mean for the Pacific.
Producer: Alasdair Cross.
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b069rvbd)
Number Words
First in series. Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright explore the numbers one to ten and look at how we understand - and misunderstand - the language of numbers. Why is a shampoo called Zinc 24 so much more appealing than a shampoo called Zinc 31? How do we cope with offers in supermarkets? Alex Bellos and Michael Blastland explain.
Producer Beth O'Dea
Alex Bellos is the author of Alex Through the Looking-Glass: How Life Reflects Numbers and Numbers Reflect Life.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b069rvbl)
Series 37
Hannah Rothschild on Thelonious Monk
Hannah Rothschild champions the life of the jazz musician Thelonious Monk.
Brilliant, eccentric and one of the true giants of jazz, Monk was an incredible pianist, the composer of jazz standards such as 'Round Midnight', the co-creator of bebop and a close friend of Hannah's great-aunt, the Jazz Baroness Nica Rothschild. Matthew Parris chairs as Hannah and music writer Richard Williams chart Monk's progress through the jazz clubs and recording studios of mid-twentieth century New York.
Producer: Julia Johnson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
TUE 17:00 PM (b069rvbn)
News interviews, context and analysis.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b069gsc6)
15/09/15 Unions threaten anti-EU campaign
Unions say they'll lead anti-EU campaign if David Cameron's renegotiation waters down workers' rights
TUE 18:30 Reluctant Persuaders (b06bhk9h)
Series 1
Lemon
Welcome to Hardacres, the worst advertising agency in London, and setting of Edward Rowett's new series.
In this opening episode, the agency is shaken by the arrival of a new accounts chief, Amanda Brook who is determined to rebrand and re-launch the agency as a legitimate business.
Inept creative team Joe and Teddy, two recent graduates who are still not entirely sure what it is they're supposed to be doing, find themselves fighting to save their jobs and prove they are not quite as clueless as they appear.
Meanwhile, creative director and advertising legend Rupert Hardacre is appalled to discover Amanda expects him to do slightly more than play golf and drink whisky all day.
And receptionist Laura...well, she doesn't care what happens.
The team must work together as they head to the Advertise NOW! Awards and find an answer to the question - how do you advertise yourself?
Rupert Hardacre - Nigel Havers
Amanda Brook - Josie Lawrence
Joe - Matthew Baynton
Teddy - Rasmus Hardiker
Laura - Olivia Nixon
Director: Alan Nixon
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b069vtml)
Christine's taking on a new challenge for this year's Flower and Produce show, baking ginger biscuits. Her first attempt, with Peggy as guinea pig, shows room for improvement -but Chris won't be defeated.
Peggy feels ready to challenge Hazel over her change of use plans for the village shop. Peggy will speak to her solicitor. In other news, Johnny has a new girlfriend called Daisy. Pat and Tony discuss Justin Elliot's desire to rebuild and rebrand the village hall - there are obvious objections.
Helen feels a bit under pressure as Rob shadows her at work in the dairy - he's full of detailed questions. Helen slightly defensively points out that Borsetshire Blue in particular is her personal project, but Rob only wants to learn the operation in case he needs to cover. Rob doesn't go along to the family meeting about the new Farm shop, so that he can stay at home with Henry. Rob's rather dogmatic with Helen about Henry needing a routine until he is properly settled. Absent from the meeting, Rob is outvoted on his idea to stock national brands.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b069vtmn)
Photograph 51, Sebastian Faulks, John Eliot Gardiner
Samira Ahmed reviews Anna Ziegler's new play Photograph 51, starring Nicole Kidman as the scientist who discovered DNA.
Sebastian Faulks on returning to the First and Second World Wars for his new novel Where My Heart Used to Beat.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner on the Royal Opera House's new production of Gluck's Orphee et Eurydice, where his orchestra is on stage, not in the pit.
Stephanie Merritt discusses the Man Booker shortlist, announced today.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06bhdlt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b069vtmq)
CPS: Prosecutors on Trial
Controversial charging decisions in the cases of Lord Janner, Operation Elveden and a doctor accused of female genital mutilation have brought a hostile reaction in the media to the Director of Public Prosecutions and increasing concern about the health of her organisation - the Crown Prosecution Service.
Over the past five years the CPS has seen budget cuts of over 25% resulting in job losses and internal reforms. Despite this, the organisation maintains that it continues to improve performance - measured by conviction rates in both magistrates' and Crown Courts.
However, there are increasing concerns about staff morale, the quality of decision-making and the standard of advocacy in court . BBC Home Affairs Correspondent, Danny Shaw has been hearing frank testimony from both inside and outside the CPS which presents a revealing picture of the justice system in England and Wales.
Presenter: Danny Shaw Producer: Ian Muir-Cochrane.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b069vtms)
SeeAbility, Tanvir Bush
Lisa Donaldson, Optometrist and Clinical Lead for SeeAbility's new campaign 'Children in Focus' talks to Peter White about the charity's call for funded eye tests to be available in all special schools in England. Children with severe disabilities are 28 times more likely to experience a vision loss than are their non-disabled peers, say SeeAbility's research and these children are the ones most likely not to be accessing the eye health care to which they are entitled.
Alyson Farrell is mother to Ellie, age 9, who has brain damage from a pre-birth virus and is non-verbal. Ellie's condition gives her a pre-disposition to visual impairment and for this reason she needs regular eye tests. Alyson says that going to a hospital is very stressful and being able to have the tests at her school is hugely preferable.
The Department of Health told us that contracts may be set up between contractors and NHS England to provide eye-testing within special schools. Lisa Donaldson commented that although this is true, there is a funding gap between the money paid by the DoH and the overall cost of the testing, which is currently being met by SeeAbility.
Plus, author Tanvir Bush pens her latest column about keeping your cool when belongings get misplaced.
Producer: Cheryl Gabriel.
TUE 21:00 Inside Health (b069vtmv)
League tables, Nits, Feeling the cold, Language - Surrogate marker
Are league tables listing surgical outcomes the best way to assess your surgeon or are high risk patients being turned away as surgeons keep an eye on their figures? New data published this week list the clinical outcomes for heart surgery - cardiac surgeons are just one speciality from an ever expanding list of doctors whose performance is now published in league tables and subject to public scrutiny. But what impact has their introduction had on patient care? Sam Nashef, a consultant cardiac surgeon at Papworth Hopsital, discusses this issue with Mark Porter.
Recent research in schools in Wales suggest that as many as one in 12 primary school children get them at this time of year - and that compares favourably with Australian research, which suggests the figure's much higher - closer to one in five. Resident sceptic Dr Margaret McCartney explains which treatments are supported by evidence.
Lyn e-mailed Inside Health to understand why she often feels colder than other people. How, she asked, do we regulate our body temperature and are some people better at it than others?
George Havenith is Professor of Environmental Physiology and Ergonomics at Loughborough University, and Mike Tipton, Professor of Human and Applied Physiology at the University of Portsmouth, provide answers.
And in the next of our special series demystifying the language of research and statistics Carl Heneghan, Professor of Evidence Based Medicine at the University of Oxford and Dr Margaret McCartney unpack the concept of surrogate markers. These feature increasingly in medical research and can involve everything from blood test results, to the pattern on your heart trace or ECG.
TUE 21:30 The Long View (b069rpxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b069gsc8)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b069vtmx)
Large crowds of migrants protesting close to Hungarian razor wire fence
Could camps outside Europe, provide a longer term solution to the migrant crisis?
TUE 22:45 Tessa Hadley - The Past (b069vtmz)
Episode 7
Today, a moment's indiscretion or time for a new direction - the past influences the present as
Sian Thomas reads Tessa Hadley's powerful and haunting new novel, a beautifully observed portrait of a family and the change wrought by time across the generations.
Three middle-aged sisters and a brother meet up in their grandparents' old house for three long, hot summer weeks. Under the idyllic surface, there are immediate tensions. Secrets, misunderstandings and passion play out as the characters shift and reappraise and a way of life - bourgeois, literate, ritualised - winds down to its inevitable end.
While the siblings circle each other, and the adolescents approach each other, the children watch and come to their own conclusions.
Tessa Hadley is one of Britain's finest writers, an acute observer of character, time and place and the most published short story writer in the New Yorker in recent years.
The reader is Sian Thomas
The abridger is Sally Marmion
The producer is Di Speirs
TUE 23:00 Alice's Wunderland (b069vvg6)
Series 3
Episode 1
The peculiar narrator takes a trip through time with Lady Bowie to Ye Olde Wunderlande, the middle-ages Poundland of magical realms.
New series by Alice Lowe, featuring Marcia Warren as the narrator, with Richard Glover, Simon Greenall, Rachel Stubbings and Clare Thompson.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b069vvgb)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster as MPs back Government plans to cut spending on tax credits in the face of opposition from Labour and the SNP.
Theresa Villiers says devolution in Northern Ireland is "increasingly dysfunctional" and the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, says the financial pressure on the NHS in England is the worst in its history.
In the House of Lords, peers debate ways to cut their number.
WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2015
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b069gsf4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b06b3rf5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b069gsf6)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b069gsf8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b069gsfb)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b069gsfd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b069w4pj)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with George Craig.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b069w4pl)
Inside a modern chicken plant, Reaction to new shadow Defra secretary, Harvest
We go inside a modern chicken plant in Hereford that processes 1.6 million animals a week. They're investing in new technology to combat the bug campylobacter - the most common cause of food poisoning.
An agricultural journalist gives us his reaction to the appointment of Kerry McCarthy - a committed vegan - as shadow Environment Secretary. Johann Tasker from Farmers Weekly says she'll need to work hard to get farmers' trust - but could also shake up the industry and raise some difficult issues that need airing.
As a new survey estimates that rural crime costs England and Wales £800 million a year, we speak to a company providing farmers with security advice and technology.
And the former teacher who's done up an old combine and is offering his services to small farmers.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sally Challoner.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04dvvnn)
Dupont's Lark
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Sir David Attenborough presents the Dupont's lark of southern Europe and North Africa. The European home for the Duponts lark is the arid grasslands of south-east Spain where Spaghetti Westerns were once filmed. The Dupont's lark is notoriously difficult to find as it skulks between tussocks of dry but at dawn and again at sunset, male Dupont's larks emerge from their hiding places and perform display flights over their grassy territories. As they rise into the sky their song is a melancholy refrain, which once heard is rarely forgotten.
WED 06:00 Today (b069y95w)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Bringing Up Britain (b068vy0p)
Series 8
Divorce and Separation
With nearly a third of all children likely to experience their parents separating by the age of 16, Mariella Frostrup explores what a parent can do when they have decided to end their relationship.
What is the best way to break the news to your child? How should you manage sharing the children's time? When is it right to introduce new partners? Or should we just be trying harder to stay together for the kids?
Mariella is joined by Penny Mansfield from OnePlusOne, Bob Greig from OnlyDads, Jane Robey from National Family Mediation, Harry Benson from the Marriage Foundation and clinical psychologist, Angharad Rudkin, to discuss how best to parent through a divorce or separation.
Producer: Joel Cox.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b069wrmt)
Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio
Episode 3
His name was Antonio, but they would call him Nem meaning 'babe' as he was the youngest in his family. From the infamous favela of Rocinha in Rio, surrounded by the comfortable middle-class neighbourhoods of Brazil's party city, he was a hardworking young father forced to make a life-changing decision. If the only person who will lend you money in a crisis is a drug baron, then the only way you can repay him is by going to work for the gang.
Nemesis is the story of an ordinary man who became the 'don' of the largest slum in Rio. It is a story of fate and retribution, of the inevitable consequences of moral collapse and the blurred boundaries of the law. Brazil's most wanted criminal, Antonio (or 'Nem') tried to bring welfare and a crude kind of justice to a favela of over 100,000 citizens; a world governed by violence and destitution, existing beyond the rule of an equally corrupt state. But his period of ascendancy coincided with the nation's attempts to earn international respect first of all through hosting the football World Cup and then winning the right to stage the 2016 Olympics.
This is the story of how change came to Brazil. It begins with Misha Glenny meeting the eponymous Nem at a high security prison in 2012 , the account that follows is of a country's journey into the global spotlight, and the battle for the beautiful but damned city of Rio as it struggles to break free from a tangled web of corruption, violence, drugs and poverty.
Episode 3:
Violence escalates between warring factions in the favela of Rocinha. The responsibility is too much for Nem to bear.
Read by the author, Misha Glenny
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b069wrmw)
Takeover Week: Bishop Rachel
The Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek is our Guest Editor and takes the theme of transformation as her inspiration.
We talk to Angela France about her work with the charity Infobuzz delivering art and creative writing projects in Eastwood Park HMP.
Bishop Rachel explains how she's been inspired by Jean Vanier who's set up L'Arche communities around the world. Two hundred people in the UK with learning disabilities are cared by in communities supported by assistants, some who live in houses with core members. Catherine Carr visits the L'Arche community in Preston.
Polly Meynell talks about designing and making Bishop Rachel's cope and mitre. Diana Short, whose business Lick the Spoon produces handmade chocolate, brings a celebration block of chocolate.
Presented by Jane Garvey
Produced by Jane Thurlow.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b06bhfsn)
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Episode 3
by A L Kennedy
Directed by Sally Avens
John and Maggie are attempting to reignite an affair they had many years ago. Now in their late 60's they find that their conversations tend less towards romance and more towards mortality and missed chances.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b069wth4)
Cian and Naomi – Independence of Mind
Fi Glover with a conversation about how history lessons can challenge the accepted norms, especially when they are being taught in Northern Ireland, recorded when the Listening Project Booth was in in Omagh. Another conversation 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 Secrets and Spies: The Untold Story of Edith Cavell (b069wth6)
Former Director General of MI5, Stella Rimington, investigates the secret history of Britain's greatest heroine of the First World War, Edith Cavell.
For the first time ever, she uncovers startling new evidence that Cavell's secret escape organisation was not just involved in helping allied soldiers as we've always been led to believe, but was also actively engaged in espionage.
At the start of the First World War, Edith Cavell was an English Nurse in occupied Belgium who became part of a secret underground network helping hundreds of Allied soldiers who were cut off behind enemy lines to get back safely to England.
But in October 1915 after being betrayed, interrogated, and subjected to a show trial, she was executed by a German firing squad. Her death provoked outrage and revulsion throughout the world. The Germans later claimed that she and her network were spies, an accusation that has always been firmly rejected in Britain.
But now on the centenary of her death, compelling new evidence has come to light, never previously seen by British historians, that for the first time allows us to investigate just how far Edith Cavell and her escape network were involved with espionage.
Stella Rimington, the former Director of Britain's Security Service, travels to Brussels to delve deep into the secrets of the Belgian archives to uncover the real history of Edith Cavell and her escape network.
It's a story that has remained completely hidden, and some say actively covered up, for almost a hundred years.
Producer: Julian Hendy
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:30 Miss Marple's Final Cases (b069ww2b)
Tape-Measure Murder
June Whitfield returns as Miss Marple in the first of three Agatha Christie dramatisations by Joy Wilkinson.
Gossip spreads through St Mary Mead of a murdered wife and a husband under suspicion and then Miss Marple is called as an alibi.
Directed by Gemma Jenkins
June Whitfield reprises her role as Miss Marple on BBC Radio 4 in three of the best short stories.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b069gsfg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Home Front (b06492m9)
16 September 1915 - Kitty Lumley
A letter from Marion and the bairns sets Kitty's heart racing.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b069wzvr)
Energy deals, Northern Ireland online, Disabled flyers
Fixed price energy deals come to the end for tens of thousands of consumers this month -if you do nothing you'll end up paying hundreds of pounds more for your power and heating.
Hanging on the line; consumers challenge HMRC call centre waiting times.
Northern Ireland online customers are losing out on price and delivery compared to the rest of the UK.
Who looks after people who need to be looked after when they fly; the airline, the airport or neither.
The secret to seaside success.
Do you suffer from bloatware? if you don't load your own software - probably.
Revenge evictions; can a landlord demand you leave if you ask him to carry out repairs on your home?
WED 12:57 Weather (b069gsfl)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b069wzvt)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
WED 13:45 Computing Britain (b069wzvw)
ERNIE Picks Prizes
'Savings with a thrill!'
In 1956, adverts enticed the British public with a brand new opportunity. Buy premium bonds for one pound, for the chance to win a thousand. At the time, it was a fortune - half the price of the average house.
Behind this tantalising dream was a machine called ERNIE - the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment.
ERNIE was built by the team who constructed Colossus, the code-breaking engine housed at Bletchley Park. They had just nine months to make a machine that generated random numbers using all the latest kit, from printed circuit boards to metal transistors.
In this episode, mathematician Hannah Fry talks to Dr Tilly Blyth from the Science Museum about how ERNIE became an unlikely celebrity.
Featuring archive from NS&I, the Science Museum and the BBC Library.
Presented by Hannah Fry
Produced by Michelle Martin
Photo: ERNIE 1
Credit: NS&I.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b069vtml)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 The Interrogation (b069wzvy)
Series 4
PC Joanne Laverty
D.S. Armitage finds himself working with his old friend and colleague P.C. Joanne Laverty. But then he and Max have to interview her. Joanne's story.
DCI Max Matthews ..... Kenneth Cranham
DS Sean Armitage ..... Alex Lanipekun
Jordan ..... Gershwyn Eustache Jnr.
Joanne ..... Sally Orrock
Director .... Mary Peate
Writer ..... Roy Williams
WED 15:00 Money Box (b069x0h5)
Money Box Live - Saving and Investing
It's been a volatile summer for global stock markets with the value of the UK FTSE 100 plunging to 5,898 on 24 August from a high of 7,103 back in April.
The FTSE 100 is an index of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and if you invest in UK shares, equity funds or hold a pension you may be affected. If you're concerned about the performance of your scheme, Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell will share his view on the mood of the market and how to manage the swings and roundabouts of stock market investing.
Whether you're close to retirement or have longer term money goals, Informed Choice Chartered Financial Planner Nick Bamford will be here to answer your financial planning questions. How much should you keep in cash, when should you consider equities and when is it worth taking advice?
And Savings Champion Anna Bowes will join us with her best buy tables and some better news at last for cash savers.
Plus, the amount of money that is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme will fall in January but there are special rules for temporary high balances, are you affected?
Whatever you want to know, presenter Paul Lewis and guests will be waiting to help.
Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail questions to moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b069vtmv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b069x0h7)
Stop and search, Cancer patients and welfare reform
Stop & Search: Laurie Taylor explores a police practice which is seen as a vital tool against crime by law enforcers, but has been dogged by controversy. He's joined by Michael Shiner, Associate Professor of Social Policy at the LSE, and editor of a new collection of research which assesses the use & misuse of the tactic. How did it arise and what is its future?
Also, Suzanne Moffatt, Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University, discusses her study into a group of cancer patients experience of current welfare reforms.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b069x6fl)
Live from the Royal Television Society Convention in Cambridge
The Royal Television Society Convention in Cambridge brings together senior figures from the TV industry to discuss the challenges of a shifting media landscape. This year's convention looks to television in 2020 and the challenges for content, creativity and business models. The Media Show is broadcasting live from the event.
Sir Peter Bazalgette, President of the RTS and Chair of the Arts Council England outlines the themes of the event. Media Show presenter Steve Hewlett also hears from David Abraham, Chief Executive of Channel 4 and Tim Hincks, President of Endemol Shine Group about whether consolidation and the growth in foreign ownership of UK production is stifling creativity.
Brian Elsley, the creator and writer of Skins talks E4 talks about taking his hit show to the USA and why the UK needs more US-style showrunners.
And the Guardian's media editor Jane Martinson looks ahead to speeches by Tony Hall, the Director-General of the BBC and John Whittingdale MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Producers: Dianne McGregor and Paul Waters.
WED 17:00 PM (b069x6fn)
News interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b069gsfn)
The new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has attempted to end the "theatrics" of Prime Minister's Questions by posing questions from the public
WED 18:30 That Mitchell and Webb Sound (b03kqg03)
Series 5
Episode 3
An unusually pedantic episode of BBC Radio 4's Gardeners Question Time, digital life after death, and the mysterious world you might find at the back of a stationery cupboard.
Offbeat sketches from the lopsided world of David Mitchell and Robert Webb.
With Olivia Colman and James Bachman.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b069x6fq)
Ambridge's women celebrate a familiar institution, and Jennifer is reminded of an old friend.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b069x6fs)
Simon Schama's Face of Britain, Launch of BBC National Short Story Award
The BBC National Short Story Award with Book Trust 2015 is launched by the Chair of Judges, former BBC foreign correspondent Allan Little, celebrating its tenth year. He'll be announcing this year's shortlist of five authors.
Co-curated by Simon Schama and coinciding with a book and BBC2 series, Face of Britain is an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery exploring the history of the country through portraiture. Charlotte Mullins reviews.
As a new production of Jane Eyre opens at the National Theatre, director Sally Cookson discusses the show's evolution: the whole cast working together to create it without a script.
The Oscar nominated film Tangerines is set in a village where two isolated Estonian farmers tend a tangerine orchard while the 1992 Abkhazia war rages. Journalist Matt Potter, who has reported from Eastern Europe, reviews.
Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Sarah Johnson.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06bhfsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 FutureProofing (b068xjtj)
Ownership
Presenters Timandra Harkness and Leo Johnson look at their belongings, and those of others, with fresh eyes as they ask - is ownership over? It may be a central pillar of most societies, but in the future will people still want to own so much stuff if they can easily share?
Financial constraints and increased awareness of the planet's finite resources may mean a new generation is prizing access and experience over belongings. The growing tech revolution can provide the digital platforms to make this possible. FutureProofing unpicks the consequences: Will we see a shift in our attitudes towards owning physical objects? What will be the implications of the new ideas economy? And can objects own themselves?
The programme tackles these subjects with the help of writer Rachel Botsman, Daan Weddepohl of Peerby, software developer Mike Hearn, psychology lecturer Sheila Cunningham, journalist Paul Mason, the residents of Christiania in Copenhagen, and the comedian George Carlin with his routine on 'stuff'.
Producer: Marnie Chesterton.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b069x6fx)
Saving the Skyline
Barbara Weiss says we need to act fast to save London's skyline from the indiscriminate building of ugly tower blocks.
"Many of them are being built in highly inappropriate and sensitive locations, dwarfing the city's historic landmarks and blighting low-rise surroundings for miles, introducing a toxic mix of commercialism and bling that is already greatly compromising the reserved and unique beauty of our capital."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b069rvb8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Bringing Up Britain (b068vy0p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b069x94w)
Corbyn - Labour will not be in the "Leave " camp
Labour leader says he can't envisage situation where his party would campaign to leave the European Union.
WED 22:45 Tessa Hadley - The Past (b069x94y)
Episode 8
Today we return to the present as romance blooms, under the childrens' watchful eyes, and the stakes are rising. Sian Thomas reads Tessa Hadley's powerful and haunting new novel, a beautifully observed portrait of a family and the change wrought by time across the generations.
Three middle-aged sisters and a brother meet up in their grandparents' old house for three long, hot summer weeks. Under the idyllic surface, there are immediate tensions. Secrets, misunderstandings and passion play out as the characters shift and reappraise and a way of life - bourgeois, literate, ritualised - winds down to its inevitable end.
While the siblings circle each other, and the adolescents approach each other, the children watch and come to their own conclusions.
Tessa Hadley is one of Britain's finest writers, an acute observer of character, time and place and the most published short story writer in the New Yorker in recent years.
The reader is Sian Thomas
The abridger is Sally Marmion
The producer is Di Speirs
WED 23:00 Elvis McGonagall Takes a Look on the Bright Side (b069xb3t)
Series 2
Inspector Norse
Elvis is struggling miserably to keep warm and fed in his bleak northern caravan site. Susan, however, is enthralled by boxed sets of Scandinavian thrillers and revels in the frozen, atmospheric wastes. When Elvis's dog Trouble mysteriously disappears, the two don sweaters and decide to investigate.
Elvis McGonagall's daft comic world of poems, mad sketches, satire and facetious remarks broadcast from his home in the Graceland Caravan Park just outside Dundee.
Elvis McGonagall........................Richard Smith
Narrator....................................Clarke Peters
Susan the Postie........................Susan Morrison
Everyone else.........Lewis McLeod and Helen Braunholz-Smith
Written by Elvis McGonagall with Richard Smith, Helen Braunholz-Smith and Frank Stirling.
Producer: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2015.
WED 23:15 The Lach Chronicles (b0376qlx)
Series 1
Kiss Loves You
Lach was the King of Manhattan's East Village and host of the longest running open mic night in New York. He now lives in Scotland and finds himself back at square one, playing in a dive bar on the wrong side of Edinburgh. His night, held in various venues around New York, was called the Antihoot.
He played host to Suzanne Vega, Jeff Buckley and many others, he discovered and nurtured lots of talent including Beck, Regina Spektor and the Moldy Peaches but nobody discovered him. Rock and Roll is about many things, but first you've got to get out of the house. Lach finds himself trying to find common ground with his small, and at times, unappreciative audience. What's so complicated about his love for four very hairy men?
Written and performed by Lach
Executive Producer: Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4
Sound design: Al Lorraine and Sean Kerwin.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b069xb3w)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster on Jeremy Corbyn's new approach to PMQs.
THURSDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2015
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b069gsh4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b069wrmt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b069gsh6)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b069gshc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b069gshf)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b069gshh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b069y7nh)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with George Craig.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b069y7nk)
EU aid, Raptors v pigeons, Harvest on social media
UK farmers are to get £26 million in EU emergency aid to help with the crisis in dairy and meat prices. It's part of a 420 million Euro bail out by the European Commission on the back of a mass protest by European farmers last week. Farm Minister George Eustice says he'll try to target the money to those most in need.
Pigeon fanciers have become so worried about attacks by birds of prey that they are demanding a change in the law that protects kestrels, sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons. The Law Commission is looking into wildlife legislation, and a group called the Raptor Alliance is on the side of pigeon racers who want their birds re-designated as livestock. That would allow problem birds of prey to be relocated, or taken into captivity. The RSPB says that would be wrong, as raptors are wild birds and should be left as such.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04dvtjk)
Wrybill
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Sir David Attenborough presents the New Zealand wrybill. The wrybill is an inconspicuous wader yet it is unique. It is the only bird in the world whose bill is bent sideways , and as it happens, always to the right. In the shingly, gravelly world it inhabits alongside fast flowing rivers, the wrybill's beak is the perfect shape for finding food. With neat, rapid movements, it sweeps aside small stones to reveal insects beneath. Endemic to New Zealand in winter dense flocks gather and display, their highly co-ordinated aerial movements having been described as a flung scarfe across the sky.
THU 06:00 Today (b069xbmb)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b069xbmd)
60th Anniversary Special
As part of marking 60 years of reporting on landmark international events by Radio 4's iconic series, "From Our Own Correspondent", Owen Bennett-Jones presents a discussion, recorded at London's Frontline Club, on how foreign reporting has evolved over the decades - and where it is heading.
Joined by a panel of leading journalists and an audience that includes experienced reporters on foreign events, the programme recalls outstanding moments of foreign reporting. How did coverage of significant events - such as the Suez Crisis, the independence of former British colonies and the fall of communism - shape our views of the world, of particular countries and peoples?
The programme will also consider how politics and broader economic and social changes - plus the demands of modern-day broadcasting - have all changed the way correspondents now bring often complicated international stories to diverse audiences here at home.
Some developments continue to be far-reaching - such as China's transition from revolutionary peasant state to burgeoning economic power and the advent of extreme Islamism. How have more specialised reporting, embedding journalists with different participants in conflicts and focusing on the experiences of the general public changed the way we understand such issues? And how is the use of social media affecting reporting on foreign events?
The programme will name the places we should be watching in the years ahead, and discuss how reporting is likely to change further as "citizen journalists" become ubiquitous and the trustworthiness of information around the world becomes ever more important.
Producer: Simon Coates.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b069xcyl)
Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio
Episode 4
His name was Antonio, but they would call him Nem meaning 'babe' as he was the youngest in his family. From the infamous favela of Rocinha in Rio, surrounded by the comfortable middle-class neighbourhoods of Brazil's party city, he was a hardworking young father forced to make a life-changing decision. If the only person who will lend you money in a crisis is a drug baron, then the only way you can repay him is by going to work for the gang.
Nemesis is the story of an ordinary man who became the 'don' of the largest slum in Rio. It is a story of fate and retribution, of the inevitable consequences of moral collapse and the blurred boundaries of the law. Brazil's most wanted criminal, Antonio (or 'Nem') tried to bring welfare and a crude kind of justice to a favela of over 100,000 citizens; a world governed by violence and destitution, existing beyond the rule of an equally corrupt state. But his period of ascendancy coincided with the nation's attempts to earn international respect first of all through hosting the football World Cup and then winning the right to stage the 2016 Olympics.
This is the story of how change came to Brazil. It begins with Misha Glenny meeting the eponymous Nem at a high security prison in 2012 , the account that follows is of a country's journey into the global spotlight, and the battle for the beautiful but damned city of Rio as it struggles to break free from a tangled web of corruption, violence, drugs and poverty.
Episode 4:
When Nem eventually takes over in Rocinha, a prosperous and safe environment begins to flourish.
Read by the author, Misha Glenny
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b069xcyn)
Takeover Week: Michelle Mone
Entrepreneur Michelle Mone is our Guest Editor. She's passionate about helping young people get a job or follow in her footsteps by setting up on their own - what can we do to help to break down the barriers particularly in deprived areas. She knows that not everyone wants to work for themselves, so what makes a model employee and what can firms do to get their staff to go that extra mile. Plus could an X Factor style approach to recruitment help those with a poor CV get hired. And when she decided to treat her body like a business she went from a size 22 to a size 12 and she wanted to explore the psychology behind weight loss and why she believes that a healthy body equals a healthy mind and a healthy business.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b06bhg1h)
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Episode 4
by A L Kennedy
Directed by Sally Avens
Maggie has finally had enough of snatching time with John. An early morning date in Manchester is not what she was hoping for from their romance and why won't John tell her where he lives.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b069xcyq)
Memorable Despatches
From Our Own Correspondent is 60 years old this month, and we are marking the anniversary with some special programmes. In this morning's 60th Anniversary Special discussion about foreign reporting, some of the featured panellists and correspondents in the audience talked about despatches they remembered. Kate Adie now introduces those reports in full.
They include Lyse Doucet on the Afghan New Year in 2012, Tim Whewell on the only grand piano in Gaza earlier this year, Lindsey Hilsum on the frightening days of genocide in Rwanda in 1994, James Coomarasamy in Paris in 2003 when his son's paediatrician recommended roquefort cheese, and Fergal Keane writing to his newborn son in Hong Kong in 1996.
Producer: Arlene Gregorius.
THU 11:30 The Pop Star and the Prophet (b069xcys)
Nearly forty years ago, French polymath Jacques Attali wrote a book called "Noise" which predicted a "crisis of proliferation" for recorded music - in which its value would plummet. As music sales went into freefall at the turn of the century, his prediction seemed eerily resonant to up-and-coming singer/songwriter Sam York. Now struggling to earn a living as a musician, York visits Attali to help get an insight into his own future, learning that music itself may hold clues to what is about to happen in the wider world.
Along the way, York meets Al Doyle from Hot Chip and folk singer Frank Turner, who reveal that - despite being relatively well known - they still find it difficult to earn a living from their "stardom". Doyle says he struggled to afford a one-bedroom flat in London. It's a world away from the rock-and-roll lifestyle we might think successful musicians enjoy.
Presenter:Sam York
Producers:Sam Judah and Simon Platts
Editor:Andrew Smith
Mixed by James Beard.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b069gshn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Home Front (b06492n0)
17 September 1915 - Ralph Winwood
The big day finally arrives for Dorothea and Ralph.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b069xcyv)
Theme park accident, Child investments, The work programme
In June, Alton Towers hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons when a roller coaster accident seriously injured five people. Ticket sales have fallen, but it's not just Alton Towers itself that's been affected. Businesses nearby are reporting a drop in sales too. An expert on theme parks considers the future of Alton Towers and the effect the accident has had on the wider industry.
New figures are released today on getting benefit claimants back to work. Is the government's Work Programme doing what it said it would?
What happens to money invested for children when parents separate and families break up? You and Yours listener Valerie has lost contact with her former partner and, as her daughter comes-of-age, she is unable to gain access to the child trust fund set up and managed by her father and his parents. We hear expert advice on how to avoid this problem.
On Saturday, Pep&Co - a new chain of clothing shops - opens its 50th branch in a scheme to launch "50 stores in 50 days". We speak to Andy Bond - the co-founder of Pep&Co - on the day that the company's new store opens in Bootle, Merseyside. Why does he believe his shops can beat Primark?
DNA testing has been introduced at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show this year in a bid to prevent growers of large tomatoes from cheating. Nick Smith, the show's Director, gives some tips on how to produce large fruit and vegetables.
Producer: Helen Lee
Presenter: Peter White.
THU 12:57 Weather (b069gshw)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b069xdy1)
The head of the security service MI5 - has told the BBC the terror threat in the UK is at its highest since 9/11. Andrew Parker also said internet companies needed to do more to counter extremism. We hear from the campaign group, Liberty and from David Anderson, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism.
The former Foreign Secretaries Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw have been cleared of breaking parliamentary rules on lobbying after an inquiry into allegations of cash for access. Jack Straw tells us he was "scrupulous and impeccable" in his application of the rules.
Did Labour lose the election because the party was too left wing? Not according to new research revealed to this programme by the British Election Study. We have a report.
And we're familiar with robots in factories, cleaning floors and defusing bombs ... but in health care?
THU 13:45 Computing Britain (b069xdy3)
Connected Thinking
Long before the heroics of the world wide web, the internet was born out of a mixture of American ambition and British thrift. Packet Switching was the name coined by Welsh computer scientist Donald Davies in an effort to link the early computers in the labs of the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington.
Presented by Hannah Fry
Produced by Alex Mansfield.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b069x6fq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b069xkzq)
Stupid Men
By award winning writer Gary Owen.
Ryan was once a rising rugby star, until an early injury crushed his dream. Now he's a husband, a father, a worker and only a semi-professional part-time rugby player. But as the pressures of daily life mount, and his home-life becomes increasingly strained, one last shot at sporting glory might be his only hope of keeping his family together.
A moving and modern-day story about facing adversity and fighting for what you love.
Directed by Helen Perry
A BBC Cymru Wales Production
Gary Owen is the winner of the Meyer Whitworth, George Devine and Pearson best play awards. He recently made his Royal Court debut with Violence and Son. Other plays include Iphigenia in Splott, Love Steals us from Loneliness, Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco, The Shadow of a Boy, The Drowned World (winner Fringe first), and Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian. Gary was also the co-writer of BBC Wales TV drama Baker Boys.
Eve Myles is best known for her award-winning roles in the sci-fi phenomenon Torchwood, ITV's drama Broadchurch and BBC's Frankie.
Matthew Gravelle is well known for his portrayal of Joe Miller in ITV's thriller Broadchurch. He's also starred in Welsh TV dramas Belonging, Baker Boys and Hinterland.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b069xkzs)
Series 31
Artists Ways: Louise Ann Wilson, Warnscale
Clare Balding discovers the essential role walking plays in contemporary artist's work.
In this programme she walks with Louise Ann Wilson, a sceneographer, who has created a walking guide and artbook specific to, and created in, Warnscale, an area of fells to the south of Buttermere Lake. Louise explains to Clare that this 9 kilometer walk and the accompanying guide, are aimed at women who are childless by circumstance. Society offers no rituals or rites of passage through which women who have missed the life-event of biological motherhood can be acknowledged and can come to terms with that absence. Louise created this project to offer imaginative and creative ways through which women can engage with landscape to reflect upon and even transform their experience of this circumstance.
It provides a multi-layered yet non-prescriptive means for the walker - whether walking alone, with a partner, friend or in a group - to make and perform their own journey, and can also be used by others who are in sympathy with women in this circumstance and persons in comparable situations.
They are joined by Zakyeya Atcha, who has undertaken the walk before and found it a consoling and affirming experience and Dr Celia Roberts of Lancaster University
The route can be followed on OS Explorer - The English Lakes North Western Area
Grid reference NY 196 150
www.louiseannwilson.com
Producer Lucy Lunt.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b069gtk9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b069h37y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b069xqpr)
Everest, Hitchcock and the Royal Albert Hall, Toronto Film Festival
With Francine Stock.
A new drama Everest depicts what happened to a group of mountaineers on Everest when a storm struck in 1996. Film-maker and climber David Breashears was on the mountain at the time and discusses the practicalities and the problems of recreating the fatal expedition with director Baltasar Kormakur.
Alfred Hitchcock loved the Albert Hall so much that he filmed there three times, including a boxing movie The Ring, inspired by his frequent visits to see fights in the auditorium. Francine follows in the footsteps of James Stewart and Doris Day in The Man Who Knew Too Much, which the director made not once, but twice.
Critic Tim Robey and film buyer Clare Binns run a critical eye over the offerings at the Toronto Film Festival.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b069xqpt)
Pluto images, Space elevator, Insect migration, Imagination app
This summer, the spaceship New Horizons sped past Pluto at 30,000mph, snapping photographs as it went. The pictures sent back this week have transformed our view of this former planet. It isn't a dead rock; it is geologically active, with ice volcanoes and plenty of terrestrial movement. Dr Cathy Olkin from the mission explains what has got her team so excited.
The space elevator, first dreamt up in the 19th century, is a tower tall enough to reach space. The sci-fi concept took a step towards reality recently, when the Canadian engineering company Thoth were granted a patent for an inflatable tower 20 kilometres high. Adam speaks to Thoth's Chief Engineer Ben Quine about the viability and possibilities of this project.
It's the season when 30 million European songbirds fly south for the winter. Lower profile and harder to study are the billions of insects that take a similar journey. Dr Jason Chapman from Rothamsted Research tells Adam how to study animals that are too small to tag
Can you measure imagination? A team from the Hungry Mind Lab at Goldsmiths University in London thinks you can. The goal of their two year project is to produce an app that can improve imagination by training it. To improve it, first they need to reliably measure it. Adam tries out their new test.
THU 17:00 PM (b069xqpw)
News interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b069gsj1)
The head of MI5 says advances in technology mean anti-terror laws should be updated.
THU 18:30 The Brig Society (b069xxg5)
Series 3
Football Manager
Uh-oh - Marcus Brigstocke has decided to find out about the pure, noble and honest game of football - and also FIFA. He'll be tackling some of the sport's biggest problems, like racism and homophobia - and also FIFA.
And as a football manager, he'll be taking his amateur side all the way to the Premier League. And possibly beyond, if Qatar pay him enough.
Helping him to kick it out of the park will be Margaret Cabourn-Smith ("Miranda"), William Andrews ("Sorry I've Got No Head") and Colin Hoult ("Derek")
Written by Marcus Brigstocke, Jeremy Salsby, Toby Davies, Nick Doody, Steve Punt and Dan Tetsell.
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b069xxg7)
Pip's still helping Rex and Toby try to flog their geese, popping with Rex to the Orangery to speak to Elizabeth again. Rex gets a disappointing message from the Reedles hotel chain, who have cut their original order in half. Jill's surprised that Pip knows about Elizabeth and Robin Fairbrother's affair, which Pip calls ancient history. Thinking of the Fairbrothers, Jill admits to Carol that she can't get Grace out of her head. Jill also doesn't want anyone to know how unhappy she is about leaving Brookfield.
Jennifer is driving Peggy to see her solicitor. Meanwhile, Christine's at her fourth attempt baking her disastrous ginger biscuits, which Peggy tires to offer to reluctant Jennifer. Peggy and Jennifer wish Christine would just stick with her trusty scones.
Jennifer asks Peggy about Carol's friend Hester, still fishing for information over what happened to the late John Tregorran. Peggy warns Jennifer not to snoop. Meanwhile, Carol admits to Jill that Hester is rather absent minded.
Hazel has no wish to speak to Peggy, so Peggy feels her chances of changing her mind over the village shop are slim.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b069xxg9)
David Morrissey, Shakespeare comedy Bill, A Syrian Love Story
David Morrissey discusses his new role in Martin McDonagh's new play Hangmen, in which he plays the 'second-best hangman in Britain', reacting to a changing world on the day that capital punishment is abolished.
Horrible Histories duo Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond discuss thier latest project, Bill, a British family adventure-comedy film dealing with the 'lost years' of William shakespeare.
A Syrian Love story, which won the Grand Jury prize for best documentary at the Sheffield Documentary Festival, explores the lives of Syrian political dissidents who are forced to flee Syria with their family and become refugees in France. Jenny McCartney reviews.
Presenter John Wilson
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06bhg1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b069xy2b)
The Hollywood Spy
British writer, Cedric Belfrage, avoided prosecution after passing top secret documents to Russia in World War Two. But was he acting under orders or was he a Soviet spy?
Gordon Corera examines new evidence from recently declassified MI5 files, which help explain how Belfrage went from being a Hollywood film critic in the 1930s to having access to highly confidential British and US intelligence material in the 1940s which he later admitted passing to Russia.
After being named as a Soviet spy in 1945, Belfrage appeared before The House Un-American Activities Committee and was later deported from the US for having been a member of the Communist Party.
We talk to some of those who met him after he later settled in Mexico, including the son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed by the US in 1953 for being Soviet spies. And we explore why MI5 was anxious to avoid prosecuting Belfrage in case it proved embarrassing for the British security service.
Producer: Sally Abrahams.
THU 20:30 In Business (b069xyjn)
China Going Green
China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
Many Chinese dream of seeing blue skies and white clouds but rarely do because of the smog. Often the daily routine is to wake up and check the pollution levels to decide if it is safe for children to play outside, or if a filter mask should be worn for protection.
Ahead of December's UN Climate Change summit, Peter Day reports on the Chinese ambitions to make China 'go green'. Many people say the Chinese aren't given enough credit for their efforts and argue the West will be shocked when it realises the extent of their actions. But can that ambition become reality? Peter Day reports from Beijing and beyond and asks when will the Chinese be able to breathe more easily?
Producer: Charlotte Pritchard.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b069xqpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b069xbmd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b069xzsx)
Corbyn in row over kneeling before the Queen
Is it possible to be a Republican and the leader of the opposition?
THU 22:45 Tessa Hadley - The Past (b069y6sk)
Episode 9
Today: Passions boil over with disasterous consequences as Sian Thomas reads Tessa Hadley's powerful and haunting new novel, a beautifully observed portrait of a family and the change wrought by time across the generations.
Three middle-aged sisters and a brother meet up in their grandparents' old house for three long, hot summer weeks. Under the idyllic surface, there are immediate tensions. Secrets, misunderstandings and passion play out as the characters shift and reappraise and a way of life - bourgeois, literate, ritualised - winds down to its inevitable end.
While the siblings circle each other, and the adolescents approach each other, the children watch and come to their own conclusions.
Tessa Hadley is one of Britain's finest writers, an acute observer of character, time and place and the most published short story writer in the New Yorker in recent years.
The reader is Sian Thomas
The abridger is Sally Marmion
The producer is Di Speirs
THU 23:00 Richard Marsh (b069y6sm)
Cardboard Heart
Engagement
Award-winning writer and poet Richard Marsh stars alongside Russell Tovey and Phil Daniels in this heart-warming sitcom set in a greetings card company.
This week, Will's asked to help someone find the words to break some difficult news. As a man who struggles to express his own feelings, what chance does he have of putting the right words in someone else's mouth?
Richard Marsh is the writer and star of Love and Sweets, a Radio 4 comedy series that won Best Comedy in the BBC Audio Drama awards 2014. Now, in Cardboard Heart, he plays Will, a hapless romantic who's keen to find love and an aspiring writer with a 9 to 5 job writing poetry at a greetings card company.
Will shares an office with Goadsby (Rebecca Scroggs), who's responsible for the card artwork and being Will's nemesis, Colin (Sam Troughton), the firm's safety and survival-obsessed accountant, and charming renegade salesman Beast (Russell Tovey). Phil Daniels plays Rog, their roguish boss.
Paid to express heartfelt emotions for people he will never meet, Will consistently fails to express himself properly to anyone he does meet. Every social interaction is a minefield for Will. In his head, he knows exactly what to say but the minute he opens his mouth, it's a disaster. Luckily for you, Will shares his inner thoughts with the audience.
Written and created by Richard Marsh
Directed by Pia Furtado
Produced by Ben Worsfield
A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b069y6sp)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster, as energy ministers are challenged over the removal of subsidies to solar power suppliers.
And MPs from all sides of the House call for urgent action to help the UK steel industry.
FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2015
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b069gsl7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b069xcyl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b069gsl9)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b069gslc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b069gslf)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b069gslh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b069z8dx)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with George Craig.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b069z8dz)
Agricultural pollution linked to premature death, Harvest, Scottish lamb
The international report in to air quality which blames agriculture for pollution linked to thousands of premature deaths in the UK. Harvest is over in many parts of the UK, but in Orkney arable farmers are trying to save their crops after the wet summer. We hear about Scottish farmers and butchers promoting home-reared lamb at a city centre event in Perth this weekend.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04dvsrk)
Red-winged Blackbird
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Sir David Attenborough presents the North American red-winged blackbird. The arrival of spring in the USA is heralded by the unmistakable "conk-ra-lee" call of the red-winged blackbird. The male blackbirds, who are un-related to the European blackbird, flutter their red and yellow wing-patches like regimental badges to announce their territories. The numbers of Red-winged blackbirds has increased spectacularly in the mid 20th century as more land was converted to growing crops on which the birds feed. Today at a winter roost hundreds of thousands, even millions of birds darken the skies over the plantations or marshes in which they will spend the night - a loud and unforgettable spectacle.
FRI 06:00 Today (b069z8f1)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 The Reunion (b068s4qq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b069z8f3)
Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio
Episode 5
His name was Antonio, but they would call him Nem meaning 'babe' as he was the youngest in his family. From the infamous favela of Rocinha in Rio, surrounded by the comfortable middle-class neighbourhoods of Brazil's party city, he was a hardworking young father forced to make a life-changing decision. If the only person who will lend you money in a crisis is a drug baron, then the only way you can repay him is by going to work for the gang.
Nemesis is the story of an ordinary man who became the 'don' of the largest slum in Rio. It is a story of fate and retribution, of the inevitable consequences of moral collapse and the blurred boundaries of the law. Brazil's most wanted criminal, Antonio (or 'Nem') tried to bring welfare and a crude kind of justice to a favela of over 100,000 citizens; a world governed by violence and destitution, existing beyond the rule of an equally corrupt state. But his period of ascendancy coincided with the nation's attempts to earn international respect first of all through hosting the football World Cup and then winning the right to stage the 2016 Olympics.
This is the story of how change came to Brazil - a country's journey into the global spotlight and the battle for the beautiful but damned city of Rio as it struggles to break free from a tangled web of corruption, violence, drugs and poverty.
Episode 5:
The authorities cannot risk further internecine violence in the city which is due to come under global scrutiny. The policy of 'pacification' is escalated to include Rocinha.
Read by the author, Misha Glenny
Music:
MC Godô - Salvei minha filha (I saved my daughter - a favela rap about Nem)
Seu Jorge - Eu Sou Favela
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b069z8f7)
Takeover Week: Jacqueline Wilson
Bestselling children's author Jacqueline Wilson is our Guest Editor. Even as a child Jacqueline knew she wanted to write but it wasn't until she was 50 that she devised her most famous creation, Tracy Beaker. She has now written over a hundred books and last month published a modernised version of the classic children's book What Katy Did, changing the title to Katy. Her choice of topics reflect all her current interests and passions: attitudes to disability with actress, Nicola Miles-Wildin who gave her invaluable advice while Jacqueline was writing Katy; the allure of second hand bookshops; exploring how to be active, productive, and distinctive over 70 with a trio of inspiring older women; and the enduring appeal of our childhood toys.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer : Lucinda Montefiore.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b06bhg8y)
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Episode 5
by A L Kennedy
Directed by Sally Avens
Inclement weather gives John a chance to talk his way back both into Maggie's heart and her bed, but how long can he manage to stay there?
FRI 11:00 Sugar, Saris and Green Bananas (b06b36w4)
Sugar in My Blood
When you reach for the sugar bowl do you ever think where those sweet granules come from? In the first of two programmes, London-born journalist Lainy Malkani embarks on a quest to uncover her family's Indo-Guyanese roots on the sugar plantations of the Caribbean.
She learns how her ancestors were among the tens of thousands of poor indentured labourers shipped from India to work on the British-owned sugar estates - a practice that began after slavery was abolished in 1838 and continued well into the 20th century. They lived and laboured on plantations with quintessentially English names like Rose Hall and Albion.
When Jock Campbell, the Eton-educated son of the owners of Albion, first visited in 1932 he was shocked by the conditions he found. He asked the fearsome Scottish manager James Bee why the workers' lodgings were so much worse than those of the mules. He was told "Because mules cost money to replace."
Lainy hears firsthand accounts of life on the sugar plantations and the intense nostalgia workers felt for their Indian homeland. She also learns how some of the most famous West Indies cricketers, such as Alvin Kallicharran and Rohan Kanhai, began their careers on the cricket grounds of the Guyanese sugar estates.
And in a south London suburb, she joins numerous other Indo-Guyanese families as they commemorate the first generation of indentured labourers who went to the Caribbean.
She says, "It was sugar that brought my Indian ancestors to the Caribbean. It was the sugar plantations that defined their daily lives. And eventually it was what drove so many of my parents' generation to seek better lives abroad, such as here in Britain."
Producer Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 Shush! (b06b36w6)
Series 1
Top Shelf
Alice and Snoo have to resort to some rather unconventional means to get people into the library. A very low shelf, a book about zombies, a hosepipe ban and some hummingbirds bring the public flocking in.
Meet Alice, a former child prodigy who won a place at Oxford aged 9 but, because Daddy went too, she never needed to have any friends. She's scared of everything - everything that is, except libraries and Snoo, a slightly confused individual, with a have-a-go attitude to life, marriage, haircuts and reality. Snoo loves books, and fully intends to read one one day.
And forever popping into the library is Dr Cadogan, celebrity doctor to the stars and a man with his finger in every pie. Charming, indiscreet and quite possibly wanted by Interpol, if you want a discrete nip and tuck and then photos of it accidentally left on the photocopier, Dr Cadogan is your man.
Their happy life is interrupted by the arrival of Simon Nielson, a man with a mission to close down inefficient libraries. Fortunately, he hates his mission. What he really wants to do is once, just once, get even with his inexhaustible supply of high-achieving brothers.
Written by Morwenna Banks, Rebecca Front and Arthur Mathews
Alice ...... Rebecca Front
Snoo ...... Morwenna Banks
Simon Neilson ...... Ben Willbond
Dr Cadogan ...... Michael Fenton Stevens
Dean ...... Simon Greenall
Deaf Action Man ...... Gus Brown
Wifi Customer ...... Philip Pope
Vikram Seth Customer ...... Georgie Fuller
Based on an idea developed with Armando Iannucci.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2015.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b069gslk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Home Front (b06493hx)
18 September 1915 - Ivy Layton
Ivy Layton creates a theatrical novelty - Madame Aethyria.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b06b36w8)
Sunday train services, Pension scams
Calls to recruit fifteen hundred more train drivers to ensure there are enough available to run Sunday services.
Thousands of people have contacted the Financial Conduct Authority fearing scams targeting their pensions.
How discount supermarket Lidl is embracing a loyalty card of sorts for the first time.
Producer: Mike Young
Presenter: Peter White.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b069gslm)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b06b36wb)
SCOTLAND
A year since Scotland voted against independence the SNP says it would be wrong to rule out another referendum.
MIGRATION
Our correspondent pieces together what happened to a Syrian electrocuted trying to enter the Channel Tunnel and the why - after years of defiance - the Piano Player of Yarmouk - has left Syria.
RUGBY
Do you struggle to know your haka from your hooker? We bring you a bluffers guide to the Rugby World Cup.
FRI 13:45 Computing Britain (b06b36wd)
The Job Killer
From the earliest days of electronic computers, commentators feared that mass unemployment would result from the efficiencies of computers and automation in the workplace. These fears would resurface over the decades, but came to a head towards the end of the 1970s with the coming of relatively cheap microprocessors.
Presented by Hannah Fry
Produced by Alex Mansfield.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b069xxg7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Brief Lives (b06b36wg)
Series 8
Episode 5
Drama: Brief Lives by Michael Livesey
A journalist is arrested for being in possession of a police disciplinary report. He believes this reveals police corruption. He wants Frank to help him stop a massive cover up. But Frank needs some persuading.
Director/Producer Gary Brown.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b06b36wj)
Sheffield
Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from Sheffield. Matt Biggs, Christine Walkden and Pippa Greenwood answer audience questions.
Produced by Howard Shannon
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Rowing to Eden (b06b36wl)
Love Is Not a Pie
Amy Bloom has long been regarded as a master of the American short story, and her new collection, Rowing to Eden, celebrates more than two decades of her work. In this, one of her best-known tales, a daughter reflects on her unconventional mother, and her rather unconventional love affair.
Author: Amy Bloom is regarded as one of the masters of the American short story. She's the author of three novels (Lucky Us, Away and Love Invents Us), and three collections of short stories, and has been nominated for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Though her novels have been highly acclaimed, she's best known for her short stories, which have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and The Atlantic Monthly, among others, over the past 25 years. She is also a trained psychotherapist
Reader: Kelly Burke
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b06b374v)
Sir David Willcocks, Merv Adelson, Mariem Hassan, Brian Close, Beryl Renwick
Matthew Bannister on
Sir David Willcocks - one of the most influential choir masters of his generation. Known for his descants to Christmas carols, he was director of music at King's College Cambridge for 17 years - and led the Bach choir for 38.
Merv Adelson the property developer who founded the TV company Lorimar which made hits like the Waltons, Dallas and Knots Landing.
Mariem Hassan, the singer from the marginalised Sahrawi people who used her music to promote their cause.
Brian Close the Yorkshire and England cricket captain noted for his courage at the crease.
And Beryl Renwick who became a presenter on BBC Radio Humberside in her eighties and won the industry's top award.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (b06b374x)
Striking Numbers?
Striking numbers?
Are the unions really on the rise again and holding the country to ransom?
The rise of the giants
Are rugby players really getting biger and bigger?
Living Blue Planet Index
Populations of marine mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have declined by 49% since 1970, a report says. But what does this actually mean?
Bean counter
The Office for National Statistics is much maligned whether it's its data revisions, the fact that some of it statistics have been deemed not fit for purpose or that we still haven't worked out why UK productivity is so low. So George Osborne has launched a review of the economic statistics spewed out by the ONS to see where improvements can be made. Tim talks to Professor Sir Charles Bean who is conducting the review.
Banana Equivalent dose
Following on from our revelation that bananas can't kill you even if you eat seven we look deeper into their radioactivity and the 'banana equivalent dose'.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b06b3nxw)
Javaid and Shabana – Life is So Slow Now
Fi Glover with a couple who share the experience of a Kenyan childhood although they only met and married later in life, a second chance for both of them. Recorded in The Listening Project Booth in Glasgow, it's another conversation 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 (b06c3hqp)
News interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b069gslp)
Croatia is latest country to say it can't cope with flow of migrants aiming for Europe.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b06b3nxy)
Series 88
Episode 1
Miles Jupp and an esteemed panel of guests including Mark Steel, Susan Calman, Sarah Kendall and Danny Finkelstein chew over the big stories of the week in this, the first episode of series 88 of the long-running satirical quiz.
Producer: Richard Morris.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b06b3ny0)
The marquee goes up for the Flower and Produce show - Joe remembers Bert's efforts at sabotage in previous years. Roy and Kathy plan to hold the interviews for a new Health Club Manager at Grey Gables - suggesting that someone could be in post by the time Oliver and Caroline get back from Italy.
Joe's delighted to be invited to the party at Grey Gables - a joint going away and Birthday celebration. Oliver gives Joe a toast.
Mike has finally sold his milk round - however they haven't seen the last of Mike according to Roy - Mike's looking for work (possibly even at Berrow Farm). Oliver extends an invitation to the party, but Roy feels Vicky wouldn't be happy with Mike spending yet another night away from home,
After some pressure from Peggy about the community and Jack's wishes, Hazel gives in and agrees not to pursue converting the shop to flats. Hazel points out that she's perfectly within her rights to do what she likes - but in this case she'll honour her dear Daddy. Peggy is extremely grateful. In victory, gracious Peggy offers Hazel one of Christine's lovely ginger biscuits.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b06b3ny2)
Downton Abbey, Karl Jenkins, The armoury at the RSC
The sixth and final series of the award winning TV drama Downton Abbey returns to our screens this weekend. Viv Groskop reviews the new series and asks why Julian Fellowes's drama has had such broad appeal in the UK and abroad.
Composer and musician Karl Jenkins discusses his journey from a modest upbringing in Penclawdd, Wales to becoming one of the world's most performed living composers. He explains his thoughts on creative inspiration and how composing music for an advert gave rise to his trademark sound.
As Henry V opens at the RSC in Stratford, Kirsty Lang meets one of the most skilled costume makers in the world. The Head of Armoury Alan Smith, who makes and fits the stage armour, discusses his craft and Alex Hassell, who plays King Henry, explains how armour helps him get into character.
In the first of our interviews with the authors shortlisted for this year's BBC National Short Story Award we hear from Jonathan Buckley. His story Briar Road impressed the judges with its gradual reveal, as a medium visits the home of a family whose daughter is missing.
Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Olivia Skinner.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06bhg8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b06b3ny4)
Therese Coffey MP, Seema Malhotra MP, John McTernan, Allison Pearson
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Impington Village College in Cambridgeshire with the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, Therese Coffey MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Seema Malhotra MP, the political strategist John McTernan and the Dailly Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson.
Produced by Lisa Jenkinson.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b06b3ny6)
Will Self: Losing Sleep
Will Self reflects on the various reasons for his inability to sleep soundly any more.
"I concede there is something about our contemporary existence, especially in big, bustling cities, which seems altogether inimical to a good night's rest."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b06493hz)
14-18 September 1915
Omnibus edition of the epic drama series set in Great War Britain - a week of evasions, diversions and new arrivals.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Story-led by Sarah Daniels
Consultant Historian: Professor Maggie Andrews
Music: Matthew Strachan
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b069gsmh)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b06b3pp3)
Syria conflict: Kerry says he will talk to the Russians
Will the US now change it's stance on Syria ?
FRI 22:45 Tessa Hadley - The Past (b06b3pp5)
Episode 10
Today Finding the lost and living without love as Sian Thomas reads the final, tender part of Tessa Hadley's new novel, a beautifully observed portrait of a family and the change wrought by time across the generations.
Three middle-aged sisters and a brother meet up in their grandparents' old house for three long, hot summer weeks. Under the idyllic surface, there are immediate tensions. Secrets, misunderstandings and passion play out as the characters shift and reappraise and a way of life - bourgeois, literate, ritualised - winds down to its inevitable end.
While the siblings circle each other, and the adolescents approach each other, the children watch and come to their own conclusions.
Tessa Hadley is one of Britain's finest writers, an acute observer of character, time and place and the most published short story writer in the New Yorker in recent years.
The reader is Sian Thomas
The abridger is Sally Marmion
The producer is Di Speirs
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b069rvbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b06b3pp7)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b06b3pp9)
Julie and Lois – Our Brains Work in Different Ways
Fi Glover introduces a mother and daughter who share a difficulty with learning; it’s not that they can’t, but that they do it in a way that's different. Recorded in the Booth at the Hay Festival, it's another conversation 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 (b069jf23)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b069jf23)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b06bhdlt)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b06bhdlt)
15 Minute Drama
10:41 WED (b06bhfsn)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b06bhfsn)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b06bhg1h)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b06bhg1h)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b06bhg8y)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b06bhg8y)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (b068yf8z)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (b06b3ny6)
Alice's Wunderland
23:00 TUE (b069vvg6)
All Those Women
11:30 MON (b069jjml)
And the Academy Award Goes To...
23:00 MON (b05329jq)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (b069c145)
Any Questions?
13:20 SAT (b068yf8x)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b06b3ny4)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b069c2f6)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (b069xqpt)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (b069xqpt)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b069gtk1)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b069gtk1)
Beyond Belief
16:30 MON (b069r80z)
Birth of an Orchestra
11:30 TUE (b069rv9w)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (b069b674)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (b069jf1z)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (b069jf1z)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (b06b3rf5)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (b06b3rf5)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (b069wrmt)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (b069wrmt)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (b069xcyl)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (b069xcyl)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (b069z8f3)
Brief Lives
14:15 FRI (b06b36wg)
Bringing Up Britain
09:00 WED (b068vy0p)
Bringing Up Britain
21:30 WED (b068vy0p)
British New Wave
14:15 TUE (b039c5df)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b069gs2v)
Chris Paling - Words and Music
00:30 SUN (b0367c3n)
Computing Britain
13:45 MON (b069r3rt)
Computing Britain
13:45 TUE (b069rvb4)
Computing Britain
13:45 WED (b069wzvw)
Computing Britain
13:45 THU (b069xdy3)
Computing Britain
13:45 FRI (b06b36wd)
Costing the Earth
15:30 TUE (b069rvb8)
Costing the Earth
21:00 WED (b069rvb8)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (b068xnm4)
Dead Ringers
12:30 SAT (b068yf8s)
Drama
21:00 SAT (b068sjpb)
Drama
15:00 SUN (b069h37w)
Drama
14:15 MON (b039q24p)
Drama
14:15 THU (b069xkzq)
Elvis McGonagall Takes a Look on the Bright Side
23:00 WED (b069xb3t)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b069bq47)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b069jcz8)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b069rph7)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b069w4pl)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b069y7nk)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b069z8dz)
File on 4
17:00 SUN (b068xg86)
File on 4
20:00 TUE (b069vtmq)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (b069x6fx)
From Our Own Correspondent
09:00 THU (b069xbmd)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:00 THU (b069xcyq)
From Our Own Correspondent
21:30 THU (b069xbmd)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b069r81c)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b069vtmn)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b069x6fs)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b069xxg9)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b06b3ny2)
FutureProofing
20:00 WED (b068xjtj)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b068yd6m)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b06b36wj)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (b069rvbl)
Great Lives
23:00 FRI (b069rvbl)
Home Front - Omnibus
21:00 FRI (b06493hz)
Home Front
12:04 MON (b06492hv)
Home Front
12:04 TUE (b06492kp)
Home Front
12:04 WED (b06492m9)
Home Front
12:04 THU (b06492n0)
Home Front
12:04 FRI (b06493hx)
I Was...
16:00 MON (b069r80x)
In Business
21:30 SUN (b068xx7p)
In Business
20:30 THU (b069xyjn)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b069vtms)
Inside Health
21:00 TUE (b069vtmv)
Inside Health
15:30 WED (b069vtmv)
Jellyfish
19:45 SUN (b069h77p)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b06950lh)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b06b374v)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b069c2f0)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b068s1z8)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b069gs1z)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b069gs68)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b069gs96)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b069gsf4)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b069gsh4)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b069gsl7)
Miss Marple's Final Cases
11:30 WED (b069ww2b)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (b069c143)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b069c143)
Money Box
15:00 WED (b069x0h5)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (b06950lm)
More or Less
16:30 FRI (b06b374x)
Music in the Shadow of Ground Zero
15:30 SAT (b068tz6j)
Natural Histories
21:00 MON (b05w9dq2)
Natural Histories
11:00 TUE (b069rv9t)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b068s1zj)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b069gs2f)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b069gs6l)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b069gs9l)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b069gsfd)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b069gshh)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b069gslh)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b069gs2h)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (b068s1zv)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (b069gs34)
News Summary
12:00 MON (b069gs6t)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (b069gs9v)
News Summary
12:00 WED (b069gsfg)
News Summary
12:00 THU (b069gshn)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (b069gslk)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b068s1zl)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b069gs2m)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b069gs2r)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b068s207)
News
13:00 SAT (b068s1zz)
Oil: A Crude History of Britain
13:30 SUN (b068tvkw)
Oil: A Crude History of Britain
20:00 MON (b069r81h)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (b069gtk5)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (b069h37y)
Open Book
15:30 THU (b069h37y)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (b068xwlz)
PM
17:00 SAT (b069c1m5)
PM
17:00 MON (b069r811)
PM
17:00 TUE (b069rvbn)
PM
17:00 WED (b069x6fn)
PM
17:00 THU (b069xqpw)
PM
17:00 FRI (b06c3hqp)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b069h77h)
Poetry Please
23:30 SAT (b068sjpg)
Poetry Please
16:30 SUN (b069h380)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b068ykg1)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b069jcz6)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b069rph5)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b069w4pj)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b069y7nh)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b069z8dx)
Profile
19:00 SAT (b069c2f2)
Profile
05:45 SUN (b069c2f2)
Profile
17:40 SUN (b069c2f2)
Quote... Unquote
23:00 SAT (b068tn6y)
Quote... Unquote
15:00 MON (b06bhw9q)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:54 SUN (b069gtk9)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b069gtk9)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b069gtk9)
Ramblings
15:00 THU (b069xkzs)
Ray Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles
14:30 SAT (b0474xcb)
Reluctant Persuaders
18:30 TUE (b06bhk9h)
Richard Marsh
23:00 THU (b069y6sm)
Rowing to Eden
15:45 FRI (b06b36wl)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b069c13x)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b069c2f4)
Secrets and Spies: The Untold Story of Edith Cavell
11:00 WED (b069wth6)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b068s1zd)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b069gs29)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b069gs6g)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b069gs9b)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b069gsf8)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b069gshc)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b069gslc)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b068s1zb)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b068s1zg)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b068s201)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b069gs23)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b069gs2c)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b069gs42)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b069gs6d)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b069gs6j)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b069gs98)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b069gs9d)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b069gsf6)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b069gsfb)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b069gsh6)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b069gshf)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b069gsl9)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b069gslf)
Shush!
11:30 FRI (b06b36w6)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b068s205)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b069gs47)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b069gs7c)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b069gsc6)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b069gsfn)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b069gsj1)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b069gslp)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b069gtk3)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b069gtk3)
Soundstage
09:30 MON (b05n1hws)
Sugar, Saris and Green Bananas
11:00 FRI (b06b36w4)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b069gtkc)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b069gtk7)
Tessa Hadley - The Past
22:45 MON (b069rfk8)
Tessa Hadley - The Past
22:45 TUE (b069vtmz)
Tessa Hadley - The Past
22:45 WED (b069x94y)
Tessa Hadley - The Past
22:45 THU (b069y6sk)
Tessa Hadley - The Past
22:45 FRI (b06b3pp5)
That Mitchell and Webb Sound
18:30 WED (b03kqg03)
The Absolutely Radio Show
19:15 SUN (b069h77m)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b069gvl3)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b069h77k)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b069h77k)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b069r815)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b069r815)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b069vtml)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b069vtml)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b069x6fq)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b069x6fq)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b069xxg7)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b069xxg7)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b06b3ny0)
The Brig Society
18:30 THU (b069xxg5)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b068xwm1)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b069xqpr)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b069gvl7)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b069gvl7)
The Interrogation
14:15 WED (b069wzvy)
The Kitchen Cabinet
10:30 SAT (b069c13z)
The Kitchen Cabinet
15:00 TUE (b069c13z)
The Lach Chronicles
23:15 WED (b0376qlx)
The Letters of Ada Lovelace
11:00 MON (b069jjmg)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b04stlcg)
The Listening Project
09:00 MON (b069jd2p)
The Listening Project
21:30 MON (b069jd2p)
The Listening Project
10:55 WED (b069wth4)
The Listening Project
16:55 FRI (b06b3nxw)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (b06b3pp9)
The Long View
09:00 TUE (b069rpxh)
The Long View
21:30 TUE (b069rpxh)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b069x6fl)
The Migration Dilemma
22:15 SAT (b06cyg33)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (b06b3nxy)
The Pop Star and the Prophet
11:30 THU (b069xcys)
The Report
20:00 THU (b069xy2b)
The Reunion
11:15 SUN (b068s4qq)
The Reunion
09:00 FRI (b068s4qq)
The Town Is the Menu
09:30 TUE (b047zn5n)
The Unbelievable Truth
12:04 SUN (b068tsvn)
The Unbelievable Truth
18:30 MON (b069r813)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (b069c141)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b069gvl9)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b069r9vy)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b069vtmx)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b069x94w)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b069xzsx)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b06b3pp3)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b069x0h7)
Today in Parliament
23:30 MON (b069rfkd)
Today in Parliament
23:30 TUE (b069vvgb)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (b069xb3w)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (b069y6sp)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (b06b3pp7)
Today
07:00 SAT (b069bq4d)
Today
06:00 MON (b069jd2m)
Today
06:00 TUE (b069rpxf)
Today
06:00 WED (b069y95w)
Today
06:00 THU (b069xbmb)
Today
06:00 FRI (b069z8f1)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b04hkwdc)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b04dvtbk)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b04dvyfs)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b04dvvnn)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b04dvtjk)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b04dvsrk)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b068s1zn)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b068s1zq)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b068s1zx)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b068s203)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b069gs2k)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b069gs2p)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b069gs3d)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b069gs45)
Weather
05:56 MON (b069gs6n)
Weather
12:57 MON (b069gs6w)
Weather
21:58 MON (b069gs7p)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b069gsb5)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b069gsc8)
Weather
12:57 WED (b069gsfl)
Weather
12:57 THU (b069gshw)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b069gslm)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b069gsmh)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (b069h7tg)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b069h7tl)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b069c1m3)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b069jf21)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b069rv9r)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b069wrmw)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b069xcyn)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b069z8f7)
Word of Mouth
16:00 TUE (b069rvbd)
World at One
13:00 MON (b069r3rr)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b069rvb0)
World at One
13:00 WED (b069wzvt)
World at One
13:00 THU (b069xdy1)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b06b36wb)
Writing a New South Africa
00:15 MON (b0542zv2)
You and Yours
12:15 MON (b069r3rp)
You and Yours
12:15 TUE (b069rv9y)
You and Yours
12:15 WED (b069wzvr)
You and Yours
12:15 THU (b069xcyv)
You and Yours
12:15 FRI (b06b36w8)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b069bq42)
iPM
17:40 SAT (b069bq42)